The Alpha's Mistress

81

Word Count: 1953

~Sienna

I stare out at the sea, waves lapping at my ankles.

Our marriage ceremony passed by in an impossibly fast blur. Everyone gathered on the bed and watched Onyx and I share vows and kiss. Finally, he slid my ring onto my finger knowing I don't have to take it off again.

Now, people are partying further up the beach, getting ridiculously drunk while dancing haphazardly to loud music.

I smile back over my shoulder, watching my friends and who I consider family enjoy themselves while I catch a breather.

Onyx strolls over, his hands seated in his pockets.

He's ditched his jacket, wearing only a white button up. Most of the buttons are undone, and his sleeves rolled up. The slightest sheen of sweat has gathered on our skin from when we were dancing earlier.

"I didn't get a chance to tell you, but you look absolutely beautiful," he murmurs, dragging his gaze over me, heat simmering in his eyes.

"I made this myself." I lay my hands on the bodice before giving him a pointed look.  "But you already knew that."

He laughs lightly, the sound blending into the rhythmic pull of the docile waves up the beach.

"You have no idea how badly I wanted to see you in this," he admits, picking up some of the fabric, running it gently though his fingers.

I turn to him, smiling warmly. "I guess it's officially official. We are married."

Technically we've been married for a month now, but it feels real now. This day has been perfect, and now all I want to do is drag my mate into bed, have my way with him and then slumber to the sound of the waves.

Onyx looks over his shoulder at the cluster of people dancing. "I'm sorry Christian is here. I didn't know Alex would bring him."

I follow his gaze. Christian and Alex are pressed closed together, dancing. The smile on Alex's face makes my heart ache, knowing the ruse she is subjected to. Christian looks unnervingly happy to, twirling her around over and over until she stumbles into his, laughing hysterically.

"She didn't know, and it doesn't matter." I straighten. "Nothing could ruin this day. It's been perfect."

My mate pulls me close, cradling my face in his hands.

"Was this everything you dreamt about?"

I raise my chin a touch. "Everything and more."
 
He lowers his mouth to meet mine, kissing me delicately. My hands smooth over his shoulders before my arms link around his neck as I deepen the kiss.

A cold, prickly feeling creeps over my skin as I become aware of someone standing close by, watching us.

Pulling away, I see Christian standing by.

"Sorry to interrupt," he muses, looking at Onyx. "Mind if I chat with your bride?"

Onyx's jaw tightens as we exchange a glance. He's checking to see whether he should step away or punch Christian square in the face. My brother doesn't yet know I know about his ruse.

"Sure Christian," I say after a long moment of tense silence, still holding my mates gaze. "I'm sure he wants to talk about Alex."

Onyx looks between us both before he sighs roughly. I can tell he wants to stay, but Christian isn't going to say anything with him watching on.
 
He pulls away, but not before giving my hand a comforting squeeze. "Right. I'll see you soon."

Christian and I both watch as he walks up the beach and joins a cluster of people who rush to speak with him. I swallow thickly, hating the weight of my brothers presence.

"This was a beautiful ceremony." He pauses to take a sip of his drink. "I can see how much he adores you."

There is something disturbing in the way he says that. It's not a compliment, but a blatant observation that he clearly doesn't favour. He speaks as if adoring someone is a boring concept he has no interest in.

"It's mutual," I respond tightly.

"I imagine he told you all about me." The curve of his lips turns sinister. "Sister."

I shudder. The veil has dropped, all pretences vanishing. There is no forced and uncomfortable politeness between us anymore.

"Did you write those letters?" I questioned in a hushed voice, my heart beating in my throat.

He doesn't respond for a moment, staring off at where the moon is seated in the night sky. Torches blaze behind him, casting vicious shadows across his face.
 
"Aren't you going to ask how we are related?"

"I think that's fairly obvious. You are definitely not my mother's son," I growl.

He embodies so much of Zion. If the Alpha finds out about Christian, there will be no doubting the relation.

Evil must pass down from him. I can only imagine how much of it flows through my veins.

"No, I'm not." His free hand slides into his pocket. "Long before our father met and married your mother, he had a lover. No one knew of her, which was very much his intention."

I wrap my arms around myself, feeling a chill despite the balmy night. "Is your mother..."

"Still alive?" He raises his brows. "Oh yes, she is very much alive. However, she didn't tell our father about me. She became pregnant and disappeared, just like that. She made sure he would never find her, or her son."

