the alphas mercy

~lilac~ ​I practically tackled Elara the second she stepped onto the gravel, screaming because I’ve missed her so much it hurts. Having my best friend back at the estate for the whole summer is literally the only thing I’ve been looking forward to, and I was already babbling about all the parties we’re going to hit and how much we have to catch up on. She seemed a little distracted for a second, glancing up at the house like she thought she saw something, but I just grabbed her hand and started pulling her toward the entrance. I didn't tell her that the house has felt like a tomb lately because my dad has been in such a brutal, icy mood, but I figured as long as we stayed out of his way in the east wing, we’d be totally fine ~elara~ Lilac was still dragging me toward the back of the estate, already rambling about the massive kick-off party she’d planned for the weekend. "The pool is literally huge, Elara, we’re talking DJ, open bar, the works," she cheered, gesturing toward the sprawling blue water in the distance. She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a gossiping whisper, "Last year was insane—one of the guys actually ended up getting head on a giant swan floaty right in the middle of the deep end while the music was blasting. My dad would have absolutely killed everyone if he’d walked out of his office, but he never leaves that cave." I looked back at the house, the sun hitting the stone walls of the massive estate, thinking about how we were basically in our own world out here while he stayed hidden away in the dark. Lilac finally slowed down as we reached the edge of the massive stone patio, the heat from the tiles radiating through my shoes. She turned to me, her eyes dancing with the kind of secret that usually gets people in trouble. "You missed the craziest night, Elara," she said, her voice dropping to a low, gravelly whisper that made me lean in. "Last Friday, the party got so out of hand. I had this guy—tall, tattoos everywhere—and I didn't even care who was watching. I pushed him onto that black marble ledge by the deep end and just went for it. I deep throated him right there while the music was thumping so loud I could feel it in my teeth. It was a total rush." She stepped closer to the water, tracing the edge of a stray floaty with her toe. "Then we got into the pool and I just climbed on top of him. I rode him right in the center of the water, watching the ripples hit the sides, and the best part was he kept trying to test me, seeing how much I could take or if I’d get scared of getting caught. He left me totally wrecked, shaking in the shallow end after he was done." She laughed, a sharp, jagged sound that echoed off the high walls of the estate. "And the whole time, my dad was just up there in that dark office, probably signing papers or staring at a screen. He’s so far gone into his own world he doesn't even realize his own backyard is turning into a playground." I looked up at the house, my skin prickling again. The sun was hitting the windows at an angle that made them look like gold shields, hiding whoever was behind them. The thought of her doing all that while he sat just a few yards away, cold and oblivious, made my stomach do a slow flip. It was like she was playing a game with a ghost, pushing every boundary she could find just to see if the man in the tower would ever actually look down and see what was happening right under his feet. Lilac just laughed when she saw my face and started dragging me toward the back, acting like this place was just some regular spot. "Come on, stop staring at the walls, it’s just a house," she said, but I just shook my head because she's totally delusional. "Lilac, this isn't a house and it's barely even a mansion, it’s like a straight up castle," I told her, looking at the high stone arches and the way the estate just kept going and going until it hit the trees. Everything felt way too big and way too quiet, like the whole place was just holding its breath waiting for someone to get in trouble. We finally got out to the pool area and the sun was bouncing off the water so bright it hurt my eyes, but then I saw it. There were these dull, crusty white stains dried right onto the dark marble ledge by the deep end, and even more smeared across the top of one of the plastic floaties drifting near the filter. Lilac didn't even blink, she just kicked a stray towel out of the way and pointed at the mess on the stone. "Yeah, that’s from the guy I told you about," she whispered, a smug little grin on her face as she looked at the dried spots on the ledge. "I told you I wrecked him right there, he didn't even bother to clean up after he finished"