Alpha Xander: His Contracted Luna

ONE YEAR AGO

He planted a kiss on her cheek, making her turn red, and wrapped his hands around her waist as he drew her closer to him, “By this time next year, I'll be done with my program at Harvard,” she giggled as he planted a kiss on her forehead, “And we'll finally be together—”

“—Forever,” she completed for him as she stared into his eyes lovingly, her arms wrapped around his neck. It was one of the best moments she had when she was with him.

“Forever,” he repeated as they locked lips, engaging in a brief yet passionate kiss before he begrudgingly pulled away from her.

“I should get going now,” he told her in a sad tone as he picked up his traveling bag.

She hugged him from his back, tears trickling down her face, “Next year… don't you dare forget,” she threatened jokingly.

He turned to her and gave her hands a light, reassuring squeeze, “This time next year, you’ll go from Catherine Brown to Catherine Lindse. I promise,” he assured her as he kissed the tears from her eyes.

She sniffed in a chuckle, “I have something for you,” she announced before making her way towards her closet.

He shuffled on his left foot, “I don't think it's necessary,” he itched his head in embarrassment, knowing fully well what she was going to give him. It wasn't the first time nor the tenth time.

For the 6 years they had been together, it had been like a routine of hers, and although he always rejected it every time, she always found a way to get it to him.

She brought out a slightly bulky brown envelope and stretched it to him, “Here, take this.”

He glanced at the envelope and then at her, “I don't know how many odd jobs you must have taken up to get this, but like I always say, I can't take this,” he pushed the envelope back to her.

She stared at him with a defiant look, “What are you talking about? You can’t possibly reject it,” she stated before adding, “I have no one except you in this world and we can’t both be dropouts, so take it to support yourself,” she urged him as she took his left palm in hers and placed the envelope in it.

He glanced at the envelope, his eyes watering, “Thank you Catherine but you really shouldn’t have. You could have saved up to go back to college with all the money you’ve been giving me,” he sighed.

She hugged him tight, “It really doesn’t matter to me. So long as you are happy, I am.”

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THE PRESENT

She removed her hair band and her long, dirty blonde hair fell in curls down her skull, before stopping above her ass. She picked up a comb and brushed her hair before making her way toward the full-length mirror.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror. A pair of white, knee-high boots complimented the strapless, black gown she had on. The gown hugged her body tightly, showing all her curves, and stopped at her thighs.

Silver jewelry adorned her neck, wrists, and ears as a smile played on her dolled-up face, “Perfect!” she squealed in her fruity voice excitedly as she picked up her silver purse and her white, leather jacket from the bed before briskly making her way towards the front door.

Lavender. She immediately dashed back into the room and picked up the bottle of lavender perfume she had specifically prepared for the event since he loved the smell of Lavender.

She brought out her phone and checked the time. Shit! I'm running late. She immediately dashed out of the house, locked the door, and sped into her worn-out car.

“Mrs. Catherine Lindse,” she blushed at her words and started the engine, “I can't believe this is happening,” she squealed, tears brimming in her eyes.

She looked up at the roof of her car, trying to stop tears from falling on her face as it would ruin her makeup instantly.

“Mrs. Catherine Lindse,” she repeated again and laughed in joy before driving towards the restaurant where she was to meet her boyfriend. After a long drive, she arrived at the restaurant and nervously made her way towards the door while wearing her jacket.

She took deep breaths as she stood in front of the door, and made her way inside the restaurant. The restaurant was simply decorated, yet breathtakingly beautiful. She didn't have time to admire it as her eyes darted around, searching for him.

A female waitress walked up to her, “Miss. Catherine Brown?” she asked.

What was Jack planning?

“Yes, I'm,” Catherine affirmed with an excited smile.

“Please come with me,” the waitress told her before making her way towards the door nearest to the restaurant counter. Catherine followed closely behind her, wondering what she would find behind the door.

She walked through the door to see it was just an entrance to a hallway with several doors on the side. The waitress kept walking so Catherine continued following her, “This is the room,” the waitress announced, stopping at one of the doors.

“Oh… thank you. Ummm…” Catherine trailed off as the waitress walked away with a bored expression on her face. How rude!

She carefully opened the door and saw Jeremy, who was on a phone call, seated at a beautifully decorated table for two that had several bottles of wine on it.

“...now. It won't be that long, I promise. She's late for some reason but I promise to be with you in a while. Just let me get this over with…” she heard him saying and a confused expression made its way to her face.

What is he talking about? Is this another surprise? An odd feeling crept through her body making its way to her chest.

She coughed lightly trying to get his attention from the phone or whoever he was calling, with her signature smile on her face.

Jack turned to her with a shocked expression, “You guessed right. It won't take long,” he said into the phone before hanging up.

“You’re late,” he pointed out sternly with an irritated expression on his face. Shocked was an understatement for what she felt.

She chuckled nervously, “Sorry, I was just trying to look my best for you," She said making her way towards him to give him a kiss but he held her shoulders, stopping her.

"Jack? What's wrong?" Her eyes danced around in perplexity.

What in the world is happening right now? Is this part of the surprise? This can't be a surprise, Jack never let his emotions out on her.

“What do you think you're doing?” he questioned, “And why are you all dressed up?”

She felt her heart sink at his words. He was different and now she was having doubts, “You are going to propose to me… right?” she asked without wasting time. "You asked me to meet you here."

He burst into laughter and she couldn't help the feeling of dread that freely pulled and tied its knots below her stomach., “I won't even waste my time. Why would I, a Harvard graduate, propose to you, a college dropout? You seriously don't expect me to stoop myself to your level,” he scoffed.

"What do you mean? What is all this? Tell me this is part of your surprise? Okay?" She pleaded softly. "Just end it at once."

"Snap it out Catherine Brown. This is reality, not some fantasy book."

Catherine felt a hurricane of pain hit her, “I…I don't get it… I sacrificed everything for you… We've been together for 7 years. I'm literally the reason you could graduate from Harvard… You said we'd get married… you…” she trailed off in tears as she fell to the floor, “You said I'd become Mrs. Lindse. I did everything for you Jack… You can't do this,” she bawled.

Jeremy stared at her sorry state concededly, “And because you did those things, I didn't humiliate you in public. Do you think this private room is for free? You should be thanking me instead of complaining,” he told her.

She looked up at him, her mascara running down her face, “Tell me this is a joke,” she cried out again.

His face scrunched up in disgust, “You should see yourself right now. You look like a total joke,” he glanced at his wrist-watch, “I wish I could join your pity party, but I have somewhere to be right now. By the way, the bottles on the table are for you. You can thank me later,” with that said, he waltzed out of the room leaving Catherine weeping loudly on the floor.

“I should've known it was a dream. Nothing ever goes well for me,” she cried.

She wiped her tears and made her way toward the bottles of alcohol.

***

“Fuck you,. Jack! I hope you rot in hell!” Catherine laughed with tears streaming down her cheeks as she sped across the streets. She had left the restaurant drunk and was now speeding through the streets with no idea where she was headed.

“Shit!” she cursed as she pressed her left foot on the brake pad, but it was too late, she had hit something.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Was that a dog or a cat?

She got out of the car and staggered towards the front of her car to see she had hit two doglike animals and one was lying in a pool of its own blood making her gag.

There was something eerie about the animals and so she made to flee but the sight of blood made her feel dizzy and she passed out on the ground.