Fated: The Alpha's Unwanted Luna

Chapter 317: Sharing happiness

"Hmm," she hummed, then asked, "Shouldn’t we attend Javier’s funeral?"

"We are not invited. My aunt will throw a fit of rage if we show up there." He said, his fingers still working through her hair. "I am thinking of sending her to Mexico along with some of my relatives. I don’t want her becoming a problem for you in the future because of what happened to my cousin." He added thoughtfully, and Viola frowned.

"Mexico? You mean the human world?" She asked, genuinely taken aback. Mexico had been the land where the Silver pack members had once lived before this world was established, and though she had heard that some werewolves in the human world had chosen to forsake their wolves and live as humans forever, she couldn’t imagine Mrs. Kade ever agreeing to that.

"It is the only way I can neutralize enemies without shedding more blood. If she is far away, she will have no means of taking revenge, and I am quite certain that is exactly what she will want. Her grandparents are in Mexico." He mused, his gaze drifting slowly over her bare shoulders as she turned sideways, the elegant curve of her neck, and the way the towel clung to her chest.

Heat stirred low in his belly again. His erection twitched and began to harden despite how thoroughly he had already claimed her in that shower, not once, not twice, but three times. He pushed the desires away and focused on the topic at hand.

His aunt couldn’t stay here anymore. She would be trouble for him and his mate, and that was exactly what he wanted to avoid. He still had enemies he hadn’t identified yet, threats lurking in the shadows that he hadn’t been able to uncover. Having her around would only complicate matters further and put a target on both his sister and Viola’s backs. It wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.

"What about Nick? Are you sending him away with her?" she asked curiously, though anxiety laced her voice.

Nick was her best friend, and if he were sent away, there was little chance they would ever see each other or stay in contact again. The thought alone filled her with sadness.

"No. Nick has responsibilities here. He oversees much of Silver’s technology, the pack needs his mind more than the human world does."

As much as Sebastian would have preferred to put distance between his cousin and his mate after noticing what was beginning to develop in Nick’s eyes whenever they landed on Viola, he had to think practically about the man’s value to Silver.

He would, however, make absolutely certain that whatever feeling was quietly brewing in his cousin never got close enough to reach his wife, or he wouldn’t hesitate to break every bone in the man’s body. Viola was his and his alone, and no other man had any business looking at her for longer than was necessary.

This possessiveness over his wife was not something that had always lived in him, and though he had caught a glimpse of wolf’s fur rising along her skin during the time he was pleasuring her, Sebastian couldn’t wait for her wolf to awaken fully, so that she could connect with his own wolf the way mates were meant to and feel repulsed by another man’s intimate look or touch. That way he would be at more ease.

"I think I should reach out to Nick, after all, he has lost a brother, and as his friend I should be there for him." Viola remarked, guilt tugging at her as she realized she hadn’t even thought to check on him after learning about Javier’s death. It didn’t matter that he and Javier hadn’t been on good terms, they were still blood brothers.

She began to rise from the bed to go and check on him, but Sebastian’s face shifted into open displeasure and he pulled her back down. "Where do you think you are going?" He asked.

"To Nick’s." She said matter-of-factly, looking up at him where he had positioned himself in front of her so she couldn’t stand.

Sebastian reached down and moved the damp strands of hair from her temple, tucking them behind her pink ear as he said, "Didn’t you hear what I just told you? My aunt doesn’t want us anywhere near her son’s funeral, and Nick is most likely there right now. You can’t just barge in to be there for him."

Even the mere thought of it sent his possessiveness into an overdrive he didn’t bother to rein in. Why should she need to be there for him? Nick was a grown man perfectly capable of handling his own emotions without needing another man’s wife at his side.

Viola’s eyes went thoughtful for a moment before she relaxed, conceding that he had a point. "I can’t barge in there. I will check on him once the funeral is over... I just hope he is doing all right." She muttered, and Sebastian took her chin between his fingers and said,

"Trust me, he is doing fine. Probably a little more than fine, because I cannot remember the last time he and Javier ever truly acted like brothers." He whispered, leaning down to peck her lips before straightening back up to resume drying her hair. "Now don’t let him occupy your mind, baby."

Viola let out a quiet sigh and then said, "I don’t like to see siblings being torn apart, it reminds me too much of how I was separated from mine. Has there been any word about Ivy’s whereabouts?" She asked, looking up at him with hopeful blue eyes.

Sebastian shook his head, and something sad moved across his face. "I’m sorry, there hasn’t been any word from the people I sent yet. The moment there is new information, you will be the first to hear it." He paused, then took her chin gently again. "Oh no, don’t go sad on me now, sunshine. You were doing just fine a little while ago. Look at me." He said. "Whenever I see you happy, I feel happy too, amor, and when you are sad, it makes me sad. I like drawing from your happiness. We will find her, I promise."

Viola didn’t want to let her sadness show, but she had forgotten that this husband of hers was connected to her through their bond and could feel the moment any emotion settled into her. She pushed it down deliberately, knowing Sebastian had already been carrying a heavy mood of his own today, and the last thing she wanted was to pile her sadness on top of his.

"I am not sad. See, I am smiling." She flashed him a wide, silly grin showing every one of her white teeth, and he let out a deep, genuine chuckle before reaching out to pinch her nose.

"If that is a smile then I believe pigs can fly too. Now give me a real one, darling." He teased, and she laughed genuinely at that, the sound light and unguarded.

"You are insane, Seb." She swatted at his hand when he pinched her cheek with amused fingers.

"I don’t mind being insane as long as it makes you smile and laugh like that." He said, his voice dropping into something thick and sincere as his eyes settled on her face. "Always smile, sunshine, no matter what. It puts a light in your eyes that makes a person never want to look away. Like a rare diamond that no amount of money in the world could ever buy." He paused, then added softly, "My diamond."

The words made her flush like a schoolgirl, the color rising warmly on her cheeks and only adding to the kind of adorableness that made something in his chest feel like melted sugar.

"You are going to be the death of me, amor," he murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

Viola smiled softly and leaned back into his touch, basking in the warmth of him and in the sincerity of his words, words she found herself actually believing, without the old reflex to doubt or dismiss them the way she would have dismissed any praise directed at herself in the past.

The way he looked at her made her feel beautiful for the first time in a very long time. Having someone like Sebastian made it almost impossible to stay sad for long, because he would always find a way to pull you back into the light.

But the thought crept in quietly, the way it always eventually did, the thought that one day this would end. That he would find the one true mate he was meant for, and she would be set aside the way Natalie had been, the way Evangeline had been, the way Laila had been.

The fear gripped her heart for just a moment before she pushed it firmly away, refusing to give it a place to settle and grow roots, refusing to let it stop her from loving him and giving him everything she had for as long as she was given the chance to.