Chapter 37
By the time Viola left the hall, her palm was bleeding badly, and she didn’t have a handkerchief, or the effortless grace to mingle with anyone. She had already earned the elders’ approval, and that was all that mattered. She didn’t wait for Zoe, who had been held up by someone Viola had been introduced to as her aunt, and excused herself quietly from the hall.
Viola walked out of the hall and, thankfully, at the far end of the sliding doors, she spotted a sink attached to the wall. She hurried toward it, clutching her bleeding hand.
The mirror of the sink wasn’t glass but a technological screen, showing images of the Luna participants just like the wall projector. The moment she stepped in front of it, the screen shifted to reflect her own face like a proper mirror.
She stared at her reflection and shuddered inwardly. Her makeup was fading, revealing sunken cheeks and tired eyes behind her round-frame glasses. Had she looked like this the whole time in the hall? She cried silently inside. So much for a first impression.
Unable to look at herself any longer, she lowered her head toward the sink, where the faucet had no handle, only a curved silver object. She was already frustrated, and discovering a headless, strange tap did nothing but intensify her helplessness. Did the Silver really have to make everything this complicated? Even a simple sink couldn’t escape their overly complex technology!
She reached out, about to slap the tap, but as her hand came close, water suddenly sprang from the curved object.
“Messed-up technology,” she gritted furiously, holding her bleeding hand under the flow, letting the blood mix with the water and wash down the drain.
“I actually designed that system p>
A male voice suddenly spoke, and Viola turned her head to see who it was. She recognized him immediately.
Though Zoe had given her a tablet to study the elders, Viola had also seen the profiles of many of the Alpha’s relatives. She remembered seeing this person’s profile, he was one of the Alpha’s cousins.
He was tall, impossibly handsome, with silver hair and eyes, but unlike Sebastian, his face carried a more approachable, less intimidating aura. But to her shame and displeasure, she had to admit he wasn’t as strikingly gorgeous as that cold Alpha. Was there anyone here as unnervingly good-looking as him? She hadn’t seen it yet, because the Alpha’s presence was the kind that unsettled you.
“Oh, sorry,” Viola said quietly, flustered. “I was just… having trouble with it p>
He smiled warmly. “No offense taken. It responds to proximity and temperature p>
“Oh,” Viola muttered. She couldn’t help but wish he would leave her alone so she could wash her hand in peace.
After her life as a Hollow, she was no longer used to having one-on-one conversations or being in the presence of people the Hollow system had taught her were above her in werewolf society, before whom she was supposed to bow her head. The habit was still ingrained in her, and she had to fight herself many times not to bow or cower before the people in the hall, or this man approaching her.
“Viola, right?” he asked, his eyes briefly flicking to her bleeding hand beneath the running water.
She nodded, pulling her hand away from the water, which stopped the moment she removed her hand.
“Cool, right?” he said, unable to hide his enthusiasm at how the faucet worked. “I spent three months convincing the elders it wouldn’t flood the buildings in our pack if we made it this way p>
“Oh she replied, speechless, unable to find words to hold a conversation. She had read that he was a nerd, part of those responsible for creating most of the technology in the Silver Pack, and also quite talkative, judging by how she had noticed him chatting away inside the hall earlier. What did he want from her?
He laughed softly as if reading her discomfort. “You’re not much of a talker, I see.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a neatly folded handkerchief, and gently took her bleeding hand.
“You’re bleeding. Let me help p>
Viola stiffened instinctively, her fingers twitching as if to pull back, but she stopped when she realized he was only tying the handkerchief around her palm. Perhaps it was time to make herself familiar with the people here.
The more friends and allies she had, the easier life would be in the future. She couldn’t afford for every single person to despise her as much as she despised herself and everything that had made her who she was. It was time she learned how to live among people like this again, not for herself this time, but for her sister and for her mission of becoming the future supreme Luna, where no one would cause her anymore pains.
“I find you interesting, Viola. Though you don’t have a wolf, you still talked back to Laila in there. Tell me, what’s the secret behind your confidence?” he asked, letting go of her hand and leaning slightly to look down at her with keen interest, as if he were waiting for her to whisper the secret of the universe.
Nick was certain the girl must have a plan, some hidden strategy to win without a wolf. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so bold in front of Laila. Not to mention daring enough to come into the Silver Pack and wanting to rule them.
Didn’t she know she was at risk of dying even if she won the challenge? Didn’t she know about the Kade’s curse? His cousin’s Lunas, who had been strong, were already gone. And what he found most interesting was catching a glimpse of Sebastian sliding his own meal in front of her.
Wasn’t that interesting? Sebastian, who acted as though he were allergic to weaklings, paying attention to this one? There had to be some kind of secret. And Nick liked listening for secrets.
Viola bit the inside of her cheek, raising a hand to tuck strands of hair behind her ear, struggling to process that someone actually found her interesting. If only he knew how disappointed he would be, there was nothing remotely interesting about her.
“I don’t have any secret,” she replied finally, her voice calm but firm. “I just know I have to win at all costs p>
“Aha!” he suddenly exclaimed, startling her and making her eyes widen. “That’s the spirit! Determination! Now tell me, do you have any plans of escaping before the day? Because I just bet millions on you in there p>
Viola stared at him in astonishment. “Mr—” she began to speak, but his dramatic gasp cut her words off mid-throat.
“Oh no. Absolutely not. ’Mr.’ makes me sound old,” he said, his expression earnest, almost puppy-like in its intensity. “Call me Nick p>
“Nicolas if I’m in trouble. Nick if I’m not,” he said, stepping back and raising his hands in playful surrender. “And don’t worry, I’m not here to judge you for not having a wolf. I’m here to tell you that I bet on you, and please don’t disappoint me, because I’ll go broke if you do. And if you ever need anything at all, I will be a call away p>
Before she could say anything else, he had already turned to leave, adding casually, “Try not to break my inventions. I’m very emotionally attached to them p>
Few minutes later, Viola was still reeling from the strange encounter with Nick, thinking him utterly insane for betting on her when she herself was not certain about her decisions and actions anymore.
She made her way back to her penthouse, the hallway impossibly silent, her company only the flashing projectors and the restless feeling of loneliness creeping back in.
When she stepped out of the elevator onto her penthouse floor, Viola stopped before the glass wall, staring out at the night city spread beneath her. She didn’t want to go back inside the penthouse, knowing loneliness awaited her in that vast space, a biting, bitter loneliness paired with heart-wrenching regret and relentless nightmares. Not to mention the creeping self-doubt that had begun to rise inside her.
Once, she would have thought herself capable of anything and everything, just like someone like Laila, arrogant, full of herself, and willing to go down any vile path to get what she wanted.
She had once been that bad, once been that fearless, but years of suffering had not only changed her; they had dimmed her light and confidence, much like a melting candle that reduced its glow around a space the smaller it became. She felt unbelievably small in this new world.
Now, she wasn’t only humbled by life, but by her own internal demons, demons that crept in whenever she was alone. The demons of her past and the demons of her sins whispered constantly, never letting her forget, never letting her feel joy.
Now, standing in this silent hall and looking out at the city, Viola didn’t even know who she was anymore, or who she was supposed to become.
The day she didn’t get her wolf had made her lose a sense of identity and self-assurance she had once relied on. It felt as though something essential had been torn from her, leaving a hollow space she couldn’t fill with anything.
She wished more than anything that she could go back to a time when she had someone who genuinely loved her beside her, her poor sister, the only person who had ever made her feel whole.
She stared up at the night sky, tears burning her eyes, refusing to fall but threatening to spill at any moment.
“I can’t afford to fail you again she muttered softly, her voice trembling.