Word Count: 2615
~Onyx
My steps are slow and purposeful as I stride past my mother's office.
Just as I suspected, her voice floats through the door, forcing me to stop with a rough sigh.
"Good morning son."
"Morning." I lean against the door frame, looking at sitting behind her desk that is stacked with files and paper. "I'm just heading out."
"Sit." She motions to the seat in front of the desk.
"Mother-"
"Let me speak to my son, please. You've been out of this house every day for the past few months and I miss you," she says, sounding vulnerable for the first time since I could remember.
I've been keeping my mind busy by concentrating solely on my work. It's been cathartic, although I don't think it's as effective as I would like.
"I've been busy." I sit anyway.
"Obsessive, you mean," she says disapprovingly. "I understand you're been very hands-on with this new law being drafted, but that doesn't mean you can skip out on talking with your mother."
I lean back in the seat, rubbing the heels of my palms into my eyes.
I can't remember the last time I got a good night's sleep. I close my eyes and all my obligations lay atop me like a suffocating blanket, constricting around me until I can hardly breathe.
People are waiting for an heir. It's gotten to the point where Violet and I are considering hiring someone else to do it.
"This needs to be perfect. This law is going to protect people migrating from Zion's Pack to mine," I exasperate.
"Settle. You haven't relaxed since the wedding," she says lowly, the concern unmissable in her tone.
I hold my hands up. "Fine. I'm relaxed."
"What is the matter with you?" Mother's voice hardens suddenly.
"Nothing," I mutter.
"Is it Violet?"
"No, she's fine."
Violet is the least of my worries. In fact, I actually value her friendship. We are going through similar circumstances, making her my closest confidant right now.
"You don't get home until very late. The poor girl never sees you," mother reminds me, narrowing her eyes.
I scoff. As if my mother didn't avoid my father every chance she got during their marriage.
"She doesn't mind, I assure you," I mutter.
Mother rubs her painted lips together, contemplating how best to scold me.
"I suppose you've heard the rumours then?"
I roll my eyes. "I don't give a fuck what people think about my relationship with Violet. They can speculate about me not being capable of making an heir, of me not loving my wife. None of it means anything."
"You know that's not true." Anger simmers in mother's eyes.
She's right, it does mean a lot. People need to have faith in me. If they believe I cannot produce an heir, they will start to look for a stronger Pack to settle in where they know they are safe.
"Is this about Sienna?"
My eyelids shutter. I'm tired of her name having such a hold on me, forcing such visceral reactions out of my body.
"Why would it be?" I grind out.
"She was your best friend. You went from seeing her every day to not in five months. That's difficult."
I scoff, shaking my head.
"What?"
"Why should you care? You practically shoved her out the door," I snap, my chest tightening.
Mother sighs, rubbing at the lines between her brows. "I would have liked nothing more than her to stay, but she was a distraction."
"Distraction? Yeah, she fucking distracted me." I laugh bitterly.
Mother doesn't look impressed. Her nails tap rhythmically against the table's polished surface as she considers how to deal with this delicately.
Mentors are valued greatly in this pack. All the best Alpha's had their previous ruler mentor them until they were fit to rule alone. My mother is mine, and yet, I find myself growing out of her advice, of her control.
"But there's not a waking moment I'm not thinking about her now. What do you think that's doing to me?" My voice turns hoarse.
"You've always been too passionate. You need to redirect that energy-"
"Why would you do that to me?" I whisper, cutting her off.
I don't care that my resolve is cracking, that my voice is breaking. The mask slipped long ago.
"Do what?" By the way she shifts uncomfortably, she knows exactly what I'm implying.
"You're my mother, you're supposed to love me." I ignore the tear that falls from my eye, travelling down my cheek. "Why would you insist I marry someone I hardly know, and send away the one person I'm desperately in love with?"
The colour drains from her face as she swallows thickly.
I've never confided in her like this. It goes beyond her being my mentor. She is my mother.
