Lila sank into the hard, wooden bench at the very back of the colossal lecture hall, grateful for the anonymity the darkness of the rear provided. Chloe, Tiffany, and her accidental loyal sidekick, Elara, settled around her like unexpected cargo. The front of the room was dominated by the elevated stage where Rose and Harry sat, already radiating 'Main Character Energy.'
Okay, Rule Number One of Villainess Survival: Be boring. Be silent. Do not attract the plot's attention.
Her internal reader-brain was working overtime, trying to map out every face she saw. This was how she recognized them: not by name, but by their purpose. The history she had read was packed with descriptions of who did what, wore what, and specialized in what.
The figure approaching the stage—a short, portly man with a perpetually damp forehead and an overly stiff uniform—was Professor Eldridge, the Ancient Runes instructor. Recognized. He was the professor who would later accidentally give Rose the key to the library's restricted section. He was harmless, mostly.
A cluster of male Betas entered, boisterously finding seats mid-hall. Recognized. They were the "comic relief characters," the ones who failed every infiltration mission in the book. They were annoying, but also harmless.
Lila felt a knot of anxiety loosen slightly. She could do this. She knew the players. She knew the script. All she had to do was remain a static, non-participating background prop.
Suddenly, the noise level in the vast hall didn't just drop—it cracked.
It was the same effect Lila had felt at the Moon Festival, only amplified tenfold. The atmosphere instantly pressurized, and the air turned thick, heavy, and cold, like breathing in liquid moonlight. Every wolf in the room—Alphas, Betas, and Omegas—responded. The low murmur of conversation instantly died, replaced by a sound of involuntary, collective gasps.
Lila's entire Omega body spasmed. The terror she felt in was back then, but now, it was accompanied by a paralyzing, biological imperative that transcended fear: Submit.
Her knees, pressed against the bench, tried to buckle. Her head felt impossibly heavy, and she bit down hard on the inside of her cheek to stop herself from whimpering. The pressure was so intense it felt like a giant shadow had fallen over the entire hall.
He's here. It's him. The True Blood Alpha.
She forced her eyes to lift, even as her Omega instincts screamed for her to lower her gaze and hide. The wave of dominance emanated from the main entrance, where all eyes were fixed, including Harry Westwell's, whose own Alpha aura seemed to dim and flatten in comparison.
And then she saw him.
A male figure stood framed in the towering entryway, bathed in the morning sunlight that streamed through the arched windows. He wasn't just handsome; he was a work of devastating, impossible art. His dark hair was meticulously styled, his uniform jacket was flawlessly tailored, and his presence was the physical embodiment of power and cold authority.
Adrian Wolfhart.
Lila's internal reader-brain short-circuited entirely. Oh. My. God.
The shock was so profound that, for a fleeting, dangerous moment, Ava completely forgot she was about to die. Her inner turmoil transitioned directly into her old fan-girl state.
"Wait, this is Adrian? The illustration on page 409 didn't do him justice! The description said 'striking,' but this is like looking directly at a solar eclipse. He's too much! His jawline could probably cut glass, and those eyes—they're the exact shade of melted silver the author described!"
This was the villain, the gorgeous, terrifying monster who performed the brutal execution in Chapter 65. And yet, all Lila/Ava could process was the sheer, breathtaking quality of his looks. She was a reader who had suddenly seen the movie adaptation, and the casting was too perfect.
The paralysis of awe lasted only a second before the True Blood Alpha's pheromones snapped her back to the grim reality of her situation. The scent—a mix of ancient cedarwood, cold iron, and raw, overwhelming power—crushed the Omega in her.
I am going to die! He is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and he is going to flay me alive!
Adrian didn't even glance toward the back benches. He moved with a slow, deliberate grace, his entrance an unspoken command for silence and attention. He wasn't escorted by the professors; he was escorted by the atmosphere itself. He finally settled in an empty seat right next to the Alpha section, close to Harry and Rose, but still utterly separate—a force of nature observing the human experiment.
Lila gripped the wooden bench so hard her knuckles were white. She forced herself to breathe, shallowly, only realizing then that her accidental loyal sidekick, Elara Hawthorne, was staring at her with wide, terrified eyes.
"Lila," Elara whispered, her voice barely a breath. "Your eyes... they went blue again. Are you... are you hurt?"
Lila's blood ran cold. The Blue Flash—the unconscious Omega reaction to the True Blood Alpha's dominance—was a plot point the original Lila was never supposed to exhibit until her final, desperate, pre-death scene! The fact that it happened twice now meant her body was betraying her.
"My contacts," Lila hissed, channeling the cold fury of the Blackwood villainess. "They're irritating me. Don't stare. It's rude, Elara."
Elara instantly flinched and ducked her head. Phew. Villainess Mask is still operational.
Professor Eldridge began his tedious welcoming speech, but no one was listening. Adrian Wolfhart had changed the molecular composition of the air.
Lila's gaze darted to Marcus, the minor antagonist from the gambling ring. Marcus, a mid-level Alpha, was staring at Adrian with a mix of awe and deep resentment. Adrian Wolfhart was not just a plot element; he was a terrifying, disruptive force that threatened everyone's hierarchy. Lila realized Adrian wasn't just her killer—he was a potential tool, an atomic bomb she needed to either avoid or somehow, impossibly, control.
The entire plot structure just shifted, Lila thought, her brain churning out contingency plans at light speed. The villain is here. And he is even more gorgeous than his death-aura suggests. This is going to be far more complicated than simply avoiding the Alpha and the heroine.
She survived the first ten minutes of the True Blood Alpha's presence, but her heart was still hammering against her ribs like a prisoner trying to escape.