Contract of Fate

3. Emerson

My library is usually a peaceful space for me, but with Annaliese here? Nowhere in my home is peaceful. She is currently having yet another tantrum because I will not give her a black AMEX linked to my account. Her father, Alpha Garrison, has apparently cut her off as an attempt to force my hand, but all he's done is make her bankrupt because she will never have access to my money.

Gold digger doesn't quite describe Annaliese. Yeah, she's beautiful with her long blonde hair, blue eyes, and doctor-designed body, but that's where the beauty stops. Inside, she's as ugly as they come. Hateful, selfish, self-centered, arrogant, manipulative, vindictive, dishonest, and petty. I have been engaged to her for 2 weeks, and I am ready to end my life. I cannot imagine being married to her for the rest of my life.... Even if it means not inheriting the company and Alpha title I have been groomed to take over my entire life.

“Are you even listening to me, Emerson?!” she screams as I stare off into space, trying my best to tune her out.

“I’m trying not to,” I reply, taking a sip of my scotch. She lets out a screech of fury, stomping over to me and slapping the glass out of my hand.

“You’re such a bastard, Emerson. Give me a damn card! I’m going to be your wife, YOUR LUNA, so what is yours is also mine,” she demands, standing in front of me with her fists balled.

“The only time what is mine will be yours is when hell freezes is over. You will never have access to my money,” I say coldly, staring her directly in the eye before standing up and walking to my bar to pour a new drink. As I stand there putting ice in my new glass and pouring the scotch, she rushes over and begins punching me in the back over and over screaming at me. I turn around to grab her wrists and she slaps me across the face hard. Her sharply manicured nail cuts my lip, the metallic taste of blood instantly filling me mouth.

“That should teach you to deny me what is mine. I’ll expect my card by the end of the day,” she says nonchalantly, turning to walk away from me. I grab her by the wrist and yank her back to face me.

“I expect you to have your s**t packed and out of my house in the next 2 hours. This is over,” I growl, my body shaking in rage as I refrain from putting my hands on her out of anger.

“You wouldn’t dare. You’ll lose your company. You’ll lose your Alpha title,” she replies with a smirk and her arms crossed over her chest, so confident that she’s won this fight.

“Not even inheriting my company and becoming Alpha is worth this bullshit. If you’re not out in 2 hours, I’ll have you forcibly removed,” I say, grabbing my glass off the bar and walking past her to the nearest bathroom. I look in the mirror, grabbing a washcloth to clean my mouth and chin up. She sliced it open pretty good, but it will heal in less than an hour with my accelerated healing. When I walk out of the bathroom, Annaliese is sitting on the chaise lounge reading a magazine as if nothing happened. I walk over to the wall and press the intercom button to announce her departure to the staff.

“Attention. Miss Annaliese and I are no longer engaged. She will be moving out today. Please have every single one of her belongings and only her belongings packed up in the next 2 hours so we can be rid of her. Thank you all for putting up with this for my sake,” I say into the speaker, Annaliese staring at me in disbelief from her spot.

“You cannot be serious,” she says dramatically. “Over a busted lip? Are you a p***y, Emerson?”

“Far from it, Annaliese. A p***y would have put you through that glass table when you busted my lip. I’m just removing myself from a very toxic and abusive relationship. My staff is packing your things. I suggest you secure yourself a place to go,” I say, walking out of my library.

“I don’t want their grimy hands on my things!” she screams from behind me.

“Then I guess you better get off your ass and start packing,” I shrug without looking back, but then I stop in my tracks and look at her. “But if you put your hands on any of my staff, I will publicly embarrass your family with assault, battery, and domestic violence charges.” She stands up, screaming as she stomps out of the library. She rams her shoulder into mine as she passes me to the stairs.

“I will make sure you regret this, Emerson Ward. I promise. If it is the last thing I do, I will make you pay,” she says with venom in her voice. As she reaches the bedroom she’s been sleeping in, she screams at my staff to get out and slams the door behind them. I let out a sigh, running my hand down my face and shaking my head at her very toddler like behavior.

