anwhile, in the room where Laila and Emilia were seated, Laila’s drink caught in her throat as she stared at the screen that showed the difference in ti it had taken her and the wolfless girl to solve the problem and bring the people to safety. The girl was ahead of her by four minutes and had saved all fifty people, while she had left ten behind.
The wine turned bitter in her throat as she saw the audience cheering for Viola, and she curled her fingers into tight fists, her nails digging crescent-shaped marks into her palms.
This is unacceptable... nobody ever wins against in anything, Laila thought, disbelief and fury warring inside her at the turn of event. She had been so sure the wolfless girl would fail. How had she dared win over her?
But then, rembering the brutal nature of the second round, her consuming anger subsided slightly, and her fingers unclenched. Let the wolfless think she had won this round without a wolf; there was no way she would survive the next test, or the third. The second round was the real crucible, the one that could crush any werewolf, and despite the sting of being beaten at the first round, Laila was reassured by that knowledge.
"I have really underestimated the bitch," Emilia remarked with a deep frown, as unlike Laila, the wolfless had surpassed her by far.
Not long after, Laila and Emilia were led away from the room to prepare for the second round.
It was just as Laila was about to leave that her uncle stord in and stopped her, ordering the guard to go ahead with Emilia. The icy glare in his eyes made her swallow hard, and she forced a smile as she greeted, "Uncle—"
"Don’t ’uncle’ , muchacha," Elder Halvrek snapped, his voice firm and sharp, full of disapproval. "You assured you would be ahead of the participants. It’s not looking that way. You are a step behind of a re wolfless girl."
Elder Halvrek had been barging to the others that his niece would surpass every one of the participants. He had even been among the people who made fun of the wolfless nobody who went back for a single person, only to be t with her victory instead, and then be mocked in return over his niece. He didn’t like being wrong or being made fun of by others.
Hadn’t Laila promised him she wouldn’t disappoint him?
Laila fought not to cower under his scrutiny. Cold sweat broke across her back. Her uncle had always been soone she feared, even more than her parents, and despite her determination to win this for herself so she could be Sebastian’s wife, she knew failure was not an option with her uncle involved. Her uncle had wagered half his wealth on her; victory would double it, but defeat would cost him half, and she knew the fallout would be disastrous to her.
That wretched wolfless girl. It seed Laila had underestimated her. She had used cheap, weak tactics to win the first round, tactics a Luna with authority and class should never lower herself to. It shouldn’t be acceptable, but Laila knew she wouldn’t be the one to voice that opinion publicly. Instead, she turned to her uncle.
Laila smiled tightly. "Uncle, you saw how I put my all into it. It was the wolfless girl who used a cheap trick. She—"
"That’s not enough, girl. It’s not enough," Elder Halvrek snapped. "I want to see action and good results. I don’t care what tricks you have to use, win." He scolded her harshly, clearly unconcerned with how the victory was achieved, as long as she did not make him a laughingstock among the others.
Laila’s fingers curled into her palms. "Yes, tío."
Elder Halvrek’s hardened eyes softened only slightly as he continued, "You’d better keep your word and beco our Luna. The next heir must co from a Serrano. Make proud." His gaze locked onto hers, the warning unmistakable.
"Yes, sir."
~~~
After making sure the injured people were taken to the healing house and properly cared for, Viola was escorted back to a resting room. She was washing her face in the sink and wiping the water off with a towel when Zoe and Nick walked in, already arguing as usual, Zoe insisting that Nick wasn’t supposed to be in there.
The mont Zoe saw her, her gray eyes brightened. She hurried forward and pulled Viola into a warm embrace, making her smile despite herself and the lingering dread still sitting in her heart.
"I’m so glad you’re all right, Vee. Are you hurt?" Zoe asked, pulling back when she caught the strong scent of blood clinging to her friend. She imdiately began examining Viola for injuries, hovering over her like a mama hen checking her chicks.
Zoe let out a relieved sigh when she realized the blood wasn’t Viola’s, but belonged to the people she had carried and run alongside to protect.
