Word Count: 2221

~Zyre

My hands grip the cool stone of the balcony railing, staring off at the distant village.

It is only a matter of time. Mere weeks, at this point.

A chill weaves through the night, stirring through the lengths of my hair. A smear of stars glitter above me, forming intricate constellations. It reminds me of home, of the many nights spent in a similar position as this, considering all that I intend to accomplish in due time.

I'm getting restless. Unbearable so.

Everything is slotting into place. Years of preparation has led up to this point. Nothing must go wrong. No one can complicate this.

Especially not a stubborn girl with foggy green eyes. 

I bow my head. Perhaps I should head to the local tavern again and try my luck bribing more guards. One mistake, one single indication to Avi that I'm plotting against him will force me out of this pack and the position I need to be in to claim his title as Alpha of this pack.

Maybe I can try seducing another local girl. They never make it to my bed, but with enough soft words and insistent kisses, they tell me everything I ask about guards, pack norms and Avi.

Elspeth has been especially helpful. I've learnt her father will be an important man to curry favour with when I become Alpha. He's wealthy and owns a lot of land around the village.

The tavern it is, then.

I sweep through the wide corridors of the palace, enjoying the way it looks at night. Avi's ancestors cannot be faulted for their ability to build an extravagant home. I'm not sure there are many alterations I will need to do to it once I am Alpha here.

As I make it to the stop of the stairs, I hear voices.

Down below, I see William, Cordelia and Avi hustled close together in the foyer. Shadows unspool around them, cloaking their backs and making their faces appear gaunt and haunted. They speak in low, hushed tones, although their words echo up to meet me.

"What could you possibly be waiting for?" William asks hurriedly.

I lean my hip against the banister, crossing my arms over my chest. I'm curious.

Avi tousles a hand through his hair. "It's complicated. I must act carefully."

"She is a pretty girl. It's not as if it's impossible," Cordelia hisses. She sounds like she wants to slap him.

My brows dip together. They are talking about Lavelle, I can sense it. No other female is of as much importance to this family as she is right now.

"That is not the problem. I don't want to scare her off." Avi begins pacing, unable to help himself.

"You're her Alpha, Avi." Cordelia watches tensely, her hand hovering around her mouth. "It would be a privilege for her to sleep with you."

I silently scoff, shaking my head. I'm glad Lavelle has spurned his advances. He hasn't taken her to bed, which must be for a reason. Perhaps my warnings are getting through to her, or Avi's attempts at seduction aren't working.

"There is too much at stake to risk anything," he huffs. "What if she denies me and becomes offended? What if I put her off and she refuses to speak to me again? My chance will be dashed."

William's face becomes drawn. He looks around, although somehow doesn't see me watching from above the stairs. His voice lowers as he speaks to his son.

"Do you need something to get it done?"

"What do you mean?" Avi's voice is riddled with confusion.

"I know someone from the village that has a herb for this," he insists hastily. "One glass of water infused with this herb and she will be asleep within minutes."

Avi appears alarmed. "Father—"

"And she won't stir. No matter what you do," Cordelia adds in a hushed tone.

A dark, wrathful anger simmers under my skin. My hand grips the stairwell banister so tightly the wood threatens to split beneath my palm. I know exactly what she is insinuating, because I am intimately aware of my brothers plan, of what task he has put upon Avi.

"That is cruel," Avi snaps back, his expression drawn. "What do I tell her when she wakes, then? It will take more than one time to accomplish the goal."

"That is why you must marry her, and now. You must ensure she has no legal claim to leave you." William rests his hand on his sons back.

Avi made a deal with my brother, and he must complete it. It means filling Lavelle with an heir.

Clearly, whether she wants it or not.

"That issue will be dealt with soon," Avi assures them reluctantly.

"It better," Cordelia says, her face serpent-like as she stares down her son. "After you marry, if she continues to turn down your advances, than you must use the herb."

She wants Avi to assault her, but not before trapping her in a marriage she can't escape from. It's not only a pack custom to not end marriages, it's law.

Lavelle has no idea what marrying Avi would truly entail. In more ways than one.

Avi's fingers dig into his golden strands, tugging at them to the point it must be painful. "I don't know..."

"This pack is relying on you to succeed in this mission."

My brows lift I watch the indecision war with duty on Avi's face. I hope he tells his parents they are monsters for what they are implying he does, that he tells them he will seduce her himself, properly.

Instead, he bows his head in submission. "You're right. I must do what it takes."

Unfortunately, Avi is as much a monster as they are.

William pats his shoulder tenderly. "Get some sleep, son. I know this issue burdens you, but soon enough it will be done. You will have freed our pack from its debt, and all will be well."

William is right, soon enough, the deal will be completed, although not in the way he thinks. Lavelle will not have an heir forced into her, whether she does or doesn't marry Avi.

William and Cordelia walk away together, vanishing into the shadows. I wait until their footsteps melt into the distance before I make my way down the stairs toward Avi.

He looks up as I approach, fracturing through the haze of thoughts he was lost in.

