I Married The Villain Alpha

Annalise's POV

"What I don't get is why you're so desperate to get away."

The words cut through the darkness, sharp and deliberate, even though I should have expected them.

"I thought you loved Vincent dearly, a little too much even… So what changed, your Grace?"

His voice dripped with something unsettling, something dark and inescapable.

His tall frame loomed closer, his shadow stretching over me like a quiet storm. My heart raced, still pounding from the sprint here, but there was something else now—an unfamiliar sensation clawing its way to the surface.

This man wasn't just anyone. I didn't need the faint glow of his piercing blue eyes to know he was dangerous. His presence weighed down on me like an invisible force, my skin prickling as though I could feel the heat of his gaze even when he wasn't looking.

He exuded something dangerous, something powerful. My mind scrambled for answers. A side character? Could he really be one? Why did he even help me in the first place? And he seemed to know Iris. I couldn't recall any details about him from the novel, but no mere side character should feel this… commanding.

The darkness began to yield to my adjusting eyes, and his sharp features took shape, framed by unruly dark hair.

He stood too close, his deep, smooth voice brushing against my senses as though coaxing something hidden out of me.

"I'm waiting for an answer, your Grace." His voice snapped me out of my spiraling thoughts, his words sharp and relentless, as if he could see through every lie I'd rehearsed and the newly added formality felt almost strange.

"What do I say?... I can't tell him it's not because I'm not Iris… that's the real Iris is somewhere… anywhere possibly… and I'm only an imposter." My throat tightened, the words I longed to say caught behind a wall of fear.

But my rationality won and I parted my lips to form a lie. "What do you do when you realize someone doesn't love you? When you know they will drop you in a heartbeat for someone else… and you're left to deal with the damage alone?" I asked, my own questions surprising me.

I guess my question also caught him off guard and cold calculating gaze faltered for just a moment, I could see it, even in the dark. He pulled away, leaning back on the wall.

Then, a chuckle escaped him. Low and quiet, it wasn't amusement—it was something darker, like a bitter echo of something broken long ago. The sound filled the narrow passageway, vibrating through the cold stone walls.

"Well," he began, his voice smooth but laced with something I couldn't name, "I can't say I know what that feels like." He tilted his head slightly, the faintest glint of light catching his piercing blue eyes. "Love isn't something I understand. It's… strange. Or maybe just a burden I never cared to carry."

His words hit like a blade to the chest, not because of their coldness, but because of the weight behind them—like he was pulling from a well of pain he'd never dared confront.

"Why?" The question slipped out before I could stop it. My heart was racing, and I knew I should stop, but I couldn't help myself. "Have you never fallen in love before?"

He regarded me for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then, simply: "No."

The word hung in the air between us, stark and unyielding.

I should've stopped there. I should've let the silence settle, but my curiosity burned too bright. "What about a fated mate?" I asked, my voice soft but insistent.

Even in my past life, love had always felt like a cruel joke. I never stuck around long enough to believe it was possible for someone like me. And yet, the thought of a fated mate—a bond so strong, so undeniable—was something I couldn't ignore.

"You must have one," I pressed. "Everyone here is destined for a partner, chosen by the moon goddess. That includes you too, doesn't it?"

His silence stretched on, vast and consuming.

But it wasn't an empty silence—it was the kind that clawed at the edges of my thoughts, demanding my attention.

It carried the weight of something unsaid, something that made the air between us feel impossibly heavy.

When he finally spoke, his voice was softer, lower, almost as if he were speaking more to himself than to me. "Fate… isn't as kind as you might think."

A shiver ran down my spine, not from the cold stone walls pressing against my back, but from the weight of his words pressing against my chest.

My breath caught, and for a moment, I wondered if I had made a grave mistake by asking him about love. I felt the knot tighten in my stomach, guilt creeping in.

I had gone too far, stepped into the shadow of something far darker than I could have imagined.

The silence returned, but this time it was deafening, and I had to look away.

"Uhm, I'm sorry if I've said too much," I muttered, the words scratching their way out, barely audible.

He didn't respond. The silence between us stretched, heavy and suffocating, as if the walls of the passageway were closing in.

Then, his lips twitched—just enough to form a ghost of a smile, one that didn't reach his eyes. Even as dark as he seemed, there was something gentle buried deep underneath it.

His figure seemed to darken, blending into the shadows, yet his presence felt overwhelming, inescapable.

"So," he spoke, his tone sharper now, cutting through the thick air, "how do you plan on getting rid of Vincent?"

I froze a bit, the words hanging the air as the realization dawned on me again. I really needed to be free from the suffocating grasp of Vincent.

"I'm not quite sure," I answered finally, hating the way my voice quivered.

His head tilted slightly, as if appraising me. "You're not sure," he repeated, the corners of his lips twitching again, this time with something closer to disdain. "Well, you can't keep running, your Grace. Vincent won't play this game forever."

His words were low and steady, but each one landed like a punch. He straightened, his figure towering over me, and continued, "When he loses patience, which he will, you'll have nowhere to go. He's the King. You…" His gaze dragged over me, cold and calculated. "You're a woman only at the mercy of whatever your fate decides for you. Even your father might not be able to do much if he intervened. The odds have never been In your favor."

"I know!" The frustration burst out of me before I could stop it, sharper than intended. My fists clenched at my sides till my nails dug into my palms. "Do you think I don't know that?"

His gaze didn't waver, but the weight of his stare shifted, as if he'd peeled back another layer of me and didn't like what he saw. I hated how vulnerable I felt under that scrutiny, how exposed.

"Well then your Grace…" he began. "Let me ask you this again… Are you serious about ending your engagement with Vincent?" His voice softened, but somehow that made the question more dangerous.

"Of course I am," I snapped, meeting his eyes with as much defiance as I could muster. I wanted to free from whatever future as Vincent's Luna I had coming for me. The future of succumbing to desires that weren't mine.

For a moment, the only sound was my ragged breathing. His expression was unreadable, but the air between us felt charged, like a storm about to break.

Then he leaned in again, his shadow engulfing me entirely. "Well then," he murmured, his voice a dark caress, "shall I suggest a possible solution?"