Alpha's Hidden Mate

~Sienna I push Onyx's door open, stepping inside. "Knock knock." His back is turned to me, his head bowed as he fiddles with his cuff. He looks effortlessly good in a pressed, tailored suit. He glances over his shoulder, then back at what he is doing. "Oh. Hey." I circle around him, noting the lines of tension in his forehead as he struggles with his cufflink. I brush his hands off, and take over for him, clipping it into place. "Look at you, all nervous." I smile. "I'm not nervous," he dismisses. When my smile doesn't fade, his eyes narrow. "Sienna. I'm not nervous." "Yeah alright." I step back, gliding my eyes over his person. "You look...nice." Today is the day. Onyx failed to push back on his mother's wishes, and now four women and their escorts are moving into the manor until he chooses one of them as his wife. I can already tell that this is going to be the most amusing time of my life. I'm usually not privy to Onyx when he is seducing women. His obsidian eyes finally focus on me properly, and he draws in a deep breath. Since I've been officially announced as the Alpha's mistress, I'm taking more care in my appearance when greeting visitors. "So do you. Anyone would think you're courting these girls." He flashes me a rare smile that has something fluttering in my stomach. I look away from him, taking in his perfectly, almost obsessively neat room. "Two of the girls brought brothers, so who knows." "Remember, they think you're my mistress now." He shifts to his mirror, looking dissatisfied with whatever he finds lacking. I'm not exactly sure what he could possibly find fault in. I don't think there's a single part of him, physical or not, that I would change. "The whole Pack does." I sigh wistfully. He sweeps his gaze back to me, a flicker of worry passing over his features. "You're not having second thoughts, are you?" "No, of course not." I smirk at the thought. "I'm not actually interested in these girls' brothers. This is about you concentrating on finding your wife. His brows knit together with concern. "What if she's not one of them?" "Then we will get a new batch," I muse. This process will be repeated, otherwise Lucia will choose for him. "Or we try something else." He rubs his face, tense. I wish I could soothe his worries, but there is nothing I can say that would appease him. I can't promise him he will fall in love, or that he can merely decide not to marry if that suits him. He must marry, and he must produce an heir. "But it's expected that I select one of them, right?" "You're the Alpha. Plenty is expected of you, but nothing can be done about it without you wanting it." I step forward, pressing my palms against the lapels of his jacket. My words are empty, but to me they mean something. He is more than just an Alpha. He is more than what people expect of him. "What would I do without you, Sienna?" He breathes. I smile it up at him before it falters. "Are you kidding, your eyebrows look terrible! Was someone seriously going to let you meet the potential love of your life like this?" He rolls his eyes. "I take back what I said." I hastily rustle through his vanity for a pair of tweezers. I've been doing his eyebrows for years, and all the stress has led me to forget they need tending to. "Sit down. Come on." I tug on the chair in front of the vanity, gesturing down at it. "This is ridiculous," he mutters, but obliges me. Holding the back of the chair with one hand, I lean over him. He eyes the tweezers apprehensively, ensuring I don't poke them out by accident. I pluck a few hairs, before my arm starts hurting. Readjusting, I bump my arm against Onyx's face. He sighs, reaching out to grab my hips. My gasp catches in my throat as he tugs me over until I'm straddling his lap, facing him. It happens so suddenly I've forgotten how to breathe. In all my years of knowing Onyx, I've never been in such a intimate position with him. I can feel the hidden muscle in his thighs beneath me. If I inched forward just a bit, I'm sure I would feel the outline of his cock. He rests his hands on my hips, looking effortlessly calm as he holds my gaze, assessing my reaction. "Onyx..." My voice sounds a little strangled. "Keep going," he murmurs. My fingers are trembling slightly as I continue plucking his brow, getting rid of the most rampant hairs. It's almost impossible to concentrate. I can feel the blush heating my cheeks, embarrassment bleeding into shame. I hate that I'm turned on right now. His fingers tighten a little more on my waist, slightly bunching up the fabric of my simple cotton dress. His breathing is slow and calm, although his eyes brazenly assess me. "You have to promise to be nice to these women," I tell him softly, trying to distract myself from the way it feels like he's pressing me closer against him. I must be imagining it. "I will." "No acting uninterested, bored and don't do that relentless staring thing you do." I narrow my eyes in warning. He raises his brows in faux innocence, like he doesn't know exactly what I'm talking about. "You're not giving me any credit." "No one ever sees the good side of you. The warm, gentle side of you that I get to see." I lower my hand, the plucking of his eyebrows forgotten. One of this hands falls to my left thigh, which is bare since he's hiked up my dress a bit. His fingertips start drawing tight circles. "That's how I like it," he insists, his warm breath gusting against my mouth. "You're here to find love," I adjust the collar of his shirt. "You deserve love." "I am loved. You love me." "Yeah, but I can't give you heirs," I remind him, laughing breathily. He adjusts his hips slightly, and suddenly they are pressed against mine. My eyelids flutter and my breath catches in my throat. He's hard. He tilts his head to the side, tracking my movements with his keen gaze. "Why not?" "Because if I had your heirs, we would have had to..." I drift off. I get the feeling that if I say the word sex aloud, I'm going to make some very foolish decisions that I can't go back on. "To what?" He prompts, his voice low and rough, the sound travelling straight to my core. My gaze finds his lips, and the urge to kiss him overwhelms me. It would feel so good to give in, if only I could be assured that he wants me too. Drawing in a steadying breath, I focus back on his brows, plucking out a group of hairs a little harder than usual. He jerks underneath me, groaning. "Fuck that one hurt." He rubs his brow and I clamber off him, putting a few steps of distance between us. "All done," I announce breathlessly. He gets up, the sensual look in his eyes fading as he comes back to reality. Whatever just passed between us is something neither of us are going to acknowledge. "Thank you for doing that." He rubs a hand through his hair. "Imagine the horror if I walked out of here with eyebrow hairs astray." My smile is weak. "I left them wild enough to keep you ruggedly handsome, don't worry." He looks good. Too good. He doesn't have to worry about how the girls are going to view him. "Go talk to the girls. I bet you can't wait to tell them all about my flaws." He motions to the door. It's at this moment I notice his forehead is damp, like he's hot and bothered. Did I do that to him? He was clearly hard, but that could have just been a bodily reaction that has nothing to do with me. "And there are so many." I smirk. He laughs, but it's strained. I sober from my amusement, which is mostly for show anyways. "Hey, try smile, okay?" He frowns. "I don't smile for strangers." "Yeah I know. But someone in that room is going to be your wife. Understand?" I remind him, stuffing my hands into my pockets as I shoulder the door open. He gives me a long look. "Oh yes. I understand."