Viola’s hair, which she had believed would never look good again with all its tangles, was now strengthened and combed smoothly down her shoulders, reflecting the light and shining like polished ebony.
The faint dark bruises on her face were hidden by the light makeup Zoe had applied, and Viola could barely recognize herself. Though still thin and a little sunken, she looked unbelievably better than the haggard state she had been in last night, a state that had made her resemble a terrifying ghost.
And the dress. Viola stared at it in the mirror. It had been ages since she had worn anything like this.
It was a deep wine-red gown, the color of crushed roses and blood. The bodice fit her closely, hugging her slim shape without being loud, with thin straps resting lightly on her shoulders.
The fabric glittered faintly, catching the light whenever she moved.
From her waist, the dress fell into a long, flowing skirt that draped all the way to the floor, moving like a slow ripple with every step she took. It was a very beautiful dress, designed to emphasize a woman’s upper curves, but her current body lacked the fullness to fill it entirely, making it a bit loose at the chest.
Nonetheless, it made her look fragile and elegant at the sa ti.
Viola bit the inside of her cheek as her gaze fell to the red bite mark on her neck, still bare beneath her hair. Self-consciously, she tucked the hair around it to conceal it, a small gesture that contrasted with the boldness of her transformation.
Lastly, she was injected with pheromone and heat suppressors, as her body produced them every second of the day.
"Oh wow, you look lovely! Are you ready to face your rivals at the dinner?" Zoe exclaid, clapping her hands in excitent at her handiwork of transforming Viola into a princess and dressing her in one of her latest designs. She couldn’t wait for her brother to see the girl’s transformation.
Rivals? Viola swallowed hard and bobbed her head, bracing herself.
~~~
The dining hall was in the sa luxurious skyscraper building as the one Viola’s penthouse was in. It had a total of 103 floors and was the biggest one, with important Silver Pack mbers living inside it. They took the elevator to the 64th floor, and by the ti they stepped out of it, Viola could already feel the strong presence of higher-ranking werewolves in the air.
But what surprised her more when they stepped into the long hallways was the fact that all over the walls of the hallways there were long screen projectors that showed images of participating she-wolves and their wolves on the screens in the background.
As they walked past them, Viola adjusted her glasses to see them better while she listened to Zoe tell her which family each of them belonged to.
Among the she-wolves was one who stood out from the rest. She had ginger hair and green eyes, with an arrogant smile fixed on her face on the screen, and her wolf looked so big and intimidating that Viola felt a shiver run down her spine just from looking into the wolf’s eyes displayed there.
"That is Laila Serrano, Elder Halvrek’s niece. A little advice, you should watch out for her. She’s a little bitchy. Everyone already takes her as the winner because she currently has the strongest wolf among the she-wolves participating."
There was a lacing of scorn in Zoe’s tone as she spoke about Laila, as if she genuinely didn’t like her, and Viola took note of that, making a ntal list of who she needed to watch out for.
Viola could tell, even from the way the she-wolf looked on the screen, that she was trouble and soone completely full of herself. After all, Viola had once been in those sa shoes before, and recognizing that kind of attitude in another person wasn’t hard for her to do.
When it ca to her own turn on the screen projector, there was no image of her. There was only her na, stating that she was from the North Pack and the first wolfless to compete for the position of Luna in the Silver Pack.
Worse, Viola’s insides clenched when she saw a small line beneath it that read: the little delusional suicidal wolfless.
"Don’t mind that," Zoe said, noticing Viola’s eyes on the written words. "Just like I told you, nobody takes you seriously right now because it has never been done for a wolfless to take the position of our Luna through the competition. But I do believe it’s ti for a change in the Silver Pack."
No doubt many would find it funny, Viola thought, because she would have found it funny too if she were watching from the outside, standing before the projectors and not being the one displayed on them.
She was 5’5 tall, with a very small physique and without a wolf, trying to compete against she-wolves. It would be totally ridiculous. Only now, the joke was on her, and she couldn’t laugh, because she was determined to win. It was either she rose high to power or died trying, there was no other way around it with the burning hunger for atonent and revenge churning relentlessly inside her.
Viola subconsciously adjusted her glasses again and tried not to wipe her suddenly sweaty palm against her beautiful dress as they drew nearer to the hall.
When they arrived at the hall, which was at the end of the long silver-polished hallways filled with wall projectors, the doors automatically slid open for them to enter.
Inside the hall was like stepping into another world of its own.
Unlike the modern, advanced design of the building, this space carried an ancient, solemn atmosphere. The presence of the werewolf elders made the air feel heavier, colder, almost frigid.
Large chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting a muted glow over the room. There were no glass walls here, only solid stone and polished silver.
Quiet conversation filled the hall, but it paused the mont Viola and Zoe entered.
All eyes turned toward them.
Viola quickly realized they had arrived a bit late, and it made her gulp anxiously, knowing that wasn’t a good first impression. Hadn’t they rushed everything to co on ti?
Everyone was already present, seated around an impossibly long table. More than twenty werewolves sat there, including the participating she-wolves... and the Alpha himself.
The six elders were seated along the right side of the table.
The Alpha sat at the head.
And unfortunately for her, the head chair faced the entrance directly.
His cold silver eyes locked onto Viola the instant she stepped inside.
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