86

Word Count: 2948

~Sienna

I look up at the ceiling as I lay down on our bed, my hands resting on my stomach.

Every time I close my eyes, I'm brought back to the alleyway. Christian is there, being held down and strangled by the perpetrator.

I'm there with the knife. The handle is firm and cold in my hand, the blade coated in a light sheen of blood.

I killed someone.

No matter how much I attempt to rationalise my actions, I remove guilt's suffocating grip on me. It's wrapped itself around my neck, restricting my breathing.

Sitting up, I rub my face tiredly.

Once Onyx returns, I'll tell him how I'm feeling, and he will distract me. He's good at making the bad things feel far away as if nothing can touch us while we are together.

I just wish he would hurry up...I know he's speaking to the guards, wanting them to find out what happened to Kayn, but I need him back here with me.

I really hope this mess with Kayn is a misunderstanding.

I hope there's been a mix-up with his cell, and he's been temporarily relocated. I hope he hasn't escaped, or being let out.

He will come for me...I know it.

I shiver, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. The window is cracked open, a cool night breeze drifting through the room. It skates against my skin, brushing my hair back over my shoulders.

It must be some ridiculous hour of the morning. I can feel fatigue weighing me down, begging me to go to sleep. But I can't close my eyes again until Onyx is lying next to me.

Onyx has been gone for at least twenty minutes by now.

Maybe I'm just tired, and being away from him is dragging time along at an agonising pace. He'll be back as soon as he can.

Forcing myself up, I wander over to his bookshelf. Each book is stacked neatly. There are no warped spines or frayed edges. Onyx likes his space immaculately tidy, and his bookshelf is no exception.

The book I got him from the library is lying somewhere with my bag in that alleyway. I'll have to make a mental note to apologise to the library and pay to replace it.

Sliding a book out, I take it to the bed, flipping it open.

I've never understood the appeal of reading. Onyx loves it, but it's a dull past time. I much prefer my illustrations.

What Onyx cares about, however, is what I care about. I need to make more of an effort to read his favourite stories so we can talk about them together. He especially loves mysteries and spooky books that have the hair on the back of my neck sticking up.

I'm not sure how long I'm skimming the pages, but suddenly my head becomes leaden and my eyes droop. My face almost smacks into the centre of the book as my tiredness overcomes me.

That's enough of that, I think.

Closing the book, I slide it back into its spot before turning around. The room feels cold and empty, and my hand is aching beyond belief. Whatever herbs for pain that I was fed by the healers are beginning to wear off.

Wrapping my sweater tighter around myself, I close the bedroom window, sealing off the dark breeze.

Onyx has been gone forever. Maybe I'll go downstairs and beg him to stop interrogating the guards so we can get some rest.

My bare feet pad against the rug-covered floors as I wander down the hallway. The house is deathly still, an unbearable silence gripping its interior.

With Alex gone, Lucia in her wing, and the staff settled in for the night, the place almost feels haunted.

For a while, I stalk around the house, looking for Onyx. I check his office, the dining hall, his advisor's office, his second in commands office, and even the kitchens. No matter where I go, I find no staff, and no Onyx.

Standing in the centre of the empty ballroom, white sheets covering the furniture shoved into the corner, I let out a breath.

Hmm. Maybe I know where he is.

Taking the staff entrance through the kitchen, I rush outside. The sky is wondrously clear now, the stars glittering ahead in a backdrop of pure obsidian.

The sky at night always reminds me of Onyx's eyes. Impossibly dark, but with a glow to them that gives them so much life.

Much to my dismay, I find the barn empty, the light off.

Strange.

My feet drag as I make my way back inside. There's only one person who will likely know where Onyx has headed.

I find Onyx's personal guard, Harry, posted at the front door. Onyx prefers he keep a distance while inside the house, so this is a common post for him. Although, usually at this hour he is on patrol.

He looks up as I hurry into the foyer, silently cursing myself for not putting socks on before I came down.

"Have you seen Onyx?" I ask. My voice barely feels about a whisper, and yet echoes in the great hall. No amount of furnishings can muffle the sound in here with these vaulted ceilings.

He shakes his head. "No ma'am."

I blow out a breath. Harry was my only lead on where Onyx could be.

"I've been looking everywhere for him and I can't find him," I admit, sweeping my hair back with my hand. "I'm assuming since you're his personal guard, you know where he is."

His dark, slightly overgrown brows pull together. "All guards got called to stand at their posts."

"Why?" I ask warily.

