The Alpha Assassin

3 - Death & Dinner

“Remember how, at the end of last year, we had the Red Ridge Beta visit from the North?” he slowly started.

I remembered him. He was older and never took a mate. He was bragging that night that he had a young pack member waiting in his room for him, so he couldn’t stay. He went on about how he f.orced the girl to reject her mate and threatened her with his slow, painful death if she didn't.

The entire night, I thought of the poor girl sitting in this monster's room, heartbroken, in pain from the broken bond, and terrified, knowing what was to come when this Beta returned. Taken against her will by the man she probably hated most in the world.

Call it sympathy; call it practice.

In the end, it didn’t matter—the outcome was the same.

“The one that never made it home after he left us?” Alpha Raymond went on; I caught a few nods out of the corner of my eye as I stared at my plate.

“People have been going missing, running away, disappearing, whatever for a while. This isn’t news,” Hudson said as if it were the most boring topic in the world. “What’s the point?”

I took another bite of my food. I was the only one showing any interest in anything other than The Alpha’s story.

“Well, Alpha Ben just informed me that he um...”

“Spit it out, Father,” Hudson sneered.

I didn’t look, but I could picture the face Alpha Raymond must be making at his middle son—at his son's brashness and lack of respect. “Parts of his body have been found washing up on their river bank,” Alpha Raymond responded, his tone laced with anger at his son.

I dropped my fork and reached for it quickly, blinking a few times, my face hopefully pale.

“How do you know it was him?” Dominick asked—a good question.

“This happened weeks ago, son,” The visiting Alpha, Alpha Ben, spoke directly to him. “We had time to match dental records; he was past recognition.”

I set down my fork and looked at the ranked members. A mixture of confusion and shock passed on their faces in varying degrees, the same as I had seen on Alpha Raymond's face.

“It wasn’t an accident,” The Alpha’s son, whose name I didn’t know, chimed in. He leaned over towards Hudson, Dominick, and Nolan his glass of wine sloshed as he studied them with a wicked smile.

Hudson looked bored, Dominick sized him up as an opponent, and Nolan, well, Nolan just looked like he wanted to leave.

“We pieced that together,” Dominick responded, leaning towards him. Oh, this might be a fun evening after all. “But did you figure out who did it? You said you had the body for days.”

The visiting Alpha’s son looked taken aback for a moment. “We haven’t been investigating, really." He shrugged, sitting back, trying to seem relaxed, but his movements were too stiff. "Who is he to us?” I couldn’t tell if he was telling the truth or not. He went to say something else, but Alpha Ben placed a hand over his son’s chest, and he closed his mouth immediately.

No one missed Hudson's dark smile at the visiting Alpha's son's subordination to his father.

I picked back up my fork again and pushed the food around my plate. I tried to take a small bite, but my stomach protested against it.

“Not eating?” The visiting Alpha's son asked. “Not eating?” he repeated loudly, and everyone went quiet. I moved my gaze toward him and found him staring at me from a few seats down.

“M-Me?” I asked and looked up under my lashes, not expecting to be addressed by him.

“Yes, you.” He held up his empty wine glass and shook it at an Omega.

“Oh, I’m not that hungry.” I hoped he would stop talking to me. Please stop talking to me; I was invisible this entire meal. I clenched the skirt of my dress.

“Hmm.” I could feel his eyes on me. “Why not?” he asked.

“I was thinking about the Beta that went missing,” I answered honestly, turning slightly toward the head of the table. “I’m just scared. If it truly wasn’t an accident, what could be out there?” I shuddered.

Alpha Raymond seemed satisfied with my answer, but I couldn’t tell why. He sat back in his seat and nodded. “All the more reason for you not to venture out,” he said.

Oh, that was it. Was he still worried I would attempt to leave?

“Y-yes, Alpha. You’re right,” I agreed and bowed my head to him, a move that made my skin crawl every time I did it.

“We’re safe here; one i***t Beta dying on the road, probably at the hands of rogues, means nothing to me,” Alpha Raymond went on. I studied my hands as I heard a few cheers and a clink of glasses.

I stayed until the end of the evening and excused myself, claiming exhaustion only after the visiting Alpha's son had left. They were drinking too much to be of use and had stopped any informative topic a few drinks ago.

I gripped the entryway before pushing myself out. After I said my quiet goodbyes, no one seemed to notice. I looked like I had too much wine and too much terror for one night.

I was craving my bed, that dinner was draining for so many reasons.

I rounded the corner to take the stairs when I heard a muffled voice.

“No, please stop it. I swear, p-please, I have a mate.”

“I don’t see a mark,” a familiar voice that I didn’t immediately place responded. His voice was dark and low. His tone made a chill run down my spine.

“He will reject me, please; there will be so many Omegas that would want to sleep with you." The terror in her voice was loud. I inched closer. I could smell her fear; she knew that no one was coming for her. I knew that feeling all too well.

“But I want you,” That boy crooned, “and I always get what I want," he growled.

I took a few more steps until I was around the corner, facing the alcove where he had her.

“Now,” he continued, I tried to fight the shudder his voice elicited. "Turn around and pull up your dress for a future Alpha, or will I have to do it for you?”

I stepped loudly toward them, as loud as I could on the thick carpet, but it did the job. The Omega, with tears streaming down her face, whose name I did not know, and the visiting Alpha’s son, whose name I never wanted to know, stared back at me.

The Alpha's son gave me a lazy grin but didn’t loosen his grip on the terrified girl.

“Oh, I was just going to my room," I said with mock innocence. "I didn’t mean to interrupt.” I looked away from them, ashamed of what I walked in on. I took a risk and made to move a step away.

“Wait,” he drawled. I smiled internally. “Why don’t you join us for some fun?”

I looked behind my shoulder and bit my thumb, “The Alpha has strict rules about his Omegas and respects the mate bond here," I lied. "I wouldn’t break them if I were you,” I said with shaken confidence.

“And you? What rules does he have for you?” He asked with a smile but released his grip on the terrified Omega.

I shook my head. "I don’t know.” My shoulders sagged. He studied me before finally releasing his prey.

He took a few steps toward me, and I flinched. He took my chin in his fingers and gripped it. “I will have my fun tonight,” he promised. I fought him for a second, but he held my chin firm, so I relaxed into his grip. I couldn’t have a bruise; that was the last thing I needed to show up tomorrow.

I swallowed perceptibly, he leaned closer to my face, and I recoiled. He lingered there for a moment, which felt like hours before I felt his tongue against the side of my cheek. I shrunk away; I didn't have to fake my shock as he licked the side of my face. Every part of me turned inwards at his possessive, demeaning touch.

I was blatantly reminded that the touching ban only applied to his sons. I was actually shocked into silence for the first time in a while.

“I’ll be seeing you later,” he said with such confidence my eyes drifted to my room above us. “A door won't keep me out, and you, you are nothing.” He shrugged, watching my gaze.

“Wh-where are you staying?” I f.orced out.

“You'll find out soon enough?” He gave me one last oily look before he sauntered away, his hands in his pockets.

Once turned the corner, I sagged into the cool stone wall.

I turned to look for the Omega, but she was long gone. I hoped she had enough sense to warm the others.