Chapter 1: Villainess Redux

The Cute And Lovely Fated Mate of the Alpha King.

If that title made you cringe, you weren't alone.

It was exactly the kind of book you would find abandoned on a doorstep, and that's precisely how Lu Huang had stumbled upon it after a long, soul-sucking day of work. Her coworkers had spent the entire day arguing about whether staplers should be locked in a supply cabinet, so by the time she found the paperback on her welcome mat, she thought, Why not?

She curled up on her worn-out sofa, cracked open the book, and tried reading to "calm her nerves." Big mistake. The plot made her want to throw hands.

It was the same old recycled nonsense: A misunderstood villainess who had every right to snap after enduring years of mistreatment, only for the narrative to punish her because she dared to fight back. She was falsely accused of crimes, ostracized, and treated like garbage by everyone—except the male lead.

Ah, yes. The male lead. The Alpha King.

He, of course, was her second-chance mate, bound to her by the sacred mate bond that every werewolf romance author ever seemed to think was the most groundbreaking plot device of all time. The guy showed up, defended her once when everyone was out to get her, and naturally, she fell for him. Because clearly, one decent act from a hot guy was enough to justify an obsession.

And what was her reward for all that groveling? Death.

The villainess—no, Lidia—died at his sword. Not because she was truly evil, but because she tried to separate him from the female lead, his true mate.

Bullshit.

That's what Lu Huang thought as she hurled the book across the room, missing her coffee table by an inch.

But now that she was Lidia? She wasn't about to follow that script.

No, ma'am.

Lidia muttered angrily to herself as she packed her belongings into a plain, beat-up satchel. Her current situation was a joke. The so-called "saintess in training" room looked more like the kind of prison cell you would give a monk who didn't know the meaning of fun. Plain walls, a hard bed, and zero personal touches. She might as well have been squatting in someone's basement.

"Not much to pack," she said, glancing around the sad little space. "Or rather, not much worth packing."

She wasn't exaggerating. She didn't have money, jewelry, or even a half-decent set of robes to her name. What kind of villainess didn't at least have a secret stash of gold coins?

She shoved her meager belongings into the bag with more force than necessary. "Fucking great. I'm the broke villainess. A legacy of nothing."

She kicked at the edge of the bed, stubbed her toe, and let out a string of curses that would make even the most hardened sailor blush.

She was mid-grumble when a sharp knock sounded at her door. Lidia froze, clutching her bag tightly. She groaned. "Oh, for the love of the goddess, if this is another priest here to 'cleanse my soul,' I swear I'm throwing holy water at them this time."

She opened the door, ready to let whoever it was have it, only to stop short.

Standing there, radiating arrogance like a second skin, was Dominic. Her supposed mate.

Out of all the strange, ridiculous, and downright infuriating things about her new life, Lidia hadn't gotten used to the whole mate thing. Or the existence of magic. Or beasts. Or the fact that the moon goddess apparently had time to micromanage everyone's love lives but couldn't be bothered to give Lidia a single day of peace.

But above all? She really hadn't gotten used to the names.

"Itz Lidia Diviliness," Beta Dominic Lidimate announced as he stepped into her room without so much as a hello. His deep voice was practically dripping with condescension

Lidia closed her eyes at the sound of her new name, a tear slipping down her cheek as she leaned against the doorframe. How on earth am I supposed to get used to this nonsense?

When she opened them, she plastered on the fakest smile she could muster. "Beta Dominic," she greeted coolly, dipping into a half-hearted bow. Her tone was biting, her words laced with sarcasm. "Finally gracing your mate with your presence. How nice of you."

His eyes scanned the tiny room as if expecting it to be filled with something incriminating. "I heard some troubling news." he said, ignoring her sarcasm.

"Shocking," Lidia deadpanned.

"Word has it," he continued, his tone as dry as sandpaper, "that you tried to poison another saintess-in-training. Pinopu, I believe her name is."

Lidia rolled her eyes so hard she was surprised they didn't fall out of her skull. "Oh, please. If I were going to poison someone, I would make sure they actually died. I have standards."

Dominic's jaw tightened, but he didn't rise to the bait. "I won't be so forgiving if you pull another stunt like this," he warned. "Your actions reflect on my family name."

That did it.

The last thread of patience Lidia had snapped. She let out a laugh—sharp, bitter, and loud enough to make Dominic's eyes narrow.

"Forgiving?" she repeated, her voice dripping with disbelief. "You've never been forgiving because you never gave a damn in the first place! Don't come in here pretending you're some noble martyr, Dominic. You're just as fake as the rest of them."

Dominic's expression didn't change, but something flickered in his eyes. Annoyance? Anger? She didn't care. She was done. Done with his cold indifference, his holier-than-thou attitude, and the ridiculous notion that she was supposed to fawn over him just because he was her so-called mate.

"You think I give a shit about your family name?" Lidia continued, her voice rising. "Guess what? I don't. In fact…" She stepped closer, glaring up at him. "Let me make this easier for both of us. I, Itz Lidia Diviliness, reject you, Beta Dominic Lidimate as my mate. So do me a favor and fuck off, yeah?"

The silence that followed was deafening.

Dominic's jaw clenched, his golden eyes flashing dangerously. "You can't just reject the mate bond—"

"Oh, I can," Lidia shot back, her hands on her hips. "And guess what? I just did."

She turned her back on him, grabbing her sad excuse for a bag. Without another word, she marched out of the room.

Lidia grinned to herself as she made her way down the temple corridor. She had spent her whole life—both this one and the last—bending over backward to please people who didn't deserve it. Not anymore.

"They wanted a villainess?" she muttered to herself. "Fine. I'll give them one."