"Tradition mandates-"
"Is tradition more important than my happiness? Can't you see I'm falling apart?" I press my palm to my chest, feeling my heart racing below.
"Trust me, I've seen," she mutters.
"And you don't care? It's killing me being away from her." I can feel my soul cracking with every word I utter. "I don't even recognise myself anymore. I'm a shell of my old self. I go through the day, one foot after the other, waiting for this to finally kill me!"
As good as it feels to finally say it aloud, to finally give my mother a glimpse of what I've been feeling, it also hurts immensely.
Saying it out loud makes it impossible to run from.
"You're scaring me, Onyx," she says, physically recoiling. "I'm starting to worry she's your mate."
"She is. I know she is and you're keeping me from her."
"It's not just me. You're the Alpha, you have the power and control, but you are torn. You know you must do what is best for your Pack," she reminds me sharply. "Nothing works here without their support, and you know marrying a commoner is a good way to destroy it."
I lean back in my chair, finally letting go of the breath I've been holding.
She's right. I know what my Pack expects of me, and I know how they value strong leadership, and an even stronger heir. Sacrificing my chance at love is what is best for my Pack.
At least, that's how I've been taught to think. I've never been given a chance to change the narrative.
"I'm only doubting my feelings because you and father forced the idea that to be a good Alpha is to compromise my happiness. It's because of you." I point at her.
She stands abruptly, visibly upset.
"I think you need some air and some time to think and calm down."
She will push this issue was until she dies. And even in death, she will ensure I live up to the expectations of an Alpha.
I stand too, heading to the door, not looking back.
***
~Sienna
I shake my limbs about, shifting from foot to foot as I attempt to garner some courage.
Confronting Kayn about any problem is a risk. He either reacts calmly and reasonably, or his short fuse leads to a violent blowout.
It doesn't matter. This needs to be done.
Knocking a couple of times on his office door, I wait for him to summon me before I step inside.
His desk is littered with mess, his head bowed over his work as he shifts through it. He's been in here for hours now, dusk chasing the light from the room quickly.
He doesn't even look up. He doesn't even acknowledge me.
"I'm going to visit Onyx," I announce.
He glances up. "Why?"
"It's about time I see him. He's my best friend after all," I say casually, swinging my arms.
"Was," he mutters, rubbing his temples. "I saw the way he acted to you at his wedding. He's moved on."
He's playing on my insecurities. There is every chance Onyx tells me to leave once I get to his estate, that he doesn't want me around him and his wife.
"He may not have-"
"He has made no effort to contact you, Sienna. Take a hint." Kayn lets out an exasperated sigh, tapping his pen against the desk rhythmically.
My fingers curl into fists. Liar.
"I know he's been writing to me," I say lowly.
His incessant tapping pauses and he drags his dark gaze at me. A shiver travels over my skin, a cold feeling of dread digging between my ribs.
"How's that?"
"I found a burnt letter from him in the fireplace. I didn't see much, but I know his handwriting." I push my shoulders back, feigning confidence.
I'm not going to be talked down from this. Last night we returned from the event and he apologised for his bad mood and tried to make it up to me. This time, I won't be sweet-talked.
"I must have accidentally thrown it out with the other junk mail," he says dismissively, waving his hand.
"How many has he sent me?"
He lets a drawn-out, exasperated sigh. "None. That was the first one."
Why would Onyx write to me so suddenly? I let my insecurities cloud my judgement once, but not now. Onyx loved me, and even if he was hurt by me leaving, he wouldn't have abandoned me.
I'm choosing to have faith in him this time. Not Kayn.
"Liar. Tell me," I demand.
He rubs his forehead as if to remove the deep creases that formed there. I'm not giving him a chance to back out of being honest this time.
"He's sent about three a month," he finally admits. "I figured he needed to remain in the past."
It takes me a moment to smother my shock. There's been more than one? How often has Onyx written to me and been dejected by my lack of response?
"He's my friend. How could you do that!" My voice raises with everyone else, but I don't care to temper my anger.
Kayn's expression sours. "I read about the little affair you had before you left with me. You're lucky I forgave you."
