The Alpha's Mistress

83

Word Count: 2537

~Sienna

It's late, and I know I shouldn't be out.

Onyx and I have only been home from the beach house for a week, and we should really be concentrating on our plan for what to do about Zion.

But while Onyx is lost in meetings, I've come out to do something nice for him.

I shoulder through the library door, letting the musty smell of old books and ancient dust tickle my nose. The place is quiet as afternoon wanes, only a few people scattered about that don't bother glancing up as I head toward the main reception desk.

The librarian looks up past he foggy glasses, startling at the sight of me.

I'm still getting used to how I'm perceived by people in this pack. My marriage to Onyx has been announced, which has caused a vast amount of confusion as people try to make sense of how I moved from Alston to Onyx so quickly.

I can't bear to hear what they say about me...

"Hi, I was wondering if you knew anything about a book I have in mind?" I ask softly, trying to keep my voice low as people read nearby.

She appraises me quietly, her brows drawing together quizzically. She's assessing me for an uncomfortably long time as I step from foot to foot.

Eventually, she sighs curtly, her eyes dropping to the book log in front of her.

"Fine, what is it?"

I hand her a slip of paper. I wrote down the name of the book the moment Onyx mentioned he wanted to read it again. My hope is that it's here, and I can surprise it with him later tonight.

"It's for my husband. I hope you have it here, he's been talking about it a lot," I explain to her, trying to fill the awkward silence with words I don't need to say.

She pulls the note up close to her face, squinting her eyes before she makes a sound of confirmation from her throat.

"This book looks familiar." She stands, gesturing at me. "Follow me."

By now, some people are watching me before I disappear between the bookshelves. A strange feeling of unease crawls up the back of my neck, making the tiny hairs there stand on end.

I haven't been in public since it was revealed Zion is my father. I'm hoping people are too preoccupied with their own matters to recognise me.

The librarian pauses at one of the shelves, scanning it for a moment before she slides the book out, handing it to me.

"Thank you," I breathe, cradling it to my chest.

Hopefully this book will help Onyx relax some more. Concerns that Zion is going to react to me leaving has been keeping him up at night.

"I saw in the newspaper that you married Alpha Onyx. Congratulations," the librarian states flatly, his gaze sweeping over me.

I'm not sure why I thought she didn't recognise me...I was being too hopeful.

"I appreciate that. It's a relief to finally be married to him," I admit, tucking my hair behind my ear.

Speaking to members of his pack about being with him is difficult. He's a good Alpha, so they are terribly protective of him and who he chooses to spend his time with.

I may carry his heir one day. That is a serious responsibility.

"You went from Mistress to Luna. How did you manage it?" She questions, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Truthfully, Onyx and I were in love with each other for quite some time. He felt a duty to appease his people, but he ultimately chose his love for me over appealing to an ancient tradition," I tell her, painting a weak smile on my face.

Her expression shifts. Her mood is difficult to red, but it's clear she doesn't like me. She's viewing me like I am nothing, like my presence offends her.

"He chose the mate bond," he deadpans.

"Well...he chose me before the mate bond revealed," I rush to add, waving my hand dismissively. "It's complicated."

I'm not going to justify my love for him. The story is too long to tell to someone who clearly doesn't want to hear it.

"Hmm." Without another look, she turns on her narrow heels and walks off down the aisle.

I rest the face of the book against my forehead, releasing a sigh.

This doesn't matter. I've completed my objective for this day and retrieved the book. Now I can return home.

As I turn to leave, a flash of ginger hair makes me pause from the corner of my eye. I'm not sure why something so simple has pulled my attention, but upon further inspection, I see someone I reluctantly recognise.

Down the aisle, toward the very end, Lexa stands, peering at the spines of the tightly pressed together books.

I gape at her silently for a moment.

A flood of emotions crash over me all at once. Seeing her reminds me of the time we brought the woman in for Onyx to court. She wasn't just one of the candidates, but she's also Kayn's sister.

And Onyx killed him.

I should make a run for it. I should pretend I didn't see her and not look back. I've left that part of my life behind now, and nothing productive can come out of a conversation with her.

And yet, my feet are rooted to this spot. I can't help but stare at her and she shakes her head in confusion, her eyes skipping from book to book.

No, I should see how she is doing. It is the right thing to do.

She glances up as I approach, physically flinching as her pale eyes take me in. I imagine I'm the last person she expected to see, and the same goes for me. Last time I heard, she was living in a village far deeper into the pack.

"Lexa. Hello," I greet, hoping my smile isn't wavering.

"Sienna..." She clears her throat, a puzzled look twisting her features.

"What are you doing in this library?" I look around, noting that dusk has rolled in, casting deep shadows through the aisle. "Actually what are you even doing in this village?"

She straightens, adjusting her dress. Physically she doesn't seem to have changed much, but there seems to be a more mature sense about her.

"I'm in this village for the Spring Equinox festival, actually," she says. "I'm in this library looking for a book for my husband."

Husband. I'm relieved to hear that she has married. She was disappointed when Onyx sent her away, and long after, while I was living with Kayn, she seemed to harbour bitterness that Violet was chosen. I can only hope marrying got her away from her poisonous family.

"Funny, I'm getting this book for Onyx." I lift the book sheepishly, hating how taut the tension is between us.

"Ah." She nods knowingly. "You're married now, aren't you?"
 
"I am." I flush. "So are you, clearly."

It feels wrong, after what happened with Kayn, to speak about my marriage to Onyx. I'm not sure she knows what happened between us, but I suspect that considering she grew up with Kayn's abuse, she knows exactly why Onyx chose to kill him.

If he did kill him, that is...naturally I can't help but assume.

"It's very recent. One of my father's matches." She rolls her eyes, sighing. "Technically you're my Luna, I suppose."

