The Alpha's Mistress

67

Word Count: 1876

~Sienna

As our room door closes behind us, I feel the tension slowly bleed from my muscles.

The room may be pitifully cramped and layered with dust, but it's private. Right now, with Alston acting the way he is, that's the best possible thing.

I'm not sure what has turned his mood. He's been progressively getting stranger with his opinions towards Onyx, but since we kissed it's only worsened. I always knew their relationship was tense, but it feels like Alston is on a mission to antagonise him.

"Thank you for staying so calm." I turn to face Onyx who is rubbing his face tensely.

I've never seen his temper be so contained. He's killed people over me before, and now he's facing this problem with grace and ease...

So much can change so quickly. He needs to be like this, lest Alston get what he wants.

"He's trying to bait me and turn you against me," Onyx mutters, sweeping his hands through his overgrown locks. "Just like Zion did."

I wrap my arms around myself, considering the night of Imogen's ball. "He tried, but it didn't work."

I saw through the ploy immediately, but Alston still hasn't fully recovered from being beaten so badly. The litany of bruises and cuts on his face is proof enough of that.

Sometimes I need to remember that there isn't anything Onyx wouldn't do for me, at the end of the day.

"Alston really wants you," he says bleakly.

"He doesn't, he just thinks he does," I correct quickly, not wanting that assumption to spiral out of control. "Once we sign this agreement and we kill Zion, I can get some space from him."

The quiet anger buried deep in his features relaxes into apprehension.

"So...you've decided then."

I clear my throat, sitting on the edge of the stiff bed, trying to ignore the plume of dust lifting into the air from the mattress. The sloped ceiling doesn't make for much room, but we don't need it. We're only going to be here for one night.
 
"It's not an easy decision, but none of this has been easy," I say carefully, trying not to trip over my words. "I think we should take the second option."

Onyx's brows press together. "He gets an heir and we get to marry."

"Exactly."

He rubs his jaw. "I..."

"I know, but if I have to marry him, then for the rest of our lives he would have a claim to me," I insist. "This way he can have his heir and leave us alone."

The decision has been a hopelessly difficult one to make, but I need to push my feelings aside. Sleeping with Alston and bearing his child will be the hardest thing I'll ever have to do, but at this point, it's a necessary evil.

I can't sign my life away to him...if I take the first option, he won't help us kill Zion. I'll lose Onyx, and all I'll have is a tense friendship with a man contributing to my problems, and a father making my life miserable.

This is truly my only option, and I've accepted that.

Seeing the quiet devastation ripping my mate apart from the inside doesn't make this easy. It's clear this haunts him...

"It's just sex," I bring up softly, as if to hide the words under my breath. They don't feel right, tasting wrong on my tongue.

"Sex with my mate." His eyes darken. "He shouldn't even be looking at you let alone touching you."

"I'll try put it off. Maybe we can find another way around this until then," I offer with grim optimism.

He sits down beside me, knotting his fingers together in front of himself. Neither of us believe me, but I need to say something. I've never seen Onyx look so defeated, so impossibly small in the wake of our problems.

"Maybe," he mutters.

"Onyx—"

"Let's not talk about it." He grimaces. "I don't need...if I think about it, I'm afraid of what I'll do to him."

I nod numbly. The raw emotion he's displaying is jarring.

"Don't let him get in your head. You know I love you," I encourage, taking his hand into mine, feeling his grip on me tightly.

He offers a weak smile. "I love you too, Sienna."

Before he can look away again, I rest my hand on the side of his face, keeping his gaze on mine. The sharp planes of his perfectly structured face feel so familiar, tempting me to trace my fingertips along his skin.

"We're going to be married," I breathe, the thought prompting the slightest bit of hope.

"I know." He takes my hand from his face, kissing the top of it. "I should have married you sooner. If I had just stopped thinking about everything else and focused on you, we wouldn't have this problem."

"It doesn't matter." I shake my head, trying not to think about our tumultuous start. "Regardless we're marrying."

The thought of marrying Onyx and particular was always at the forefront of my mind. I would sit up at night, writing nonsense in my journal thinking about how happy he would make me if only he saw me as more than a friend...

Our wedding may tomorrow may not be what I've always dreamed of having, but it signifies how Onyx is going to be mine forever, and I'm going to be his.

