Chapter 368 That should be him

As the rain fell harder, a car arrived at the pack house gates and was waved through by the patrolling guards. An umbrella was quickly held over the arriving guest’s head as he stepped out into the rain, dressed in nothing more than a tank top and trousers, his silver hair already dampening from the downpour.

His gray eyes slowly lifted to the windows of the building above him, sharp and searching, as though looking for something. The moment he found it, his gaze remained fixed on a single window.

Neither the rain nor the darkness hindered his vision. From where he stood, he watched the scene unfolding inside with perfect clarity. His fingers slowly curled into fists at his sides, every muscle in his body tightening at what he saw.

“Welcome to the Grim Pack, Nick.” Welcomed the man who had stepped out of the car alongside him, Kenny’s distant cousin, the one who had extended the invitation in the first place to him.

Nick had wanted to come here with the woman his heart beat madly in love with. But she had turned him down with an excuse about being busy, and then she had come anyway, with his cousin, and there was no way he was going to miss his chance to see her.

The moment he stepped into the pack, her scent hit him first, before anything else, and made him look up at the open windows. He used his ability to sharpen his vision and found her there, kissing Sebastian, her head pulled down to his on the couch, their lips locked together.

That should be him.

He should be the one she was kissing, her fingers running through his hair while his head rested in her lap.

He had been hiding these feelings for so long, suppressing them along with his powers, and Nick felt as though it was slowly killing him from the inside out. Every day he fought the urge to burst out and scream to the whole world that he wasn’t invisible, that Alpha blood flowed through his veins, carrying abilities no one else knew he possessed.

But doing that would not only ruin his chances of winning her over, it would also make Zoe hate him for challenging her brother. Nick would become Alpha, but he wanted to become Alpha in a way that no one would ever discover he had been behind Sebastian’s many assassination attempts, including the one that had almost killed Zoe when she had accidentally gotten in the way.

Nick could become Alpha and force them all to remain in his life, but where was the genuine care and love he longed for in that? It would all be meaningless. No, he would become Alpha in a way that made him a hero in everyone’s eyes, including Viola’s. She would run to him, needing his shoulder to cry on after losing her husband, and he would give her far more than his shoulder. He would give her his heart as well.

Nick wanted love, and he believed he deserved it far more than his cousin did. He had been resented by his own mother his entire life. Wasn’t it only natural that the Moon Goddess would give him a woman who would love him and heal all the broken pieces inside him?

Sebastian had been loved by both of his parents and by his siblings, yet he had grown into nothing more than an ungrateful, arrogant motherfucker.

“Nick?” Called his friend, stepping up beside him and noticing he had gone completely still, staring up at the building in the falling rain.

Nick snapped back, realizing he had been standing there too long while the rain came down harder around him. He pulled his eyes from the window and turned to his friend with an easy smile.

“What were you staring at up there?” Simon asked, trying to peek through the downpour, but he could barely make out anything beyond the curtain of rain.

“Nothing. Just admiring the layout of the building. Come on, I can’t wait to get into a bed after that journey,” Nick said cheerfully.

They jogged up to the entrance together, while Nick made a quiet promise to himself that before their time here was over, he would find a way to kiss her. Just like that, with his head resting on her lap.

___

The night before the ceremony stayed busy all the way through until morning, omegas moving through the pack house decorating and preparing for the big day ahead.

The morning of the ceremony arrived gray and cool, the rain that had fallen all through the night leaving behind a chilly air that cut through the humidity. Even before Viola opened her eyes fully, three omegas had already entered the room and arranged a mannequin near the window, dressed in a gold dress with jewelry draped around its neck.

“Good morning, Supreme Luna,” one of the omegas greeted pleasantly, smoothing the dress as she spoke. “The Supreme Alpha sent us to help you get dressed for the day.”

Viola hadn’t expected anything like this the moment she woke up, so she was caught completely by surprise. She sat up in bed and stared at the dress, unable to look away, utterly mesmerized by the design of the gown laid out before her.

The dress sparkled as though it had been woven from melted gold itself. It was mermaid-shaped and sleeveless, with a sweetheart neckline that made it look more like a work of art than something a person was actually meant to wear. She was genuinely captivated and asked, without tearing her gaze away from it,

“Where is he?”

“The Supreme Alpha is currently showering in another room and asked us to use this one for you. He’ll join you once we’re finished,” the omega answered respectfully, even though she, like the others, had heard the rumors circulating about this woman and privately wanted to treat her differently, to look down on her with the same scorn everyone else seemed to.

She didn’t dare.

The Supreme Alpha had made it absolutely clear before leaving that he did not want to return to a single complaint from his wife. The omegas had no choice but to be warm, respectful, and obedient.