Fated: The Alpha's Unwanted Luna-Chapter 165: The wedding

The supreme Alpha’s wedding was supposed to be grander than what it was, but this not being his first wedding ceremony, and with many strongly believing this third Luna wasn’t going to last anyway, they hadn’t bothered to make it something out of this world the way his first wedding had been. The hall where the vows and oaths would be taken and exchanged was mildly decorated, and the outdoor ceremony that would take place in the paradise garden where the marking would happen was equally understated.

There was no wild excitement and no warm, familiar faces of close friends and family filling the seats as the guests began filing into the hall.

Normally, the groom’s family was meant to sit on the right and the bride’s family on the left, but here the left side sat entirely empty, not a single soul occupying it. Even the remaining Moonwillow guests had chosen to sit on the groom’s side, for they no longer considered Viola one of their own. Not that she would have acknowledged them as family anyway, though they would have gladly welcomed her back now that she was becoming a supreme Luna.

Leni’s eyes were red and swollen from crying, as she had not been permitted to see her mate or her uncle who were locked away in what felt like the far end of nowhere, and she had not been given the opportunity to speak with the supreme Alpha and tell him exactly what kind of woman he was making his wife. It was so difficult to keep herself composed that making herself presentable for the wedding had taken far longer than it should have.

How dare Viola put her through this when she had come here expecting to enjoy herself? Leni thought, bitterness burning in her eyes. She was not about to let this slide, she would go to any length necessary to bring her life back to what it was supposed to be, with her Evan by her side. That was precisely why she was now sitting next to the Silver Pack princess, Laila.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, though I am truly sorry that your mate had to go through what he did, all because of our future wolfless Luna." Laila said, her voice carrying just the right amount of sympathy as she addressed the distressed she-wolf who had come to her with her troubles. "But I want to assure you that I will do everything within my power to see to it that our Alpha releases your mate."

Leni smiled shakily with gratitude. "Thank you. I have heard from many people that you are the supreme Alpha’s true mate, and that if it hadn’t been for that competition, it would have been you standing up there today. I want you to know that none of this is your fault. Viola has always been a scheming bitch, and I am absolutely certain she did something, schemed and manipulated her way, to win against someone like you, Miss Serrano."

Laila, who had endured the quiet and not so quiet insults of many for failing that competition, found herself warming to Leni immediately upon hearing those words.

She tucked them away carefully, turning them over in her mind, because that wolfless bitch must have done something to pull off that win against her. There was simply no other explanation. And with that belief firmly planted, it wouldn’t be long before she found a way to make everyone else see it too.

"I knew she had done something to win, a wolfless she-wolf shouldn’t have been able to display the kind of strength she did. I will need to expose her for the fraud she is eventually, but honestly I don’t think I even need to stress myself over it or lift a single finger." Laila said with a light, unbothered sigh.

"She will be dead within six months to a year anyway, and once she is out of the picture, Leni, you and I are going to become very close indeed. I like the way you think." She patted Leni’s arm with a pleased smile, though in the back of her mind she was very much aware that under any other circumstance, someone like Leni would never be considered anywhere near her level, for it seemed she had once been closely acquainted with Viola.

Wasn’t Viola said to be the daughter of an omega from the North Pack? So how had the Luna of Moonwillow come to know her, if not through some prior friendship between them? Or had it been Ember, who had been reported ill and unable to attend the wedding, who had told her about the wolfless woman? Whatever the connection was, Laila was certain of one thing: she did not make a habit of mingling with people who kept wolfless women in their circles.

"Now let us enjoy the ceremony." Laila added, her smile still sitting comfortably on her face.

Even the Lindens sat with a gloomy air hanging thickly around them, seething and quietly furious at the abomination of a daughter they had made the mistake of adopting. As much as they wanted to stand up and reveal to everyone present that Viola was nothing but a girl scraped from the dirt, a warning note had been delivered directly to their room from the Alpha himself, warning them to conduct themselves as though they had never known his wife before, or they would find themselves sharing a cell with Eliot.

Meanwhile, the Kade family carried their own air of gloominess, all except Javier and his mother, who still firmly believed that Viola becoming Luna would do everything to support their plans.

She was just a woman without a wolf who couldn’t give the Alpha an heir, and in no time at all Javier would find a way to use her position against his cousin and begin dismantling his reign. Very soon, everyone would see clearly that Sebastian was unfit to remain on the Alpha seat.

A new Alpha who didn’t carry the curse of the generation should be placed on that throne, and that person was none other than him. Javier Kade. At that thought, a slow smile spread across Javier’s face and his quiet excitement about today grew as he made his way to his seat, dragging his wife along with him and shoving her down into the chair beside his before glowering down at her.

"Today is a significant day and yet you don’t have the decency to dress yourself up like every other woman here. You smell like someone who has never bathed a day in their life. Don’t you dare leave that chair again without my permission, because if I have to stress myself looking for you in this crowd, you will regret the day you were born into this world."

He warned her, his tone thick with disgust, as though he wasn’t the very person who had deprived her of a bath and proper clothing for so long that she had simply grown accustomed to the deprivation.

Sofia bobbed her head obediently and peeked through the curtain of her hair to check whether the bride had arrived yet, her fingers twisting tightly together in her lap as a single desperate wish repeated itself inside her mind. She hoped the bride had the sense not to come.

The Kades were evil. She would die like the rest of them, and a marriage into this family was not worth it, Sofia had learned that the hard way. And that woman from yesterday had been kind to her, the very first person to show her kindness in a long time. She had given her chocolate, and Sofia pressed her fingers lightly against her chest where the wrapper was still tucked safely inside her shirt.

Don’t marry a Kade. Kades are evil, wicked. They use women. They use women. Don’t come today. Sofia thought, muttering the words quietly inside her mind, terrified of forgetting them before she could find a way to say them to that woman. The Kade males always pretended to be kind and loving, and then they turned on you...

Sofia raised her head and looked slightly to the side at the other Kade son, and her insides turned over before she quickly looked away from him.

Nick, who had been sitting quietly, felt suddenly as though someone was watching him, but when he glanced around, no one’s eyes were on him and he shrugged it off, turning his attention back to watching for the bride and groom to make their entrance.