“Can I help you?” came a voice from beside me, and I almost jumped in surprise. A woman was standing by the bookstore’s doorway, a few feet away from me. She had silver hair that looked flat and thin, like a grandma, but her skin was free of wrinkles. She must be in her mid to late twenties. “Oh, no, I’m just looking while waiting for my fiancée,” I replied. “Be careful with the book. It’s ancient.” “Excuse me?” The woman stared at her for a few more seconds before vanishing inside the store without a word. “Rude,” I muttered under my breath as I leafed through the book again before slamming it close. I was about to place it back on the shelf when I noticed I was holding an old leather-bound volume. The embossed golden letters on the cover read: Grimoire. I let out a little shriek and dropped the item as if it burned me. “Ew, ew, ew!” I wagged my hands in front of me as if getting rid of something revolting in my hands. What was a witch’s bible doing in a place like this? “Becc
“Selina, I’d like you to meet Jade, president of the student council.” True to his word, Henry called his chauffeur to take us to the university. When we arrived, we stopped by the enormous wooden doors, by the bulletin board where a young woman was waiting. Henry excitedly approached her, both of them smiling and staring at each other for a few seconds before the king introduced us. I inspected the girl in front of me. She was pretty, looked a little older and was about Henry’s height. She was skinny, with a tawny, yellowish-brown complexion, clear brown eyes, an aquiline nose, high cheekbones, and full pink lips. Her jet-black hair was pulled in a hasty ponytail, and she was dressed casually in a university sweatshirt and dark skinny jeans. “Hi, it’s an honor to finally meet you, Princess Selina,” Jade said. She seemed friendly, but I could tell her smile was a little tight. “Henry told us so much about you.” “Did he?” I copied her tone. “All good things, I hope?” “Certainly. An
“Let us start the tour, shall we?” Henry took my hand in his and pushed his way to the front of the throng. Jasper and his younger sister stayed behind, quietly squabbling by the bulletin board. “Aldervolf University is one of the top universities in Volfenheim and in the world,” Jade was saying as we walked through halls and lecture rooms, museums, and other historic places inside the university. “It was home to the greatest scholars that ever lived, including Marion the Great, Lord Volfenheim’s first-born son and heir to the throne.” I was completely oblivious to the tour and the stories because I was too preoccupied with Henry, who had been holding my hand the entire time. He was listening to Jade intently, but he often smiled at me and asked if I was okay. He also introduced me to other students as his fiancée. It almost made every sacrifice and every pain worthwhile. Almost. “The University of Aldervolf’s mission and core values,” Jade continued, stopping at the center of the
“What about you?” I turned to see Julian walking towards me. He was scowling and was still red in the face. Humiliation and anger do that to people. When I looked over behind him, I saw the entire tour group was watching us. “You’re the future empress, but you look like you’re clueless about it, like the rest of us.” “Of course not.” I raised my chin in the air. “Henry told me about it all.” It was a lie, but they don’t need to know that. “So you approve of this?” I don’t, but my stepmother’s words rang in my ears. People loved Henry and his mother and they supported the Royal Family’s decisions. I needed them to love me, too. “The king does not need my approval to do anything. It’s his kingdom,” I said, earning several nods and murmurs from the group. “He knows it better than anyone. Now, if you’ll excuse me...” I left the quad, and as soon as I was far enough from the group, I made a turn to one of the buildings and hid there, trying to calm myself. Although I was born and rais
“You’re Selina, right, from Rozenberg?” “Who’s asking?” I raised an eyebrow at the girl in front of me and crossed my arms across my chest. How did Henry ever get used to ordinary people calling him by his given name? “Henry is looking for you. He’s waiting for you on the rooftop of the Science Center.” “Really?” My mood quickly shifted after hearing that. I did not even thank the girl or anything. I just turned on my heel and left. I went straight to the Science Center, an extensive structure on the university’s west side. It has only five floors, but it covers thousands of square feet of land. It comprised a broad range of scientific fields, including my new major. I took the elevator to the rooftop, but when I arrived, all I saw was a lot of nothing. I looked in every nook and cranny of the place, but there was no Henry to be found, save for a large stretch of blank concrete floor, numerous industrial air conditioning and ventilation systems, solar panels, and a massive water ta
These were the three things we knew about Jade at the time. Number 1. Jade is a liar. Number 2. Jade is a scientist and the student body president. She was way up there in the social hierarchy. Occult or not, everybody loved her. Number 3. Jade is madly, deeply, irrevocably... in love with Henry. The first two, I agree. The third one I’ve yet to find out. When I left the Science Center, I found Henry alone in the garden in a much better mood, but he looked like he was about to pass out from exhaustion, so I called the driver to pick us up and take us home. I never mentioned what I saw, and he never mentioned having company. Jade never texted me about Henry’s location either, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt and waited until midnight for her to contact me. It never happened. Two days later, when the lockdown was finally lifted, Empress Camilla hosted a televised State Reception for me. She granted me Volfenheim citizenship and then introduced me to their people as Henry’s f
Hello, readers! It's me, Salvia. If you're a new subscriber, you can scroll past this note. If you've been here before, please reread the story from the beginning because I did a major editing. Here's what I did. *I switched the point of view from third to first *Introduced a few minor characters *I wrote a few more scenes *Merged some of the old chapters *Gave the existing characters a little backstory *I also changed the title from Enemy of the Wolves to Alpha's Mate: The Villainess because that is what people thought of Selina, a villainess. Now, don't let me keep you. Happy reading!S.A. Avery
I knocked three times on the door before a uniformed maidservant opened it. “Is Henry here?” I inquired. After the incident in the Ball Room, I left to find where my fiancé took his best friend’s sister. People would think of me weird if I didn’t. Henry’s reaction to what happened was excessive. The other guests thought so too, so as my stepmother and Becca. If there really was something happening behind the scenes, I needed to put a stop to it. Or at least I needed to tell them to tune it down. “Who is it, Malia?” Henry asked from inside the room. “Your fiancée,” I replied flatly, brushing the servant girl aside and entering the room. “Well, well...” Henry was standing next to Jade, who was sitting and crying into a handkerchief. She was still dressed in her wine-stained gown. Seriously, she went to a party without bringing a backup dress? What a m*ron. “What are you doing here, Selina?” Henry demanded, clearly irritated. “What do you mean?” I asked, a wry smile on my face. “I’