"Mother dearest got much to say?" I ask, sliding my hands into my pockets.

He shakes his head, ire clawing into his eyes. "Fuck off."

He brushes past me, heading to the stairs. Unfortunately for him, I don't feel like letting go of the interaction I just witnessed.

"What's with the bad mood?" I ask. "Something weighing on your conscience?"

He whirls around, mouth pulled into a sneer. I wonder how he tricked Lavelle into thinking he's a gracious gentleman with the purest of intentions. He doesn't care about her. Maybe he's attracted to her, but that is as far as it goes.

If he cared about her at all, he wouldn't be considering enacting his plan, although desperation can turn people into monsters.

"You know exactly what my problem is," he snaps.

"This is your fault. No one is blame other than you." This is a prison of his own making. It's why I don't mind tormenting him.

Avi made a treacherous mistake. I don't know the details intimately, but I know he went against his advisors plans and funded a war effort for a piece of land that was ultimately futile. It siphoned money straight out of the pack, thrusting it into endless debt.

My brother has pinned him by the neck. He's willing to pay off Avi's momentous debts in exchange for an heir of his own, and for a reason I'm uncertain about, he's asked specifically for Lavelle.

I'm supposed to be overseeing the deal. It's why Avi can't have me removed.

He's asking me before why my brother asked for Lavelle to produce the heir, but I have no answers for him. I can't pretend to understand my brothers motivations.

"You don't know anything about leading a pack. You're an Alpha's brother, you are nothing. You are his lackey, doing his dirty work." He jabs his finger at me, fury burrowing deep into the lines of his face.

"Finally, he speaks his truth." I laugh under my breath, although this situation doesn't merit much amusement. "Your false peacekeeping was tiring."

He likes to pretend his situation isn't dire. We both know he despises me, who he thinks I am. He just doesn't voice it, knowing I'm a reflection of his poor decisions, and I'm not afraid to remind him of that.

"I don't need to voice my disdain toward you and your filthy bloodline. It's obvious to anyone with sense." He waves his hand, like it might be enough to dismiss me.

My eyes narrow. "Do not speak of my bloodline."

I'm not exactly proud to be related to my brother, to my father. I carry their blood, but I don't carry their character. Not much of it, anyway.

"It is so fragile it needs my blood to sustain it." He lays his hand against his chest, eyes wide. "Your brother shall have his son, but it will always be my blood that created him. I will be a part of your pack forever."

"My understanding for my brothers choice in choosing you may continue to elude me, but you will always be the male who couldn't protect his own pack. You will always be the Alpha grovelling to those more powerful than him, looking for help because he's too weak to rule on his own," I snap.

How my brother could stomach looking upon a child made by Avi is beyond reason. How he could give him his power, his position as Alpha, I don't know.

Although I can't pretend to understand my brother on anything.

Avi looms closer. "Why is your brother incapable of siring his own heir? Is his cum defective, or can he not get it up?"

"At least he is capable of bedding women, instead of having to drug them," I growl.

He might believe he will accomplish his goal, but I will do everything in my power to ensure he never lays his hands upon Lavelle. Whether she consents or not.

"My method of fulfilling my end of the deal shouldn't concern you."

"Seduce her like a true male, you fucking coward." I could hit him, if I wanted to. One strike and he would be down, I'm sure of it. "I should kill you for even mentioning rape."

Avi blinks, a furrow forming between his brow. He seems to be taking a step back from himself, realising something.

"And why does the wellbeing of Lavelle concern you so much, cousin?" He doesn't sound suspicious, he sounds accusatory. Does he know I've been speaking to her? Have any of his guards noticed and reported back to him?

I won't allow Lavelle to be compromised.

"I cannot overhear your intentions, regardless of the girl, and not intervene," I tell him darkly. "I am not weak of character, as you clearly are."

"Why is it that your brother does not have you sire an heir for him? You carry the same genes." He looks over me, trying to find what is lacking. "What is it you're hiding? Or can you not get it up either?"

I press my back teeth together, not giving into his attempt to rouse me. If I hit him, if I instigate a fight, he will send me away, deal or not.

My brother doesn't want me to sire his heir because it requires trusting me. He knows I would never allow my child anywhere near him, and through that child, I would have a closer claim to his power.

"I would not speak to me like that," I warn quietly, carefully.

"Are you threatening me? In my palace, on my land, before my guards?" He steps so close he has to look up at me.

While hurting him in this moment would be satisfying, I need to bide my time. Soon enough I can enact my plan, and then he will pay. For now, I need to ensure he doesn't have cause to force me out.

"I see you cannot seduce a lover like a male, nor can you fight like one. You have no honour. You are nothing."

He points to the door, his face reddening. "Leave. Now."

"I am content here for now, cousin," I muse. "You cannot order me to leave your pack until the deal is complete."

"Then stay out of my way." His voice heralds a cold warning. "And stay away from Lavelle."

He barges past me and up the stairs, leaving to standing amongst the shadows.

Leaving Lavelle alone isn't an option. She is a key part of my plan.

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