The Alpha's Villainess

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Ah, thank you, Natalie,” the man said as I placed his ale on the table in front of him. “I’ve missed having a drink here after a hard day’s work. You’re truly a gift from the Goddess herself.”

I beamed my best customer service smile at him. His face was becoming familiar, recognising him from the few times he’d visited over the past week that I’d been working at Hazel’s tavern. Even though it had been a short period of time, the regulars were already starting to know me by name, all of whom had been really lovely in welcoming me.

“Not a problem!” I replied cheerily, taking the coins from his hand. “Give me a yell if you need anything else.”

With that, I went back to the counter to deposit the money into the register.

“They’re really starting to warm up to you, aye?” Hazel asked, walking out from the kitchen to lean against the counter. She was drying her hands with a towel as she gave me a small smile.

“I hope so,” I replied, closing the draw.

Hazel had been supervising me, helping me to adjust and learn the ropes of running the tavern, to which I was eternally grateful for. Though I understood the basics, there were still a lot of things I’d had to get used to. But I was willing to learn and prove myself, quickly falling into a routine as best I could.

I watched as Hazel then walked to the register next to me, taking out some of the money, before turning and grabbing my hand.

“You’ve done a great job this week,” she said, pressing a few coins into my palm. “You’ve earned this.”

With a rush of excitement, I looked down at the money – one silver and five copper coins. I knew it probably wasn’t that much compared to the luxuries of Scarlett’s upbringing, but to me this was everything. It was my first step towards earning enough money to leave the Capital for good. Towards earning my real freedom.

“Thank you, Hazel!” I gasped, barely able to contain my enthusiasm.

“It’s not much, I know, but I hope you’ll be fine with this.”

“It’s more than enough! Thank you!”

I had to resist the urge to hug the woman, knowing she probably wasn’t the type to want that sort of affection from someone she barely knew. But I had been getting to know her. Slowly. Every day she seemed to open up to me a little more. I could tell she was a deeply caring person, always making sure I was looked after and treated well, but I couldn’t help but notice that small push back in her mannerisms. Like she wasn’t quite sure what to make of me yet. Don’t get me wrong, I was aware it was a totally valid response to a random girl knocking on her door. I would be weirded out too if someone invited themselves to live in my house because a monarch said so.

“You two ladies should get going if you’re going to make it in time,” Rubeus said, catching me by surprise. I hadn’t expected to see him during this shift, so his arrival was unexpected.

“In time for what?”

“There is a big event in town today,” Hazel answered. “A parade that’ll be marching down the main street and then out through the west gate. There will be a lot of people attending and the market vendors in town will also be doing special deals for the occasion. I don’t want to miss out on any good bargains.”

“Oh?”

I tried to think back on which event in the book this could be, but nothing immediately sprung to mind. Perhaps Aurora had been too busy with Victor to attend. If I had to take a guess as to what she was up to right now – going off the assumption that this part at least hadn’t changed too much from the original storyline – I’d say she was probably screaming out Victor’s name in ecstasy for like the seventh chapter in a row, begging him for more in one their typical spicy bedroom scenes. And, man, had they been good chapters.

Was it weird to think about that now that I’d met them both in person?

Hmm... probably.

Besides, every time the idea of any sort of intimacy crossed my mind, I was immediately bombarded with thoughts of Alistair. The matebond didn’t seem to care that neither party was interested in pursuing the relationship. It would just flash me memories of his eyes... the way his voice sounded... the curve of his lips.... It would force me to imagine how it would feel to tear his shirt open, to run my hand down his chest and...—

—Goddammit. There it was again.

I shook the thoughts from my head and concentrated back on the conversation.

“Come on, we’d better get going so we don’t miss the main event,” Hazel urged, removing her apron and dusting down her skirt.

I did the same in quickly removing my own and followed after her as she stormed ahead, somehow able to walk so fast in her older age.

“What’s the special occasion?” I called out as I tried to keep pace with her. My injuries had mostly healed, but even with the accelerated healing, I still wasn’t completely back to full health.

Around me, I noticed how the streets definitely seemed livelier than usual, banners and streamers having been hung up between streetlamps for whatever they were celebrating. Everywhere I looked, the people seemed happy and enjoying the occasion, chatting amongst themselves as they completed the last finishing touches. It was hard not to feel the infectious energy of it all, finding myself starting to smile as I watched them.

“It’s for the biggest event of the year - the annual leadership meeting for all the packs,” Hazel answered as we walked. “Thaddeus’s boys will be leaving town for a few days to act as representatives. There is a meeting spot not far from here where they’ll discuss the future of Aeredale with the other Alphas.”

I almost tripped over as she explained, the smile on my face immediately freezing in place. “...Is that so?”

It turns out I did know about this event. It was just that I’d thought this annual leadership meeting happened much later in the book. My sense of time must have been off, but I guess Aurora originally went through a bunch of lovey-dovey filler chapters with her new mate that made it feel longer.

If I remembered correctly, I was pretty sure that Aurora was severely bullied at this meeting. In the story, Liam brought Scarlett along to help him turn the other Lunas against Aurora, spreading rumours of her being dirty and of unknown origin, doing so whilst Victor was preoccupied. A crowd soon surrounded and began mocking her, bringing the poor girl to tears. Well, up until Victor showed up just in time, of course. They all shut up pretty quickly once their future Alpha King reaffirmed his devotion to her.

