Word Count: 1962

~Onyx

"So, how are you enjoying my daughter?"

My hand tightens on my tumbler as I take a long, purposeful sip of my drink. Apparently, ageing alcohol like this is supposed to make it taste better, and yet I'm left with a repulsive taste in my mouth.

Or perhaps that's because of who is sitting in front of me.

"We are doing just fine," I bite out.

Violet's father, Joseph, arrived this morning. Apparently, he didn't get enough time to irritate me my entire childhood, so he's here now, three months after the wedding to do his due diligence.

"It's a shame she isn't yet pregnant. The Pack is eagerly awaiting their heir," he proclaims from the other side of the table.

My stomach churns at the way he feasts on the canapés my mother's assistant brought us. Apparently, when he was my father's political advisor, they would have meetings in this old dusty room together.

"They will get one. In time," I respond calmly.

"Asking people to wait for their contingency is a dangerous game, Alpha," he notes, pointing a grubby finger at me.

"I understand you were once my father's advisor, Mr Winter, however, you are not mine," I say sternly.

He used to scare me when I was younger. He and my father were a formidable pair, and I swear Mr Winter was the one behind all my punishments.

I once heard him tell my father that scolding me so viciously, occasionally hitting me, was going to make me a stronger Alpha.

The man laughs roughly. "Things would be a lot different if I were."

Considering my father lost considerable territory - that I had to fight to get back - under his advisement, I would say I'm doing better off.

"This Pack is doing better than it ever has. Under my father's reign, we lost territory. Under mine, we have gained, and we have strengthened on all fronts. Security, Pack relations and unification," I tell him. "I did that."

"And yet no heir. No heir means everything you have worked for means nothing." He stretches his arms out, smiling like my downfall pleases him.

"We are...working on it," I say uncomfortably.

I really don't want to be talking about the lack of sex going on between myself and his daughter...

"The wedding was three months ago. Three," he reminds me. "My wife and I had Violet's brother within weeks."

I sigh through my nose. I doubt the poor woman wanted it, and unlike him, I'm not going to force Violet into doing something she doesn't want to.

I shrug. "It is out of my hands."

"An impotent Alpha. How tragic." He laughs again before shoving a cracker with cheese and herbs on it into his mouth.

My jaw hardens.

"You have no right to speak on what you don't know."

"If this is about love, I would advise putting such ridiculous notions to the side." He waves his hand about. "If you must, envisage that whore of a mistress you had and get the job done."

Something in me snaps.

I stand slowly, never releasing Joseph from my stare. He has the decency to look frightened for a moment, realising he spoke out of turn one too many times.

No one mentions Sienna like that. No one disrespects my wife, either.

My fingertips drag against the polished surface of the table as I round it. Burning irritation throbs in my chest, built up after all these months.

Mr Winter presses his back against his chair, a frown burying itself between his brows. "What are you going to do son-"

In one swift movement, I rear back and punch him as hard as I can across the face.

He immediately lurches off his chair, hitting the wood floor. Blood splatters from his nose and mouth onto the surface, satisfying a deep, demented part of me.

"I have nothing more to say to you."

I force myself to turn, to walk out. The only thing that satiates me is his pained groaning, which makes the consequences of this very worth it.

What can he do now? He has no power here.

I rush upstairs, shaking my fist. My knuckles will bruise and people will ask questions. Mr Winter, unwilling to ever admit defeat, will likely skulk out of here like nothing happened.

Closing my bedroom door, I pace across my room.

Pent-up energy burns inside me. It's in my stomach, entwined around my ribs and in my throat. More importantly, it's in my hands.

Sitting at my desk I rip a piece of paper off a pad and lay it in front of me, grabbing at a pencil.

This exercise is pointless, but I need to get these thoughts out of my head.

Sienna,

I miss you. I don't know what else to say. I miss you.

I wonder whether you read these letters, or if you don't bother to open the envelope. I wonder if you and Kayn sit around and laugh at my unrequited feelings.

I don't care. I need you, Sienna.

Every day I regret not doing more than I did the night you left. I regret not telling you how I feel, I regret not taking action.

I wish I weren't me. An Alpha. I wish I were just a man, and I could have who I want to have.

Please come back to me. Please.

Onyx.

***

~Sienna

Stifling a yawn, I stretch out on the couch, cuddling up under the blanket.

Yet another night where Kayn isn't home. If I'm honest with myself, these are my favourite kind of nights.

Kayn and I's relationship is tense. It's hardly a relationship anymore, and at this point, I'm looking for my own place to live alone.

