Word Count: 2379

~Sienna

Every part of my body aches as I step up to the front door.

Seeing this place again, after months of being away is bizarre. The place seems more imposing than I remember, looking down over the largest village in the Pack, it's prominence reminder all of what kind of Alpha lives within these walls.

I feel out of place, like I'm not a part of this world anymore.

I knock firmly on the thick wood door before stepping back.

It took me all the money I stole from Kayn to get transport back, and a few hours walking by foot back to Onyx's estate. To add insult to injury, it's been pouring with rain my entire journey, and I'm soaked to the bone.

All this to not know whether Onyx even wants to see me.

The door opens a crack, light flooding into the darkness. A shadowy figure appears as I blink to adjust my vision.

"Sienna?"

"Hey Misty," I greet. I knew this maid would answer the door.

She looks startled, at both my appearance and the fact that I'm here at all, especially at such a late hour. I imagine my voice is all she recognised, since my hood is over my head, plastered to my body now in a way that has me wondering if it's integrated into my skin.

"Come...come in in."

Her attempts at smothering her confusion fail as I slowly hobble inside, my gait lopsided and uneven. My body aches from the long trek, and any blisters I obtained have since popped, leaving each step more excruciating than the last.

My face hurts the worst. I know there's a vicious bruise, which is why I've had a hood pulled over my head the entire journey.

"Is he here?" I ask her. She knows who I'm talking about.

She dips her head. "I'll go get him."

I watch her rush off up the stairs. It's late. Very late. The place is dead quiet, the only sound being the rhythmic dripping of water from my person onto the marble floor.

It dawns on me that Onyx may not even want to see me. He's married now...

Moments later, urgent footsteps sound from upstairs. Anticipation has me trembling. I could either be ousted from the house in disgrace, or invited to stay.

Suddenly, Onyx is there, standing at the top to the stairs.

I exhale slowly, overcome with a wild flurry of emotion.

For a long moment he just stands there, staring down at me. He's dressed in only loose black pants to sleep in, his beautiful, muscled and tattooed torso on display. I forgot how beautiful he was, and seeing him now has knocked the breath out of me.

"Sienna." I barely hear my name on his lips, like it's meant only for him.

He starts off down the steps, rubbing a hand through his sleep tousled hair.

"I'm sorry," I start once he's close. "I had nowhere else to go."

His scent washes over me, beautifully masculine and achingly familiar. He stops before me, looking over me with wide, cautious eyes.

"What happened?" He whispers.

I flip my hood back with one hand, revealing my battered face. "Kayn happened."

He draws in a sharp breath, his brows furrowing together.

His silence conveys his rage better than words ever could.

He takes one step closer, then another, until our feet are almost touching. His fingers reach out tentatively, brushing featherlight against my cheekbone.

I wince, jerking back. Ouch.

"Death will relieve him of what I'm going to do to him." His eyes are black, unforgiving as they drift over my face.

I hold his hand, drawing it away from my face. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm pretty sure I'm still alive because he hit me. If it hadn't knocked me out, I would probably be dead."

I didn't think he was capable of displaying more rage in this moment. His eyes tell a different story.

"I'm looking at your bruised face, Sienna. Nothing will make me feel better beyond his blood on my hands," he says with lethal focus.

Gone is Onyx, my friend. In his place is the greatly feared Alpha, the one I only came to know in moments where my life was threatened.

My teeth chatter as the cold sinks into my skin with its sharp claws. "Let's talk about this tomorrow. Can I stay here the night-"

He grabs his hand, tugging me along with him up the stairs.

"Don't speak as if you're ever going to be out of my sight again."

I stare at the back of his head. He sounds murderous. Not at me, but at the man who will no doubt pay for lashing out at me.

He leads me past what was once my room and toward his own.

I want to balk, to talk about this. I don't want to face Violet right now, to explain why I came here instead of going somewhere else.

"I didn't mean to come here like this...I don't want to disturb you and your wife," I say, our footsteps muffled by the carpet.

He scoffs, shouldering his door open, not letting my wrist go.

To my shock, there's no Violet sprawled out in his bed. His sheets are mussed from him sleeping in them minutes ago, but other than that, his room looks as it normally does.

"Violet and are very much just friends," he exclaims, finally letting me go so he can step into adjoining bathroom, turning the taps on in the bath.

"Like you and I are friends?" I ask breathlessly.

From where I'm standing, I see him tense, his back to me.

"No. Not like us."

I look down at my feet, realising I'm dripping everywhere. I'm so cold I'm numb at this point.

Onyx steps from the bathroom, approaching me again. There's a determination in his eyes, edged with possessiveness, like he can't bear to be away from me for more than a moment.

"Violet and I agreed to marry for political advantage. There's no love, not even any attraction," he explains calmly as he tugs my backpack off my shoulders for me.

"Oh...okay."

The relief of having the weight of the pack off my shoulders is practically orgasmic. Although it's not as great as knowing Onyx is still the man I was friends with...the man I am still very much in love with.

"I'm fact, she has a lover of her own. Klara, her name is, and she just moved in here under the guise of being one of my staff."

Next off comes my jacket, which falls on the floor in a wet heap.

"That's nice of you," I say numbly, slowly registering what he's saying. "For letting her keep a lover."

"Its only fair," he mutters.

He grabs the hem of my shirt, starting to lift it up. I grab it from him, my eyes widening with alarm.

"You're undressing me?"