I wondered if anything would change now that Victor was no longer the heir. It would also be interesting to find out what Liam would do without Scarlett, especially now he was no longer obsessed with Aurora.

...Would seeing the other couples make Alistair think of me?

Ugh. I groaned internally, wishing more than anything that there was an ‘off’ switch to the matebond. Now that there was a chance I was going to catch a glimpse of him from afar, it seemed to only be getting worse. I wish I’d figured out what the event was sooner so I could have come up with a good excuse to avoid the whole thing.

“Doesn’t look like there are any good spots left near the front...,” Hazel said, scanning the crowd who were gathering tightly along the street.

I put on a sad face and clicked my fingers in disappointment. “Ah, damn, what a shame. I guess we’ll just have to stand somewhere much further away. Or maybe we should just give u—”

“—Wait... what’s that?” Hazel cut me off as she thought to herself aloud, her eyes spotting something behind me. She clearly wasn’t listening to what I was saying. Nevertheless, I turned to look at what her sight had stopped on.

Oh, great...

“...Maybe up there...,” she mused, rushing past me to jump onto a pile of wooden crates at the back of the crowd. “Come on, Natalie!”

Goddammit.

I followed after her, not wanting to spoil her excitement, and joined her on top of the boxes. She had been right that it gave us a much clearer view of the street ahead. Almost too clear. I just had to hope now that none of the main characters spotted me. The last thing I needed was to bring their attention to myself in front of all of these people.

Before I had a chance to think of a way to hide myself better though, suddenly music began to play and the crowd cheered in response.

The parade was starting.

Musicians were the first to come down the main street, playing drums and brass instruments that sent the crowd crazy with excitement. Then it was a group of older looking men, perhaps being some sort of ranked members. Clearly significant in one way or another, but I didn’t recall any of them being of great importance from the story.

...Then it came time for the royals.

Thaddeus was first, waving politely to the crowds. He wouldn’t be attending the event, but I believe he made an appearance for official reasons, seeing off the envoys attending the meeting. He walked down the street with that same intimidating aura I remembered, yet his warm smile felt completely in contrast to that.

And though I couldn’t be sure, I thought he might have spotted me for a moment. As if his eyes caught mine for a split second, a twitch to his lip almost smirking. But it was too fast to tell with any real certainty. I was probably just being paranoid.

Finally, it was time for Aurora and Victor, immediately making me tense up. This was Aurora’s first big public debut in front of Aeredale’s Capital, confirming the rumours that Victor had found his mate. I wasn’t sure if it was as big of a deal now that Victor was no longer the heir, but I imagined it was still going to cause quite a stir.

Aurora seemed timid as she walked, appearing unsure of how to act in front of so many people. I knew that every person here was probably wondering who she was, adding to the already existing pressure of being there, and it must have been starting to eat away at her.

Just like the book though, Victor quickly swooped in and wrapped an arm around her possessively, kissing her cheek for the entire crowd to see.

...And a roar of excitement came in reply.

“Is that Prince Victor’s mate?” one girl gushed from within the crowd near me. “I can’t believe how pretty she is!”

“Why couldn’t it have been me?” her friend whined back.

Victor then seemed to whisper something into Aurora’s ear, making her blush. But I knew it wasn’t something spicy or inappropriate, but rather he was encouraging her to showcase who she was and why she deserved to be there. He wanted her to leave no doubt in anyone’s mind why she was his.

And with a simple gesture of her hand reaching up towards the sky, suddenly the air filled with flashes of bright lights and colours. Fireworks conjured from her magic.

The entire crowd gasped in awe as they witnessed the exceptionally beautiful spectacle above them. Even I found myself in a daze as I watched the colourful sparks crackle and fall, still in disbelief that I now lived in a world with such magic.

Just as Victor had hoped, the crowd instantly fell in love with Aurora after her display. Almost as fast as he had fallen for her the moment they had met.

Next to me, I heard Hazel chuckle in wonderment as she watched the last lingering fireworks dissolve. “It’s good to see that Victor is all grown up now and has found such an incredible mate. Truly, she must be blessed by our Great Mother. I imagine Thaddeus couldn’t be happier for him.”

“Right...,” I agreed politely.

Before I could say anything else though, something else then caught my attention. Something unmistakable. Even standing so far away from the street, and despite the hundreds of people surrounding us, somehow it was impossible to ignore the overwhelming scent that then hit me.

Hazel didn’t seem to notice my shift in attention, her own curiosity making her scan the parade in confusion as she looked for something. Or someone.

“That’s strange,” she pondered whilst she searched. “I would have thought that Alistair would be here. He should be going to the meeting too.”

I didn’t look at her as she spoke, my eyes fixated on one cloaked figure following behind at a small distance, travelling amongst other men in similar attire. Just far away enough that many would wonder if he were part of the parade at all, or perhaps just one of the other guards around him.

But I knew.

I would have known who he was in a crowd filled with thousands of people, no matter how well he hid his face. No matter how much he wished I couldn’t.

“He is,” I answered Hazel quietly, lifting my hand to point towards the man that captured my undivided attention. “He’s right there.”

“What? How do you know that’s—”

But she got the confirmation she’d wanted before she could even finish her question.

Because as I continued to stare at the one cloaked man I’d indicated at, the one who was making my heart start to race in my chest, his golden eyes then turned towards me....

...and he stared back.