I gaze at the dead fire, feeling my eyes grow wary. I should really light it, as the nights have been cooler recently. Especially if I plan on sleeping out here tonight.

Setting down the papers I was drawing on, I crawl toward the fireplace.

I carefully set some kindling amongst the ashes before reaching for some old newspapers that are no doubt littered with Onyx's face.

Instead of focusing on the latest headline, I notice a smattering of burnt paper amongst the ashes.

Frowning, I pluck up a random piece of paper. It appears to be a handwritten note or letter, and the handwriting is painfully familiar.

I frown, laying out some of the scraps on my palm.

Some have a few words still handwritten on them.

'Back to me.'

'You, Sienna.'

'I wonder if'

My held breath burns in my lungs as I let the pieces flutter back into the fireplace. Not caring for my hands, my clothes, I start desperately digging for more pieces of paper, but I find none as large.

That is, until one piece catches my eye. Its charred edges hide a lot, but not enough.

It's Onyx's name. Printed in his handwriting.

A sob escapes my throat.

This is a letter he wrote to me. A letter I never recieved. It's lying in unrecoverable, burnt pieces, his words lost forever.

Footsteps on gravel sound from outside, signalling Kayn's arrival home from work.

Stuffing the paper into my pocket, I scramble up. I barely have time to swipe the tears from my cheeks as the front door opens.

"You're home," I greet, my voice cracking.

Kayn barely glances up at me as he kicks off his boots. I shove my ash-covered hands behind my back, feigning a smile.

He burnt it. Kayn burnt Onyx's letter to me.

"I've come home earlier than I expected to get ready," he mutters gruffly, hanging his coat on the hook before he looks over me.

I frown. "For?"

"The party tonight. The one where my mother is going to announce the new business expansion," he says. Recently he's been using a harsh, condescending voice around me.

He clearly thinks less of them. He thinks inferior, a mere annoyance.

"You didn't mention anything on tonight," I bring up.

"Well I am now," he snaps, finally getting a good look at me. "Why are you covered in ash?"

"I was sweeping the fireplace," I excuse quickly. "I was hoping to stay in tonight. I have an order for a dress and the bodice is incredibly intricate."

I've been growing wary of the functions he takes me to. He carts me around, never sharing more than a handful of words with me, then makes jokes amongst his friends about me, like I'm not standing right there.

"I don't care, Sienna," he mutters, brushing past me.

"But-"

"You're coming. I can't be seen going to such an event alone," he snaps. "I've had a hard day and I really don't feel like dealing with you right now."

I swallow my anger. I've learnt that exploding back at him only leads to a horrible fight and days of silent treatment.

"If I'm honest, I don't like going and being hounded for an answer to your engagement question," I say carefully.

He looks at himself in the mirror above the fireplace, ruffling his hand into a position that pleases him.

"Then say yes and it will stop."

"I can't...yet."

I'm going to run out of excuses soon. I'm putting it off because I've been considering moving, I just need to make sure I can make a clean exit from here.

He looks at me. "I need a wife to take over the business, we're in love. What's the problem?"

Love. I'm not entirely sure he understands the concept.

I do. Intimately. I've felt what it's like to be in true, deep love.

"Your mother is giving you impossible demands because she doesn't actually want you to take over the business," I blurt out before I can even comprehend the thoughts spewing from my mouth.

Kayn pauses, before he slowly turns his head in my direction.

Oh fuck.

"What did you just say to me?" He seethes, his expression murderous.

I squeeze my lips together so I don't say anything else to inspire anger in him. We both just need to cool off and get some space from each other.

He doesn't seem so interested in that notion, as he steps toward me, slowly and deliberately.

He doesn't stop until he's so close I can feel his breath against my face, looking over me with a furrowed brow.

"Don't...Kayn, you're making me uncomfortable." I step back, but he matches it forward.

"Oh am I?" He cocks his head. "You think I'm a fucking failure, don't you?"

I frown, shaking my head vigorously. "No, I don't-"

He leans down so our faces are level, so close our noses are almost touching. "Say it. Tell me how you really feel. See what happens."

All I can do is gape at him, my heart in my throat.

For all the time I've known him, I haven't been this physically scared of him. I've never thought he would hit me. Sometimes he yells or makes me feel small and helpless, but I get the feeling that if I push him, he's going to hit me.

"I'm sorry," I whisper meekly, lowering my gaze.

"Get dressed. I'm sick of looking at you like that," he sneers, slowly backing off.

I release a long breath as his attention shifts to me.

I need to get out of here. I need to go back home.

🖤••🖤

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~Midika 💜🐼