THE BILLIONAIRE ALPHA'S HIDDEN BRIDE

The Contact Bride:

“I should have walked away. Instead, I stepped into his cage.”

Chapter One: The Contract Bride:

The wind howled outside the tall glass windows of the Blackwood Penthouse, but inside, the silence between them was deafening.

Aria Vale stood in front of the marble desk, hands clenched, her heartbeat racing in her ears. The room was dimly lit by the full moon pouring in from behind Damon Blackwood, the most feared billionaire in the city—and the man who was offering her a contract… for marriage.

Not love.

Not affection.

Just a signature and a cold exchange of power.

“I don’t have all night,” Damon said, his voice smooth and cutting like a blade wrapped in velvet. He pushed the thick, black folder toward her, its edges crisp and pristine—like him.

She blinked. “Why me?”

His eyes lifted from the paper. Icy. Silver.

For a second, Aria thought she saw something flicker in them… something not human.

“You need the money. I need a bride,” he said simply, leaning back in his leather chair. “It’s just a formality. On paper. Nothing more.”

Aria swallowed the lump in her throat. Her eyes scanned the contract again—every clause perfectly typed. One year. No emotional attachment. No questions. No public disclosure. And a generous sum deposited monthly into her account.

Too generous.

She was desperate. Her mother’s hospital bills were piling up. Her university debt was drowning her. She had no job, no family left except her unconscious mother—and no options.

Still… “You don’t even know me.”

“I know enough,” Damon murmured. “You’re quiet. Obedient. Unattached. You won’t ask questions. That’s all I require.”

Her pride screamed at her to run.

But her reality reminded her that life had never been fair. Not since the fire. Not since the whispers in her dreams. Not since the strange mark on her wrist began to burn every full moon.

She pulled up her sleeve and rubbed at the glowing crescent etched faintly into her skin. It shimmered now, as if sensing the man across from her.

Damon’s eyes shifted to it for the first time. His jaw clenched—but only for a second.

Aria didn’t miss it.

“What is this really about?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. “What are you hiding?”

His smile was humorless. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

A thick silence stretched. The air between them grew charged—electric, like something ancient stirring beneath the surface.

Aria’s fingers hovered above the pen. She hesitated.

“I’ll be your wife. But I won’t be your puppet,” she whispered.

His voice lowered to a growl. “Careful, Aria. You don’t know who you’re talking to.”

She looked him dead in the eye. “Then tell me.”

Damon rose from his chair, the moonlight outlining the sharp cut of his jaw and the broad frame of his body. Slowly, he walked around the desk until he was standing inches in front of her.

His scent was woodsy. Powerful. Dangerous.

“Sign it,” he said again, softer this time. “And your life will change forever.”

Against every scream in her body, Aria took the pen.

The moment her name touched the paper, the mark on her wrist flared—hot, like fire searing into her soul.

She gasped.

Damon grabbed her wrist and stared at it, his eyes now glowing faintly… silver.

Not human.

Not normal.

His voice was a whisper of something feral.

“…So it’s true.”

Aria’s blood turned cold. “What is?”

He released her and stepped back, straightening his cuffs. “Nothing. It’s done. You’re mine now.”