Sherman
The memory of her stunned expression lingered in my mind as I slid into the Bentley.
Relief washed through me, though I couldn't fully understand why I cared so much.
Perhaps it was because Silvia is so different from others -- the red-haired beauty who'd haunted my thoughts since our first encounter.
My wolf, Leo, said. "Mine, "
He growled. "She should have been ours from the beginning. "
I closed my eyes, letting memories of our first meeting wash over me:
It had been six months ago, on the anniversary of my mother's death.
As the only Carter who still honored her memory, I'd stood alone at her grave, placing white lilies on the cold marble while my father and half-brother Zack were probably off enjoying their privileged lives.
After the cemetery, I'd wandered into a small café downtown--the kind my mother would have loved.
That's when I heard it.
Piano music so hauntingly beautiful it made me still.
Following the sound, I saw her for the first time: slender fingers dancing across ivory keys, copper-red curls falling around a face of delicate perfection.
Alphas like me didn't believe in destined mates--those were fairy tales for lesser wolves.
Yet I couldn't deny the immediate pull, the way her lavender scent cut through my usual detachment.
I waited three hours that day, nursing espressos until her shift ended.
When she finally stepped away from the piano, I approached her.
"Your playing is... extraordinary," I said, the word feeling insufficient as I offered her my business card. "I'd pay a considerable sum to hear more of that. Name your price."
Those remarkable golden eyes had widened with surprise, then narrowed with suspicion.
"I'm flattered, but I'm seeing someone," she'd replied, her voice musical even in rejection.
She'd glanced anxiously at her watch. " And now, thanks to this conversation, I'm late for my tutoring job and have missed my bus."
Her dismissal was a physical blow to a pride I hadn't known was so fragile.
No one refused Sherman Carter. Not the Alpha of the Nightfang Pack.
Not the CEO of a billion-dollar empire.
"At least allow me to drive you," I insisted, my tone leaving no room for refusal.
It was not a request.
"No, thank you." She took a deliberate step back, clutching her threadbare bag like a shield.
"I don't get into cars with strange wolves. The cut of your suit doesn't change that."
Then she turned and was gone, swallowed by the city crowd, leaving me standing alone on the sidewalk.
In her eyes, I was just a nuisance who made her miss her bus.
And the most infuriating part? I couldn't get her out of my head.
Little did I know that fate would throw us together again in the most unexpected way.
...
Three months after our first encounter, my father had summoned me to the family estate for one of his tedious pack dinners.
I'd avoided them for months, focusing instead on building my empire while he played happy families with my half-brother.
The moment I stepped into the expansive living room, that familiar lavender scent hit me.
And there she was--my pianist--standing beside Zack, her hand in his.
She didn't recognize me.
Her red curls cascaded down her back, framing a face even more beautiful than I remembered. Golden eyes like a wolf who'd mastered her shift at an unusually young age.
At 5'10", she was tall for a female, but moved with a dancer's grace.
When she smiled, twin dimples appeared, giving her an air of innocence that contrasted with the fierce intelligence behind her gaze.
My entire life had been a story of Zack taking what should have been mine--our father's love, the attention of the pack, business opportunities handed to him on a silver platter while I fought for every inch.
And now, the one woman who had captured my interest was wearing my half-brother's promise ring.
The Moon Goddess had a cruel sense of humor.
I'd learned that night that Silvia was raised by a small, nearly extinct pack after being adopted from an Omega orphanage.
The economy of their pack was poor, so Silvia grew up struggling.
Yet despite her hardships, she'd earned a degree in classical music and taught piano to support her family.
And she had a so-called brother--Noah.
But the way he looked at her... it wasn't brotherly.
Not even close.
Later, Zack told me he'd found his soulmate.
I watched their loving glances at each other and felt sick to my stomach.
"She belongs to us," Leo roared, and I felt the same rage.
Now, months later, the tables had turned dramatically.
Silvia's brother needed emergency surgery, Zack had cheated on her, and she had come to me--her former boyfriend's hated half-brother--for help.
The irony wasn't lost on me.
"Is everything prepared for this evening?" I asked my Beta, Felix, who sat across from me in the car.
He nodded. "The legal team just sent over the finalized contract as you requested. The champagne is chilling in your office."
"Good." I straightened my custom Tom Ford suit. "And the ring?"
"The jeweler delivered it an hour ago." Beta Felix handed me a small velvet box.
Inside was a platinum band set with blue diamonds that would mark Silvia as mine--at least for the duration of our contract.
I closed the box with a snap. "Perfect."
I'd spent the afternoon dictating the terms of our agreement to my legal team.
Some might call the conditions harsh, but I needed absolute control over this arrangement:
1.Complete obedience.
2.Twenty-four-hour availability.
3.Absolute confidentiality and convincing performance as my beloved Luna.
4.Full intimate obligations.
5.One-year term with early termination at my discretion only.
The terms were designed to protect my interests, of course.
The Elder Council's new mandate requiring all Alphas to marry by thirty or face temporary removal from inter-pack councils had forced my hand.
I needed a Luna, and Silvia needed money for her brother's medical bills.
But there was more to it than that.
The opportunity to take something from Zack for once--something he'd valued enough--was too satisfying to resist.
Tonight, Silvia Brown would walk into my office as Zack's ex-girlfriend and leave as my future Luna.
The contract would bind her to me in ways that would make her forget she'd ever been with my half-brother.
I loosened my tie slightly, suddenly feeling warm at the thought of claiming her.
