The Alpha's Contract Luna novel Chapter 2

~Alexia~

“Sister, are you ready?” Hazel, Alexia’s stepsister, said, greeting her at the door. “Well, my dress looks good on you.”

Alexia looked down at the hand-me-down dress and could not deny its elegance. She had never worn a dress so beautiful since her father remarried five years ago, yet it was something Hazel meant to throw away.

Hazel had that sly grin on her face when she described, “Congratulations, sister. I heard your husband-to-be is very ruthless, a man full of battle scars, a face so fearsome and ugly, you would piss in his presence. I heard he was enraged about this forced marriage. Maybe he’ll blame you.”

She laughed and concluded, “Maybe you’ll end up dying pathetically in his hands. Not even your curse can save you.”

Chills ran down Alexia’s spine at hearing Hazel’s suggestion. She wondered if her words were valid. ‘Will this marriage be the end for me? That will surely be a wish come true for them.’

“Let’s go!” Behind Hazel, Drake called, clutching onto the bag containing the very little Alexia had as her belongings.

Alexia was not even given a chance to say goodbye to her friends. She was brought to the driveway and handed over to a tall, massive man with dirty blond hair. He had a claw mark on his left cheek, suggesting an enemy had struck him in the past.

This man was Beta Jaxon, Alpha Kieran’s second in command.

“Beta Jaxon, this is my daughter, Alexia Reed. Please tell Alpha Kieran that we entrust our daughter to him,” Alpha Roland suggested. While his words were meant to show care, his tone remained cold, his eyes averting Alexia’s gaze.

Alexia struggled to look Beta Jaxon in the eye, but sooner or later, she took the courage to ask, “Are - are you going to hurt me?”

She noticed how the beta was stunned. He leaned back, lifting his brow at her probing. He replied, “No, as long as you follow the rules.”

“Get inside the car,” he instructed.

Alexia looked at her father one last time. He had a poker face, and his eyes showed no love or concern for her.

“Goodbye, father,” she said, but Alpha Roland merely nodded as an acknowledgment.

Next to her father was Matilda, her stepmother. She had a mocking grin on her face, and she waved her hand at Alexia. “Goodbye, Alexia. We will try to attend your wedding, but as you may know, resources are not good in the Cross River Pack lately.”

She meant to say they won't be attending the wedding. Of course, Alexia knew this already. They would never make such an effort. They were happy to give her away, once and for all.

“Goodbye, my beloved sister!” Hazel added, smiling at Alexia.

Inwardly, Alexia wanted to roll her eyes. She realized they were all faking a happy family before Beta Jaxon.

After Hazel, her eyes landed on Drake, and she noticed his frown. Perhaps his stepbrother was the only one who was upset about her leaving. However, to Alexia, she may be safer away from Drake.

Maybe.

‘A big maybe.’ Alexia thought.

With a sigh, Alexia told herself, ‘Be strong. You’ve always been strong. You are smart, and you can work your way around people.’

That day and the days to come would probably be the most uncertain days of her life. The alpha king had ordered her to marry Alpha Kieran Stone, the most menacing alpha of all Taplean.

Why? She had no clue. Her father claimed he had no idea. Sadly, Alexia had no say in this, and as what her stepsister had told, neither did Alpha Kieran.

While each pack was led by their own alphas, the highest in the hierarchy was Alpha King Balthasar. He was the alpha of all alphas in Taplean. As what her father told her last night, there was no defying the king.

Stil, it remained a mystery of why she was chosen. Alexia had an Alpha blood, but her pack was not one of the nation's biggest or strongest. She wasn’t any special. In fact, her pack believed her as a bad omen.

Her pack would suffer. That was what her father said to her last night. Frankly, Alexia did not care for her stepmother and step-siblings. They had been the source of her misery for five years, but it was different with her friends. She loved her friends and their families. Lastly, despite everything, she at least cared for the father Alpha Roland used to be.

“Yes, Alpha, we have her. We are leaving her pack now,” Alexia heard Beta Jaxon said on the phone, clearly reporting to his alpha. She understood mindlinking had limitations. The Stone Blood Pack’s main territory was too far from their location that Jaxon had to use a mobile.