Free Web NovelChapter 40: Chapter 40 Out of Patience
When Christina knocked, Hudson was rinsing grime off his hands.
He had just been down in the stairwell, flipping the main breaker.
Manufactured blackout.
It wasn’t an original move, but it was effective.
Three days.
He had given her three whole days to respond.
She hadn’t.
He was already losing his mind.
Lycaon was pacing and snarling in frustration.Their mate was so close, yet unable to acknowledge them.The bond between them went unrecognized,suspended like a bridge half-built.
Hudson had spent the entire day in the office glued to his phone.Every notification made his pulse spike, but none of the messages were from her.
Cassian had asked him out for drinks that evening, but he shut it down.
"Not tonight. I have unfinished business with a certain stubborn woman."
He was too restless, too wired.Having wrapped his work early, he drove straight to apartments.He knew she was in her apartment. He could feel her presence even without seeing her, but if she wouldn’t come to him, then...
He cut the power.
A minute later, he was in the stairwell, fiddling with the fuse box while she held up her phone as a torch.
Her scent of orange blossom and warm spices enveloped him, making Lycaon howl with longing.
A few seconds later, the lights snapped back on.
"Thanks!" Christina sounded relieved. "I’ll go check if everything’s okay."
"Just a minute." Hudson turned. "Miss Vance, have you made up your mind?"
She blinked.
The hallway lights illuminated the hesitation on her face as he closed the distance. She stepped back.
He towered over her, close enough to notice how her lashes fluttered.
She chewed her bottom lip as if it might help her decide.
Moon Goddess.That mouth.
He remembered exactly how it tasted, that night in the hotel room.He remembered how it had moaned through clenched teeth, how it had gone slack when she came.
It hadn’t said his name, though.
That was the one imperfection in an otherwise flawless night.
She hadn’t known who he was then.
She would now.
Hudson clenched his jaw and forced the thought away. Lycaon was already making its presence known, Hudson’s eyes flickering between blue and amber.
Getting hard in a goddamn hallway wasn’t the plan. He had to fight to control Lycaon, suppress his intense physical reaction to Christina, and resist the pull.
Neither was terrifying her into running.
She looked like she might bolt if he breathed too loudly.
So he stayed still.
Pretending he hadn’t memorized every expression she made in bed. free𝑤ebnovel.com
Pretending he wasn’t picturing her up against the door, saying his name like a prayer.
"I-I’m still thinking..." she muttered.
Hudson tilted his head down."I’m done waiting.Give me a yes tonight." The Alpha command seeped slightly into his voice.
Christina looked up so fast she nearly broke his jaw.Her wolf responded to the command, even as she fought it.
"It’s just a contract, Miss Vance.A mutually beneficial one."then he added, "There’s no conjugal duty."
Not unless you want it. That part he kept to himself—along with the very vivid image of her flat on his bed, breathless, begging, screaming his name until her throat gave out. Out loud, he was cool, clinical.
"We’ll need to keep up appearances in public.Galas, fundraisers,the occasional magazine cover.You’d have to play the part—my Luna. I get that’s a burden. Might eat into your personal time...maybe even your dating life."
His jaw flexed at that.The image of her with someone else sent something violent through him, but he buried it.
"So here’s my offer,"he said."At the end of one year, you get ten million. Compensation for your time, your social life, your... inconvenience. If it works, we extend. For the second year, fifteen million.Third year, twenty. Escalating terms. Entirely optional. No strings if you walk after the first."
He leaned back slightly, giving her space he didn’t want to give. The wolf in him wanted to crowd her, surround her with his scent, make it impossible for any other male to approach.
His voice stayed measured.
His pulse didn’t.
"Ten... million?" Her voice cracked. "As in dollars?"
He cocked a brow. "Too low? I can bump it up to—"
"Nope! No! That’s...fine! Totally fine!" She was waving her hands like she was trying to flag down a plane.
"So this works for you?" he pressed.
A pause.
Then, very softly, "It works."
He released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.
"Good. Then we’re getting the mating registration tomorrow."
"Wh-what? Tomorrow?!" she gasped. "Don’t you think that’s a bit fast?"
"My grandfather is dying. He wants to see me settled before he..." Hudson layered in just enough grief to make it sound real, though he didn’t feel a damn thing for the old Alpha who had cast him out years ago.
"Oh."
Then he tacked on, deadpan, "Hope you understand, Miss Vance. Bit of a time crunch."
"R-right...yeah. Totally get it."
"Great. We’re getting the mating registration tomorrow."
Christina blinked. "Um...I guess, yeah, let’s do it. But aren’t there preparations to make?"
"I’ve already submitted my application. I can upload yours in under two minutes. You just need your ID."
He patted his pocket.
The registration fee had been there since the first time he met her back in Highrise City—just in case the payment system failed the day he brought her before the Elder Council.He’d been planning this longer than she could imagine, ever since he’d recognized her from that design competition in Florence years ago.
"But isn’t there a waiting period?" she asked.
"I’ll get a judicial waiver."
"And a witness?"
"I’ll bring one."
He wasn’t taking chances. The Alpha of The Sabreridge Pack didn’t leave important matters to chance, especially not when it involved claiming his mate.
Christina looked at him, a bit dazed. "You’ve really thought of everything."
"I have."
"Then...I guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning?"
"I’ll pick you up at eight."
The Elder Council opened at 8:30, but traffic was unpredictable, and there might be couples ahead of them.
He made a mind-link to Dominic, his Beta, and have them bumped to the top of the list. One of the benefits of being Alpha—doors opened, lines parted.
"Right. Then...good night," she said, still looking like she’d been hit by a very polite, very expensive bus.
But Hudson wasn’t done. "That’s the legal bit. Now, about the mating ceremony—"
She spun. "Wait. There’s a mating ceremony? Like, reception and all?"
"Isn’t that tradition? I was thinking reception at The Plaza right after the Elder Council’s, then—"
"Whoa. Slow down." She raised a hand like she was directing traffic. "That’s way too soon. mating ceremony takes months to plan."
"I see. You don’t want to rush it. So, postpone the reception a few months? That way you can send out invites, arrange flowers—"
"No," she cut in. "I mean maybe...no reception. At all. This is mostly for your grandfather, right? The certificate should be enough. And this ends in a year. No point splurging on a big mating ceremony."
"Oh." He masked his disappointment. Lycaon whined, wanting a proper claiming ceremony in front of both their packs. "No reception, then."
"Right."
They said goodnight.
He kissed her. Featherlight. Restrained.
Which was a goddamn miracle, considering he wanted to slam her against the door and kiss her until she forgot her own name, until her wolf recognized his as her mate.
After she shut the door, he checked the time.
Still a few things to set in motion if he wanted tomorrow to run like clockwork. A mind-link to Dominic would ensure everything was prepared—the rings, the witnesses, the formalities that would bind her to him legally, if not yet in the eyes of the Moon Goddess.
There was only a registration. No mating ceremony.
Fine. It was a minor setback.
But she’d change her mind. Sooner or later.
He’d make sure of it.
Lycaon was already counting down the hours until she would officially be theirs.
