It was settled.

According to the agreement her father had entered into over a decade ago to save the tavern, Autumn North would be mated to Simon Montague, Beta of the Cross City Wolf Pack. She had successfully prevented having to go through with the arrangement by avoiding Simon altogether and hoping that he’d come to grips that there was nothing she could or would do for him to make him happy or better off.

Quite frankly, she wanted nothing to do with the man. After running around the country, bedding every woman in sight, and testing the waters, Simon had suddenly decided to expedite the mating. She wasn’t having any of it and would do any and everything in her power to have the agreement annulled, but Simon was more powerful than she realized—in both the human and shifter communities. His decision to rush things before she could afford a good lawyer had come right after her dad’s death. And coincidentally, full ownership of the tavern had transferred to Simon.

Autumn pushed the phony-looking documents with suspicious-looking contract terms back across the table to Simon and his cock-eyed lawyer.

“I’m not agreeing to this,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s been changed. The terms have been altered.”

“What you don’t understand, Ms. North, is that it can’t be canceled,” the lawyer replied. “We can negotiate the terms, which is what we’re doing here, but nothing involving the mating or marriage will be nullified.”

“This is bull! All these years, this…” she threw her hands up “…whatever you want to call it could have been done and over with and I could’ve made arrangements to purchase my tavern back and gotten on with my life.”

Like dating and finally committing to a man of my choosing. Of course, she didn’t add the last statement. Her love life or lack thereof was none of Simon's business.

“Simon's a very busy man, Ms. North. I’m sure you understand that and our rules. You’ve been living with a member of our Pack for years now.”

Autumn rolled her eyes.

Simon smiled widely. He reminded Autumn of a Cheshire cat.

“And let’s not mention my duty to my Pack,” he added. “Things have been chaos for us over the past few years and I had a duty to focus on that more than my own mating. Truthfully, I wasn’t certain how this mating could be beneficial, but now that I understand my grandfather’s vision—who was once Alpha of the Cross City Wolf Pack—my focus has been renewed.”

Bullshit.

“Does your other duties include frequent visits to the local strip joint and whorehouse up the street from the tavern? Isn’t that where your focus resided not too recently?”

Simon gave her a sheepish look. “I—”

Autumn held up her hand. “I don’t even want to know because, quite frankly, I don’t care. Couldn’t you have found someone else to mate and marry while your dick was doing the talking for you for the past several years? Why insist on this now?”

“My client owns that strip joint, Ms. North,” the lawyer interjected.

Her annoyance flared. She took a deep breath, then released an exaggerated sigh. “I don’t give a shit. He owns that strip joint and he fucks there. I’m not a dummy.”

Simon's lawyer cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

Simon straightened his posture, dragged his hand up through his red and auburn hair, and bit his lip. “You and I both know that this agreement is unique and uncommon. I have to marry a human to purchase property from the County. You know how that goes already.”

Of course, she did. Her dad had married a shifter two years after her mom died in a car crash. She was well aware of the restrictions placed on their community. She had nothing against them and truly believed they were just as entitled as humans to equal rights in this Country. Other than the fact that they shifted into wolves on impulse, she didn’t believe they were inferior to humans. In fact, her family was one of the first families to welcome shifters into their businesses and homes when their existence had first been discovered. Her dad’s tavern had been one of the few places in this town where both shifters and humans could congregate without hassle. It’s how he’d met their stepmother, Melisandra, who had worked at the tavern for years.

“I get it. It’s plain as day now. You want to marry a human so you can buy the old estate that your grandfather lost before he died. The one he lived in when he was Alpha. The one that was seized by the County. Don’t you?” Autumn asked, and then paused for Simon's confirmation, but he kept a straight face. “I may be a human, but I know a thing or two about this Pack. That estate has been vacant for years. And every time someone comes around to buy it, something happens mysteriously to stop them from closing on it.”

As she processed the circumstances, the missing pieces started coming together. The former Cross City Wolf Pack Alpha had been found dead, and now the Pack was in trouble. With Simon as the current Beta, he had fair claim to compete for the position. Rumors were also going around that Simon had been involved in the extortion of money from other business owners by using his gang of followers to deliver threats if they didn’t comply. Coincidently, he’d probably scrounged up just enough money to buy the estate.

“You have money to buy it back, don’t you?” she demanded.

Simon clapped his hands. “Bingo. And I’ll buy it once we are mated and married. Any more questions?”

Autumn huffed.

