The Alpha Killed My Husband

5| Unpleasant Surprises!

I was told that a small dinner was arranged with the city's influencers tonight at the Convention Hall of the Hotel Taj Mahal. It was scheduled for more than six months and people from all backgrounds and motives were waiting to get a glimpse of Luna Aradhya.

Everyone has been talking about her. Everyone wants to talk to her—there are so many favors to ask, gifts to present, and manipulations to be plotted. Obviously, nobody wants to be in the country's second most significant woman's bad books.

I have been eagerly waiting diligently for the day for my reasons.

I have tried hard to embody myself into Luna Aradhya's persona for six months. I walk like her, talk like her, smile like her, eat like her, and I pretend to be her. I have practiced her fake accents for nights. I have tried to find comfort in her skin-tight and revealing outfits. I have tried to endure the piercing pain of high heels and the irritation of open tresses falling on my eyes.

I have tried to improve my communication skills and dark humor. I have familiarized myself with the affairs in the nation. I have learned to use the gadgets and social media handles where she puts something new and tempting every single day. Luna Aradhya is known to be a sweetheart and a social butterfly—it directly increases my hard work.

Wherever she goes, good and life follow. She has been seen dancing and singing all around. She is open to judgment and can pretend not for hours but months altogether. She is a perfect Japanese doll designed for every need.

An amicable woman of twenty-six, she is a philanthropist, a revolutionary, and a scholar. Alongside, she has represented the were-women on various international platforms. Each day I read about her, I am revealed to a new shade of her. Her personality which was supposed to be unique and ordinary became my biggest challenge—because Luna Aradhya knows it all. It seems like she is a hundred beings trapped in one.

She is my mirror opposite—and I loath her from the depth of my heart.

'You are walking so comfortably in these killer heels.' Avika eyes me with admiration in her eyes as she stumbles with her stilettos. She scans my outfits and winks her approval. 'If King was alive, you'd be ravished till you lay eggs all over his magnificent bed.' Her smile turns sad. Perhaps, she was missing her husband.

I would not blame her. It has been years since we last dolled up for someone. What used to be our daily routine has become such a scarce commodity.

Avika has been an exceptionally faithful companion in her life. She never bothered looking at any other species of male than her soulmate. She only had her eyes on Izyar. Unlike me, Avika was deeply and madly in love with her husband which is why she has turned cold-hearted toward any man who lays eyes on her.

'Your beauty is hypnotizing, love. Let yourself loose tonight! You deserve all of it. Seeking happiness ain't a sin, you know.' I grasp her palms and intertwined out fingers to press the inside with the pad of my thumb. I want to reassure her that everything is going to be alright, that we will win it in no time.

'I'd rather die than let any of those dogs steal my heart. I am compelled by circumstance, I have not given up.' Her voice is stern and cold as ice. 'Would you rather change your mind once you shape-shift, Sarva? I bet you cannot erase the painful images of your husband lying dead in the middle of the square from your mind too. It's a shame that we can only change our bodies into anything and not our hearts.'

True! It is one of the major constraints of the Serpent race—that though we can shape-shift into any living object available, we can only look like them and not be like them. It's just like changing the case on the exterior level. Internally, our originality remains. The pain remains! The yearning and hollowness remain.

Serpents are experts of 'disguises' but a total failure in 'deception'. To be like our target, one has to work hard to make it appear seamless or the known one will catch us in a snap, and then it's all over.

I decide not to reply and focus on what I know about Luna instead.

Luna Aradhya is not only Rudransh's best friend and wife, but she is also his prominent adviser too. A source told me that the dog spends all of his leisure time with the woman. These dogs love spoiling and playing around with their mates. They play games all the time—and the chase is one of their favorite.

'Psht! Have you heard about it?' The hushed whisper from the side caught my attention. I perk my ears to listen to the sluts talking. Anything can be of utmost importance at the moment. While on the battlefield, one can only be any less attentive and bless themselves.

'What?' The other whispers. Her thick painted lips pout mechanically. Guess, the were-woman is addicted to being kissed all the time.

'Alpha is one of the chief guests tonight. It's a last-minute addition. Sheryar has texted me that it will take a while before he could take me on. Luna Aradhya is so lucky to have a mate like him. He cannot keep his distance from her.' The other replies with a small smile. There is unflinching respect in her voice at the mention of the Alpha AKA the douche bag.

I feel the ground shifting beneath my feet at such dreadful awareness. The air stills and eerie silence fall on my ears. Tears wail up in my eyes. I want to cry, yell. This is not fair. Why do I have to have such a stroke of bad luck?

