All Chapters of Vying For The Alpha's Heart: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Eltonia’s fingers pressed into the knotted muscle of his left shoulder, right where the old burn scar tissue puckered the skin."Harder, 'Tonia," Alpha Oreon rumbled with that thick voice she'd grown so fond of. He was face down on the massage table in his private study, the scent of sandalwood and old parchment permeating the room."If I go harder, Alpha, you will be bruised," she murmured. Her heart did its usual stupid flip. "You were tense during the council meeting. I could see it from the hall.""You... saw that?" He let out a long breath as her thumbs found the center of his pain, the spot on his neck that had ached since the fire.The fire that had taken her family.The fire that had given her… him.She had been nine years old, trapped under a burning beam. He had been twenty, a new Alpha, pulling her from the wreckage himself, his own back and neck burning as the roof collapsed behind them.For eleven years, she had been his Omega. His personal attendant. The one who laundered

The silence in the dining hall was so total, Eltonia could hear the wax dripping from the candles.Oreon’s cold eyes were locked on hers, and she couldn't understand what was going through his head. She felt pinned, like a butterfly to a board, as her cheeks burned with a shame that wasn't hers.Then, the scrape of his chair on the stone floor was like a loud bell.Oreon stood, his full Alpha height dominating the room. He didn’t look at Lady Melissa. He just wiped his mouth with his napkin and placed it neatly on the table."Lady Melissa," he said, all the warmth gone. "You are... forward. Perhaps you are tired from your journey."He finally turned his gaze to her, and her drunken, flirtatious smile withered. She saw the ice, too."I... I was just..." she stammered."The night is over," Oreon cut in. He looked at his uncle. "Abram. See to our guest."He gave a sharp nod. And then, his eyes flicked back to Eltonia, who was still holding the water pitcher with a death grip."Eltonia. Y

Eltonia woke before dawn.She had not slept. Her small room in the Omega quarters, usually a safe, quiet haven, had felt like a cell. Lyra’s words about being a "mouse" and Holly’s sneer about "kennels" had echoed in her head all night.But worse than the insults was the silence.The Alpha had not summoned her.After Holly had thrown her out, Eltonia had waited, expecting a bell or a page to call her back. Nothing. He had faced the rest of his night, the pain of his migraine, and the fallout of the disastrous dinner... alone.She had failed him.Now, in the cold, blue light of morning, she was already at work. Her hands were already moving on autopilot. She was in the Alpha’s study, a place she was normally forbidden to be at this hour. But she knew he wouldn't be here. He'd be in the training yards, running off the anger of the previous night.She used the quiet to restore order. She dusted the heavy bookshelves. She collected the mug Holly had stolen. It was cold, the tea untouched.

Lord Abram’s study was, in every way, the opposite of his nephew's.Where Oreon's room was a place of work, filled with maps, half-read books, and the scent of herbal balm, Abram's was a place of possession.It was meticulous. Every book on his wall was arranged by color and size, untouched. A decanter of golden brandy sat on a silver tray. There was no fire, only a cold hearth. The air smelled of old money and lemon oil.Abram sat behind his massive, uncluttered desk with a delicate glass of brandy in his hand. He was smiling.He had just received word from his own paid servant. Lady Melissa, the shrieking harpy, had been bundled into a carriage at dawn with her fur clutched around her, still complaining.Phase one was a magnificent success.He took a slow, appreciative sip. The brandy burned, but it was a clean burn. A controlled fire. Unlike the fire that had taken his fool of a brother, Roric.Abram had always hated his brother. Roric, the "noble" Alpha, the "beloved" leader. He'd

Eltonia's feet were moving before her brain gave the command.She turned, her hand slamming into the heavy tray, sending the silver lid clattering to the floor with a ringing clang that echoed in the tomb-like room.She didn't look back.She didn't see if Radinah flinched. She didn't see the woman's bloody smile. She just ran.She bolted from the Bison Suite, and as her footsteps pounded on the stone runner, the spider remained in an amused silence. She fled down the grand staircase, her breath coming in panicked sobs."...cut... the pain... away...""...going to... heal... your Alpha..."The words were a drumbeat of terror in her head. Radinah wasn't a healer. She was a butcher. She wasn't going to soothe Oreon's pain. She was going to end it, with her callused, knife-ready hands.And Abram, that viper, had brought this monster here. He knew. He had to. This wasn't a "selection"; it was a state-sanctioned assassination attempt.She burst back into the kitchens, and her momentum carri