Chapter 46
She hadn’t expected the training ground to possess such grandeur, with rows of advanced, high-tech equipment spread across the vast space, immediately making her blood pump with a mix of nervousness and exhilaration.
“Shoot, Kelvin is not here yet,” Zoe grumbled, looking around. She was referring to the trainer she had asked her brother to get for Viola today, someone who was supposed to be waiting here for them.
Viola moved further into the space, her gaze drifting over the equipment lining the hall, when the door slid open again. This time, three she-wolves and one male walked in together, their voices light with laughter as they talked among themselves.
“It is my pleasure to help the future Supreme Luna in this game, Miss Laila. In no time, I will get you more fit and make your wolf stronger than it already is,” Kelvin, a very large man dressed in training gear, assured her, eager to remain on the future Supreme Luna’s good side, just as he was with the Alpha.
Viola turned around at the sound of the voice and noticed Zoe gasp as she marched toward the trainer.
“Kelvin, what’s going on? I thought the Alpha said he spoke to you already. So how come you’re here with Miss Serrano p>
Kelvin turned to Zoe with a mild surprised expression, not expecting to see her here as she wasn’t the training type. “Oh, Miss Kade. What are you doing here? Of course the Alpha spoke to me last night, that’s why I’m here. He told me to help Miss Serrano train for the competition and make her stronger.” Kelvin said.
In truth, the Alpha hadn’t mentioned any name. In his hurry to leave, and with his lingering annoyance at his sister from the previous night, he had only said, My girl is participating in the competition. Make her stronger.
Kelvin had automatically assumed it was Laila, without giving it a second thought. She was the one everyone knew stayed close to the Alpha for long, the one everyone already considered the likely winner, and the one seen as the future Supreme Luna.
Because of Laila, two participants had already forfeited, and many had even said there was no point in the competition, they might as well crown Laila.
So what was Miss Zoe talking about?
“He told you that?” Zoe questioned, silently cursing her brother in her mind. So he had sent the man for Laila?
“Of course he did,” Kelvin chimed in confidently. “Who else would he send me here to train if not our future Supreme Luna?” he asked with narrowed eyes.
Zoe bit her lower lip as she looked back at Viola, who stood almost innocently to the far side looking at them, her arms wrapped around herself. Kelvin and the others followed her gaze, and they all burst into laughter as if they found it funny that the Alpha would ever send someone as prestigious and important as Kelvin to train a wolfless.
“That thing?” Kelvin sneered in disbelief as Zoe’s assumption felt like an insult to his honorable self. “That thing is nothing but fucking suicidal. She will no doubt die in this game, and there is no way in hell the Alpha would have reached me here for her p>
Was Miss Zoe trying to insult him? He was one of the strongest warriors of the Silver Pack, a very expensive trainer hired only by Alphas and Betas. Why would the Alpha call him for that thing, someone he had heard didn’t even have a wolf and stood no chance at all? The Alpha he knew would certainly never do that.
“Zoe,” Laila finally said. She had been glaring at the wolfless girl before turning to her future sister-in-law, who, for some reason, had never liked her. Not that Laila liked Zoe either. If she hadn’t been the Alpha’s sister, everyone knew where a weak she-wolf like her would have ended up, serving alongside the pack omegas and working herself to the bone. But the Kade blood running through her veins had saved her from that fate.
Laila didn’t give a fuck whether Zoe liked her or not. Whether Zoe wanted it or not, she was looking at the future Luna here, her brother’s future wife. And the sooner the she-wolf learned to side with her, the better it would be for her once Laila married the Alpha.
“Could you please tell the girl that a wolfless has never participated in this and that she should apply for the cleaning position here instead p>
To Laila, Viola wasn’t someone worth bothering about or worrying over winning. That was why, even though she had walked in last night on the wolfless girl and the Alpha in that position, she hadn’t concerned herself with it. Still, the girl really should know what suits her better.
Zoe looked at Laila, a smile playing on her face, as she replied, “How about you get your head out of the clouds for once p>
With that, she glared at her brother’s personal trainer and Laila, then huffed and turned away, walking toward Viola on the other side of the hall.
