17

Word Count: 1969

~Onyx

Exhaustion bears on my entire body as I follow Maren into her meeting room.

I've been away from home, from Sienna, for over a week now.

Thankfully, this has been worth it. Maren saw my presence as the threat that it was and offered a deal in exchange for her compliance. It's not ideal, but it's what I need to solidify my Pack borders.

"Well, I suppose this visit of yours was a success," Maren claims, giving me her quintessential smile.

Admittedly, I used to find her quite beautiful. She's only a few years older than me and knows how to command a room. Now I find her features stark and off-putting.

It must be all the years of being slighted by her.

"The covenants of our trade deal will become active within ten days. Until then, I hope you don't cause any trouble." My words are edged with warning.

Our agreement is that she keeps her people out of my territory, and in exchange, I'm allowing her some of my soldiers to station at the other edge of her Pack, right near my enemy.

I garner critical information, more peace and cause some political unrest between two Pack's that aren't mine. I see nothing lost from this exchange.

"Let's hope Zion doesn't see this as an act of war," she sits opposite me across the table.

I've sat here many times, both with my mother and by myself.

Maren has no problem inviting people to her home. She knows the extent of her political immunity and advertises it well. Since we signed papers last night, I had to stay over, although I'm itching to return home.

"The moment one of his people steps foot into my territory, he will learn what I've been preparing just for him over the last few years," I tell her calmly.

Her red-tinted lips curve into a curious smile. "Interesting."

I'm not divulging my plan. I haven't even told my own mother.

Zion and I are not just enemies. Every ounce of my being seethes with hatred at even the mention of his name.

He killed my father.

While at a general peace meeting hosted by Zion, in which all Alpha's at the time were invited to, he slaughtered my father in the middle of the ballroom and had his people crowd around him and clap as he bled out on the floor, gasping for his last breaths.

My mother despises conflict of any kind. She's a peacemaker, a rule follower. She shrunk back and let Zion take his win.

It is up to me to make him pay. And I will, in good time.

"You can tell him that yourself," I taunt.

"What's to say I have any direct line of contact with him?" She feigns innocence.

"I've seen those two emissaries lurking around here. Were they invited, or did they show up at your door, lost and afraid?" I challenge.

She shifts in her seat, having the decency to look a little uncomfortable at the confrontation.

Generally, Maren holds up to even severe scrutiny. She twists her words into beautiful excuses, lacing every sentence with poison.

"I have peaceful connections with every Pack surrounding mine. Being that I'm landlocked, you can understand how necessary that is for me," she replies smoothly.

I don't flinch. "A friend of my enemy is my enemy."

"I'm not sure that's how the saying goes, Alpha." She taps her red nails against the polished wood of the table. "Even so, Zion is not my friend. Neither are you. I remain politically neutral."

By politically neutral, she means she's ready to side with whoever presents the most tempting offer.

The only reason I haven't settled for solid peace with Maren is due to her morals. She has no backbone. She's malleable and it makes her more weak than she realises.

"Let's hope it stays that way." My tone isn't confrontational, but the warning between my words rings true. "The emissaries returned to their home Pack this morning. One alive, the other in a bag containing a very firm message."

Maren straightens, her lips forming a firm line.

"You killed one of them?" She sounds a little breathless.

"It's a tradition Zion and I share," I muse. She narrows her frosty green eyes. "Don't give me that look. He knows it was me."

I'm not interested in war with Maren. Most of her territory blocks mine from Zion's, which is why him and I have gone so long without devouring each other. Maren's Pack would be easy to dominate, but needless deaths would ensue on mass.

"That better remain to be true," she hisses, flicking her dark brown hair back over her shoulder.

I stand abruptly. "I must leave. I've been here longer than I desired."

"Happy birthday, by the way." Maren is in front of me before I can even blink. "I never forget a thing."

"Thank you." I couldn't care less.

"Are you enjoying your new mistress? Or have you always enjoyed her?" She bites coyly on her lower lip, like this is some kind of sick foreplay to her. "Here I was thinking she was just a friend."

She's baiting me. She wants to affirm the legitimacy of my latest union with Sienna.

"Jealous?" I raise my brows.

"Your skills are bed are the best thing about you, Alpha." She tilts her head to the side, looking down my body with a lazy smile as she indulges in sordid memories. "I remember that one night fondly."

My jaw settles into a hard line. I regret that night more than anything else in my life.

I shouldn't have let her get me so drunk.

"Yes, I enjoy Sienna quite thoroughly," I state firmly, giving her no reason to assume I would ever be interested in her again. "And that one night shall never be repeated."

