Contractually Yours Alpha (Riley)

Chapter Forty Three

The dress Thane had picked out for me wasn't that bad. Though it revealed my back and threatened to go lower, the front was decent enough, exposing a little of my cleavage. The green dress had two slender straps and a deep slit. It was beautiful. Thane walked in, already fully dressed; of course, he didn't need much to look as spectacular as he did now.

"Sit," he says, pointing at the chair, and I take my seat, knowing if I don't, there will be consequences.

He selected a large diamond necklace with matching earrings, and he put them on me. I didn't miss his hands lingering on my neck longer than supposed. But he hadn't stopped there; he had proceeded with my hair. It was indeed a surprise; one would never expect a man like Thane to have the patience required to learn hair styling

"How did you learn how to do this?" I asked, staring at the mirror. My hair was in an updo, and I was sure I had never looked this beautiful.

"I did this for my that

other a few times," he admitted, but there was this look in his eyes told me he wasn't telling me everything yet. "Perfect," he says when he is done. Thane had never complemented me before; it wasn't just his thing, so this was the closest I've gotten to that, and my heart warmed.

"I'll be here to support you, just in case you can't walk well," he teased.

"I can walk around just fine," barely.

"Then maybe we should change that?" he suggested.

"Do you ever get tired?"

"No, not really, and you should get used to it."

With that, he held hands, leading me to the door

'Are we not kind of late?"

"Yes, the feast had already begun, but common etiquette states that we arrive late."

"What etiquette is that?"

"Would you prefer we arrive early and help with the decor?"

Axel was present by the time we joined them, as were the Alpha King, Slade, arid his mate, the Luna Queen, Freya.

A lot of Food was placed on each table-more food than we could ever be able to consume. To the side, some beautiful females in revealing clothes danced around as others chatted and

Chapter Forty Three

joked about everything and nothing. Axel and Thane had also joined in on the conversation.

"I heard about what happened to your mate," Slade says, and there was complete silence, all discussion came to an abrupt end, I could feel the tension building up in the room. "You killed six or more to teach others a lesson," Slade continued as if oblivious to the tension, or maybe he didn't care. a

"I'll kill more if I have to," Thane promised, his eyes on his father.

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Freya, who was in red, hadn't touched her food once; the veil still covered her face, and she had black gloves on her hands. As usual, no skin was left uncovered. I couldn't help but pity her.

Some of the dancers had also stopped dancing to watch.

"You really like her, don't you?"

"She's my mate; what more to that does there have to be?" Thane questioned. I didn't like being the center of attention, but everyone was staring now, and I was just that.

Slade turned to me to make things worse. "Their blood is literally on your hands; after all, they are your people; you know that, right?"noveldrama

"They tried killing me; they deserved to be punished," I answered for the first time, staring right at him, knowing deep down that he wouldn't hurt me, not with Thane and Axel by my side.

"You hadn't even fought them..."

Thane cut his father off. "They were ten against one. Even the best of your men would not be able to fight them off," Thane responded.

Slade laughed. "That's right, apologies," he said, but it was clear he didn't mean that. I wanted this discussion to end here, but of course, it didn't. "She's a beauty, I must admit. I hope you enjoy her while she lasts, just like I had taught you to," Slade said, gripping Freya. "You make them into what you want them to be; you can't let them control you. She tried that," he said, referring to Freya, "but see where it got her."

Slade ripped off her veil, revealing her scars like they were some kind of trophy.

"You will not disrespect me before my people." Freya's cold voice warned; that had been the first time I heard her speak in public. She freed her hands from Slade Iron's fists before walking away.

"You know why you are so weak, Slade; you can only show strength to the weaker ones. You'll never do that with someone who would put you in your place. This should be the last time you speak of my mate and my Luna like that; otherwise, you'll have a problem with me," Thane warned.

Axel's hands circled around mine protectively, his furry just as dark as Thane's.

Chapter Forty Three

"Apologies..."

"I don't need that. This feast is over, Slade; you may leave."

Alpha Slade's eyes turned to mine, and I could see the cruelty in them.