“So…” Simon pushed the contract back across the table to her. “Shall we carry on with this?”

“No, we shall not carry on with anything.”

“Your father signed the contract,” the lawyer reminded her.

“According to the laws, a shifter must be married to a human for six weeks before the marriage is considered valid.”

“Exactly,” Simon said. “It’s done all the time. We take a human bride as we see fit to get what we need, stay in the marriage for the duration, and then split up. Assets are then divvied up according to the agreement set in place.”

“But yet the documents here have been adjusted from the original terms of six weeks to one year. The difference in six weeks and one year is outrageous, just in case you haven’t noticed. The contract is re-amendable last time I checked.”

“Revision isn’t an option at this point,” the lawyer said.

“Things have changed since the agreement was worked up. The year-long term was placed there by my lawyer for a reason,” Simon interjected. “I’ll be acquiring more than just the old estate back. I have plans for County and possibly statewide acquisitions. These things take time. Possibly years. But with my team of professionals, I can do it within the year. Finding a human woman every six weeks to marry for money could get costly. I’m at an advantage. I already have a human woman according to this contract.” He smiled slowly.

“You are full of yourself,” she grumbled.

“Why so much hostility? It was my father, after all, who saved that rundown tavern of yours. At the time and despite the questionable return on investment, this agreement between our families was done with good intentions. It was intended that neither party would leave the table empty-handed after the execution of the agreement. I pick the property, you sign, we acquire. Once the year is up, you’ll have your tavern free and clear if that’s what you want. Can we make a deal on that?”

Autumn frowned. “No. We can’t.”

Simon sighed and his shoulders slumped slightly. “Let’s make the most of this,” he said. “Let’s be good friends. Our families were never enemies and we worked together. Didn’t your daddy tell you before he kicked the bucket?”

“I wished that he had realized how much of a jackass you were before he got me into this mess. He never would’ve signed it otherwise,” she stated.

“That’s what you think,” Simon said. “You don’t have many options anyway. You could refuse and renege, but what I know is that your little sister just celebrated her eighteenth birthday. Maybe…”

“You sick, miserable sly bastard.”

He chuckled. “One year isn’t a lot to ask, especially with what’s at stake.” Simon linked his fingers together and placed them on top of the table.

“You’re asking me to be married to you for a year and I can hardly stand being in the same room with you for three minutes.”

“It’s unfortunate that you’re disobeying your dead father’s orders. Although he wasn’t a member of our Pack, he was fully supportive of our ways, including the mating rituals. Now you can either cooperate or I’ll be forced to shut down that little tavern for good, and you’ll never get it back. You won’t be able to send money to your sister for her college bills anymore and that hag Melisandra will be without a job.” He grinned. “And so will you. Stick with me and you’ll be set for life, whether we continue our marriage past the year mark or not.”

Autumn ground her fingertips into her palms. That tavern had been the family’s main source of income for years. If she followed through with her plan B of going AWOL before the mating, her decision would affect more than herself. But here she was between a rock and a hard place and Simon, his lawyer, and the contract was staring her right in the face.

“So, it’s possible that this whole thing could be completed before the year mark.”

“It’s quite possible if you cooperate. Remember, I pick, you sign, we acquire. In the end, what you’ll have is your tavern, debt free. You’re in a whole ass load of debt, by the way.”

She rolled her eyes and pulled the contract toward her. Her gaze ran across the terms once more. She had read the thing over and over again already. She should have known it by heart by now. Everything in her power was telling her to stop, turn around, and flee just as she had planned.

But she picked up the pen anyway.

“I’ll need another day.”

Simon groaned. “Seriously?”

“You changed the terms, and then you forced me here without giving me a chance to call my lawyer. If you’re getting something extra out of the deal, I want something too.”

Simon pointed to his wristwatch. “Time is money. And you do know that I don’t need your written consent, don’t you?”

She glared at him. “Are you threatening me?”

“No threat is required, but a deal is a deal.”

She pulled away from the table and snatched up the contract. “I won’t sign anything as one-sided as this contract here. Give me twenty-four hours to discuss the terms with my lawyer. Stay away from me during that time or I’ll call the County Sheriff and place a restraining order against you.”

“Twenty-four hours…starting now,” he said. “And don’t think about running…”

“I’m not running from my tavern,” she stated, defiantly. I’m running from you.

She half meant it, and she knew it was in her best interest to hold onto what was hers. No matter what it took. If she had to leave this town for her safety, she would. But she’d be back for what was hers.