She sighs bleakly before a thought resurrects her smile.

"I'm excited to see her at my ball. Perhaps you'll reconsider if she's invited to bed as well."

If Sienna were actually my lover, she would not be seen naked, in the throes of passion by another person again. Especially not Maren.

"I don't share," I say before brushing past her. "Thank you for your cooperation, Maren. I will see you in two weeks."

Her smile is wicked. "I can't wait."

***

The rock feels heavy in my pocket as I press Sienna's bedroom door open gently.

She's splayed out in bed, her bedsheets rumpled around her ankles, her nightdress hiked up around her thighs.

I frown. She's distressed about something. Insomnia only plagues her when something has happened or when she's anticipating something. When she gets like this, she sleeps restlessly.

I gently wander into her room, the light from the hallway lighting a strip over her head that is turned away from me, her messy hair tumbled over her face.

As I reach into my pocket, she stirs, stretching her arms out over her head. Turning her head, she blinks blearily at me.

"I'm sorry, I woke you, didn't I?" I whisper.

"It's okay," she mumbles, her voice hoarse from sleep. Any tension from my trip away immediately melts as she smiles warmly. "You're back."

I gather her covers in my hand, pulling them over her again so just her shoulders and head are peeking out.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I reach into my pocket. "I just planned on leaving this on your bedside table so you could wake up to something nice."

I pull out the rock, turning it over in my palm so she can look at it. Its edges are sharp, but the face of it is wonderfully smooth.

Her mouth parts in wonder. "What is it?"

"Obsidian. Remember when I told you about Maren's territory being broken up by a large central crater? It was caused by a volcanic eruption many years ago, so you can find this stuff everywhere." I place it into her hand.

She sits up, examining it. She loves nature, and as bizarre as it is to me, that includes rocks and minerals.

"I can't believe it. This is incredible." She runs her fingers over the glassy surface. "It's joining my collection immediately."

I track her movements with my gaze. "Good."

She opens her bedside table and carefully sets it inside, joining a hoard of shells, rocks and dried plants that she apparently gazes at when she is uninspired.

Her smile is so wide and true it cracks through my resolve. I want so desperately to draw her into my arms and kiss her right now.

She throws her arms around my neck. "I love it. Thank you."

I breathe in her sweet scent of vanilla and jasmine, rubbing my hand down the back of her head, feeling the gentle waves against my palm.

"I missed kicking your ass in cards. When's our next game?" I ask as she pulls away.

"Tomorrow. Your birthday." She nudges me. It's not as if I could have forgotten.

She always makes a big deal of my birthday. There hasn't been a year since we became friends that I haven't loved what she has done for me.

"Oh yeah. I almost forgot," I say anyway.

"I didn't. I have a whole thing planned down by the lakeside." She leans back in the bed, stretching out.

I smile. "Of course you do."

Slowly, her smile fades, her lip sliding through her teeth as she considers a thought that has suddenly entered her mind.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She plays with a piece of her hair distractedly. "I got caught in a storm while you were gone."

My heartbeat immediately falters, and I slide closer, grabbing her hand.

"Fuck." I wince, running my hand down the side of her face so I can ensure she's looking at me. "Are you okay?"

She nods vigorously, which tells me this really affected her. "I'm fine. I got out of there before it got too bad."

"I should have been there," I whisper.

Sienna's fear of storms is so deeply entrenched in her being that hearing she experienced one makes me feel sick to my stomach like I've witnessed her being harmed first-hand.

"No, it's not your fault," she says.

"Let me stay here tonight." I nod to her bed. I feel the urge to hug her close and not let her go. I want to feel her hair between my fingers as she falls asleep. I want to feel her gentle breaths against my skin.

"You can't...I mean, I think Kayn is starting to get the wrong idea enough already," she stammers. "And I'm fine. Seriously."

She's not fine, and I can see the temptation to ask me to join her in bed, waring with the more dominant part of her mind.

She doesn't want Kayn to think we are more than friends. I get it.

"Are you sure?"

"Get to bed. You can tell me how your trip went tomorrow." She snuggles into the covers.

I stand, leaning over to kiss her forehead. "Alright. Goodnight, Sienna."

"Thanks for the obsidian," she sings as I make it to the door.

I just smile, watching her turn over till her back is to me. Hopefully, she will sleep just fine now.

I gently close her door before leaning my back against it.

I have feelings for her. Strong ones.

Now, I need to go on pretending like I don't.

💚••💚

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~Midika 💜🐼