Mated to the Wrong Alpha Prince

Riley has graduated!

I arrived at Riley's graduation day party around mid-afternoon, wearing my favorite summer dress and sandals. I had been friends with Riley since we were in middle school, and I was excited to celebrate this milestone with her. As I walked into her backyard, I saw that the place was decorated with balloons and streamers in Riley's favorite color - blue. Felicity, Riley's girlfriend, greeted me with a warm hug and a huge smile.

"Hey Astrid! So glad you could make it!" she said. "Riley's inside getting ready, but she'll be out soon. Help yourself to some food and drinks!"

I thanked her and made my way to the buffet table, where I piled my plate with barbecue chicken, coleslaw, and corn on the cob. As I ate, I chatted with some of Riley's friends - Marco, Tyler, and Conan - about our plans for the summer.

As the sun began to set, Riley emerged from the house, wearing a white sundress and a graduation cap. She looked radiant, and I couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy at how effortlessly put-together she looked. She hugged Felicity, whispered something into her ears that made her flush and then turned to us.

"Hey guys!" she said, grinning from ear to ear. "Thank you for coming. I have now crawled up from Hall Mark hell and I feel great!"

We all cheered and raised our glasses to Riley, toasting to her success and her bright future.

As we continued dancing and chatting, Katherina walked in. She looked like she was in her early 20s, with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She was wearing a tight-fitting red dress that left little to the imagination. I noticed Riley give Felicity a curious look, and Felicity shrugged in response. We all turned to face the new arrival as she strutted confidently into the room.

"Who the hell invited her?" Tyler whispered to me.

"I have no idea," I replied, eyeing the stranger warily.

As she made her way over to us, I noticed that she seemed to be staring intently at Riley.

"Hi there, peasant," she said, flashing a bright smile. "I heard about this party and just had to come check it out."

Riley looked at her skeptically. "And who exactly told you about this party?"

"Oh, just a friend," Katherina replied vaguely. "Anyway, I was hoping to meet the host."

"You’ve met her, and now you can leave," Riley said, eyeing Katherina suspiciously.

"I quite enjoy the vibe here," Katherina said with a smirk. "Be a good host and stop ruining my fun, Riley."

I could feel the tension in the air as Katherina and Riley locked eyes. Felicity put a protective arm around Riley's waist, and Marco stepped forward, his hand on Tyler's shoulder.

"Is there a problem here?" Marco asked, his voice low and menacing.

Katherina laughed nervously. "No problem at all, I just wanted to come say hi. I'll leave you guys to it."

With that, Katherina turned and walked away, but not before casting a lingering glance back at Riley. As she disappeared into the crowd, I could see that Riley was visibly shaken.

"What was that all about?" Felicity asked, her voice laced with concern.

"She’s just here to ruin the fun," Riley said, shaking her head.

But I could tell that Riley wasn't convinced by what she said. She kept looking over her shoulder, as if she expected Katherina to come back at any moment. I wondered if we should tell her to be on guard, but I didn't want to ruin the festive mood of the party.

Just then, Katherina reappeared out of nowhere, and I felt a chill run down my spine.

"Well, well, well," she said, her voice dripping with malice. "Looks like the party's almost over. Too bad, I was just starting to have fun."

"What do you want?" Riley demanded, her voice hard.

"I just wanted to congratulate you on your graduation," Katherina said, her tone mocking. "One could not possess that much sheer luck and not feeling proud about it."

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. I didn't want to let Katherina ruin Riley's big day. I walked up to her, trying to stay composed. "Katherina, why are you doing this? This is supposed to be a celebration for Riley," I said, trying to reason with her.

“Is it too hard to keep it to yourself for just one god damn day?”

Katherina rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I don't see why everyone's making such a big deal about her anyway. A charity case," she said dismissively.

I felt a surge of anger. How dare she insult Riley like that? "That's not true. Riley worked really hard to get where she is, and she deserves to be celebrated," I said, my voice rising.

Katherina just smirked. "Oh, I'm sure she did. But I bet she couldn't have done it without her little girlfriend doing all her work for her," she said, gesturing towards Felicity.

“And we used to be so close. Didn’t we, Riley?"

Riley's expression tightened. It was clear that she didn't want to talk about their past relationship in front of everyone at the party.

"Look, Katherina, this isn't the time or the place for this," Felicity interjected, stepping forward and placing a protective arm around Riley's waist.

Katherina smirked. "Oh, I think it's the perfect time and place. Don't you, Riley?"

Riley's eyes narrowed. "Don’t do that, not today?"

"I'm talking about us, Riley. You and me. That night in the campsite. February 18th. Don't you think it's time we talked about it?" Katherina said, her voice dripping with malice.

I could see Riley's jaw clench as she tried to maintain her composure. "I don't know what you want from me, Katherina."

"I want closure, Riley. You never gave me closure," Katherina said, taking a step closer to Riley.

I could feel the tension in the air thickening as Katherina and Riley stood face to face. As much as I wanted to intervene, I knew it wasn't my place.

"I must confess that I had liked you. Years ago, and I liked you too much it hurts. More than I could bear." Riley took a step closer. “And I think part of you wanted me. Like how you wanted me that night.”

This doesn’t seem like the usual Riley at all. But I knew this Riley. My cheerful sarcastic little asshole would talk about Katherina and how pretty she was for hours. Her sacasm turned into honey and she was intoxicated. Riley was in love with Kat for as long as I know. But that stopped years ago.

“Then why would you reject me?” Katerina leaned forward. Her wide-opened eye gave a a notion that she has not known of Riley’s feelings for her until this very moment.

“You’re betrothed. What else could I said? I could not blame you for having chosen your family over me. What would you have me done? It was your choice in the very first place.”

“I…i-”

Katherina turned to , her eyes narrowing. "And who are you supposed to be? Riley's new girlfriend?"

Felicity didn't flinch. "Yes, I am. And I won't stand by and watch you try to ruin this night for her."

Katherina snorted. "Please. You're just a rebound. Did you just hear what she said? She loved me for years."

That was the final straw for me. I stepped forward. "Loved. She did, but she doesn’t anymore. You had your shot and you missed. And now you wan to to ruin this for her too?"

Katherina laughed. "She loved me." Her voice dripped with pain

And with that, Katherina lunged forward, knocking over a table and sending drinks flying in every direction. The partygoers gasped and scattered, trying to avoid the chaos. Riley and Felicity moved out of the way, but Katherina was focused on causing destruction.