"You’ve gained a few more supporters in the audience," Zoe said proudly. "That’s a good thing. They’ll vote for you at the end of the competition. Are you really sure you don’t feel any pain after that jump? I can call a healer and_"
"I’m fine, really," Viola assured her for the second ti when Zoe asked if she felt any pain from jumping into the hole while holding the cover up with her back.
Honestly, her leg muscles ached a little, but it was nothing serious, and it hadn’t stopped her from moving or walking.
Nick stepped forward, gently shoving Zoe aside so he could have his mont with Viola as well. Zoe yelped and slapped his back in protest, but Nick only laughed and said, "It’s my ti with my future wife, so stand back, prima."
"In your dreams, muchacho. She’s winning and becoming my sister-in-law," Zoe grumbled, though she still stepped aside and gave him space, knowing he had been just as worried about Viola as she had.
Nick ignored Zoe’s comnt and placed his large hands on Viola’s shoulders, grinning down at her warmly. "I could kiss you, Vee. That was incredible, really." He leaned down and pressed his lips to her cheek.
Viola flushed, heat rushing all the way to her face, but she quickly masked it with a chuckle, realizing she wasn’t immune to Nick’s charm despite him being one of her best friends. His lips was warm against her cheek.
She had never had a male friend before because, in the past, Evan hadn’t liked her hanging around with other n, just as she hadn’t liked him being around other females.
They had made an agreent to stick to friends of their own gender to avoid unnecessary jealousy. But who would have thought he had been cheating behind her back the entire ti, while she had remained loyal, loyal enough that she had never even been kissed on the cheek by another male...
Evan never gave her cheek kisses. And she could count the few tis they had shared affectionate lip kisses. Looking back now, Viola realized those kisses were only given when she did sothing remarkable for him or solved a problem he couldn’t. She would spend sleepless nights solving academy and pack issues for him because he was the heir. She did all of his work for nothing more than a scrap of his kiss and affection.
Viola pushed thoughts of Evan aside and looked up at Nick’s handso face, grinning down at her.
She smiled at him, completely unaware that a certain soone was watching from the door, fighting the strong urge to barge in, break Nick’s neck, and remove his hands from her shoulders.
How dare Nick kiss her?
He couldn’t bear to watch them without breaking soone’s arms, and the pull of his mate-bond to check on her and make certain she was unhard was nearly unbearable, but with his sister and cousin in the room, he couldn’t act on his instinct to check on his mate.
Clenching his jaw, he turned on his heels and slipped away without making his presence known.
If she could stand and smile at his stupid cousin, then she wasn’t injured like he had feared she would be after the way he’d seen her jump into the hole like the little rabbit he believed she was. But recalling Nick’s kiss to her cheek sent fire through him. I should cut his lips, Sebastian thought with a dark scowl.
’Are you jealous?’ Muffin questioned, but before Sebastian could deny it or shut off his wolf, Muffin added, ’It’s all your fault. If you hadn’t been an to her from the beginning, it would be you she was smiling at right now and warming up to. You ssed things up. Get ready to eat my shit because she’s in the lead.’
For the first ti, Sebastian didn’t shut his wolf off, even though he still strongly believed he had been cursed with a very stupid wolf. As an Alpha, he should have a no-nonsense wolf, but instead he was stuck with this one called Muffin.
’Do you think she’s warming up to Nick?’ he asked, his expression dark.
’Duh. Wasn’t it obvious?’ Muffin said. ’The way she was smiling at him, her cheeks all red? If you’re not careful, she’s going to fall for him, and you’ll be the one in pain when your mate falls for another male.’
Sebastian didn’t like that at all. The ntal image of her with his cousin sent stabbing pains through his chest and made him feel as if he had swallowed hot coals. ’If she’s going to be my Luna, I’m not about to endure unnecessary pain every day,’ he said tightly. ’How can I make her warm up to ?’
’Well, now you’re talking,’ Muffin replied. ’From now on, you’re going to listen to . Understand?’
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