My alarm on the bedside stand went off, I sighed, rolled over to the other side of the bed and turned it off.
I stretched like a cat, not bothering to cover my mouth as I yawned before slowly rising from the bed—another day to be the headmistress of Ravenshore.
As my vision cleared from the sleepiness, I noticed a silhouette sitting in the reading chair next to my bed.
I fumbled for the bedside lamp, my eyes still trained on the figure. When I turned it on, light flooded the room, illuminating the familiar face.
I sighed, feeling instant relief when I saw who it was. "Alice...Luna Alice?"
Alice gave me a slow, sultry smile and rose from the chair. She was dressed in a floor-length red silk gown that shimmered as she moved towards me.
"You must have been so tired to have slept through the night, Vale. I’ve been here for more than an hour, and you didn’t even stir. Yet you claim to be a light sleeper."
"I had a couple of meetings with Ebonvale yesterday and some at the Palace. I will not apologise for my tiredness, Alice. Unlike you, some of us work for everything."
"Hmm..." She arched her brow and turned away from the bed.
That was when I noticed the state of my room. It looked like a tornado had passed through it. My clothes were strewn across the floor, drawers were yanked half open, and papers were scattered everywhere. Everything was in disarray.
"What the hell—" I raised my eyes to glare at Alice, but met her cold gaze, making me swallow the rest of the words on the tip of my tongue.
Sighing heavily, I forced myself out of bed, shivering slightly as my bare feet touched the cold floor. Without a word, I began picking up the clothes, trying to hide the anger growing inside of me.
Alice walked past me towards the mini-bar in the room and returned a while later with a glass of wine in her hand.
"I’m so sorry for this, Vale," she pouted, giving me one of those expressions of mocking sympathy. "I was looking for something."
I clenched my jaw and turned to face her. "What do you want, Alice?"
"Straight to the point, aren’t we?" she scoffed and sauntered closer, then began to circle me, until she stood behind my back. She was at least three inches taller, plus the heels she had on her feet.
"No foreplay? I missed you, you know. I missed having your tongue running all over my body. I miss all the things you used to do to me."
"You broke up with me, Alice. Now tell me why you’re here?"
"The supplies didn’t come in yesterday as promised. I dragged my entire family down here only to go home with nothing. What are you playing at, Vale? You know, patience is the least of my virtues?"
"A student saw them offloading some of the cargo last night, and we had to fix that mess. Unfortunately, he died. The boss asked us to hold on until this clears up. I sent a message across; didn’t you get it?"
"I did," she hummed. "I just wanted to confirm. Anyways..." She settled back on the reading chair she’d been on. "I came for something else. I want to see Eamon Rigg’s file."
By this time, I had gone back to picking my clothes, so I paused, looking up at her. "Why?"
"Nothing serious. Just curious about him," she shrugged, taking a sip from her wine. "Marcus won’t stop talking about the boy, and it’s driving me crazy. I’ve never seen him so animated over someone, and you know me, I’m always interested in my son’s love interests. Ever since he took a liking to boys..."
"It’s against the school’s policies, Alice, to give you information about students. I’m sorry, but I can’t help you."
She snorted, her lips curling into a smirk. "I knew you were going to say that, Vale. That’s why I came prepared this time. How much do you want?"
"This isn’t about money, Alice," I said flatly. "I promised his father I wouldn’t release personal information about him to anyone."
"So you’re saying, Raymond Riggs, the Raymond Riggs that I know truly had a child outside of his mate bond?" Her brows rose mockingly. "Vale, that’s impossible. That’s like saying pigs can fly. The man was practically a moon goddess. He was a virgin until he left Ravenshore. He didn’t date, never drank... he was perfect. I find it hard to believe he would stick his dick elsewhere. He loves his mate to death."
I shrugged, concentrating on folding the clothes I’d picked. "Well, mistakes happen."
"Not this kind of mistake," Alice hissed, rising from her chair. "Something is going on about that boy and it’s fucking bothering me."
