Fated: The Alpha's Unwanted Luna-Chapter 82: End of competition/ possessive Alpha

"You were fire out there, Vee," Nick remarked, still hugging her and stroking her hair, Viola’s arms wrapped around his waist.

Sebastian’s expression darkened like a brewing storm in the heavens, about to descend upon innocent mortals. He let out his Alpha energy, releasing it without restraint. It was his suffocating presence that finally made Zoe turn toward him, noticing him in the room, which also caused Nick to step back from the embrace, startled by the sudden pressure of the Alpha’s energy.

"Hermano?" Zoe called, her gray eyes narrowed and her hands on her hips as she watched him watching her friend. The moment she addressed him, he turned to her with a dark scowl. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"What are you two doing here?" Sebastian asked before he could stop himself, the question escaping without thought.

Zoe looked taken aback for a moment at his question. What was she doing here? she thought, trying not to eye her elder brother for asking her that in the first place.

"I should be the one asking that. What are you doing here?" Zoe countered incredulously.

She and Viola were friends, and she had every reason to be here, to make sure her friend was fine. He, on the other hand, had absolutely no reason to be in this room, looking angry as if they had invaded his privacy.

Her question made his silver eyes darken, and she swallowed hard, stepping back behind Nick to hide away. Her brother was terrifying when he looked at her like that, a clear sign that he was furious. Not to mention the crushing weight of his Alpha energy, which pressed down on everyone in the room and forced weaker wolves toward instinctive submission.

"I am the Alpha, and I can be wherever I like, little sister," Sebastian mused, his tone calm but cold.

Zoe pursed her lips, speaking from behind Nick, who was narrowing his eyes at his cousin’s torn shirt and bloodstains, wondering exactly what the Alpha was doing in here while releasing that suffocating presence that made one want to hide lest they couldn’t breathe.

"Vee is my person, and I have every right to be here, hermano. Your beta has been looking for you, shouldn’t you go to him?" Zoe added with a small smile.

Didn’t her brother tell her a month ago that he despised Viola? Didn’t he insist she wasn’t one of his many mates? So why was he here with her blood on his shirt? Could it be that he had attended to her?

Zoe knew her brother better than anyone, and she had a feeling he had lied to her about Viola not being his mate. If she wasn’t, why had he been the first person to reach her, even before any of them?

Though Zoe would be happy if Viola truly were her brother’s mate, and that for the first time he hadn’t discarded her after a night together like he did with many of the she-wolves who were his mates, she couldn’t help but worry for her friend, who had endured and was still enduring so much in her life.

She’d seen how Viola struggled with trauma and deep internal scars. Being her brother’s mate, she could be used as a weapon against him once it became public. Her life would be in constant danger; she would have to watch not only her back but every morsel of food she ate.

It wasn’t that Viola couldn’t defend herself, she had already displayed her strength in the arena, which Zoe was so proud of, but what if Sebastian himself harmed her or took her life?

Zoe loved her brother, but he was a living disaster, with secrets that even she, his only remaining blood relative, didn’t know. Just like where he went every three months, disappearing for weeks only to return as if he had fought the devil himself through sleepless nights. And then there was his cursed, rumored prophecy, one that constantly killed his Lunas...

"Matt is a grown man and knows where to reach me if he’s urgently searching," Sebastian remarked to his sister, glaring at Nick, who quickly moved to hide behind Viola as if she could shield him from the Alpha’s terrifying gaze.

Though they were relatives, Sebastian was not only older than Nick but far more powerful, and their deep familial feud meant they had never been close. Javier and Sebastian were always clashing, and Nick, who had nothing to do with their fights, was always caught in the middle.

"I didn’t do anything, Alpha. She’s my friend, and I came here to see if she’s okay," Nick quickly explained, hoping to stop the Alpha from scowling at him in a way that made his wolf cower inside him.

Ever since Nick was a pup, he had always feared Sebastian more than he did even his own older brother.

Viola, caught between the two sides with her friends hiding behind her in fear of the Alpha, pursed her lips. Not having a wolf made Sebastian’s presence less overwhelming for her, but the way he was making her two best friends cower in fear drew her eyes and narrowed them in displeasure.

"Stop it, Alpha Kade. You’re making them nervous for no reason at all. They are my friends and they have the right to be here, unlike you," she told him firmly. She didn’t have time to deal with him or question his motives for being here anymore.

