Klyde loudly placed his phone face down on the vanity table in front of him and focused on the brush gently grazing his face. Today is the day and he is getting ready, a make-up artist is working with him. He can’t believe he’s really getting married today. He closed his eyes and sighed, allowing the make-up artist, a beta girl, to work on his eyeshadow.
He can still clearly remember it. The day he signed his self to an alpha for the sake of his company.
“So, the rumors are true?” Wade said, looking straight at him. “I thought it was all bullshit. But it seems true, seeing you now here, huh, Mr. Taylor?”
Klyde fiddled on his fingers. He can sit on the visitor’s chair in front of Wade’s huge table but he doesn’t want to be even more close to the man. Wade didn’t even bother invite him to sit either. He just stood in the middle of the spacious office, can’t even bring himself to meet the man’s eyes.
“I need your help,” Klyde said. He is unconsciously making himself look small, but his voice is still steady with practiced ease from thousands of conferences and media interviews he’s been through throughout his entire career.
“Apparently. What do you suggest?”
The silence was loud. His eyes darted from every corner of the room, determined to not meet the man’s eyes. He eventually sighed, taking the courage to meet his eyes. Then—
“Marry me,” Wade said. His pretty face is a blank mask, eyes void of emotion. He looks powerful just sitting there, the floor to ceiling window behind him giving a clear view of the city below them. His scent is coating the whole office, oddly enough, it doesn’t make Klyde want to throw up.
“What?” Klyde asked, eyes wide and clearly dumbfounded. That’s not what he asked.
Wade merely cocked an eyebrow at him, challenging.
“Marry me,” he repeated.
“Can’t you just help—”
“And what do I get by helping you? Tell me, Mr. Taylor,” Wade asked, eyes piercing. His knees felt weak at the sudden urge to submit. For some reason, he suddenly looks much more intimidating. He smirked when Klyde remained silent, eyes downcast. He was used to seeing the omega always with his head held high, be it in a business party or conferences. Seeing him so submissive like the omega that he should be is definitely a first. “I heard your own people decided to screw you. What do we get from that?”
Silence.
“You handle chains of hotels, right? I must say that’s impressive. You managed to make your company grow over the years,” Wade said, licking his lips. His posture is too relaxed for Klyde’s liking. “Our companies would do great if merged. I handle hotels and travel agencies too after all. I’ve been looking to merge actually; this is a perfect timing. You’ll benefit a lot too. You’ll have an alpha beside you. They will no longer look down on you. So, what do you say?”
Klyde bit his lip, contemplating. Although it’s very clear he does not have much to really think about. The alpha is right. Fuck, he is so right.
“I need your answer quick, Mr. Taylor. There will be a contract of course,” Wade said, impatience coloring his tone. “Two years. The marriage will last for two years. This will make our companies merge.”
“Fine. Two years then. After that we’re done.”
Everything was utter chaos after that. Their “engagement” was the headline of every publication there is for months. Their faces on the front page of every newspaper. Of course, who wouldn’t be curious about the sudden engagement of the two top businessmen in the world right? The media camped in front of their houses and only left when police came to disperse them. People are curious too, how they managed to keep their relationship a secret. Klyde thinks it’s fairly easy, especially when there is no relationship to hide in the first place.
The make-up artist’s voice pulled him back from his thoughts.
“You’re done,” she said, her voice quiet. She’s a beta. Blissfully unaware of his growing anxiety. “I’ll touch it up before the reception if needed.”
Right. The reception. Some members of the media will be there, so they need to act to convince them.
She left the room after that. Now Klyde is left with his thoughts.
Wade and him never really talked after that day. Wade’s secretary contacted him for details of the wedding though. They did not bother to discuss about the wedding themes and that bullshit, it’s not a matter of importance anyway. His subordinates processed it for them, and now here they are three months later. They will sign the contract after the wedding and he is already dreading it. They obviously will not mate, what with the nature of their marriage, but he’s still nervous. If someone was in the room with him right now, they would be suffocated with how his scent has turned sour from anxiety. He slowly inhaled in hopes of calming his nerves but the anxiety only grew.
A knock resounded in the small room before the door opened revealing his secretary.
“We should go.”
