More than a dozen Starke bodyguards in black with the Starke pack crest on their shirts pushed the door open and came in.
Roman put his hands in his pockets and swaggered in behind them.
The guests stilled, not daring to make a sound.
Harper and Damian were at a loss and stood rooted to their spots.
All the color drained from my face when I saw Roman.
I didn’t think he would show up, and I never expected him to rush into a mating ceremony uninvited and unannounced.
I was terrified that Roman would ruin the ceremony, so I quickly got up and walked to him.
“Beta Starke!” I stopped Roman, who was walking towards the stage. “The contract has been signed. I’ll give it to you tonight.”
Roman looked me up and down, taking in my dress. It hugged my figure-thin as it was-and a spark of his wolf’s desire instantly ignited in his gray-black eyes.
He wrapped one arm around my waist, pulled me up against his body almost roughly, and embraced me. His voice game out in a low growl. “If you signed it already, why didn’t you bring it to me earlier?”
I held back my disgust at being pressed against his body. I had to tread carefully, and it didn’t help that so many people were staring at me right now-the only human in the room.
“I had to ensure that the ceremony went smoothly. Otherwise, what if you took the contract then broke your promise and disturbed my best friend’s mating ceremony?”
“You don’t trust me?”
“Of course not,” I replied. “Beta Starke, if you want the contract, you have to wait until tonight. The deal was today, not by a specific time today.”
I kept my expression stern, trying to portray all of the toughness and determination I didn’t feel. There was no negotiating this, and I needed him to know that.
Roman smiled, his look almost amused. Which surprised me, given that a mere human was challenging him in front of a roomful of shifters from another pack.
“How do I know you’re not lying to me?” he asked.
I pulled out my phone, opened a document, and showed him a fake contract I’d made in advance.
“You can see it here. This contract was issued by the Knight Pack, and it’s stamped with their official seal.”
My main work in the Midwest Packs Corporation was to receive business partners and manage the contracts. One of the reasons I’d been given a job like that was specifically because I WASN’T a wolf shifter. With no pack allegiance, they could trust me to be “more honest” with business dealings between different packs.
The Knight Pack was the largest pack and executed the most contracts within the Midwest Packs Corporation. Of course, I knew what their official seal looked like, and I was well-versed in what their contracts typically looked like. I’d simply created a copy of one of their boilerplates and asked someone to make a seal. Once it was in a PDF on my phone, you couldn’t tell the difference between it and the real thing.
I scrolled through each page for Roman, one by one. When he was done, he seemed convinced, and gave me a satisfied smile.
Bring the contract to my villa tonight.”
I knew what would happen at his villa. After getting the contract, he would force me to sleep with him now that he had what he wanted.
Or at least THOUGHT he had what he wanted.
After he moved his hand away from my waist, I let out a sigh of relief.
I gritted my teeth and said, “I will send an address where we can meet later.”
There was no way in h ell I was going to his villa on pack lands. Once I entered, I would never be able to get out, and as a human, no one would come to help me.
I had a contract in hand now, and as far as Roman knew, it was real. If he wanted it, he had to follow my arrangements.
Roman frowned slightly and took a menacing step closer to me. “What kind of game are you playing?”
I shook my head. “No game.” I shrugged, then added, “I just don’t want to sleep with you. I want to be safe, and I won’t be safe if I go onto your pack lands.”
I made sure I spoke loud enough in front of all the guests, which made Roman a little embarra*sed. After all, he was Beta Starke…with a human making demands of him.
How dare she.
Roman almost let his wolf’s fury at being talked to that way over, but after considering his options, he decided to let it go.
take It didn’t matter where she wanted to meet-he would make her submit to him.
And as for what anyone here thought?
Meh. This wasn’t a powerful pack family, and now that he had a deal with the Knight pack, once the news of him securing the Westen City project for the Starke pack, that’s all that would matter.
Roman talked his wolf down from the ledge and curled his fingers into his palms to keep people from seeing his wolf rising. It wouldn’t do for a Beta to seem as though he couldn’t control himself.
He looked up and glanced at the newly mated wolves walking towards them, then smiled warmly. He lowered his voice to a whisper and threatened Taya, “You better bring the contract like a good little girl. Or my friends here will turn their dream mating ritual this evening into a nightmare.”
After that, he gently tapped the tip of Taya’s nose, pasting his “I’m not dangerous” smile on his face.
Taya swallowed and nodded obediently.
“Don’t worry, Beta Starke. I’ll be there.”
With her guarantee, Roman took his pack bodyguards and left.
As soon as the doors to the ceremony hall were s hut, the guests began to whisper amongst themselves and point fingers at me.
I didn’t take it to heart. I’m sure that whatever they were saying was probably right. Instead, I turned to Harper and Damian, who were walking toward me.
“Who was that?” Harper looked at me, worry written all over her face. I’m sure her wolfie instincts told her that Roman wasn’t one of the “good guys”.
“The Beta of the Starke pack. He need to see me for an important contract. That’s all.” I patted her hand with a smile, trying to brush it off.
As if one could brush off someone barging into a wedding they weren’t invited to, where they didn’t know anyone there. And for a business contract, no less.
When I said this, I deliberately raised my voice just a slight bit.
There was a small microphone on Harper’s wedding dress, so that everyone would hear the mating vows.
The guests heard my explanation and started whispering again. Now, I could hear them. They were saying things about how Harper’s friend was amazing, and how impressive I was to know Bela Starke, that Beta Starke thought I was so important and V Mlal to his pack’s business that he came to me for something.
Damian’s pack lands were on the outskirts of Arcadia. They were small and insular in their dealings, and they didn’t work with or have relationships with the bigger packs, like Starke or Knight. But, of course, they all knew who the important Alphas, Betas, and packs were.
My explanation was enough to dispel everyone’s opinions for the time being. Once people knew it was Beta Starke, the powerful and rich shifter, it suddenly didn’t seem so odd for him to burst into a mating ceremony the way he had.
Because he wouldn’t care about something like that. He would only care about getting what he wanted, when he wanted it. That was the right of someone in his position, was how most wolf shifters viewed it.
However, I could tell that Harper still felt uneasy. She’d always felt uncomfortable with my being a human and working with contracts for large packs. If anything went wrong, I’d be the easy one to blame.
Harper pursed her lips, gave her new mate a worried look, and then shifted her gaze back to Taya.
Something was up. For sure.
If it was really like what Taya had said, and all Beta Starke wanted was a simple contract, why did he bring so many of is pack bodyguards here?
Plus, he was touching Taya’s waist!
His actions looked anything but business-like. To most, it might have looked like Beta Starke was interested in Taya romantically, but to Harper, it looked like he was threatening her.
The more Harper thought about it, the more worried she became. She took off the microphone on her wedding dress, held Taya’s hand, and looked at her anxiously.
“If you’re in danger, you have to tell me. No matter what, I’ll help you.”
Ever since they were young, Taya always seemed to attract bad people and relationships. And this man definitely seemed like he belonged in that category.