It's rare for guards to stand post at an hour as late as this. Onyx believes it is cruel to have them stand still in the early hours of the morning, trying more so to fight of sleep than to guard.

"It is a testing drill we do on occasion," Harry responds curtly, although he seems somewhat uncertain.

I fold my arms over my chest, my fingers tapping against my biceps. "Very early morning seems like a strange time to do be doing a drill."

He pauses, looking uncertain on how to reply.

"I do as instructed, ma'am," he says eventually.

Despite being Onyx's personal guard, he doesn't act as the Chief. He's pretty close to the top of the hierarchy, but there are still a few ahead of him that fed instructions down the ladder.

Unfortunately, those people will be well asleep in the guard barracks on the other end of the house.

"And Onyx asked you to leave him unattended?"

"He doesn't prefer I trail him inside." He clears his throat. "I'm sure he is in his office."

An uneasy feeling crawls across my skin, slow and methodical. Harry is right, Onyx doesn't prefer Harry in his proximity while in the house, but something doesn't feel right.

"I checked there," I deadpan.

"The barn?"

"Nope."

I don't miss the flicker of concern that makes a brief appearance on his usually impassive face. When anything has gone wrong with Onyx, Harry is always calm and collected. Him thinking, even for a moment, that something is wrong, is not a good sign.

"He will be around, Sienna," he assures me. "I'll go look for him for you."

He dutifully buttons the front of his black jacket, righting himself for the search. I can always rely on him to jump into action when he's needed.

"Thank you," I breathe out as he brushes past me. I'm about to make my way upstairs, but a strange thought comes to mind. "Wait."

He stops, turning to face me. "Hmm?"

"Who gave you instructions to stand at your post?" I ask. I'm sure it's one of his superiors, but something tells me it's too strange of an instruction to be made by them.

"Word was spread around by the Alpha, I've been told," he replies.

It wouldn't be completely out of the question for Onyx to do that. Maybe he suspects Kayn really is free, and needs the guards ready at the door, just in case,

"Strange. Well, send him straight to his room when you find him, please. I'll be waiting."

"Of course."

I rush up the stairs, unable to shake the feeling that something more is going on. It's been an hour at this point, and Onyx wouldn't have done anything, or gone anywhere without at least sending someone to update me.

Making it back to the room, I close the door behind me, laying my back flat against it.

I can't overthink this. Not yet. Onyx is going to come up here very soon with a treat from Diane and an apology for making me wait so late for him to return.

But agonisingly slowly, an hour passes by, and Onyx doesn't return.

I'm lying in bed, my knees pulled up to my chest, my mind racing. Where could he have gone? Why would he leave me here?

A knock on the door has me launching from the bed, throwing it open, only to see Harry standing there.

I can't help the swell of disappointment.

"Everything okay?" I ask breathlessly. Harry looks a little paler than usual, and a sweat has gathered on his brow.

"We haven't been able to find Onyx. I've mobilised all the guards and both he and Lucia have been reported missing," he tells me.

My heart plummets to my stomach. "Wait, what?"

"There are places they could have left to, so I wouldn't worry yet," he says carefully.

My hand rests against my chest, my heart thumping against my ribs below. This is bad. This is really bad. Lucia being gone as well as Onyx is only adding to the strangeness of this entire night.

"Onyx wouldn't leave without telling me. Something has to be going on."

Harry adjusts the strap of his weapon secured to his back. "I've sent guards to a few locations he could have gone to. An emergency may have occurred."

I shake my head. An emergency wouldn't be enough to stop Onyx from telling me what's going on. Something has happened to him, and possibly Lucia too.

"You're his personal guard. He takes you everywhere beyond these walls," I respond, my voice raising a touch.

I don't mean to yell at him, but my fear and frustration are building in conjunction to one another.

"I will admit, this is unusual behaviour, but you should not worry yourself yet." He scans the room behind me, as if Onyx may magically materialise there. "There are plenty of reasons this could have happened."

Shaking my head, I wrap my arms tightly around myself.

This wasn't supposed to happen. Onyx left me up here for what was only supposed to be a few minutes. He was supposed to vanish as if he never existed.

"I have a bad feeling," I mutter, nausea building in the depths of my stomach.

Harry scratches below his ear uncomfortably, moving to turn. "I will return with an update-"

"No, I'm coming to look." I step toward him. I have to do something.

"You cannot leave. Not during a time like this." The demand laces into every word, so abrupt it startled me. "It is best you stay here with a few guards outside your door."

