Contract Marriage With Alpha Snow Chapter 401: Difficult Choice

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Chapter 401

~Ryland’s POV~

I ran a hand down my face, staring at my phone for what felt like the thousandth ti. Still nothing.

No reply. No missed calls.

Just silence.

It had been days—no, more than a week—since Tempest had called things off with . And ever since then, she had been avoiding like the plague.

I tried calling her. She ignored .

I tried showing up at her place, but she made sure I never got the chance to see her. She was hurting—I knew she was—and yet she refused to let in.

Her last ssage had been short and cutting.

"Spend this ti chasing after your mate, Ry, and not . Don’t call, see or ssage until you have."

I clenched my jaw as those words echoed in my mind.

But I didn’t want to chase my mate.

I wanted her, Tempest.

Fate be damned, she was the one I had chosen.

And if she thought she could just disappear from my life without a fight, then she clearly didn’t know as well as she thought she did.

I exhaled sharply and grabbed my keys. If she wouldn’t answer my calls, then I would go see the one person who might be able to change her mind.

Crystal.

With a deep breath, I pulled up the number I had managed to get through Zara and hit dial. Earlier on, I called Alpha Ares, asking him for Crystal’s number.

His response was pretty simple—it’s about ti you reached out, mate boy, or else she would have returned to my pack today.

I didn’t know what more to say but thank him.

The phone rang a few tis before a soft, uncertain voice answered. "Hello?"

I cleared my throat. "Crystal. It’s Ryland."

A pause was followed by an unimpressed, "Oh."

She didn’t sound surprised to hear from , but she also didn’t sound thrilled.

I ran a hand through my hair, trying to find the right words. "I need to see you. Can we et?"

Another pause. Then, finally, "Okay."

I exhaled, relieved. "Thank you."

We set a ti and place—a quiet, secluded park on the outskirts of town. Away from distractions. Away from anyone else.

Just the two of us.

And maybe, just maybe, I could figure out what the hell I was supposed to do next.

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~Raven’s Park~

When I arrived, the park was eerily silent. The soft rustling of leaves and the distant chirping of crickets were the only sounds breaking the evening’s silence.

Crystal was already there, sitting on a wooden bench near the lake, her long hair cascading down her back in soft waves.

Her scent invaded my nostrils like a punch to the gut.

Mate.

My wolf roared within , restlessly.

"Mate. Mate. Mate."

I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to breathe. To stay in control.

I had spent days preparing myself for this mont, telling myself that the bond wouldn’t control .

That I had a choice.

But standing here, looking at her... feeling the pull of our connection tightening around like an unbreakable chain... I wasn’t so sure anymore.

She must have sensed my presence because she turned to face , her violet eyes filled with an unreadable emotion.

"Ryland."

I swallowed hard and nodded, stepping closer. "Crystal." For a mont, neither of us spoke. The tension between us was thick, pressing down on my chest like a weight.

I didn’t know what to say. And for the first ti in a long ti, I hated that.

Finally, she sighed and patted the empty space beside her. "You can either join for a sit or stand there. Your choice but I can promise, I won’t bite... yet."

I didn’t know if I should have been thrilled by that invitation but I figured, what more could I lose? I hesitated, then obeyed.

We sat in silence for a while, both staring out at the still water in front of us.

"You expected this to happen, didn’t you?" she finally asked, her voice quiet.

I turned to her, frowning. "What?"

Crystal’s lips pressed into a thin line. "The mate bond. You expected it to feel this way."

I let out a slow breath. "No," I admitted honestly. "I didn’t."

She nodded as if she had already known my answer. "Did you love her?"

I flinched slightly at the question, my eyes studying her. How did she know? Was I so obvious that day? I sighed, but I didn’t lie. "Yes."

Crystal’s gaze didn’t waver. "And now?"

I exhaled, rubbing the back of my neck. "She... she stepped aside for you. Because she believes in the mate bond more than anything else, she didn’t want to be the reason you got hurt."

Crystal stared at for a long mont before nodding. "That sounds like sothing she’d do."

"Yeah." My chest ached. "She didn’t even give a choice."

Crystal tilted her head slightly. "So what are you going to do now?"

I clenched my fists. "I don’t know."

And that was the truth. Because as much as I loved Tempest, Crystal was my mate.

And now that I was here, sitting beside her, feeling the bond thrumming between us like a living thing... I wasn’t sure if I could pull away. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to.

The air between us shifted.

Crystal turned slightly, her eyes searching mine as if she was trying to figure out.

My breathing slowed and I lifted my eyes to look into hers. I wanted to see the truth. How will my decision affect her? But that was my big mistake.

The mont I did, the pull beca stronger. I don’t know who moved first. But suddenly, we were close.

Too close.

Her face was only inches away from mine, her breath warm against my lips.

I saw the hesitation in her eyes—the silent war raging within her, the sa one waging inside of .

And yet... she didn’t pull away.

She shut her eyes. She was brave. And then—she kissed .

The mont her lips touched mine, my entire world tilted. It wasn’t just a kiss. It was the mate bond snapping into place, solidifying like an unbreakable force.

My wolf howled in satisfaction.

For the first ti, I let myself fall.

And I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to climb back out because right now, right here, all reason was tossed to the wind and the only logic was her—Crystal.