Chapter 10: The Stubborn Madam

**Riley**

Finally, it started. The ceremony kicked off without a hitch. Most of the guests had assigned seats, but there was plenty of space in front of the stage where the guests could stand and take it all in without blocking the views of those sitting down.

The dress requirement was formal casual. Pop music played on the speakers.

I stood to the side of the stage with a tube glass filled to the brim with champagne. My red knee-length dress contrasted my black stockings and six-inch back heels. I meant with my friends earlier but I wanted some time to myself so I came here. It was quiet enough, despite a bunch of wolves and other shifters only several feet away.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” Dad found a mike and marched up the stairs to get on top of the stage. “How are you doing? Good right? That’s nothing compared to how I feel knowing that you’re all here to celebrate my beloved, only son getting approved to become the next Alpha. You all have no idea how happy this makes me! Now, let me bring the one who will be carrying on our family legacy. Mason! Get your butt up here, son!”

Mason proudly appeared from behind a red curtain. He held his hands up as the crowd clapped, a giant grin on his face. The two men stood side by side. Behind them, the large screen backdrop displayed a cartoon forest with trees of different shades of yellow.

As Mason presented his speech, I went around to make sure that everything was in order. Were the servers doing their jobs? Were there any issues in the kitchen? Did the spread have enough food? Were all the dishes labeled properly along with the ingredients in case of allergies?

This is what I am good at. I organized the entire event with the help of my assistant, and no help at all from my family other than Dad giving me his card to cover expenses.

These are my duties, after all. To be a good hostess and ease the stress of my relatives, especially those two. Dad frequently tells me that he wouldn’t know what he would do without me.

He says that yet his attitude towards me never changes. When Mason got a good score, he would congratulate him to the ends of the earth. Yet when I did something good like win a national poetry contest or save one of his businesses from being bankrupt, he acted as if it was expected. Like it was nothing special. If I said that his nonchalant treatment of me didn’t make me a bit jaded, I would be lying.

“Didn’t I tell you and your coworkers that strawberry cocktails were meant to go to table six?” I said.

I was speaking to a server who tried to walk past me while heading to the wrong table. He stared at me in surprise, meekly putting his head down.

“T-They, uh,” he stuttered. “They changed their mind about the request. They asked me to bring it to table twelve instead as a gift from them. Another server is preparing their new order.”

My blood started to boil. I took in a deep breath, which managed to keep my wolf at bay. I stared directly into his eyes. “Are you stupid?”

He blinked a few times and stared at me in shock. “What? Excuse me?”

“I mean, where do you think you’re working at? A bar? The people here are more important than the mayor. They could purchase an entire street within six hours. Do you think they would be thankful if some random drinks that they didn’t ask for was placed on their table, and then to know that they were rejected beverages? Don’t you know what that means?”

He shook his head.

“It’s an insult! They’re basically saying, ‘I feel sorry for you so here is my donation for your charity, dedicated solely to you’. Are you trying to create a fight and destroy the peaceful atmosphere of this event?”

The server continued to look down. His youthful eyes darted back and forth, attempting to piece the information together. “But it’s not my fault. I didn’t know that…”

“I was there when your boss was telling you all the rules of how to conduct yourselves.” I folded my arms. “And I explicitly heard her say that you can only bring things to a table that were requested directly from the occupants of that table! What the hell is wrong with you?”

The boy frowned. “Hey, you’re being mean.”

I scoffed. “Oh me? I’m being mean? Okay, let me tell you the reality of the situation. The fact of the matter is, I could pay off your parents’ mortgage with the tap of a button. And so can everyone here. You need money while we don’t. So if you want to keep getting work and receiving tips, then you need to do your job properly. It’s not like I hate you, but I do think your intelligence is lacking.”

He nodded, but didn't say a word. Instead, He retreated back into the kitchen while holding back tears. I rolled my eyes and shook his head. What a sensitive child. He’ll never survive in high society if he’s this prone to emotion.

As I looked around for more work to do, another server approached me.

“Miss Blake?” She greeted me with caution. Resting in her palms was a red envelope with a familiar flower pattern. “This is for you. Someone asked me to give this to you as a thank you for your hard work.”

My instinct told me not to take it, but I did anyway. “Thank you. By the way, tell your boss that server, David? He needs to work behind the scenes for the rest of the night.”

After she left, I walked further away from the populated area and sat down on an empty seat. My hands shook as I tore it open. Inside, just as I suspected, was a card folded in half.

This prank is getting pretty old now. I collected myself and regained my composure. I’m in public. No one needs to see me freaking out over a sheet of paper.

*”You’re having a party and didn’t invite me? I’m jealous. There is an address on the back of the envelope. If you don’t get there in the next ten minutes, everyone will know that Mason isn’t qualified to be Alpha.”*

I froze. How..? How could they know?

*”It’s sad that your father had to bribe the elders. With how pathetic Mason is, no wonder he had to cheat to get all those A’s in university. All those poor, honest students who were robbed of a scholarship. But you already knew that, didn’t you, Riley? Why don’t you continue being a good girl and come on by?”*

*~Charmed*

I could no longer hold back my shivers. We did everything perfectly, made sure that all our loose ends were tied up. They can’t expose this. And I won’t let them.

The address listed was ironically right across the streets, close enough to see the gala hall and right next to the hotel I stayed in. I had no idea who was waiting for me at the top. All I knew was that I was ready to fight them if I had to.

As such, as soon as I arrived at the door that stood between me and the roof, I kicked it open.

The only light came from those belonging to the surrounding buildings. Across from the entrance, sitting on the brick wall that prevented people from falling off the building, were two people instead of one. And I recognized both of them pretty quickly.

“Damn,” I muttered. “Out of everyone, I didn’t expect you two to be the ones with this much audacity.”