"Go on one of those expensive vacations you always take at the end of the year, Alice. You’ll be fine when you come back," I murmured.
"That’s not it, Vale. Something about Eamon doesn’t sit well with me. My wolf was uneasy the entire time he was with us yesterday, and you know, Lira, she’s a hoe. She likes her men and is easy around almost everyone, but she was just restless. I need to know a little more about him. I feel like he’s charmed my Marcus and..."
"I still can’t help you," I cut her off, folding my hands. "Alpha Raymond just d a hundred million dollars to our school. Knowing who you are, you’d spread rumours about his bastard child if I gave you more information, and I can’t take that chance."
She drained her wine and returned to the bar, pouring herself another drink. When she came back, she asked casually. "Did you find out about Jason’s latest fling?"
I inhaled and exhaled deeply before turning to her. "You were right, she is a teacher at Ebonvale, but you have to promise me you won’t do anything to this one. We’re short-staffed these days, so we need all the staff we have."
"You’re making me look bad, Vale. I want to have a chat with her..."
"The last person you chatted with died, Alice, and I know you were involved in it. Do you know how difficult it is to clear up scandals ? Besides, it’s not like you’re guiltless too, you also cheat on your mate..."
"I don’t go around sleeping with other men, Vale. There’s a difference, and these women all want to get pregnant for him. I cannot risk Marcus’s position as heir to Red Ridge unless a miracle happens and I get pregnant, which brings me to my next question... what about the baby you promised me? I’m running out of time, Vale. Jason..."
She trailed off, taking a big gulp from her wine glass. "Jason wants another child, his mother has been trying to make him take a mistress... and I cannot get pregnant, so I need..."
"Relax, Alice!" I said with another sigh. "I’m trying here, okay. But first, let’s manage the death of this student from yesterday. His father is influential, and we’re trying to build our story. If you cannot wait patiently, then you’d have to look for another woman out there. Right now, I’m trying to do what’s best for the school, and I need to start my day."
Alice glanced at the watch on her wrist and chuckled. "Fine, smarty pants. I’ll go. But I have one favour to ask."
I gave her a long, warning look. "What is it?"
"Find a way to make sure Marcus doesn’t mentor Eamon Riggs. His father will not accept that Marcus likes boys now and he’s freaking out. You know how men get when they think their precious heirs are about to fall off their destined path." She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Just...find a way to make sure they don’t become mentor and mentee. Please."
"Okay, Alice, I’ll do what I can," I said coldly. "If that’s all, I need to start my day."
"Fine, fine," she sighed, finished her wine and started strolling to the door. At the door, she paused, turning back to look at me. "If you change your mind about Eamon Riggs..."
"I won’t," I said firmly.
Alice grinned. "Always so stubborn, have a nice day, sugar," she blew me a kiss before slipping out.
As soon as the door shut, I took a deep breath, glaring at the closed door. "Cheap slut."
Then I turned to my room, busying myself with picking up the remainder of my scattered belongings, trying to push thoughts of Alice from my mind. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
It was barely 6 a.m. Who the hell was knocking now?"
Grumbling under my breath, I padded to the door and opened it. The hallway was empty. Just as I was about to close the door, I noticed a small package in front of me.
Warily, I picked it up and brought it inside.
I tore the package open to reveal a single memory card tucked inside a plain envelope.
I’ve been getting this sort of package for a while now.
Sighing deeply, I reached for the bedside drawer at the bottom and retrieved my encrypted phone, then slotted the memory card into it.
It was a video from that day at the summer camp. I watched wide-eyed as the footage continued to play.
By the time the video ended, I was shaking with fear and rage. I’d failed.
Without warning, I hurled my phone against the wall, watching it shatter into pieces.
"No!" I screamed. "I’m fucked."
A female sentinel burst into my room. "Headmistress Vale, are you alright?"
"No, I’m not. Get me Eamon Riggs."
The sentinel blinked. "Right now? It’s not time..."