She had too much to do to secure her position as his Luna, and his presence unnecessarily unnerving her friends was not something she could overlook. They were her people, and he was an outsider, she would always stand by her people.

Sebastian’s gaze moved from Nick to Viola, but instead of calming, his aura flared, turning the air frigid like winter had descended into the room, freezing everything. His silver eyes darkened at the fact that she still treated him like an outsider despite his efforts. Hadn’t he just saved her life? Couldn’t she at least accept his presence like she had his sister and cousin?

"Are you sending me away?" Sebastian asked, his brows drawn together in displeasure, especially when he saw his sister nodding and gesturing for him to leave. That little brat he had spoiled with his own hands. He would have threatened her with her monthly allowance if she hadn’t grown into an independent young woman and no longer depended on him.

"Isn’t it obvious? I believe I don’t need to spell it out for you to leave. I need to prepare for the next round, and my friends are here to help me if you—"

"There is no next round," Sebastian cut in, taking satisfaction in seeing her indifferent face shift to confusion. At least she wasn’t looking at him angrily.

"What do you mean?" Viola asked, her heart dropping into the pit of her stomach at the sudden thought that he might be disqualifying her for talking back. But he wouldn’t dare, not after she had put her all into it and was only a step away from achieving her first goals.

"He is right, Vee. The third round was canceled a few minutes ago. Didn’t you see it on the screens?" Zoe asked, glancing toward the walls where the arena screens displayed the view.

Viola blinked in confusion, looking at Sebastian, who was returning her gaze with the faint lift of a smile on his face.

While she had been barely conscious and Sebastian had been busy trying to suck out the poison and heal her, an announcement had appeared on the screens: the third round had been canceled, and the winner would be announced tomorrow. Laila Serrano had fallen into a state where the healer had to put her to sleep to remove the poison that had entered her heart from the numerous claw wounds and bites she had received from the black howlers.

"So there is no more competition?" Viola muttered as Nick explained it to her. She didn’t know whether to feel relief or fear at the third round being canceled.

"Yes, we thought you must have seen the screens. You’re more than one step ahead of everyone, Vee, and I believe my bet isn’t about to go to waste and you will be announced the winner tomorrow," Nick said with a smirk, about to hug her again out of happiness.

But a certain someone’s look stopped him, making him shove his hands into his pockets. What was it with cousin Sebastian? Why did it feel like he was staking a claim on Viola even without saying a word? It wasn’t like she was his Luna already, and even if she were, everyone was aware that he liked Laila and preferred her more, seeing as he had placed his bet on her, which he would now lose.

"We don’t know if she has won yet. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to know after the announcement and the council meeting between the elders," Zoe said, her gray eyes glimmering with excitement as she imagined designing Viola’s wedding dress and preparing for her crowning ceremony as Luna.

From what she was noticing, there was a strong chance Viola might indeed be Sebastian’s mate. Though scary as it was, Zoe knew her friend was capable of protecting herself against any enemy, even Sebastian himself.

Viola, who had heard everything, didn’t know whether to feel relief that there were no more trials or happiness that she was at least ahead of the other participants.

She still didn’t feel any sense of accomplishment or relief of securing a better future, nor did she feel as though she had done enough.

Not to mention that winning didn’t mean she had achieved anything yet. There was still so much to be done: enduring a life married to a man who, according to rumors, could kill her; carrying the responsibility of an entire pack; and pursuing her revenge against the North Pack and Moonwillow. She hadn’t forgotten what Ember, Evan and Leni had done to her, the beatings and the humiliation.

Though the elders might suddenly decide to banish her even after she had proven herself in this competition, Viola realized she needed to rest her aching body and wait until tomorrow to hear the outcome. Her head was still pounding, and her legs felt unstable.

She absentmindedly massaged her temple, where the contact lenses still caused a mild headache and eye pressure, combined with the bumps and falls she’d taken in the arena.

"Let’s go, Vee. I’ll drop you home, and we can stop at the healing house to get you checked," Nick said, reaching out to take Viola’s hand so they could leave before the Alpha’s dark presence overwhelmed them. But just as they began to turn, Sebastian stopped them.

"She will come with me. I’ll drop her home. You and Zoe can go ahead."