I force myself to straighten. "Not technically. I am."

The position still feels strange. I don't feel as though I've earnt it, but I'm ready for the responsibilities.

Lexa nods slowly, considering that. She appears warier being around me. It's almost as if she knows something that I don't.

"I hope you are happier now than you were with my brother," she says softly.

"Very much so," I affirm.

I'm so gloriously happy, it feels wrong to speak about without coming off like I'm gloating. She could have been the one Onyx chose, although that doesn't seem to be why she is so uncomfortable around me.

"I don't blame you." Her eyes appear to glaze over, her mind losing itself in thought. "I suppose I should have warned you about his temper, although it doesn't matter now."

I shake my head. She was a victim of his too. Had she told me what he was doing, she would have incurred her entirely family's wrath.

"I guess not," I mumble.

A light sheen of sweat has gathered in her hairline since our conversation begun. Now she shifts from foot to foot, her eyes darting from the floor, to me, then back again.

"Ah, well this is an uncomfortable topic for me to speak of, but I fear I must or I shall regret it."

I frown. "Go on."

"Has Onyx had Kayn moved somewhere?" She asks breathlessly.

I pause, her words taking a moment to process in my mind.

"Moved?"

"Only yesterday morning the guards went to attend his cell and found it opened. It has been unlocked and he was nowhere to be seen," she rushes to say. "No one can tell me where he is."

I stare at her blankly, assuming I'm mishearing her for a moment. Kayn can't possibly be alive. After what he did to me, Onyx wouldn't have let him go alive. I've settled that thought in my mind, as unnerved as it makes me.

Now Lexa is speaking as if he's alive and well. It's thrown me off.

"Kayn isn't dead?"

"Oh no, the plan was to have him executed, remember?" She angles her head. "His execution date is a week from now."

I open my mouth, then close it again. Onyx didn't kill him...he really didn't kill him.

I'm not sure if I should feel grateful to have learnt this information. Onyx's ease of turning to violence whenever someone acts against me has always made me nervous. Learning that he may have restrained himself is...strange.

"I thought Onyx killed him," I admit.

"I suppose in a way he did." She shakes her head a little. "Have you not spoken to him about this?"

Onyx probably never told me because he wanted me to put Kayn in the past. I'm grateful for that, even if it led my rampant mind to wonder endlessly about what happened.
 
"Are you meaning to tell me Kayn is free from jail?"
 
"I figured Onyx had him moved to another jail for his execution. If he is free, then someone let him out," she says thoughtfully, her brow furrowing.

"I'm sure he has been moved," I rush to say. "I'm sorry, I better go speak to Onyx about this. I'm sure it's a misunderstanding, and you'll be contacted about his whereabouts."

I'm certain Onyx will have the answers. Kayn never had any close relationships — no one except his father would ever have reason to break him out, and he would never risk his reputation for that.

Kayn's misgivings have embarrassed him enough, I'm sure.

"Okay then..." She seems reluctantly satisfied with my answer.

"Bye, Lexa." I turn, ready to depart quickly so I can return to Onyx. I don't think the book I'm bringing back with me is going to be command as much attention tonight as I thought it would.

"Wait." She grabs my arm in a cold grip, turning me around.

Her freckled face is suddenly flushed, a strained look on her face.

"It was always rigged against me, wasn't it?" She breathes.
 
I pull from her grasp, rubbing my arm. "What was?"

"The competition...I was never going to win." Her eyes go from wide and vulnerable to dark and angry in a second.

For a moment I'm speechless, unsure of what I'm supposed to say to console her.

"It wasn't supposed to be a competition, Lexa. It was a selection process," I explain carefully, although even I know that's not entirely true.

At the end of the day, only one person was ever going to win his hand.

"We all saw the way he looked at you. We all knew he was in love with you, and yet we all hoped we could be the one to change him," she growls. "It's not fair. How come you got to have him and I didn't?"

I look down at the golden wedding band on her finger. Clearly her union isn't what she wants if she is still wishing Onyx picked her.

"I'm sorry, Lexa. Had Onyx and I known it was all going to work out like this, that entire affair would have never happened," I assure her. That, I can be entirely certain of.

"I deserved to be Luna, to be with the handsome and caring Alpha. Now I'm with some common man who is paying off his estate," she huffs, her face so red it is close in shade to her hair.

"Look—"

"It should be me taking the book to him, marrying him, and sharing a bed with him." She steps closer, her proximity a threat in itself. "Not you, some common scum."

I flinch. Lexa has never been nice to me, exactly, but she has never spoken so honestly. She means every vicious word, too.

"You're hurt, I understand that." I swallow, taking an uneasy step backward. "Onyx is my mate, Lexa. That cannot be changed."

The darkness spiraling in her eyes is expanding by the second. It's swallowed her entire being, reminding me that she may not be all that different from her brother.

"You deserve what's coming to you," she snaps.

She turns abruptly, storming down the aisle and out of the library. I stare after her silently for a moment, slowly shaking my head.

What a strange encounter. What did she mean when she said I deserve what is coming to me?

Shaking off the thought, I leave the library, emerging out into the darkened streets.

Decorations litter the village as everyone prepares for the Spring festival. I wander down the empty road, taking everything in while hoping I can be present at the festival without drawing animosity from everyone attending.

A phantom feeling suddenly presses into my back. I pause, glancing on my shoulder.

Nothing is behind me aside from the road and a strip of moonlight.

Shaking off the uneasy feeling, I continue on. I can't wait to return home and see my mate. Hopefully, he will be out of meetings and can reserve the rest of the night for me.

I'm almost out of the village, ready to start back up the hill to the estate when a shadow flickers next to me.

I barely have time to glance over before someone grabs me, yanking me into a dark alleyway.

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