Page 19 of The Alpha's Arrangement
“So, you planned this? The house with you contracted with it?” I narrow my eyes at this thought as fire bumps through my veins.
“To an extent. Knew you were my mate, knew you were human, and I needed a loophole in the contract. In doing that, since we met after you signed the contracts, we had to do some calculated maneuvers with the paperwork.”
“What?”
“The contracts you signed first didn’t have the arrangement clause in them. It was after the fact. We replaced those and the ones you had in your closet.”
“I knew it!” Relief floods me because I read that damn thing several times and didn’t see Carter as part of the deal. Surprisingly, it doesn’t piss me off like it probably should.
“I had to get to know you the human way, because the wolf way would have scared the living shit out of you.”
“What? How?” I feel like a damn broken record as I keep asking questions, but I need answers.
“If you were a wolf, I would have taken you outside at the store, threw you in my truck, and taken you away from prying eyes. I would have mounted you, bit you, and we would be mates.”
“Wait. Mounted me? Bit me?”
“Yes. The traditional way to take one’s mate is from behind, in human form. Then I’d bite your shoulder, sealing us together for all eternity.”
“Holy shit.”
“With you being human, it’ll be different.”
I say nothing; just sit there in stunned silence.
“Once we consummate the mating and I bite you, you’ll go through the change.”
This jolts me. “Change?”
“You’ll change into a wolf.”
“What?” I screech and quickly move from his lap. “You want me to turn into a wolf?”
He sighs deeply, standing up. “Would I love for you to? Yes, because that means we’ll be side by side for hundreds and hundreds of years. I’d love to have you by my side. I need to have you by my side.”
“Wait. What happens if I don’t agree to this?”
His face turns solemn. “Then that is your decision, and I’ll go away.”
“What happens to you?” I begin to pace back and forth, the grass crunching below my feet.
“You don’t need to worry about this.”
I stop at his words, my eyes turning into slits. “Tell me.”
“I’m Alpha of my pack, the leader. Since I know who my mate is now, it changes things. If we do not become full mates, my power will slowly diminish. Therefore, someone from my pack will eventually challenge me. When they do, I have to fight to keep my position.” His eyes fill with pain. “But chances are, I’ll be weakened to a point that I’ll lose. It’s fight to the death, Izzy.”
I suck in a breath, my hand coming to my heart as it beats erratically. “You’ll die?”
“Eventually. We all do at some point, anyway, Izzy.”
“This is too much. Way too much.”
“I know, but you need to know this is the reason I haven’t taken your body. Once I do, Izzy, there’s no going back. Ever. Wolves mate for life. There are no divorces. The only thing that separates mates is death.” There’s a bit of trepidation in Carter’s tone, as if he fears I will turn this all down.
My mind whirls as I try to process everything he’s just laid out on the table for me.
CHAPTER TEN