He exhaled a shuddering breath. This is it. The independence he worked on for the past years will just end in a snap today. He swears to find the people who screwed him over once he manages to regain his company’s financial capabilities, he will make sure to make them suffer. But first, he has to save it.
The clicking of the heels of the boots he is wearing is loud in his ear. He is quiet the whole ride to the church. He is also quiet as he stood behind the closed doors of the church. He looked at his secretary who stood beside him. She is handing him a bouquet of flowers, a variation of flowers he could not name as his mind is too busy swimming in thoughts to register their appearances. He quickly fixed the blazer of his navy-blue suit jacket before reaching for the bouquet. Preparing himself for the show he is about to step on, he released a heavy sigh for the last time, plastered a what he hopes is a convincing smile before the door finally opened.
Flashes of maybe hundreds of cameras greeted him. He is sure a music is playing in the background but he is too busy listening to his own heartbeat to care. He cannot even appreciate how pretty they decorated the church.
He slowly met the eyes of the people standing to watch him. He knows most of them, some he got acquainted with in a business party, some are family friends and some he assumes are Wade’s business partners. Family. Funny, his parents would have applauded him for “securing the bag” for this one. But he cut them off years ago, when they tried to marry him off to some rich alpha. Too much for cutting them off when he is basically doing what they wanted to do before right now. But this is for the sake of his company. He repeats it in his head again and again. For the company.
When he finally reached the altar, Wade reached out his right hand to him. Klyde looked at his hand and suddenly, he is bombarded by the reality of the situation. He is actually getting married today, there are more than a hundred of people watching their every move and he is giving away his independence for the sake of his beloved company. He felt a lump in his throat and tears stung at the back of his eyes. Wade must have seen his struggle as his eyes turned soft for a split second Klyde thinks he might have imagined it with how desperate he feels at the moment. Wade pursed his lips and gently took his right hand. His hand is warm compared to his almost icy one. He stood beside him, eyes in front as the officiator began to say things to start the ceremony.
The ceremony flew by with his mind somewhere else. He became too busy drawing steadying breathes so he won’t come down with a panic attack in the middle of his wedding. He can excuse his scent as anxiousness, everyone gets nervous for their wedding, but not a literal panic attack. That would be embarrassing and the media would catch up with the true nature of their situation.
He was pulled off of his thoughts when he felt Wade gently squeeze his hand.
“Klyde Rehan, do you take Wade Ashton to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love and cherish him, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him, for so long as you both shall live?
The heavy beating of his heart was loud in his ears.
His eyes met Wade’s for a brief second before he looked ahead. This is it.
“I do.”
Everything was a blur after that. He almost did not register the kiss Wade gave him at the ceremony. He looked at him shocked after, but Wade only caressed the apple of his cheeks gently before averting his gaze. His expression doesn’t give away anything he felt. His scent too, it remains neutral. He wonders how the man can remain calm.They posed for the cameras, accepted tons of congratulatory messages from different businessmen present before they finally managed to get in the car that would take them to the reception.His scent remained anxious the entire ride, the driver giving them curious looks nonstop that Wade even lowly growled at him in irritation.The reception is a noisy affair. Different businessmen and family friends approached them, giving their congratulations once again. Klyde lost track of time as he quietly downed glasses after glasses of wine continuously. Wade was talking to a business p
He knew he was wishing for the impossible but he still felt disappointment tug at him when he woke up in the same room. He sighed before slowly getting up.He expected Wade to be already gone, probably already signing documents after documents in his office. It surprised him to see him sitting on one of the sofas in the living room, sipping coffee. His brows are furrowed while reading a newspaper. He gently placed the cup of coffee on the coffee table, beside a small brown envelope.Wade must have smelled him or sensed his presence, but his eyes drifted to him and he slowly folded the newspaper and placed it beside him on the sofa.“Good. You’re awake,” his voice sounds extra rough in the morning. “Take a seat.”He gestured to the single sofa in front of him. Klyde quietly sat down. He suddenly feels conscious under the man’s gaze. Wade is already dressed in his sm