“Nothing is more of a punishment than being with you,” I say, a couple of the maids giggling quietly to themselves as they move on to their next tasks. I walk back into the library and sit down in front of the fireplace, sipping on my drink in silence. My phone starts vibrating and when I pull it out, I see my mother’s face. I roll my eyes and answer the call.

“Hello?”

“Emerson James Ward! What do you think you’re doing?” she snaps. “We told you that if you were not married by Christmas you would not inherit the company and now your father would not hand down the Alphs title. So why are you kicking your fiancé out 6 months before the wedding?”

“I think you mean EX-fiancé,” I reply. “And yes, I left her because, unlike both of my parents and my grandparents, I won’t stand to be berated and slapped around by an overgrown petulant child. You all can tolerate putting your hands on each other, but I will not.”

“You will watch how you speak to me. I am your mother and your Luna,” she demands, her teeth obviously clenched.

“I will speak to you however I see fit. No mother would ever treat their only child the way you have treated me. I’ll be married by Christmas. Goodbye, Mother.” I end the call before she can reply, taking a deep breath and walking over to my desk. I sit down in my office chair, drumming my fingers on the dark wood before pulling open one of the filing cabinets.

At the very bottom of the drawer is a manilla folder containing something I swear I would never use. A blank application for Blackthorn Contract Services. I pull it out and set it in front of me, grabbing a pen to begin filling it out. A little more than an hour later and Annaliese comes storming down the stairs, her suitcases bouncing off every step aggressively.

“Are you going to say goodbye?” she barks from the foyer, staring at me through the open library door.

“And why would I do that?”

“Because I was your fiancé and you love me,” she replies, a belly laugh escaping me before I can stop it.

“Love you? Annaliese I don’t even like you. You were a means to an end and now I will find a different way to meet that end,” I reply, looking back to the application in front of me and ignoring her.

I hear a car pull up in front of the house, the gravel crunching beneath the tires. She huffs and flings the door open so hard the glass shatters. I get up and walk to the foyer as she throws her suitcases down the stairs to the driver. She turns to face me, crossing her arms in front of her.

“Last chance Emerson. Once that car drives away, there is no more you and I. We will be done for good and you will lose your company,” she says mockingly. I look at her and then look at my shattered door.

“I’ll send you the bill for my door you destroyed. Good riddance to you and the idea of being bound to you for the rest of my life,” I say, closing the door and walking back to my desk. I hear the car pull away and a weight is lifted from my shoulders. Tara, the Omega in charge of the staff, walks into the office and clears her throat. “Yes, Tara?”

“Shall I call someone to come fix the door, Alpha?” she asks. “Did Miss Annaliese just do that?”

“Yes to both questions. Thank you,” I reply, continuing with the application. Dinner is brought to me in my library and the entire staff leaves for the night before I am finally finished with the application. I put the finished packet into the manila folder and pull out my phone to call my best friend and Beta, Declan Rivers.

“What’s up Emerson? How is the married life?” he asks sarcastically.

“I don’t know because I am not married or engaged. I kicked Annaliese out,” I reply, the line going silent for a moment.

“What about the pack? The company?”

“I’m going with the contingency plan.”

“You mean… Blackthorn? The witch?”

“That’s the one. I just finished the application, and I am going to turn it in tomorrow morning,” I say. The line is silent once more, my announcement clearly catching Declan off guard.

“I’m going to come with you so we make sure you get the best and have the right things in the contract,” he replies and I shake my head.

“No you’re not horndog. You’re staying right where you are and I will let you know how it goes,” I tell him, incoherent grumbling coming through the phone.

“Fine. Keep me updated,” he says, hanging up the phone in a huff. I toss my phone down and lean back in my chair.

I swore this was always going to be my very last route, but I’m just not confident that I won’t end up with someone else like Annaliese with my d**k at the helm. The Blackthorn Madam has a 100% success rate with her matches so I’m confident that whomever she matches me with will be perfect for this purpose.

I’m not worried about love or chemistry. I just need a wife so I can take my pack and company from my father and push my family out. The keys to the kingdom will be mine and they will be out just as soon as I get myself moved in.