The Alpha's Mistress

62

Word Count: 2292

~Onyx

I watch the pair before me, simmering in my anger.

The only reason I came to this ridiculous event was for the chance to see Sienna. Imogen hasn't hosted a ball in over a decade, so this feels like a special kind of torture.

Every Alpha is here, watching the spectacle curiously. Zion stood up before everyone earlier and announced that Sienna and Alston will be marrying soon, explaining that she is his daughter and thus connected to him.

It's...inconvenient. Rage inducing, but mostly inconvenient.

The moment it was announced, confused eyes swept to me. It took every ounce of self-control to not react, even if I wanted to scream at him that she isn't here at her own volition.

Not that it would change anything. No one cares about what she wants, not when Zion exercises so much control.

Now her and Alston dance in the centre of the room, people watching from where they stand against the walls. They can't stop look between me and her, waiting for me to strike.

I could kill Alston. I should kill Alston.

His hand rests on the small of Sienna's pack, his hand clasping hers as he whirls her through people to the sultry beat of the music. He gazes down at her, his smile warn, his eyes never once leaving her face.

I clutch my glass tighter, grinding my back teeth together in an effort to remain calm.

She looks as beautiful as ever, although there's unease etched into her expression that has me on edge. Something seems off about her, and not just because she's dancing with a man she's being forced to marry.

I need to speak to her.

A person sidles up next to me, sipping from a slender wine flute. It's Alex, who I brought to accompany at this odd affair.

"This is so strange," she mutters, watching her friend dance with a sour look on her face.

I straighten, lowering my voice. "There's a lot to be done tonight."

"Tell me what you need me to do."

Alex has been desperate to get involved the moment Sienna was taken away. I know it haunts her that her friend is so far away, with no guarantee she'll ever be able to return.

"Find me one of Zion's guards that I can bribe, but he careful about it. Ask around, but don't be too obvious, alright?"

She nods with pointed determination. "I can do that."

"Good. I need more spies in his territory. Preferably they work close to Sienna or Alston." I look down at her as she scans the room, carefully choosing her target.

As someone who also works in an Alpha's estate, she'll be able to relate better to the staff here. They'll trust her enough to divulge key information I can use in our favour.

"I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Alex."

She vanishes into the crowd, her gold dress blending in with the general splendour of the environment.

Maren will be envious of this display. The crowd is twice as large as any I've seen at her balls, and no expense has been spared. It's almost revolting how much glitter and sparkle there is everywhere, although nothing draws the eye quite like my mate.

Her smile is brighter than all the lights in here combined. She tips her head back and laughs at something Alston says, the sound light and magical, flowing past the music and right to my ears. Her neatly styled auburn hair is gilded beneath the light, and I can just imagine running my fingers through it.

Lennon suddenly appears through the crowd, his eyes conveying all I need to know about his thoughts.

"Well isn't this an interesting turn of events?" He joins me at my side, watching Sienna and Alston.

"Don't even start," I mutter, enjoying the biting sting of alcohol as I take another sip.

"I thought I had finally lost my senses when Alston walked in with her on his arm." He laughs roughly. "Apparently they are getting married."

I pin him with a look. "They aren't."

Just hearing him say that makes it so much harder to maintain my calm. People believe this union between the two is real, that I've lost my mistress to Alston.

As if any part of him is worthy of Sienna's love.

"Yet he's flaunting her around with Zion's approval. No one can stop talking about it," Lennon points out, pointing at a few people whose heads lean close, their eyes on us as they mutter between themselves.

"My misery is amusing, apparently," I mutter.

"What's going on?" he asks. "You can't tell me she's fallen in love with Alston."

My head snaps toward him, an unearthly sound rising from my throat. I've been noticing my calm shatters much easier when someone mentions Sienna and Alston together. I'm assuming it's the mate bond, fraught from being apart from her for so long.

"She hasn't. She's been forced because Zion is her father and he called her back to his pack," I snap. "If Sienna and Alston marry, Zion and his pack with combine. It will be far larger than mine, than any of ours."

I don't mean to be short with him, but I lost my handle on my temper the moment I watched my mate be dragged from my home.

Lennon winces. "Fuck..."

"Yeah, so ready your pack for a political shift across the land," I warn. "I'm going to have Zion killed."

Lennon's eyes flare wide as he faces me, glancing to where Zion lounges with a beautiful woman on his arm. He's too focused on watching Sienna and Alston to notice Lennon and I conversing.

However, I can't be too aware of the guards lingering nearby, observing us with keen eyes.

"You could be starting a war," Lennon murmurs beneath his breath.

"I'm doing this right, Lennon. I'm not taking risks," I assure him. "But I'm getting Sienna back, whatever the cost."

She's paused her dancing now, having been handed a drink to sip at while the music lulls. Alston leans close to her, murmuring something in her ear that she giggles at.

Her smile drops when her eyes venture to mine.

She's been avoiding looking at me since I arrived. I know it hurts her, seeing me and not being able to get close to me without Alston or Zion intervening. So, she averts her eyes, trying not to dare me into striding across the dance floor to claim her as my own.

"You have my support. Maren will side with you if you make it lucrative to her," Lennon says. "And you can strong arm Rhode."