I swallow thickly, letting out a long breath.
It was wrong of me to give in to my impulses with Onyx. Kayn and I hadn't exactly decided we were entering into a true relationship at that point, but it was still wrong.
"That was a mistake. We both agreed to move past it and remain friends, and you had no right to take that friendship from me!" I stride forward, slamming my palms down against the surface of his desk.
Kayn's eyes become a quiet storm as he swifts, his chair scraping on the oak wood floors.
"Who said you could raise your voice at me in my house?" He seethes.
"I'm moving out," I snap. "And I will not marry you."
I already decided I was moving on earlier in the month. Now, I have no regrets about it. I can't stay with someone who thinks it's okay to burn my personal property.
"Oh yes, you will. Even if I have to lock you in here myself," he growls, sweeping around his desk.
I back away, trying not to be scared but he's had no problem recently raising his voice at me. Sometimes I think he's tempted to hit me. Regardless, I refuse to back down.
"You're fucked, Kayn! Your mother knows you have a temper, she knows you can't handle running her business. Its why-"
Suddenly, he pushes me violently by the shoulders. My back slams against the wall, nearly knocking the breath from my lungs. Before I can make my escape, Kayn comes to stand before me, caging me in with his arms.
"You're just a whiny little bitch who hates that every man you've ever known is more successful than you," he seethes in my face.
His eyes are bloodshot and his mouth is curved into a vicious sneer. Kayn is gone, overcome by a fog of rage that conceals reason from him.
"You're scaring me, Kayn," I whisper, all my bravado vanishing instantaneously.
"You have no idea what I could do to you," he growls.
I glance down, wondering if I can dip under his arms and make a break for it. Unfortunately, his reflexes are likely fast enough to grab me, to drag me back to him.
"What you can do is let me go so I can get away from you, and never come back!"
The moment the last word leaves my mouth, the gravity of the situation appears to strike Kayn. I'm leaving, for real this time. His engagement will slip through his fingers and everything he will work for will be lost.
Before I have a chance to react, he's drawing his arm back before slamming his fist into my face.
The moment his knuckles hit my face, I'm overcome by a burst of pain across my cheekbone and jaw. The impact rattles me so hard I can feel my teeth singing as the back of my head hits the wall with almost bone-shattering force.
Splotches of black immediately stain my vision as my legs crumple out from under me. All I see is a regretful look on Kayn's face as I fall into unconsciousness.
When I next wake, the room is dark and cold.
Kayn's office window is swinging wide open, shuddering against the force of the wind. The moon is bright and brilliant, its silvery rays gliding across the wood floor toward me.
"Fuck," I grit out, feeling a throbbing ache echoing through the side of my face.
Lifting my hand, I gently brush my fingers against my cheekbone. I meet swollen flesh, my right eye is almost forced shut. A jolt of vicious pain cuts through me from the touch, a litany of curses falling from my mouth as a result.
That bastard. I'm going to kill him.
My initial anger is quickly dampened as the look on his face right before he hit me flashes into my memory. That was a man who realised he had nothing to lose. A man whose life was being taken from him, like it had been since he was a boy.
That is not a man I want to face right now. Not in this state.
I force myself to my feet, using the wall to brace myself up.
Quietly, I pad to my room. Kayn isn't in the house, which is a miracle. By the time he returns, I will be gone.
Hastily, I pack a bag with all I can manage. I choose only what will get me through my journey, as I'm relying on just a backpack. I also sweep into Kayn's room and take the stash of money I know he keeps in his bedside table.
Once my bag is overstuffed to the point the zipper may give, I put on my boots and a coat, before I sling the backpack over my shoulders.
This journey will be long. Assuming I can catch a ride with a kind stranger on my journey, I may arrive at my destination by nighttime tomorrow.
Until then, I tug my hood securely over my head to hide the worst of my injuries before I rush downstairs.
I'm going home. To Onyx.
And I'm not coming back.
💜••💜
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~Midika 💜🐼