Regardless of anything else, I'm excited for that.

"It will happen thing in the morning." He brushes my hair from my face with gentle fingers, gazing at me in such a way that leaves no doubt of how he feels about me.

He's always looked at me that way...if only I was open to seeing it.

I stand off the bed. "I'll go tell Alston about our decision and get the papers."

"Be quick," he prompts darkly, his voice licking over my skin. "I want you at least two times before we sleep."

My smile doesn't leave my face as I silently slip from the room, anticipation to get back to my mate and all the sinful plans he has for me chasing me down to Alston's door.

He calls for me to come in immediately after I knock.

Pressing the door open an inch, I gaze in, pausing instantly as I take in the state of his room.

It's the exact same as Onyx and I's room, but it's been completely trashed. The bedspread is scattered on the floor, the mattress flipped and leaning against the wall. The one armoire is tipped over and the bedside tables are on their sides.

"Alston...what happened?" I ask breathlessly, taking in the state of the place with disturbed awe.

He looks normal, aside from his rampant curls standing in all directions, like he's been pulling at them. He's breathing harshly, his chest rising and falling as he gapes at me.

"Nothing." He squeezes his eyes shut. "It's nothing."

I blink. This does not look like nothing.

"Are you okay?" I ask warily.

"Why did you come to my room, Sienna?" He snaps, his voice otherworldly. His usually resplendent blue eyes have deepened in colour, as if he's been overcome by something.

For the briefest moment I feel a flicker of fear, but I quickly smother it. Alston doesn't seem like the kind of man to ever think about hurting me. He may have his moments, but he's been nothing but kind and gentle to me.

"The decision has been made and we're ready to sign the contract," I announce, leaning my back against the door. "I'll give you an heir."

Shock scatters over his face as he blinks rapidly a couple times. He clearly had no faith I would ever come to a decision.

"You will?"

"Can you please find someone to marry us tomorrow morning? After that you and I will fake marry and we can discuss a timeline for..."

I pause, unable to choke the words out. Pretending this isn't my reality and focusing solely on marrying Onyx is what's keeping me from crumbling, but it's going to chase me down and find me soon enough.

"Conception?" His stare devours me.

I shrug, looking away. "I guess."

"It will be okay." He makes to step toward me, but decides against it. "We'll all get what we want."

"You're not doing this because...you want me, right?" I ask, feeling silly just saying it.
 
"I want an heir to protect my pack and my own interests." His gaze drops to my mouth. "But I would be lying if I said I wasn't...excited."

My heart thumps wildly against my chest as I scramble for the doorhandle. I've heard enough, and we're teetering on a dangerous line right now.

"I need to go." I pause halfway out the door, looking back at him over my shoulder. "Please go don't say anything like this to Onyx, because he will kill you."

"I won't. It's just between you and me," he affirms. He stoops down, rifling through his back before he pulls out a bent flurry of pages. "Here's the contract. Don't forget you both need to sign."

I let out a breath, having nearly fled before taking what I came here for.

My legs can't carry me fast enough back to Onyx and I's room. He's still sitting on the end of the bed when I walk in.

He takes one look over me, immediately sensing my unease. "Everything okay?"

"I got the papers." I set them down on one of the bedside tables. "Let's sign tomorrow."

I need to get Alston and this entire situation out of my head. I have precious hours left with my mate, and I'm going to make the most of them.

"Why not now?" He frowns.

"Because I need you badly." I straddle his lap, feeling the warmth and hardness of his beneath me.

Pressing one hand to his chest, I push him back until he's lying flat on the bed. He looks good beneath me, my body buzzing with desire immediately.

Being away from him has been both emotionally and physically hard. Mates aren't supposed to be apart when their bond reveals, so it's been a tough couple weeks of needing him so badly it hurts.

"You don't want to talk?" His hands rest on my hips, bunching the material of my dress us.
 
"We can have sex now and talk while we recover before we have sex again." I press my hips against his, feeling his arousal beneath me. "We don't need sleep tonight."

He smiles wickedly, his hand travelling up my back. "Come here then, my beautiful mate."

Leaning forward, I claim his mouth with mine, ready to let my worries slip away into the night.

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