Chapter 3 : Dangerous Games

*Alice's POV*

His light brown eyes shone in the moonlight, like a pair of crystal clear amber stones. They were clean and beautiful, but there was no desire inside.

Tears pearled in my eyes, but I forgot how to react. I forgot everything I had taught myself over the years on how to defend myself from people like James. Like Olivia.

He was dangerously close, and somehow was leaning closer. Why wasn't I stopping him? I could feel his hot breath spread over my ears and neck, creating tiny sparks in my body. I shivered.

"Little girl, you are playing a dangerous game," he whispered in my ear. His warm lips almost touched my ears as the heat of his breath surrounded me.

I should have felt threatened, but I was too stunned at what he said. Dangerous game?

The next moment, before I could react, his hand grasped my wrist and he pushed me to the side. My knee scratched against some stones on the ground and I was entirely covered in dirt and fallen leaves.

"Well, f*ck," I muttered to myself, while also letting out a small string of curse words.

Then, I remembered James. He was going to find him, and I was going to be the one at fault. I jumped quickly to my feet. The lake was stirred and I heard the sound of something being lifted to the surface.

I quickly turned around, only to find James was saved by Simon.

Simon's straight suit was instantly soaked from diving into the lake, and it clung tightly to his body, showing his tall and slender figure even more, as he carried James out of the water, bridal-style.

On the other hand, James was out cold.

Simon threw him on the ground and began to perform CPR. Eventually, James' body twitched and he sat up, spitting out enough water and enable him to breathe.

Great. As usual, luck is never on my side.

My gaze slowly fell on Simon's face. I couldn't imagine the consequences if Simon spoke out against me. Even if James didn't remember it was me, my life was at stake. No matter how vile and downright useless James was, he was still the Alpha King's son, and I was a no-one.

I didn't know what to do. Should I try to fool Simon again? No… he wasn't like the several other guys lurking around here, whose eyes were glued to me like I was their property. Their birth rite.

So, should I run?

Impossible. I couldn't possibly run past a powerful Alpha. Next to the Alpha King, it was possible that Simon was just as powerful.

My hands clenched into fists unconsciously, and my palms were wet with sweat.

I didn't know what I could do. In the face of absolute power, all my usual tactics were worthless.

But I didn't want to die. I hadn't had the chance to leave the palace yet; to see the human world. And if I died, who would care for Joan?

I stood there, immobile, as the cold wind blew through my body, making me shiver.

But I didn't move my gaze. Simon's attention was still on James. I didn't know what he was going to do with me. I couldn't let my guard down. My brain was racing to find a solution, but my eyes were only looking at Simon.

His eyes were so beautiful, like the amber stone necklace that Joan gave me last year.

But the necklace was snatched by Olivia, and although I later left Olivia covered in rashes for more than a month, the necklace was never recovered. When Olivia got a better one, she threw mine into the swamp, never to be seen again.

Goddess, I hated her. I hated them all.

Then my mind registered what was happening in front of me. Simon picked James up and left without even speaking to or looking at me.

"Wait!" I anxiously blurted out to attempt Simon from leaving.

My clothes were scratched, and my hair was messy with fallen leaves. I had wounds on my knees, and my face had undried tears. Compared to a holy and beautiful angel, I was now more like a clown whose dark inner was sliced open to reveal her ugly true nature.

I wanted revenge. I wanted to kill everyone who bullied me. I wanted to destroy this d*mn place.

F*ck shifter life. I just want to start a new one in the human world with Joan, away from all of this. I wanted to be normal.

But if I let Simon leave, the next day, I'd be dead. There was no questions about it.

I couldn't let that happen.

I stopped him as if completely unaware of this man's danger and power.

I was so small in front of him that I could feel his indifferent eyes falling on me as if he saw through everything about me.

"Why did you save him?" I asked Simon angrily.

To protect myself, I often swallowed my anger, playing the role of a kind and honest girl that everyone could bully. But deep down, I was much more than that. I was cunning and deceitful when I needed to be, and the people here were none the wiser. Only now, there was a person who had found my true face and turned a blind eye to it.

I couldn't deny that it intrigued me, but it also infuriated me.

Why was James born Alpha and enjoying everything? He didn't even care for the job and treated everyone like sh*t, unless they served him a purpose. Yet, he would always be saved.

My eyes were hot, but not a single tear dared to come out. When I was truly hurt, I couldn't cry. Tears were my weapon, but they were also the reason they insulted me more.

"James is my student," Simon said as he swiftly caught a sliding James with his arm like catching a sack. His voice was cold and his eyes, detached.

Then it clicked. He thought I was a standard servant. He had no idea of my lineage, so the answer was enough. It was my turn to give way to him, but I didn't move.

He looked at me with oppressive eyes, but I stood still. The moonlight shone on my face and I knew I most likely looked ridiculous right now.

If Simon insisted on going, how could I stop him? To kill me, he didn't need to lift a single finger. I was nothing in his eyes. My beauty, my wit, and my attack meant nothing.

"Will you kill me?" I lifted my eyelids to look at him. I didn't even realize it, my voice was shaking.

"You are playing a dangerous game. However, it's nothing to do with me," he stated.

So, it was true. He saved James only because he was his student.

It was said that Alpha King invited him to train his children and the other sons of various Alphas because he was good at fighting, especially against abnormal rogues, who were usually two or three times the size of a normal shifter.

Each abnormal rogue was said to have the power of an Alpha, however, each one of them was mad. None were sentient, and they would fight until their death. No one knew where they came from, but they were the biggest threat to the shifter world.

I always hated my shifter side. It reminded me too much of how broken I really was—how useless. I even couldn't protect myself. How did I plan on protecting Joan too? Why couldn't I have a teacher as powerful as Simon? If I could be stronger, it would be easy for me to leave this place and never look back.

Then, I had an idea.

"I can be your student, too," I proclaimed. "I'm also a daughter of the Alpha King."

I would grasp any and every chance to leave the palace, no matter what I needed to do or say.

James spat and groaned, and Simon made a disgusted face, holding him away from him.

"You are too weak," he noted simply.

My face contorted. Excuse me? The girl who continuously fended for herself, who taught herself how to survive, was…too weak? I couldn't believe what I just heard.

"What did you say?" I asked, just to make sure I heard him right.

Simon seemed to be losing patience. He tossed James down on the ground despite his cries of pain, and walked towards me. His light brown eyes shone like freshly boiled syrup as he approached me, but I couldn't look at them for a long time. Instead of making me feel warm and sweet, they made me feel dangerous and cold. My jaw tightened.

"I don't care who you are," he said, low and firm. "But I won't accept a student who is as weak as you. It is a waste of time. I'm not interested in what's going on between you and James, so would you please step aside so I can take him inside?"

A chill ran down my spine. He walked back to James, picked him back up, and pushed past me, mercilessly.

The tingling pain in my knee made me lose my balance slightly and I wobbled before getting myself straight. The wind from the lake blew my hair down my face, and a strand stuck to my mouth, the bitterness of the lakeside soil and leaf juice soaking it entirely.

I clenched my teeth and my hands. How dare he! My anger was building and made me hurl insults in the direction of his departure.

"Weak?!" I screamed after him. "I will be strong one day! And when I am, you'll regret ever saying that to me!"

But before I could even finish my last sentence, he was gone, and there was nothing left except me and the sounds of nature at night.