How could Sebastian do this? Zoe thought angrily. She had never liked Laila, but it seemed her brother had made his choice, and was even helping her prepare to become his wife. Couldn’t he see that her Viola needed training more than that bitch?
“I don’t really need a trainer, Zoe,” Viola said when Zoe returned to her side, looking pissed.
Zoe’s expression softened as she smiled when she noticed Viola’s unconcerned look. She really should be concerned, especially since Laila was going ahead of her.
Viola had heard bits and pieces of their conversation from where she stood, how they were making fun of her. Though it didn’t bother her anymore to be insulted and looked down upon, she didn’t like Laila so much, nor the way she was looking at her.
Seeing the woman now dressed in training gear reminded her of last night, and her time with the Alpha, before the she-wolf had walked in half naked. No doubt the Alpha had gotten her the best trainer because he wanted her to win.
“No way. You need a professional werewolf trainer, Viola. It’s a deadly competition that requires strength, and Kelvin is the best trainer anyone could have train them for this. I am so sorry I didn’t arrange for someone else—” Zoe trailed off when her gray eyes suddenly brightened. “I know who can help you train p>
Viola hadn’t expected who Zoe called to train her.
“Hola, chicas bonitas,” came Nicholas’s singsong voice as he strode into the noisy hall, where Laila’s cheering friends were hollering, stomping, and clapping so loudly that it nearly drowned out the sound of her sparring with Kelvin.
Zoe and Viola stood at opposite ends, trying not to be intimidated by Laila’s presence, which seemed to suffocate the entire atmosphere. Viola’s inner coward whispered that she was no match for this she-wolf, and even if she trained for years, she doubted she could ever measure up to her strength, but she pushed the negative thoughts aside.
“We meet again, Miss Viola p>
“Indeed. You’re also a trainer?” Viola asked, noticing Nicholas had come prepared in the same training gear as everyone else, a grin spreading across his handsome face.
“What can I say, Miss Viola? I’m more than just a tech person. And since I placed my bet on you, I have to see you try to win. What’s up, Zo?” he greeted his cousin, ruffling her hair like she was a child. She immediately glared at him.
Zoe didn’t know anyone in the Silver Pack who could train Viola without the Alpha’s orders, as everyone considered her a loser. Nicholas, however, who had trained with warriors like many of the male Kade family were required to do growing up, was the only person she could rely on now.
“Can you get her fit in three weeks? This is more than just a game, and we have to crush Laila with our victory, or we’re doomed,” Zoe said, her voice sharp with dramatic intensity. They was no way she would want Laila as a sister-in-law.
“Battle. I like that,” Nick grinned, looking Viola over and taking in her skinny form with a challenging look.
Though both he and Zoe’s elder brothers didn’t get along, neither of them let that stop them from being close and none of their elder siblings stop their closeness.
“But first, we need to start with a strong diet to build her muscles. What do you say we run a little, Vee?” Nick asked Viola, who gave him a nod.
For the next minutes of training, Viola thought she would collapse, but she ran and did every workout Nick told her to do without stopping. Her entire body was quivering so hard by the time it was finally over that she couldn’t even stand on her feet anymore for the second round after rest time, and both Nick and Zoe had to hook their arms around each of her arms and force her to keep running a little longer.
Were these two planning to kill her before she even got the chance to fight for the position p>
Though she had once been so fit, four years of imprisonment, coupled with a lack of nourishment and proper feeding, had caused her body to deteriorate so much that even a short run felt torturous.
“Go, go, go, Team Vee! That will be our motto from now on,” Nick suggested as he and Zoe chanted the words loudly, running at her side and refusing to let her slow down. They raised their voices even more, making sure it drowned out Laila’s team irritating voices, at least a little.
Everyone in the hall, who had come to watch Laila train, couldn’t help but wonder why these two important figures of the Silver Pack were hanging around, and even helping that nobody, instead of Laila, the obvious choice.