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Zephyr had seen the courthouse many times in passing but had never been inside. A man her father’s age waited for them at the top, dressed in a sharp, expensive suit. He escorted them to a sparsely furnished but folder-filled chamber and indicated the seat. For the next few minutes, he explained the contract to them. Basically, they were both to marry for six months, after which she would be given access to her grandmother’s treasury and he would be given whatever information she had on him. If they chose to divorce afterward, Zephyr wouldn’t get anything from him, and he from her. If the marriage wasn’t consummated, which she’d try her damndest to get done, they could annul it at any time.
If it was up to her, they’d never grace the courthouse again.
Giving the contract a cursory glance, she signed at the bottom.
Alpha picked up the pen, his eye squinting, and signed his name.
With that done, the lawyer sealed the contract and locked it in a cabinet. A clerk escorted them to another room, one with the officiant, and they stood as he got the papers ready.
Watching the black leather jacket stretching across her husband-to-be’s back as he bent and signed the documents, Zephyr felt something like nerves fluttering in her belly. The leather jacket, the eye patch, the longish, disheveled hair, the short scruff—lord, he was sexier now. She was taking a huge risk, and she didn’t know if it would pay off. She didn’t know what their future looked like, or how she’d fit into his world and he in hers. But god, she’d try, and she’d die knowing that she tried, that she gave it her all. If it never worked out, she didn’t want to regret never taking the risk in the first place. She just hoped heartache didn’t wait for her.
“Sign here, please,” the clerk’s voice interrupted her thoughts. She bent over and quickly signed on the dotted line, sealing their deal in the most binding way for half a year.
“Do you have any rings to exchange?” the clerk asked.
Alpha looked at her hands, the vein on the side of his neck popping. It hadn't even occurred to him clearly that she'd need a ring. Guess she'd have to get one herself.
Zephyr waved it off. “Don’t worry about it.”
Zen handed her the simple gold band she’d bought yesterday for him, taking a guess at his size, hoping it fit. She took a hold of his large hand in hers, saw the contrast between them—his larger, rougher, deadlier, with blunt tips, hers smaller, softer, rounder, with slightly longer painted nails—and slid the ring home.
He was hers.
Finally.
The joy bubbled in her heart, a wide smile splitting her face as she looked up at him. Impulsively, she went to her toes, and pressed a soft kiss on his scar, right at the corner of his mouth. One day, he would turn his face and catch her lips with his. One day, he would kiss her on his own and she would bask in the beauty of it. Until then, she'd pepper him with kisses.
A throat cleared, and she pulled back.
“Witnesses, please sign here.”
Hector and Zen stepped up and completed the protocols, and then it was done.
She was Zephyr Villanova.
Damn.
She looked at Zen and saw the same happiness she was feeling reflected in her sister’s eyes. She knew, she understood what this moment meant. Her sister grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze, and Zephyr squeezed back. Alpha watched with interest, and she knew he was trying to figure out her reasons. She watched with interest as Hector stared at her sister, clearly lining what he saw.
Once the clerk was done with the paperwork, they all exited the building.
“I’ll get to work.” Zen gave her a hug.
Zephyr saw Alpha watching them embrace, his look blank of any expression. But the way he watched, it almost looked like… longing. Zen turned to Alpha and gave him a nod. “Welcome to the family.”
She saw his face soften slightly at her sister’s words.
Hector took over. "I'll get you a cab." He went down to the road with her, giving them some privacy.
“Have you told your parents?” Alpha asked as they stood on the steps in broad daylight. She noticed how the people passing by stopped to gawk at her husband, because of his size or scars or missing eye, she didn’t know, but she didn’t like the way they looked, like he was something lesser than they were.
“Hmm,” she mumbled distractedly, giving a woman to her right who’d been staring at him a glare. “Hey, can I help you with something?”
The woman stuttered something and left quickly.
Zephyr turned back to the man before her, surprised to find him somewhat amused while she fumed. “What?”
“Nothing.” He shook his head, pushing his hands in the pockets of his jacket. “When should I meet them?”
