Fated: The Alpha Chapter 209: The unexpected companion

Chapter 209: The unexpected companion

The next morning when Viola woke up it was to the warmth of Sebastian’s scent wrapped around her, but there was no Sebastian on the bed or anywhere in her room, and she felt her heart tighten at the absence of him. Had she dreamt of his presence? She could have sworn that someone had held her all through the night...

But then how had she ended up on the bed when she had been sure she’d slept in the living room? She couldn’t have brought herself here without the memories, could she?

Viola looked around and tried to find the signs of him, but except for the scent and the crease on the pillow next to hers, he wasn’t there, and her shoulders slumped slightly. He came and probably left before she woke up.

The days that followed passed in a blur for Viola. She barely worked on anything beyond the she-wolf council, where she was quietly grateful when she stopped seeing Laila and Ember, along with her adoptive family, showing up there any further. Though she was aware they were still somewhere in the building.

After the new law she had pushed through, she received a lot of hostile looks and open resentment from the male, and to her astonishment even from some of the guards and some of the she-wolves, who removed themselves from her council and joined another one she heard Laila was leading outside the main pack building.

"Is that allowed to happen?" she had asked Zoe when she learned about it.

"Technically, yes. In Silver, power rules many things. She has the strongest wolf among she-wolves, and she has been ruling even before you were crowned. Unless the Alpha dismisses her council, Laila still has the natural power to lead with her suppressing energy. Don’t worry, I guess it’s for the best. At least all the hostile, nasty she-wolves have gone to join hers," Zoe assured. "It means less trouble."

Viola’s reply was a simple, "Hmm." Zoe said she shouldn’t worry, but she wasn’t worried that Laila was silently competing with her. She was more worried that Sebastian allowed her to be a leader, probably because he still favored her.

Viola’s council only had a lot of omegas because even the guest Lunas who had appreciated her change had left her side, and she was left to hear the problems of the omegas, which she actually had no issue with, except for the resentful eyes she got from the pack members.

But for as long as no one openly laid a hand on her or said anything directly to her face, Viola tried to walk with her head high, even when the weight of all those eyes on her back left her weary all the time in a way she hadn’t expected.

There were times she also sensed she was being followed, a prickling at the back of her neck that made her stop and turn and find nothing but empty corridor or open space behind her.

Since she never saw anyone in sight she tried to let it pass and not let paranoia take root in her. The life of a Luna was never going to be without its threats, and Viola had always known that, but knowing something and living it were two very different things.

Somewhere quiet in her heart she wished she could just live a peaceful life now, a small and ordinary one without enemies she hadn’t chosen and dangers she couldn’t always see coming. But that was something close to impossible without her sister beside her, and peace had never truly been something she had been allowed to hold for long.

Perhaps after she found Ivy things would change. And perhaps again when Sebastian eventually found his true mate and their arrangement reached its inevitable end, she would move away from Silver entirely and take Ivy with her to live among the humans where no one would know what they were or what they lacked.

If after finding her sister she still hadn’t gotten her wolf, there was no real reason left to keep living among werewolves, or to stay close to a man who was bound to hurt her and break what they had built between them someday, even if he never meant to.

The guests who had come for the wedding soon began making their way back to their packs. Some who still wanted to explore Silver remained behind, but they no longer stayed in the High Tower and had moved themselves into the hotels spread across the city instead.

On the night before the day she would leave for her planned journey to Nightshade, Viola called Sebastian to let him know she wanted to travel. She didn’t tell him everything, only that she needed to check on something in the pack. Without asking her a single question about what it was, he gave her his permission to go.

Viola found it strange that he didn’t question her more of the reasons of her traveling but didn’t let herself think too much about it. After all Lunas were allowed the freedom to go around the world whenever they wanted to.

She sent Nick a text to remind him of their plans and he replied telling her he would be waiting at a certain location in the morning.

Viola couldn’t sleep that night. The anticipation of finally going to bring back her twin and being one step closer to the peace she had been chasing for so long kept her wide awake and restless.

Even before sunrise she had packed her bags for the four to five day journey, along with enough money to cover everything they would need, as she had no intention of letting Nick spend a single thing on this trip.

Viola showered, cleaned up and dressed in jeans and a blue t-shirt with a cardigan layered over it against the slight chill in the air, finishing with a pair of sneakers, keeping everything as casual and comfortable as she could manage.

Then she left the High Tower building, which was quiet and nearly empty now that the guests had gone, and made her way to meet Nick at the back building.

When she arrived she spotted a red car parked at the agreed location and assumed it was him. She walked toward it with a small apologetic smile already forming on her lips for making him wait, but the smile froze on her face the moment the car door swung open and someone she had not expected at all stepped out, dressed just as casually as she was, his silver eyes catching the early morning light and glimmering as he smiled at her.

"Are you ready to go, wife?" Sebastian asked, stepping forward and reaching out to take her backpack from her hands, but Viola stepped back with a deep frown pulling at her face.

"Why are you here? Where is Nick?" She asked, taken aback in a way she couldn’t hide. What was he doing here?

Sebastian shrugged. "I sent Nick to finish up some work in one of our neighboring packs. He will be leaving with one of the Alphas to build some AI home systems for them with some of his team. He will be gone for a while." He explained to her nonchalantly, his back leaning against the car as he watched her displeased frown with an expression that gave nothing away.

Sebastian had known what she planned to do and why she was going to Nightshade even before she called him the night before, and he had already prepared himself to go with her, wanting to look into her background there himself. But then he had found out she had asked Nick to come with her instead.

Just what was it with her and his cousin? She was married to him and not Nick, and she thought he would simply allow her to go on a several days long journey alone with another man while he was right here and available? He couldn’t even bring himself to imagine it, let alone give it his blessing.

In less than a few minutes Sebastian had swiftly agreed to one of the visiting guests’ requests to have some of his tech workers go and help develop their pack, and he had assigned Nick to lead the task personally.

"I can’t go, I have somewhere to be." Nick had told him, not backing down immediately. "I will send my colleague to go with the Alpha instead. I—"

"It is an order you cannot defy, Nicolas." Sebastian had told him, letting his Alpha energy settle into every word, and Nick had had no choice but to listen.

Sebastian would sooner have had him removed entirely than allow his cousin to spend days traveling alone with his wife. He had then borrowed Nick’s phone long enough to send her the message telling her to meet at this location, and waited.