The board room was quiet when he entered, but he heard some of them audibly gasp when they saw who was walking behind him. He felt a small tug of disappointment, he hates how they are so open about how they don’t really respect him, especially now that his company is in the brink of danger. They were at least trying to be subtle before. But now that they know they all have power over him, they are all showing him outright disrespect. They were all standing up by the time they made their way to the front of the room. Mr. Wong was standing far back, and he has a suspecting look on his face. Klyde roamed his eyes around the room, making sure to meet everyone’s eyes. He wants them to know that he’s not affected by what’s happening. He hopes his front is convincing, because he feels so fucking terrified right now. He has to physically stop himself from fiddling with his fingers because of how nervous he is. His head turned sharply to his left
Wade did not let go of his wrist until they were in the safety of his office once again. The ghost of his touch leaving a warm sensation on his wrist.“That was embarrassing,” Wade started before he turned to look at him; eyes void of emotion. The door of his office clicked shut behind them.“They won’t take you seriously if you continue to act like that. Was that how you built this company? You look weak and afraid all the time.”That, that hit a nerve.Klyde straightened his posture and bravely met his eyes, blood boiling.“You don’t know anything. You don’t know a thing I did to build this company, so don’t talk to me like that,” he spat out; venom in his voice.“Exactly. I don’t know anything. But with how you acted today, how do you think that looked to me?” h
Everything was like a déjà vu. He woke up to the sound of his secretary’s voice calling his name. He didn’t even know he fell asleep. He is hunched on his table, arms on both sides of his head, right hand still holding his pen. His right cheek is squished on his table and he had to hold the papers down as he straightened to sit up. He groaned, eyes squinted as he looked blearily at her, standing in front of his desk. “Yeah?” he yawned. His body feels so heavy. The breath coming out of his nose is warm, too warm. His eyes stings in a way that it does when you have a fever. Fuck, does he have a fever? He stretched his arms above his head, getting rid of the kinks. “It’s past 10 in the evening, Sir. You might want to go home.” He turned his head sharply at that, a bad move. His vision is swimming, the world feels unsteady on his feet even as he sat. He feels like shit. “I’
tw// panic attack, mentions of panic attackHe stared at the note in his hand, contemplating whether he should really go down to eat. Frankly, he doesn’t think he has the stomach to eat as he still feels like shit, refreshed but still shit, even after that shower. But he figures if he wants to recover faster, then he really needs to eat. He sighed. He walked to hang his towel back to its rack, before walking out of his room.Now when the note said there was food downstairs, he kind of expected a take out placed at the kitchen table or counter. Food he can just bring to his room so he can eat peacefully. He definitely did not expect for it to come in the form of Wade Ashton, wearing a black sweater and a pair of grey sweatpants, topped with a baby blue apron.Klyde stopped on his tracks, shocked at the sight that greeted him. This is the first time, ever since they got married, that he saw the alpha in a casual fit,
What he expected to be a one-time thing happened again the next morning, and then the next again, and then the next until waking up to the sight of Wade cooking in the kitchen didn’t look unusual anymore. It’s the fourth day, and now he just automatically slips and perches himself on a stool by the kitchen counter to silently watch him cook. It’s the fourth day of him being absent in the company too, and he’s in constant worry. He wonders how everyone is doing there, what’s happening and their current state. He tried to tell Wade multiple times that he’ll be fine to go to work but the alpha only just looks at him dead in the eye, and it effectively makes him quiet. He huffs every time it happens. He’s also worried for the alpha’s work. He, too, hasn’t been going to his company to work for days now. Isn’t he worried? But then again, he had established his company for years. Wade surely has confidence in his workers, something Klyde lacks, especially now that th
Klyde’s heart is hammering in his chest as he sees the familiar sight of Wade’s building. It’s quite far from his so he had to drive to go there. His hands are sweating on the steering wheel, he took his feet off the pedals of his car as he can’t stop them from fidgeting. He’s been taking deep breathes too, but he can’t seem to calm down.But how is he supposed to calm down, his mind supplies. His husband, contract husband, just called him to inform him that his pack wanted to meet him! How is he supposed to calm down?!Packs aren’t really that common nowadays, but not rare either. Wolves evolved from living in packs to carrying on their own. Packs are not necessarily supposed to be family related; it’s usually just made up of wolves who find deep connections with each other. Klyde never had a pack, his family doesn’t count. So, he’s freaking out with the thought of meeting one toda