Word Count: 1807

~Onyx

"My mother's business is doing better than ever," Lexa chatters from next to me. "My brother will be taking it over soon, but I get half the profits."

"Uh huh."

My food tastes bitter in my mouth. These girls are nice enough, but sitting at a table with them to eat dinner, pretending I have an interest in courting them is slowly wearing me down.

"I would take over, but I want to marry, you know? I want a man to take care of me," Lexa continues.

She's dragging her fork through her steamed vegetables, the grating sound of metal against mother's expensive dinnerware not seeming to bother her.

"Fair enough."

Seemingly against my will, my attention shifts down the table where Sienna dines. She speaking animatedly with Lexa's brother, his name I have not yet learned.

My eyes narrow slightly as their heads bow close together, the slight pink tint to Sienna's cheeks indicating enough to have me zoning into their conversation.

"Beyond coming to visit you and your village, I'll admit, I would love to travel," Sienna tells the man. "Even beyond the Pack borders."

"Travelling is such a pleasure. I recommend it." He smiles at her, his eyes lingering on her a beat too long for my comfort. "Maybe I can tempt you to come with me on one of my excursions one day."

I shift in my seat, vaguely aware that Lexa has broken into a long spiel beside me.

"That sounds great. Although it will have to be when everything here has been resolved," Sienna says promptly.

Resolved? What does that even mean?

"I'm sure they won't mind if you have a holiday." The man nudges her with his arm, caring more about captivating her than eating his completely untouched dinner.

"Onyx?"

I blink, looking to my left. "Sorry. What were you saying, Lexa?"

"Are you alright? You seemed lost in thought." She pouts a little, her bottom lip sticking out in a way that immediately bothers me.

I feel bad for my scrutiny. I'm entertaining her under false pretences, and that's entirely my fault.

"I'm fine," I mutter distractedly.

Clearing my throat, I stand. The scrape of my chair against the wood floor has voices quietening and heads turning in my direction.

"I want to thank you all for attending. I know that this may be daunting, but with a family member to join you, I hope you will all settle in well."

I look across the table at all the faces that smile and flush. Sienna nods approvingly as I sit back down.

She's going to realise very quickly that my intentions are not that innocent.

I focus on the man beside her. "So, what are you? Brother?"

He drops his food-stuffed fork that was intended for his mouth back onto his plate, straightening at my new found attention.

"Yes, sir. My name is Zayn, and Lexa is my sister."

"Why don't you come sit next to her, then?" Next to Lexa is Violet's older sister Abigail. She freezes, waiting for instruction.

I want Kayn close to me. He needs to answer some questions before he can talk Sienna's ear off about travelling. I've heard less obvious pick-up likes from serial romantics.

"No, please," Lexa practically begs, shooting her brother a sour look. "I hardly want my brother here at all."

I ignore her. Kayn will just have to accept that our conversation is capable of being heard by the entire table. Everyone has paused eating, watching curiously.

Everyone except Sienna, who looks a little mortified.

"So what do you do, Zayn, that allows you to step away to do this for your sister?" I ask, knowing very well that Lexa has explained it to me.

"I'm waiting to inherit my mother's business. In the meantime, I do a lot of work for her behind the scenes," he explains smoothly.

"Onyx, have you talked to Alex yet?" Sienna cuts in, giving me a sharp look.

I would oblige her were I not so concerned. She must anticipate some fault that I could find in Kayn with my line of questioning. Why else would she be so opposed to it?

"Tell me, Zayn, do you have a lover? A wife? A mate?"

"None of those." He shifts uncomfortably. "I'm looking to settle down when I find the right one."

My fingers tighten into fists under the table as he looks toward Sienna warmly.

Something is seriously off about this guy. Who talks about settling down with someone they just met? An uneasy feeling crawls over my skin, and it's not just irritation at someone looking at Sienna like they want to rip her clothes off.

"Do you find Sienna attractive?" I continue.

"Onyx!" Sienna scolds, appalled as she lays a hand on Kayn's shoulder. "You don't have to answer that."

"It's fine. I mean, who doesn't find Sienna beautiful? She is the beautiful woman in this room," Kayn exclaims.

Lexa grumbles in protest, and I see Elora roll her eyes. Unfortunately their wounded egos will have to be something they live with.

My jaw tightens. "Yes. She is."

