Chapter 33

Once all of the alphas and lunas had left the wedding, all that remained were young, drunk people ready to cut loose and party. The bar was still busy, although I was told that some of the alcohol had begun to run out and they would have to announce last call soon.

It was already nearing 11:00 p.m. at that point, and I thought it was a good time to start closing things down. I didn’t want Amanda or David to fear getting caught, so making it seem like the party was beginning to fizzle out seemed like a good plan.

I’d had a couple more glasses of wine since my conversation with Elizabeth—we had even shared one together. It felt odd to me to be spending time with the alpha king's daughter like this.

I found myself truly enjoying my time with her and hoping that when this wedding business was all behind us, I would get an opportunity to see her again.

We’d never gotten to know each other in the original timeline, but I hoped that this time around, the two of us could be friends. It seemed that we had a lot in common.

It also made me feel better to know that I was still capable of making friends. For all of my life, Amanda had been the only person that I was really close to, aside from David.

I was so focused on getting my revenge and preventing the terrible outcome that had happened in my previous life that I hadn’t spent much time thinking about my future until now.

I didn’t have to be alone all the time. There was no reason I couldn’t make new friendships and be close to others.

Of course, I knew it would be hard to trust again the way I had trusted Amanda and David, but I wanted to try. I wanted to try to trust Alexander.

Maybe it was the wine that was making me feel this way, but thinking about how supportive and fair Alexander had been throughout our deal made me almost giddy. I had no doubt that I could help him become the king, and I had very little doubt that he would be a good king.

He had proven himself already to be a good leader despite his slight personality flaws, such as his habit of engaging in casual relationships with women.

In comparison to what I knew David had planned, Alexander’s flaws were hardly worth thinking about.

“Ella,” David said loudly, interrupting my thoughts. “You’re completely zoned out. Are you okay?”

“I’m not zoned out,” I argued.

“Then what did I just say to you?” he asked.

I stared at him, trying to remember, but I honestly hadn’t heard him say anything. Was he messing with me, or did I really zone out so hard while thinking of Alexander that I hadn’t even noticed David’s voice?

“That’s what I thought,” he said triumphantly. “You’re completely out of it. You must be more drunk than you seem.”

“I have had a lot of wine,” I admitted, “but I don’t think I’m that drunk.”

“Should we test it?” David asked.

“Test it how?” I replied, confused by what he meant.

“See if you can stand on one foot,” he instructed. “If you wobble or fall, it will mean that you’re too drunk and should call it a night.”

“I’m not going to do that,” I said in shock. “What if I fall in front of all these people? I can’t embarrass myself that way.”

“Don’t worry,” David said with a smile. “I’ll catch you.”

I didn’t really want to play along with him, but the timing was right. Just like in the original timeline, David would send me up to bed, and then, once he was sure I was passed out drunk, he would sneak off to see Amanda. It had to happen this way, so there was no point in me fighting it.

“Promise you won’t let me fall?” I asked.

“Yes, I promise,” he replied. “Now, see if you can stand on one leg.”

Hesitantly, I lifted one of my feet high off the ground. For a moment, I balanced easily, then began to wobble in an exaggerated fashion.

David put his hands up, ready to catch me, and I allowed myself to fall forward into his arms.

He caught me and held me firmly against his chest, laughing slightly.

“You see, you are drunk,” he said. “I told you.”

“You must be right,” I replied, avoiding his eyes so that he wouldn’t see my own amusement. “I guess I should head to bed.”

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll help you up the stairs.”

I didn’t argue as he put his arm around my waist and led me up the staircase.

We passed the door to Amanda’s room on the way to ours. I wondered if she was inside already, waiting for him. The door was closed, so there was no way for me to tell.

David walked me into our room, and I went directly to the bed and threw myself down on my stomach.

“Come on, I’ll help you get cleaned up,” he said, but I didn’t respond. I closed my eyes and let my breathing become heavy.

“Ella,” he called out. “Are you asleep?”

I didn’t respond, but I could sense him coming closer and looking at my face.

“Passed out already,” he muttered. “Good.”

I listened as he moved around the room for a few moments, then the door opened and closed. I waited a few moments longer to make sure that I was really alone, then I stood up.

As I suspected, David was nowhere to be found. My heart began to race as I realized that it was finally time to enact my plan. I checked the time—it was five minutes to midnight.

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself, then went toward the head of the stairs where Elizabeth and the others were supposed to meet me.

Elizabeth and over a dozen of the other guests were waiting for me just as we had planned. They were holding all of the items I had asked Alexander to have brought to the house for me: balloons, a large bouquet of flowers, a cake decorated in Amanda’s favorite colors, and several small gift bags filled with items that I knew she would love.

“It looks like everything’s ready,” I said, smiling with excitement.

“Is David coming?” Elizabeth asked.

“I’m not sure where he is,” I said. “He came to the room with me, but he left when I dozed off. I can text him to join us, but I’m too excited to wait on him.”

I pulled my phone off and sent David a short text asking where he went. I was sure that he would ignore the message if he really was with Amanda.

“I don’t feel the need to wait either. Amanda’s going to be so surprised,” Elizabeth said.

“I really hope so,” I replied. I looked at the time. “I’m not sure if I can wait until the stroke of midnight,” I said.

“It’ll be more of a surprise if it’s a little early, right?” one of the girls chimed in. “Let’s just go now.”

I thought for a moment—enough time should have passed for David to make his way into her room.

I nodded in agreement. “Okay, everyone, quiet until we open the door.”

I led the group silently down the hall to Amanda’s door.

I gripped the handle and tested it carefully; it was unlocked. Then I turned to the group and held up three fingers, lowering them slowly one by one.

When all of my fingers were lowered, I threw the door open, and all of us screamed in unison.

“Surprise! Happy birthday!”

Before the words had even fully left our mouths, I could hear people around me gasping and crying out in shock at the sight before us.

It was exactly as I had hoped. David and Amanda were on the bed; he was on top of her, and her legs were wrapped around him.

They were both staring at the doorway in horror, and from their expressions, there was no mistaking what was happening.

We had caught them in the act.