MADDNESS BY MOONLIGHT

ALPHA PRINCE COLE

Hailey’s POV

“Oh. My. God. Hail, I cannot believe my dad bought me the outdated version of that designer handbag!” Tasha shrieked, practically hopping in place. “I swear, I was this close to dying of embarrassment!”

Beyanca barely looked up from her diamond chain, a sigh rolling off her perfect lips. “Tasha, seriously, will you stop whining over a ten-thousand-dollar handbag? Maybe worry about Alpha King Draven declaring severance with your clan instead?”

At the mention of Alpha Draven, Tasha froze like she’d been struck. Her face went pale, eyes wide. “Oh my god, B! Why would you remind me of that?!”

I slammed my hand on the desk, sharp enough to make them flinch. “Would you two stop bickering already?!” My voice dripped with cold authority—my Beta aura rising, subtle but deadly. Instantly, they went silent. They knew not to push me when my storm brewed.

“Hail! Hail!” a frantic voice called from the hallway.

Before I could react, the classroom door burst open. Sasha stumbled in, hair wild, eyes wide with panic. “Hail—you won’t believe what I just saw. That… that wench actually dared to get close to Cole!”

Beyanca and Tasha snapped to attention, their jaws dropping. “WHAT?!” they shouted in perfect unison.

“You mean… Cole? Alpha Prince Cole?” Beyanca clarified, disbelief and fury sparkling in her eyes.

Sasha nodded violently.

All eyes snapped at me. Expecting. Waiting.

A slow, dangerous smile spread across my lips. Sweet, cold, and utterly lethal. Heat and rage danced behind it.

She dared to touch what’s mine? She dared to breathe near Cole?

The girls shivered at my expression. They knew that smile. They knew what came next.

“Should we… deal with her now?” Beyanca asked, her fist slamming into her palm. BOOM. A pulse of raw power erupted, sending papers, books, and half a chair flying. The entire room trembled—except for us.

Tasha squealed. Sasha grinned.

I raised a single hand, and silence fell like ice. “No.”

My eyes darkened, narrowing into sharp points. I could already imagine the pathetic little goblin trembling beneath my gaze, begging for mercy, wishing she’d never been born into my world.

“Tonight,” I said, my voice smooth and deadly, “I’ll teach her a lesson she’ll never forget.”

The hallway outside seemed to pause, as if the air itself held its breath in anticipation of the storm I was about to unleash.

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Meanwhile — Miller Residence

The entire mansion simmered with anticipation.

Maids lined the halls. Guards stood rigid at their posts. Every breath felt held, as though the house itself was waiting.

Finally—

The doorbell rang.

It was answered instantly, the doors thrown open as if someone had been standing there all day, waiting for that single sound.

Orphella bowed deeply.

It was a gesture she rarely offered.

“Elder Ember,” she greeted.

The woman before her appeared to be in her mid-thirties—beautiful, composed, untouchable. She wore an elegant blue gown beneath a tailored coat, her hair pulled back into a flawless bun. Her presence alone carried authority.

Without acknowledging Orphella, Ember walked past her with effortless grace.

Orphella remained bowed long after she’d gone.

Elder Ember settled into one of the plush seats in the main hall, crossing her legs with calm precision. Orphella hurried after her, signaling for a servant to bring refreshments.

Tea was served.

Ember lifted the cup delicately, twirling the spoon through the steaming brew before taking a slow sip. When she set the cup down, her ember-colored eyes lifted—and locked onto Orphella.

The pressure of that gaze was suffocating.

Orphella instinctively lowered her head, her body submitting before her mind could catch up.

“Where is the girl?” Ember asked calmly.

She lifted her gaze just enough to spare Orphella further humiliation.

Orphella stiffened.

“What… what girl?” she whispered weakly.

Ember turned sharply.

“Where is the human girl, Orphella Miller,” she demanded, her voice cutting through the air like a blade. “The one I placed under your care.”

She paused.

“I will not repeat myself.”

“She’s out,” Orphella answered quickly. “She—she went to school.”

Ember raised a perfectly shaped brow.

“School?” she echoed coolly. “Human school?”

Her gaze sharpened.

“Orphella,” Ember continued casually, though the warning beneath her tone was unmistakable, “you do not understand what that child is, do you?”

Orphella dared to look up—just for a second—then immediately dropped her gaze back to the floor.

A quiet, dangerous sound slipped from Ember’s lips.

“Hmph.”

“That child,” Ember said coldly, “is more powerful than you can ever imagine.”

She rose slowly to her feet.

“At your banquet,” she continued, turning toward the window, “the prince will be there.”

Orphella’s breath hitched.

“The Alpha King,” Ember added. “And the Wolf Pack.”

She turned back, her gaze burning.

“They are coming for her.”

A beat.

“You will make sure she is here.”

The room fell silent.

And Orphella understood—

This was no request.

Orphella could not understand it. A human—dangerous? Enough to draw the Alpha King, the prince, and the High Wolf Pack to her doorstep?

What was Oliviana truly…

And what terrifying power slept beneath her skin?

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Miller Residence (Banquet Hall)

Olivia’s POV

The Miller mansion sparkled with a level of elegance and luxury most people only ever dreamed about. Crystal chandeliers glowed like captured stars. Velvet curtains shimmered. Gold-lined pillars reflected the warm light like they were alive.

Respected guests drifted through the main hall, dressed head-to-toe in wealth and affluence. Their jewelry gleamed. Their perfumes lingered. Their smiles were painted and practiced.

These weren’t normal people.

They were power—the kind that demanded attention with every glance, every breath, every calculated step.

And in the middle of all that… I stayed hidden in my tiny room upstairs, getting ready.

Even though I was “allowed” to attend the banquet, I wasn’t attending as a guest.

I was attending as a servant.

To clean and remain unseen

I stared at myself in the broken mirror—the c***k running through the center split my reflection in half, making it look like there was two of me: the girl I pretended to be, the one they forced on me… and the girl I truly was.

I carefully braided my hair to the side. A bun, like Mrs. Orphella wanted, was impossible. My hair was too thick, too wild—too me.

Then I slipped into the simple cleaning outfit laid out for me. The apron was old. The fabric scratched. It didn’t matter. I still looked like too much of a distraction next to Hailey’s flawless beauty.

So I fixed that.

I dipped my fingers into the dust on the old windowsill and smeared it across my cheeks, dulling my skin.

Then I grabbed the ugly, oversized spectacles—the ones that dimmed the strange mix of blue-and-purple in my eyes. My real eyes… the ones that always made people look twice.