"You want a bath, don't you? You're freezing."

I look to the bath, steam wafting up as it fills slowly. A bath sounds incredible right now, but that's not the part that concerns me.

The last time I undressed for Onyx was when he had me pressed against the barn wall, and even then, I was basically fully clothed.

However, I feel no urge to protest anymore.

"Yeah. I want a bath."

He pulls my shirt over my head, revealing my rain soaked bra. He isn't looking at me sexually. He's caring for me, effortlessly gentle despite his cold, lethal anger.

"You realise I'm going to have to kill him, right?" He says it so casually, like it's non-negotiable.

"Please don't." I may be angry at Kayn for hitting me, but not enough to sign off on his death. "Let's just calm down from this first."

He looks anything but calm as he unbuttons my pants, pulling them over my backside then down my legs. I kick them off, along with my shoes and socks.

"Not that a reason matters, but why did he hit you?"

"I confronted him about something," I admit, squirming a little beneath his touch as he straightens, reaching around to unhook my bra.

My heart jumps into my throat as my breasts peak despite the air warmed by the fireplace.

Onyx's gaze only brushes over them for a brief moment, his jaw tightening in response.

"What did you confront him about." He works off my underwear next, pulling them down my thighs, crouching so I don't have to bend.

"Your letters. He was burning them and I found out."

I feel so fucking stupid. Of course Onyx was writing to me. We were best friends, how could I have ever doubted him?

He closes his eyes for a moment, inhaling slowly in a visible attempt to calm himself.

"Let's get you bathed and then I'm treating the cut on your cheek," he says, gently leading me into the bathroom.

I didn't even realise Kayn split my skin...

Onyx turns the taps off and helps me step into the water. It immediately burns my aching feet, although the feeling is blissful in a way.

I don't let go of Onyx's hand until I'm most submerged. He remains at the side of the bath, right beside me.

"It feels so good to see you again." I turn my head to look at him, smiling weakly.

He threads his fingers into my hair, pulling me down enough to get my hair soaking wet.

"I should have never let you leave," he murmurs, lathering his hands so he can wash my hair. "I should have...I don't know."

He shakes his head, his obsidian black hair already starting to curl from the steam.

I lean back into his hands as he starts to massage the shampoo into my hair. It smells like him, warming my insides. His fingers feel glorious against my scalp, pulling my focus away from the dull ache in my face.

This gesture is so painfully sweet I feel tears gather in the corners of my eyes. I don't even care that I'm utterly naked before him.

"I had no idea he was capable of that. He just switched. I didn't even recognise him." I clench my eyes shut, trying to force away the memories of his soulless eyes right before he struck me.

Onyx simmers with anger, that frosty look chilling my skin despite the hot water. I'd hate to be Kayn in the next coming days.

I can beg Onyx all I like not to kill Kayn, but that doesn't mean he won't make him hurt.

"No harm shall ever come to you again," he breathes, leaning my head back again so he can wash out all the product.

"So I'm staying?"

Onyx starts working more product into my lengths, shaking his head a little. "You're insane if you think otherwise. I'm never, ever letting you out of my sight again."

I smile a little. Him being possessive doesn't bother me. Mostly because I don't want to leave here either.

This is home. He's home.

I look at his face, at the sharp lines of his jaw and cheekbones accented by the firmness of his hostility. He's so fucking beautiful I feel the urge to pull his lips to mine again.

I can still taste his lips on mine. I remember that night as vivid as when it happened.

"We should probably talk about what happened before I left," I bring up tightly.

The lack of closure on that has driven me crazy over the past couple months.

"Tomorrow," he murmurs. "For now, let's get you patched up and in my bed."

He quietly rinses my hair, his gaze flickering between that and my face. Each time he takes in the bruise, his jaw clinches and his eyes grow dark and haunted.

Once I'm finished, he helps me up and wraps me in a warm towel before turning me to face the mirror.

I wince at what I see looking back at me.

Sure enough, a deep purple and blue bruise shadows the right side of my face. My eye is puffy and swollen, along with my cheekbone, which also has a split in it.

I huff out a breath. "I look horrible."

Onyx runs a brush through my hair gently, which is all tangled from the rain. "Nothing could ever compromise your beauty, Sienna. Especially no mark made by a spineless coward like him."

Something flutters in my stomach as I meet his gaze in the mirror.

"Thank you for coming back to me," he adds softly. "Thank you for trusting me."

I smile tentatively. "There's no one else I would rather be with."

He turns me, kissing my forehead before rifling through one of the vanity drawers. He pulls out some medicine, tabs it onto cloth before pressing it to my cheek.

I grab his shoulders, yelping at the sharp bite of pain.

"Shh," he soothes, pulling the cloth away before quickly pressing a small bandage over the wound. "All better."

"Thank you." I cast a look out the bathroom. "That bed looks glorious. I'm exhausted."

He doesn't so much as fall out of step with me as he guides me to the bed. I'm fully capable of walking, but I let him dote on me, knowing it's exactly what he needs right now.

Once he's tucked me into bed, he's getting in beside me, drawing me close to his body.

I let his warmth drench me, comfort like I haven't felt since I left overcoming me.

How could I have ever left this?

His arms bind around me securely, keeping me pressed tight before he blows out our source of light, dousing the room in darkness.

"I missed you, Sienna," he breathes into my ear as sleep starts to drag me into its clutches. "You're finally home."

❤️••❤️

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading (:

~Midika 💜🐼