Fated: The Alpha's Unwanted Luna

"Then I believe you should stay here. If she never sees you, she’ll kill him instead, and you’ll be free of all of this." Yasmin said, her voice matter-of-fact, making Viola turn to glare at her, and Yasmin added,

"Oh, come on, isn’t that exactly what any sensible mermaid should want here? We no longer have the Child of the Sea because his ancestors killed Azmira, never even allowed her to give birth to a generation of them, and then we became their prey. I’m sorry, but I believe they all deserve to suffer, and we should leave them to whatever mercy the Sea Goddess and Sea Witch sees fit to give."

Viola stopped swimming upward, floating in place, arms and legs stilling as she pulled her hand free from Yasmin’s grip. She couldn’t help but notice how much her cousin resembled her own mother, Natasha, who had also believed that whatever she thought and did was right, that it was protecting the people she loved, even when it left real damage in its wake.

Viola had been the victim of that mother’s actions once already. She wouldn’t allow the daughter to stop her now, all in the name of protecting her and wishing suffering on the werewolves.

Sebastian wasn’t just any werewolf. He was her mate, her husband, and now that she knew she was truly his prophesied one, she intended to take her place at his side and put an end to his suffering, regardless of what the mermaids believed, regardless of whatever Vaelor had once done to Azmira. That had been their story, generations ago. This was hers, now.

Holding that resolve firmly in her heart and mind, Viola said to Yasmin, "I won’t let you stop me from stopping the sea witch. I want your help, if you’re willing to give it, but if not, you can swim home right now because nothing you say is going to change my mind from what I am about to do."

"Even though he’s responsible for your mother’s death?" Yasmin asked, her eyes narrowing down at her cousin.

Viola’s fingers curled into fists. Though her feelings about her mother had shifted dramatically, one thing she was still certain of.

"Sebastian would never have lied to me about where his powers came from. And if he really is Vaelor’s descendant... then you should already know he’d have inherited the very powers Vaelor gained from killing Azmira in the first place. Whoever killed my mother is out there, somewhere. But it isn’t him."

"So you’re just... fine with him being Vaelor’s descendant?" Yasmin exclaimed, unable to believe Viola could be at peace with something that repulsive and disgusting. Vaelor was disgusting so was his entire bloodline!

"Yasmin," Ivy spoke up this time, sensing her twin’s rising frustration at the mermaid. "Can we table this for later and help Serena first? She needs us, and Nerissa is far too dangerous to be left alone with her husband any longer, not carrying the kind of hatred she does for his ancestors."

Ivy felt Viola squeeze her hand gratefully, and she gave her a small, weak smile in return. "Whatever you decide, I’ll support you through it. Always, Serena. What do you need us to do? Yasmin will help too, won’t you?" Ivy turned to their cousin, who looked like she would rather be anywhere than where they were about to go, but she still grumbled,

"As if I can let you two walk to your deaths. I will be there only to protect you."

"Thank you," Viola whispered softly to both of them, knowing she would need all the help she could get right now to make things right again.

"First, I need your Tidekins."

•••

Meanwhile, back at the house, Matt and Gilbert returned with the disguise equipment only to find Laila fast asleep, and no sign of Viola anywhere in the building. Panic set in almost immediately.

"Why did you have to fall asleep, of all moments, Laila? You were supposed to keep watch!" Matt exclaimed, after they’d searched every corner of the house, only to find her completely vanished, with none of the CCTV footage showing her leaving the building at all.

"It’s not her fault, Beta Matt. No one can fully control when sleep takes them," Gilbert said, noticing the Beta’s frustration aimed squarely at Laila, who already looked guilty enough for having dozed off and Gilbert didn’t like that he was raising his voice at her.

"Yeah, sure. Fine. So what are we supposed to do now, and where do we even start searching for the Luna, when we can’t step outside this building without risking a bullet through our skulls? We almost died getting these things here."

Gilbert was about to respond when they heard the sound of water rushing somewhere in the bathroom, and he turned to Laila.

"Did you leave the tap running?"

Laila shook her head. "No, I turned it off earlier when I found it running while I was looking for Viola. Let me go check again." She walked off to look, and moments later they heard her scream from inside the bathroom. Both men bolted toward the sound, desperate to know what could make Laila scream like that.

Gilbert and Matt rushed in and both stopped dead in their tracks, eyes widening as they stared into the tub, where Viola emerged, drenched, her clothes soaked through, two heads surfacing beside her, watching them, one belonging to the mermaid who had escaped Sebastian’s sacrifice, the other bearing Viola’s exact face.

"What the hell is going on?" Laila asked, staring at the creatures in the tub in horror. Mermaids. She was staring at actual, freaking mermaids!

Gilbert and Matt, meanwhile, turned their attention to Viola, who said,

"I know this is a lot to take in, but if you can all just bear with me until I save Sebastian, I promise I’ll explain everything. Meet my twin sister, Ivy, and my cousin, Yasmin. They’re both here to help us take down the sea witch."

Viola didn’t have time to explain everything to them properly, but she hoped they would cooperate with her anyway, no matter how deeply they distrusted mermaids, and since she’d already managed to get mermaids and Tidekins working together with her on this, she believed she could get the werewolves on board too.

"The sea witch?" Matt asked, confused, and Viola nodded.

"Victoria is the sea witch, in disguise. She’s going to destroy Sebastian’s entire life before she finally kills him. We have to stop her."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!