CHAPTER 24: NO ONE BUT ME 2

FIA

I read the contract slowly. Every word felt like a punch to the gut.

The first clause said I had to conceive within six months. That I would be provided with his seed in sterile containers. That I was expected to inseminate myself according to a schedule his physicians would provide. Clinical. Cold. Like I was livestock being bred.

The second clause outlined my duties. I would wear the clothes Cian had intended for Hazel. I would attend pack functions on his arm. I would smile and nod and never speak unless spoken to. I would play the part of the Luna without actually having any of the power.

The third clause was about obedience. I would not question his authority. I would not challenge his decisions. I would defer to him in all things. The word "submit" appeared seven times in that section alone.

I kept reading. My hands weren’t shaking anymore. They’d gone numb.

There were clauses about my movements. Where I could and couldn’t go. Who I could and couldn’t speak to. What parts of the compound were off limits. I would essentially be a prisoner with better accommodations than this cell.

The final clause said that any breach of the contract would result in immediate punishment at his discretion. No appeals. No second chances.

I looked up at him. He was leaning against the wall near the door. Watching me with that cold expression he wore so well.

"Would my sister have become a traditional wife if she had actually married you in my place?" I asked. My voice came out steadier than I expected. "She was always outspoken. Independent. She would have hated this."

He tilted his head. Something flickered across his face. Annoyance maybe.

"No," he said. "Because she was someone I actually wanted to get married to."

The words landed exactly how he meant them to. Sharp and precise and designed to hurt.

I smiled. I made sure it reached my eyes.

"If you want to show gratitude," I said carefully, "I will sign this. I will become practically your slave. But one term here has to be changed."

He straightened up. I saw his eyebrows lift. Like he couldn’t believe I had the audacity to negotiate.

"What?" His tone was amused. Like I was a child asking for something ridiculous.

I looked down at the contract. Found the clause about conception. Read it again to make sure I had the wording right.

"I do not want you to hand me your seed routinely," I said. I looked up. Met his eyes and held them. "I want you to do it yourself."

The silence that followed was thick enough to choke on.

Then he laughed. Short and sharp and disbelieving.

"What?"

"You heard me."

He pushed off the wall. Took two steps toward me. His face had gone from amused to something darker.

"Now you are showing your true colors," he said.

"Am I?" I kept my voice level. Kept my gaze locked on his. "I am just changing one term. I will accept the rest."

"I will never have sex with you," he said. Each word was deliberate. Final. "Even if hell freezes over."

"It is just one term," I said. "I will accept the rest."

I saw his jaw clench. Saw the muscle there jump.

"I have always been of the opinion," I continued, "that men did not mind the face behind the warm body on their bed. That they could sleep with anyone... with anything."

He laughed again. This time it was uglier. Meaner.

"You have no shame," he said.

"Why would I?" I kept my chin up. Kept my shoulders back. "In your eyes, I am the worst kind of monster."

"Are you not?"

The question hung between us. I could feel the bond thrumming. I could feel his anger and disgust bleeding through.

"It is either that," I said quietly, "or you can keep denying me sex but the rest has to go."

I watched his face change. Watched the anger turn into something colder. More controlled.

He moved fast. Snatched the papers from my hand so quickly I didn’t have time to react. The movement was violent. Barely restrained.

"You clearly have not spent a long time here," he said.

"I will not be changing my mind."

"You will."

He turned. Started walking toward the cell door. His footsteps were heavy against the stone floor. Deliberate.

I watched him reach for the lock. Watched his hand close around the iron bars.

My heart was hammering. I could feel the bond pulling tight. Could feel my wolf howling inside me to just shut up. To let him leave. To stop pushing.

But I couldn’t.

"What about your mother?" The words came out before I could stop them. "How long can you keep me here when I know she is dying to put a face to the title?"

He went still.

I saw his shoulders tense. Saw his hand grip the bars hard enough that his knuckles went white.

Then he moved.

He was on me so fast I didn’t have time to back up. His hand closed around my throat. Not squeezing. Just holding. The pressure was light but the threat was clear. Dman clear.

His eyes were red. Completely red. His wolf was right there at the surface. Close enough to taste.

"Are you threatening me?" His voice was low. Dangerous.

My throat hurt where his hand pressed. My wolf was screaming at me to submit. To bare my neck. To show him I wasn’t a threat.

I kept eye contact. No, I forced myself not to look away.

I needed to keep playing the villain. Needed him to see me as someone who would use any leverage. Someone who had no scruples. Someone who deserved everything he was doing to me.

Because if he saw anything else, if he saw how scared I was, how much this hurt, I would break. And I couldn’t break. Not here. Not in front of him.

"Why did that sound like a threat, Alpha Cian?" I kept my voice steady, kept my eyes on his.

His grip tightened, just enough for my pulse to leap against his palm. I saw the storm behind his eyes, the beast pacing just beneath his skin. His wolf wanted to break me, to remind me what I was—small, defiant, omega. His human side was the only thing holding that violence back, and even that thread was fraying fast.

The bond burned hot between us. Every breath, every heartbeat, every drop of anger pouring from him was mine too. I felt how much my words had cut him, how deep the wound went when I’d thrown his mother into the fire of my argument. I had found the one place he was still raw and dug my nails into it. Exactly what he expected me to do.

He released me. His hand fell away like a blade sheathed after the damage was done. He stepped back once, twice, his chest still rising like he was trying to cage something wild inside.

"You have until morning," he said. His voice was hollow now, stripped of emotion. "Sign the contract as it is. Or stay here for a month. No food. No water. Nothing."

I smiled, slow and deliberate. "Alpha Cian, we both know that’s a lie. You need me. You wouldn’t be down here, talking to me yourself if you didn’t. You need your pretty little prisoner to play the part of a good mate. So here’s my answer."

I leaned forward, just enough to provoke his rage. "Come morning, I won’t be signing anything. So you either listen to what I want, or kill me and be done with it."