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

Eltonia’s hands were not shaking.She was an Omega. She was the Alpha’s personal attendant. Her hands did not get to shake.But as she placed the last piece of heavy silver cutlery on the formal dining table, she had to press her palms flat against the cool wood to still the tremor.It was one hour until dinner. One hour until she arrived.Eltonia had spent the entire day in a state of muted trepidation. She had changed the linens in the guest room; the finest linens, per Lord Abram’s instructions. She had ensured the Alpha’s study was stocked with his preferred tea, knowing he would need it. She had done her duties, her feet silent on the stone floors, while her heart pounded terrifiedly against her ribs.A shout from the grand foyer shattered the quiet of the packhouse."Helloooo? Is no one here to greet me? My goodness! Alpha Oreon, darling! Your future has arrived, and she is freezing!"Eltonia froze, her blood turning to ice. She was early.She hurried from the dining hall, smoot

The sharp, rattling sound of the tea tray being abandoned in the hall was louder than a scream.Oreon’s eyes followed Eltonia as she fled like a small, dark shadow vanishing into the corridor. He saw the slump of her shoulders, the tremor in her hands before she turned.Holly’s words rang in his ear too. "...wherever it is you sleep."A spike of blinding pain, entirely unrelated to his neck, shot through Oreon's temple. Even when he turned his head, the movement was agonizing."Holly."His voice was not a request. It was a command.Holly, who had been smiling from her small victory, turned back. Her expression softened into a fake sweet concern. "Oreon, darling, don't let her upset you. She's just an Omega. She doesn't understand the pressure you're under. I do."As she walked toward him with her hips swaying, the scent of her perfume—jasmine and something too sweet—assaulted his senses."Her place," Oreon gritted, "is where I tell her it is. She is my personal attendant. Not a stray

The silence in the foyer was outstanding.Radinah’s impossible smile remained as her dark eyes stayed fixed on Eltonia. In that moment, Eltonia felt like prey. She was a mouse, pinned by the gaze of a shadow-cat, and her skin prickled with an alien kind of fear.This was not the loud, dismissible jealousy of Holly. This was something cruel, removed from the time, and predatory.Holly, of course, was the one to shatter the stillness."Well?" she snapped, clearly irritated. "Is she broken? Or just rude? Why is she staring at the help?"Radinah’s gaze slid from Eltonia. She did not look at Holly. She looked, as was proper, to the Alpha. Her smile melted into an expression of serene obedience.Her voice, when it came, was the opposite of Melissa's. It was a whisper, but a whisper that was a clear as a bell. It was soft, and had a strange, sibilant lisp, as if she were tasting the air."My apologiesss, Alpha Oreon. The... attendant..." Her eyes flicked back to Eltonia, "...she has a... fam

Eltonia stumbled back into the kitchens, her heart pulsating so hard it felt like an anchor trying to escape her chest.She collapsed onto a wooden stool by Lyra's bread table with her hands shaking so violently she had to hide them in her apron."...in the way...""...a dangerousss thing, little mouse...""...this house... is already... full... of webs."Lyra, who was vigorously scrubbing a cast-iron pot, took one look at Eltonia's ghost-white face and slammed the pot down."By the Moon, 'Tonia! What did that woman do to you?" Lyra demanded, obviously concerned. "You look like you saw a pack-wraith."Eltonia couldn't speak. She just shook her head, trying to get the image of Radinah's dead eyes out of her mind. The smell of arnica and mint on her own hands suddenly felt like a mark that Radinah had seen... and targeted."She... she's..." Eltonia finally whispered, "Lyra, she's not... right. She has calluses on her hands. Like... like a fighter. And her eyes...""Spit it out, 'Tonia!"

His full weight was on her.Eltonia was pinned against the solid wood of the map room door with her entire body acting as a shield for the trembling Alpha.His head was on her shoulder, his breath coming out hot against her neck. His hand, which had grabbed her tunic, had slid to her waist. His fingers dug into her hip, not in anger, but as a drowning man grabs a piece of driftwood.Her own hands were still pressed flat against his chest. She could feel his heart beating wildly in a way that matched her own.The darkness was absolute. It was a suffocating blackness that erased the packhouse, the world, the titles. There was no Alpha. There was no Omega. There were only two people in a box, surrounded by the smell of old parchment, his sweat, and her fear."Alpha... Oreon... Oreon," she whispered. The use of his name without his title was a shocking but intimate slip. "It's... it's just me. I am here. I am not... her."He didn't lift his head. He just made a pained sound in his throat