Sienna's mouth parts in surprise, a spark of anger burying into her expressive eyes.

"Alright, I think I'm entirely full." She drops her cutlery, standing up. "I will see you all in the morning."

I watch as she charges from the room, leaning back in my chair.

I may have upset her, but I'm not dishonest.

***

There's no knock on my door. Instead, it opens without warning.

I'm lying on my bed, reading. It's late now, everyone having retired to their rooms already. After Sienna left the dinner, I stuck around for another half hour before excusing myself to bed.

It stopped being bearable when she left.

"Are you insane?" She hisses as she enters, propping her hands on her hips.

"I'm tired, Sienna," I mutter, rubbing my hand down my face. I don't really feel like being chastised by her right now. This entire experience is miserable.

"You promised you would try."

"I am trying. I sat through that insufferable dinner, did I not?" I give her a hard look.

It's not that the girls aren't nice because most of them seem to be. It's that they are here under false pretences, and I don't want to pretend like they aren't.

They deserve better than someone who does not want to marry them.

"You spent your time interrogating a man who has nothing to do with this process." She scowls at me.

Usually, I find her anger cute. She gets this tense line between her brows, and her nose scrunches up a little. Right now, though, she looks tempted to gut me.

I sigh, letting my book close in my hands. "I was just asking questions."

I don't know what's wrong with me. I should have left it alone. He did nothing wrong, I was just acting like a jealous asshole.

"You agreed with him that I was the most beautiful woman in the room." Her voice softens a little.

I shrug, not seeing the issue. "You were. You are."

It might hurt to hear the truth, but everyone in that room is aware of how striking Sienna is. Nothing and no one can compare to her, and maybe I shouldn't have said it, but it's not as if it isn't the truth.

She gestures for me to move my legs before she sits on my bed.

"Tell me this is because you're trying to sell the whole mistress thing." She seems a little uneasy, like she knows that it had nothing to do with what I said, but she's forcing herself to think otherwise.

"Sure. Fine." Well, there goes my commitment to the truth.

"You need to dial it back a bit. You're not going to win favours acting like this."

She rests her hand on my knee, causing me to stiffen. I hate how quickly my body responds to her when she touches me.

It's so wrong.

"You are blind to the world, Sienna," I mutter, massaging at the frown creasing my forehead.

"What?"

"That man at that table wants you. It's obvious," I say.

I still can't get Lexa's brother out of my head. The way he gazed at Sienna, smiled and leaned close. A small seed of resentment has already buried itself into the pit of my stomach toward this complete stranger, and it's going to grow.

She blinks, a little stunned.

"Fleeting attraction is nothing," she stammers, tucking her hair behind her ear. "And if he wants me, who cares?"

"You deserve better than him."

What am I even talking about?

"There's nothing wrong with him," she assures me gently, being far too gracious for what I deserve.

I have no right to be concerned about this man when I'm courting four women in hopes one of them will be my wife. Sienna deserves a chance at love too.

"You should be careful. That is all," I murmur.

She nods. "I know what I'm doing."

"Do you? You're awfully inexperienced." I should really shut up.

"That isn't my fault." She scowls at me. "There have been plenty of staff here who have attempted to seduce me, but unlike you, I don't fuck whatever is in my sight."

My eyes narrow. I haven't slept with anyone in months, and she knows that. Why? Well, that she'll never be allowed to know.

It's aggravating to want something I cannot have.

"Whatever is in my sight, huh?" I lean forward slightly, enjoying the way her breath catches in her throat.

"Yeah..." She swallows.

"You're in my sight."

Her eyes widen, but she doesn't pull back, like the obvious connection between us is holding her still. Her eyes slowly drift down to my lips, which tilt up ever-so-slightly.

"That's different." She sounds breathless like she picturing what I have every night since we became friends.

"Is it?" I murmur.

"Onyx..." She looks a little pained. I feel it, too, having to resist her.

"Go to bed," I instruct quietly. "Tomorrow, I want a list of the staff members who have made advances on you."

Breaking the tension with amusement is all I can manage. If I don't, I'm going to drag her into bed with me, and there will be no going back from that.

"Ugh, you're insufferable." She pushes at my chest playfully before backing up a step. "Goodnight, Onyx."

I watch her go before collapsing into bed. I'm screwed.

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