Ever since Onyx married me, the guards have been treating me like I'm a fractured piece of glass that could shatter at any moment. If anything happened to me, Onyx would kill them himself.

"I can't just sit here and stress that something has happened to him..."

"There isn't much that can be done about that, Sienna.  As Luna, your safety is vitally important," he reminds me. "To ease your mind, you should know that Onyx is stronger than the average werewolf. He can handle himself."

That does little to quell my nerves. I'm not sure how equipped Onyx can be to fight against a force that he hasn't seen coming.

"I suppose..." I rub the heels of my hands into my eyes until colours flash in the darkness.

"I'll return. Try to get some sleep."

Harry leaves me with two guards who take their position outside my door. I close it softly before slinking to the bed and collapsing onto it.

Please come back, Onyx. Please.

If Onyx is gone, it has to have something to do with Zion. Or perhaps Christian. Or even Kayn, at this point.

Which means if I'm not careful, something is going to happen to me.

Eventually, I pull myself from bed, slipping into one of Onyx's shirts and baggy pants before crawling back under the sheets. Dawn is beginning to crack over the horizon, and soon enough, even my own fear can't chase away my fatigue.

I slumber deeply and powerfully. So much so, that when I next wake, my head is pounding and my mouth and throat are parched.

Blinking my sleep-crusted eyes, I turn my head. It's dark out.

Shit. Did I sleep away the entire day?

My eyes drift close again. I'm so tired, even though I feel as though I've slept for days.

Flopping my arm over, I feel Onyx's side of the bed. It's cold and empty, void of him. My heart aches.

Where is he? Did he leave me here, or has someone taken him? Both options are painful to consider. I don't know how I'm going to get him back.

Distantly, the sound of ancient music drifts from upstairs. It sounds disjointed and uncanny, like nothing I've heard before. I can't imagine who in this household would have that kind of taste.

My eyes snap open.

I'm not in Onyx's bed.

This bed is smaller and harder beneath my back. The room is oddly shaped, and the curtains half pulled over the window have an odd pattern on them that sends me spirally back.

No...No, this can't be happening. This has to be a nightmare.

I'm back in Zion's house.

Launching out of bed, I stumble over my weakened limbs. They feel stiff and unused, my legs barely keeping me standing as I frantically look around the room.

The last time I was in here, I was escaping through the window. It's very clearly been repaired, and now, has three metal bars installed in front of it.

The rest of the room is exactly how I left it.

"What the fuck..." I breathe, spinning around in a circle, taking it all in.

I'm still in Onyx's clothing, which hangs loosely against my frame. This feels like a demented dream, but I can't sense that this is reality.

The music coming from downstairs is too jarring.

How did I get here? Zion's house is across the land from Onyx's. Someone would have had to transport me through Maren's pack, which explains the odd feeling plaguing my body.

I was drugged.

Opening the door, I expect to find a swarm of guards, but the hallway is empty.

Slowly, I pick my way down the familiar halls, listening out for footsteps, for voices. This feels like a trap, but I continue walking through the shadow corridor and down the stairs to the ground level.

The music is louder now. It's coming from the dining hall, and so is the only light in this entire house, it seems.

I pause. Something is wrong. Really wrong.

I should run for the main doors. There are no guards in sight, and while that doesn't mean there won't be any outside, it might be my best chance.

But something pulls my attention back to the dining hall, and to the odd music that has my stomach tightening uncomfortably.

I get the feeling that there is only one way I can go in order to see Onyx again.

With slow, featherlight steps, I approach the dining hall.

The scent of roast venison fills my nose as I approach, along with the clinking of cutlery against a plate. An eerie humming sound is the only other noise than the music that I can hear, shivers drenching my skin.

Once I reach the entrance, I peek my head around to take in the room.

The dining table is stacked with food. So much of it, it almost looks grotesque. The music comes from an old record player that lulls and spins hypnotically.

At the head of the dining table, is Zion. He's sitting on a high-backed chair, ropes pulled around him, pinning him to it. Even his head is propped back, his skin red where the rope rubs against it.

A gag is tied in his mouth, and his eyes are wide and frantic as they meet mine.

Sitting on the other end of the table is Christian. His plate is piled with food, and he hums contently to himself while he eats.

Zion groans, loud and muffled against the fabric gag in his mouth.

Christian raises his head, looking at Zion, then follows his gaze to me. My blood turns to ice as a chilling smile rests on his mouth.

"Hello sister," he greets warmly. "I'm happy to see you've finally joined us."

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