"Imogen likely won't engage, but I'm on good terms with her."

Lennon pats my back. "You're in a good position, Alpha. Don't fuck this up by turning this night on its head."

I frown. "What do you mean?"
 
"You're wound up, you need to let off some steam," he states. "But if you want this to work, don't instigate a war in front of the Alpha's, or you lose all your support."

I roll my shoulders, trying to loosen the tension building in my muscles. He's right, I'm seconds away from snapping. The key is to remain calm tonight, bide my time.

"I won't...even if I don't like where Alston is resting his hand," I mutter, watching as he pulls Sienna into yet another dance, both hands resting on her waist.

"You'll get your revenge. Play this carefully."

Lennon departs toward the exit, no doubt to dote on his wife. He doesn't know how lucky he is to be able to return home with her tonight...

As I watch him approach his wife, leaning over to press a kiss to her cheek, I feel the presence of someone else beside me.

Glancing over, it's Zion, who rests his back against the wall, looking out onto the dancefloor.

"They're a good looking couple, aren't they?" He murmurs, swirling his drink around his glass, the ice clinking rhythmically.

I follow his gaze, knowing that if I look at him too long I'll damn the consequences and kill him right here. I could, too. I have an even placement of guards, and he's physically weaker than I am.

But if I strike, I lose every bit of political leverage I have.
 
"Sienna doesn't belong to you," I grind out.

"She is my daughter after all," he muses. "With Alston she can have power, have a good life."

I watch Alston brush stray hair from her face, a look in his eyes that is painfully familiar. It mirrors a look I've given her many times before.

I look away, pain biting into my ribs. "She is in love with me. She will never submit to you or your lackey."

"I'll have her whipped into shape." Zion's smirk leaves a bitter taste on the back of my tongue. "Whatever it will take."

My fingers tighten on my glass to the point I fear it will fracture and shatter against my skin. Regardless, I remain quiet.

"Are you struggling, Onyx? Are you fighting the urge to lash out," he asks lowly. "Your father couldn't restrain himself either, although look where he ended up."

"The longer I hold back, the sweeter my revenge will be," I respond calmly.

"Stay away from her tonight. I don't need you getting ahead of yourself tonight and getting her pregnant," he growls. "Unless you want to watch her carry your heir to full term before I end its life before it can take its first breath?"

My vision mists blood red. I can envision my around his throat, watching him struggle and gasp for breath while the life seeps from him.

When I don't respond, he loosens a sigh.

"Ah, you're no fun tonight." He waves his hand dismissively. "Enjoy the party, Onyx."

I watch him go. He only came here to antagonise me, hoping I would retaliate so he could seal his triumph. Unfortunately for him, he's going to have to sleep tonight knowing my own plan is in motion.

Pushing off the wall, I decide I need air, only to find I bump straight into Maren, a seductive smile prowling her face.

"Sad yet angry." She adjusts the lapels of my jacket as she pulls in close. "A shockingly attractive look on you."

"Go away, Maren."

It seems no one wants to give me space tonight. They want to revel in my misery and watch the threads of my patience slowly snap. One by one.

She snags my sleeve before I can walk past her, her smile dropping.

"I watch your eyes. They soften when they see Sienna, the longing so raw and palpable you're making me envious of her," she murmurs. "And then I see the volatility in your eyes when they see Alston, and I realise I want in."

My brows draw together. "In on what?"

"Whatever you're plotting against him."

"What's your problem with Alston?" I question sceptically.

I know little about the two's political standing because they tend to avoid each other, even when they are in the same room. I've always assumed she took him about as seriously as I always did.

"All I'll divulge is that him and I have a sordid past," she states, her tone dropping to an unfamiliar seriousness that makes me bristle. "He nearly started a war because of me. He almost killed me, but because he's an Alpha in his own right, I had to draw back on my plans of revenge."

I angle my head, confused. I didn't realise the pair were ever romantic. It seems like a strange notion, and yet makes perfect sense at the same time.

"He hurt you?"

"Alston is an obsessive man. Behind that charming exterior is a monster buried beneath." She presses a finger to my chest. "At first he does the right thing, but once he becomes obsessed with someone, that's it for them."

I follow her gaze to my mate. "You think he would hurt Sienna?"
 
"Probably not. She's too important." She focuses on me. "But if you think the seeds aren't being sown, you're a fool. This will be only the beginning of his obsession."

I figured there was something off about the way Alston gazes at Sienna. He's been fair to her, but he always wants to put an heir inside her, whatever the cost.

"Right now I need him on my side. I can't help you, Maren," I tell her tightly, needing to reflect on what I've just learnt.

"You and I both know you can't see him touching Sienna like that forever, seeing the claim he's laid to her without needing to do something," she purrs. "If you're going to hurt him, now or in the future, I want in."

I study her face, looking for a flicker of doubt of deceptive. Instead, I see fierce determination that I recognise from in myself. Whatever Alston did to Maren, it's enough for her to want revenge.

"I need you to distract Zion so I can have some time with Sienna," I tell her.

She grins. "Oh, it would be my pleasure."

As she approaches the man, I start off through the throngs of people toward my mate.

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