omega · cunning · manipulative · polyamory · romance · fantasy · submissive facade · alpha hatred · noble
The Aranthine palace gardens lay silver under a crescent moon, the air thick with the scent of night-blooming jasmine and damp earth. A lone figure moved through the hedges—Onyx Halter, his raven-black hair catching the pale light, his frilled coat fluttering with each agitated step. He paused at a marble bench, fingers brushing the cool stone, his gray eyes fixed on the distant council wing where torches flickered. He told himself he didn't care about the meeting, about politics, about the heir. But his hand drifted unconsciously to his throat, where the phantom weight of the bonding bite still lingered. He'd meant to escape his chambers, to clear his head, yet here he was, drawn to the gardens that bordered the council hall—the same place you would pass on the way back. He hated thi…