Chapter 5: Chapter 5

ELEANOR

“Let’s go.”

“Where are we going?” I asked Xavier, but he didn’t answer.

Instead, he grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the pack house. We followed a brick path that led toward the residential area of the pack.

There were only four houses here—though calling them houses felt wrong; they were more like mansions. Xavier led me straight to the second one. Once we reached the house, he dropped my hand, took his keys, opened the door, and walked in.

The house was simply beautiful. It was a mix of modern and traditional. The moment we entered, there was a huge living room to my right that had a glass wall overlooking the forest. The room was painted white and gray, and it was furnished with black furniture.

To the left, there was a flight of stairs that led upstairs. Xavier made his way up the stairs, so I quickly walked upstairs behind him.

The upstairs was just as beautiful as the downstairs, and the entire house was designed in the white, gray, and black theme.

Xavier walked to a door that was slightly ajar.

“Come in and close the door, Eleanor,” he instructed.

I walked inside to see this was his office. There was a wooden table right next to a glass wall, and there were two large bookcases on opposite sides of the room combined with a pearl-white sofa and a coffee table in front of his desk.

“Take a seat,” he said, and I did as he said. His voice was void of emotion as he grabbed some papers off his desk and handed them to me.

“Read this and let me know if you need anything added,” he told me before taking a seat behind his desk.

~Arranged Marriage Contract~ was written in bold letters on the top. I took the contract in my trembling hands and began reading its contents.

A contract marriage between wolves was unheard of. As I read through its contents, I realized the marriage would only last for six months.

“Why are you giving this to me?” I asked him, and he stared at me like I was stupid.

“Look, Eleanor, I’m going to be honest with you. I don’t want a mate, and it looks like you’re not fond of the idea of having me as your mate either,” Xavier said, and even though I didn’t say it out loud, I did agree with him.

The pain from losing my mother hadn’t healed yet, and I didn’t think I could consider having a mate right now until I closed that chapter in my life.

“Is this why you wanted me to stay back? You want a short-term marriage?” I asked him with a raised eyebrow as I put the contract on his desk.

“Yes. I know this may sound bizarre, but I think you would be happy with what I’m offering you after these six months are up,” Xavier said as he pointed out a clause in the contract.

I moved closer to the desk and read what he’d written: five million dollars as the divorce settlement money. The prospect of having enough money to leave my father’s house and go wherever I wanted was appealing…but it made me feel dirty. This wasn’t how finding your mate should be. Even if I wasn’t ready for one, the whole situation felt wrong.

“Do you know how this makes me feel?” I asked Xavier, my voice trembling in anger. “I’m not a prostitute willing to sell her body,” I snapped.

Xavier’s eye twitched in anger, but he didn’t say anything.

“Why do you want me to pretend to be your mate for the next six months, anyway? You know we could simply reject each other and go our separate paths, right?”

“The rogue situation is getting out of hand. We need allies, but apparently no one is willing to work with us because of me.”

“No one sane would want to work with you, Beta Costa. We all know how ruthless you are. And there are rumors that you are unfit to be the beta after losing your first mate. You know wolves tend to get a little unhinged, right?”

“You’re right,” he said with a bitter smile on his face. “That’s why I need you. Just pretend to be my mate, and once we get everything under control, we can part ways.”

He paused while I let the idea sink in. Bare minimum, I’d be away from my father and that house full of drama. Plus…it was quite luxurious here. I supposed it wouldn’t be the worst six months.

“You can ask whatever you want. I will get it for you,” Xavier said when he noticed I was taking a while to think about the proposal.

“Anything I want?” I asked him, and he nodded his head.

An idea sprung into my head. I was already planning to start figuring out who murdered my mother since the authorities were worthless in making progress. He has a lot more connections and resources than I do, and with his help, I might be able to find out who did it much faster.

“I don’t want the money. I want you to help me find who killed my mother,” I asserted.

Xavier looked surprised at my request, but he quickly masked his emotions and nodded his head.

“Deal,” he said.

I took the contract and read the rest.

I looked down at the contract, and one of the clauses caught my eye. It stated that we could sleep with anyone we wanted as long as no one found out. I read and reread the clause, but this only made my stomach churn in disgust.

“Sleep with anyone—”

“Oh, that clause,” he interrupted me and leaned forward. “That’s what I meant when I said that I won’t meddle with your life, and you shouldn’t meddle with mine. I know you must be wondering how that can be done because we would obviously feel the pain. I’ve already figured that out. I will let you know about that tomorrow,” he said and looked down at his watch. “Are you okay with the rest of the clause?”

“Yes,” I told him as I walked closer to his desk. I grabbed a pen and signed my name, ready to find my mother’s murderer.