Can I not be favored once in my whole life? I look sideways to find Avika's eyes already on me.

From my peripheral vision, I find Ankita giving me odd looks. 'Walk!' She mouths and it is then I realize that my feet have come to a mechanical halt.

I look around and find various pairs of curious eyes all on me. s**t! I have messed it all up. 'Sorry! I'm just nervous!' I chuckle bitterly and start shuffling on my feet again before the ugly guard could approach me.

The caravan proceeds to two large doors—painted white and carved into a marvelous piece of architecture.

'Can't blame him! Our men love goofing around. I remember how my mate used to keep me up all night. He could never get enough of me. Life was heaven till he was alive. Curse those poppy, disgusting serpents for snatching him away from me!' The chatting continues indifferently to the havoc in my mind.

Little darling—Alpha Rudransh, his ugly grace, is the reason your mate isn't alive. He is responsible for the g******e. Now he is here to chase his good-for-nothing little mate all the way to the city convention, forgetting about our miseries and pretending as nothing has happened—did I say I loathe that man's very existence?

'What are we going to do now, Sarva? I have heard that the Alpha doesn't leave her side even for a second. He is practically glued to her in every picture we have seen on the internet. With the guards around her, it was already a challenge. With Alpha, it's almost impossible.' Avika pants. She nervously fidgets with the hem of her dress.

I did not dare utter a word. My brain is still finding it difficult to function.

When there is no way out, there stays some way out—search for an open door. I close my eyes and breath through my nostrils to calm my nerves.

I try to remember whatever I have learned about Luna Aradhya. There has to be something...

'We had planned to trap her in an exclusive penthouse on the roof when you'd taken her there disguised as one of her staff. I had to seduce the original one and keep him busy while you shape-shifted and join the ministers downstairs. Then, I was supposed to make her unconscious, kidnap her and take her to Hanuman Hill where we'd get rid of her together. You'd retreat to Alpha city with the staff and later appointed me as your personal secretary. It was very clear and simple from the beginning. I had learnt everything by heart. Now, everything is messed up with the douche around here. We are gone.' Avika rambles on about details we have discussed for hours each night for six months.

That d**k has messed it all up without even a slight try. Alpha Rudransh has accompanied Luna Aaradhya on this trip.

The news did not only pick up my heartbeats the moment I eavesdropped, but it has also ruined my otherwise perfect plan and mood. I cursed every single obscenity I could think of under my breath as I descended the stairs to the party hall with slumped shoulders.

My plan has failed even before it could get started. With Alpha sticking by his b***h's side, I can never snatch her into solitude, finish her off, observe her dead body and shape shift into her form. I cannot even touch a strand of her hair.

There. Has. To. Be. Something...

Nagini hissed at me. The most essential segment in my whole plan was time. Apparently, that bastard has snatched it off my palms. I feel cheated and ripped off at his good luck.

'What do we do now, Sarva? We can be killed. Should we drop it and retreat?' Avika asks. The trauma and uncertainty are floating on the surface.

Alas, it's too late! We have reached the main floor where the Ministers, riches, and administrators—are all waiting for us with hunger in their eyes.

The moment, those ugly guards swung the doors open—the convention hall falls silent.

If allowed, they would have already turned the floor into one big orgy. Nonetheless, for the sake of the overpowering presence of the royalty, events are kept decent.

Avika's cat-eyes jump from head to head. In less than a second, she has seen it all. Fear waltz in her orbs and nervousness overflows in waves when her eyes settle on one single person who already has eyes on me. I keep my eyes glued to any specific corner where the dog's right hand, Beta Shantanu feasts with known men.

Although I have seen this man countless times. I have drawn a dartboard with his picture in the middle, and I have stalked him on whatever social media account I could. I have learned his likes, dislikes, interests, and hobbies by heart—yet it feels nothing like when we are finally standing eye to eye, face to face, only a couple of paces afar.

He is one big unpleasant surprise.

It takes me a while to register that Rudransh and I are standing in the same room. We are breathing the same air.

'Backing off is equivalent to wasting a whole year's hard work. We won't earn another chance this close and perfect. It's now or never, Avika. We have to get it done tonight at any cost even if it means we have to kill or die.' I nod slightly and look sideways at the glass before finally meeting the Alpha's brown eyes.

It was only for a fraction of a second, but it was intense enough to make a shiver run down my spine. I might have lost the first round, but the game is on...