She sounds like a smart woman. She did exactly what my mother did, but early enough to spare Christian from Zion's wrath entirely.

"She made the right decision," I say carefully.

His expression shifts, features contorting into a violent rage. His knuckles pale as they tightly grip the stem of his glass, the sight nearly making me take a step backward into the sea.

"She stole away my right to power," he hisses.

I exhale through my nose. "Why are you here? Why send those letter, why threaten me?"

He takes a step toward me, so I take another healthy step back. Sand pulls away under my heels as the waves slosh around my calves. The hem of my dress tangles in the white wash, swirling around me in a slump of white.

"Because the truth matters, sister." I can hear how tightly his teeth grind against each other.

"If the truth matters, why are you using my friend to get to me?" I bring up.

I look up at the beach. Onyx is in a conversation with Alex, trying to distract her from running down the beach to join us. Every few seconds he looks over his shoulders, concern burying his brows together.

"Onyx is a monster." His eyes appear black in the darkness. "Do you know how many people he has killed, how many people have died because of you?"

My mind immediately traces back to Kayn, but I quickly shake away thoughts of him. I can't bear to consider what Onyx did to him, after what he did to me.

"He doesn't kill without cause," I exclaim tentatively.
 
Christian angles his head. "Does that sit right with you?"

I suppose I don't allow myself to think about it often. Onyx has always been fiercely protective of me, but he isn't a cruel person. He embodies his father as much as Christian embodies his.

"You have blood on your hands as well." I keep my voice low, but the rush of anger behind every word is unmistakable. "All those innocent girls...you killed them to get to me."

He doesn't even flinch, unbothered by the reminder of his past transgressions.

"All you had to do was tell the truth. I would have spared them all," he says with a shrug, draining the rest of his glass in one sweeping move.

"How noble of you." The edges of my words shudder. "Onyx could have killed me."

Christian laughs bitterly, as if I told a joke.

"We both know he was in love with you for years. It would take a lot more than being his enemies daughter to have him turn against you." He raises his empty glass to punctuate his words.

I reign back my quiet horror. How long has he been watching me? How long did it take for him to realise Onyx has feelings for me when even I was too blind to see them?

The thought of him being there, lurking...he was always watching, waiting for the right moment to strike.

"If that is the case, why make me tell him at all?" I ask breathlessly.

"He needed to know where you truly belong." For a moment, he looks almost pitiful. "This isn't your pack, your land. He doesn't deserve your alliance, your political weight."

"I don't want Zion's land," I tell him firmly. "If you want your claim to power, go get it. Rumour has it, he's looking for an heir."

Christians teeth flash white as he grins. "Oh we'll get to that, don't worry."

It wouldn't be ideal for Zion to secure an heir, but it would get him off my back. Perhaps he would leave us alone, but I get the feeling Zion isn't going to be settled until he gets his revenge.

"What are you waiting for, then?"

"I've never really had a family, sis." He looks over me, trying to find similarities between us. "I think it's time to enjoy our familial bond. Especially now that everyone that is out of the way that needs to be. Well, almost everyone."

I swear for a moment, my heart stops beating.

"What does that mean?"

He steps forward, and this time I don't have the strength to step back further into the shadowy abyss of the cold sea.
 
"I think once we get back, when can go down into the valley where the river winds through. Someone told me about a special place there that I'm thinking about visiting." His voice drops to a cold, smooth whisper. "It's time to bask in my victory."

The entire world stills. The music slows to a dark, dull thump in my ears and the world almost pitches to the side. It takes everything in me to stay standing, as my legs become wary and my stomach tightens in a painful cramp.

This can't be happening. This can't be real.

"I...I have to go."

I push past him, forcing myself up onto dry sand. I can barely hear anything above the rushing of blood between my temples. The familiar grasp of grief rises as I stumble, coating my bare feet in warm sand.

"Be careful, sis," Christian warns. "Tell Alex, and I kill her."

The wet hem of my dress feels heavy as I dash up the beach toward the celebration. People are so drunk they barely notice my stricken expression as I approach my mate, who is already rushing across the beach to meet me half way.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asks, grabbing a hold of my arms.

"Christian, he...he—" I point weakly toward the beach, trying to reign in my frantic breaths that are about to pull me into a panic attack.

Onyx follows my pointing, his eyes darkening. "He what? Did he hurt you?"
 
"No, Onyx." I squeeze my eyes shut, my voice strangled. "I think he killed my mother."

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