Goodbye My Alpha (Taya and Griffon)

More than a dozen Starke bodyguards in black with the Starke pack crest on their shirts pushed the door open and came in. Roman put his hands in his pockets and swaggered in behind them.

The guests stilled, not daring to make a sound.

Harper and Damian were at a loss and stood rooted to their spots.

All the color drained from my face when I saw Roman.

I didn't think he would show up, and I never expected him to rush into a mating ceremony uninvited and unannounced.

I was terrified that Roman would ruin the ceremony, so I quickly got up and walked to him.

"Beta Starke!" I stopped Roman, who was walking towards the stage. "The contract has been signed. I'll give it to you tonight."

Roman looked me up and down, taking in my dress. It hugged my figure-thin as it was—and a spark of his wolf's desire instantly ignited in his gray-black eyes.

He wrapped one arm around my waist, pulled me up against his body almost roughly, and embraced me. His voice game out in a low growl. "If you signed it already, why didn't you bring it to me earlier?" I held back my disgust at being pressed against his body. I had to tread carefully, and it didn't help that so many people were staring at me right now-the only human in the room.

"I had to ensure that the ceremony went smoothly. Otherwise, what if you took the contract then broke your promise and disturbed my best friend's mating ceremony?"

"You don't trust me?"

"Of course not," I replied. "Beta Starke, if you want the contract, you have to wait until tonight. The deal was today, not by a specific time today."

I kept my expression stern, trying to portray all of the toughness and determination I didn't feel. There was no negotiating this, and I needed him to know that. Roman smiled, his look almost amused. Which surprised me, given that a mere human was challenging him in front of a roomful of shifters from another pack. "How do I know you're not lying to me?" he asked.

I pulled out my phone, opened a document, and showed him a fake contract I'd made in advance.

"You can see it here. This contract was issued by the Knight Pack, and it's stamped with their official seal."

My main work in the Midwest Packs Corporation was to receive business partners and manage the contracts. One of the reasons I'd been given a job like that was specifically because I WASN'T a wolf shifter. With no pack allegiance, they could trust me to be "more honest" with business dealings between different packs.

The Knight Pack was the largest pack and executed the most contracts within the Midwest Packs Corporation. Of course, I knew what their official seal looked like, and I was well-versed in what their contracts typically looked like. I'd simply created a copy of one of their boilerplates and asked someone to make a seal. Once it was in a PDF on my phone, you couldn't tell the difference between it and the real thing. I scrolled through each page for Roman, one by one. When he was done, he seemed convinced, and gave me a satisfied smile.