Chapter 372 They look good together
“Oh, Hailey, promise you won’t forget us once you move to Silver with him. It would break my heart if we drifted apart just because you’re our Supreme Luna.” Gushed one of her friends, her eyes already glistening with what were very clearly crocodile tears, which made Hailey roll her eyes.
“How could I forget you all? Start preparing yourselves to be invited to parties in Silver every single weekend. I will have my husband build me a dedicated party house.” She declared.
Her friends whooped and Hailey fanned herself lazily, playing the role of their golden girl perfectly, reveling in the fantasy she had already mapped out so completely in her mind that it felt like fact. This plan would not only humiliate the wolfless but launch her up the social ladder in a single day.
Everyone was gravitating toward her, everyone wanted a piece of her attention, until the double doors of the hall swung open and the special guests of the event arrived.
Every conversation in the room fell silent at once as all eyes instinctively turned toward the entrance. Everyone in the hall stared as though they had been caught in a trance.
Most of the guests had heard the Supreme Luna spoken about at length, the wolfless woman, the nobody, the competition winner who had stumbled into a position nobody believed she deserved. They had heard her described in ways that painted a picture of someone meek, shoulders permanently curved inward, a woman who had learned to make herself small because she had nothing to stand tall with in their world.
However, the woman who walked through those doors was not that woman.
She silenced the entire hall without saying a single word. The dress she wore looked like something from another world entirely, and her shoulders were pulled back, her chin held at exactly the right angle, her presence beside the Supreme Alpha not one of someone trying to keep up but of someone who belonged precisely where she stood.
They complemented each other so completely that it was difficult to imagine one without the other as they walked in matching attires.
Her walk was unhurried and elegant, the gentle sway of her hips effortless. The Supreme Alpha had one hand in his trouser pocket and the other bent at the elbow, her hand resting through it. He looked like something an artist had taken great care in creating, with those stone cold eyes.
“Is that the wolfless woman?” Whispers moved through the crowd from those seeing her for the first time.
“Oh my god, she’s… she’s so beautiful.”
“How do they look that good together?”
Zoe, who was standing next to Gilbert with his arm around her waist keeping her close beside him, was mingling with some of the people he was talking to about his line of work. She looked over at her friend walking in next to her brother and beamed with pride and happiness.
“Eeeeh! They look stunning!” Zoe squealed.
“Is that the dress you made?” Gilbert asked, looking toward their Luna at his girlfriend’s excitement.
Zoe bobbed her head. “It is, but she brought it to life for me. I had to rush making it because my brother wanted it finished at the last minute. I’m still feeling faint from the lack of sleep, but I’m happy it turned out well.” She said, leaning her head against his shoulder to rest. Her high heels brought her almost level with him, and he moved his arm from her waist to rest around her shoulders instead.
“You are a talented designer, Zoe. It’s beautiful,” he praised.
Zoe beamed. “Thanks.”
She had noticed some changes in him lately. He was putting in more effort, and she liked it. However, she had Laila to thank for that because the she-wolf had given her some lessons she had picked up from reading articles about how to make your man put in more effort.
Zoe had enjoyed Laila’s company so much while they went through the articles together, discussing the subtle things women could do to encourage their men to become more attentive. She had applied some of the advice to Gilbert last night and this morning, and now she couldn’t help but wonder if Laila’s own efforts had worked out with her mate.
The she-wolf had told her she wouldn’t be arriving early because she wanted her appearance to be a complete shock to her mate, and Zoe had found herself wondering who that mate was. She was eager for Laila to finally appear.
Zoe quietly basked in the moment with Gilbert as she watched the two people she loved most walk into the hall like royalty, effortlessly silencing an entire room.
“I’m so proud of her…” Zoe muttered, making no move to go to them, staying with her boyfriend instead and giving Vee the spotlight to shine bright in.
Meanwhile, Hailey, who had been receiving all the attention in the room right up until that bitch dragged herself in here next to her man, was fuming, her fingers curling around her wine glass until it cracked.
“Do you think she looks better than I do?” Hailey asked her friends, who had been gawking at the woman in gold and quickly turned back to her the moment she spoke.
Even though every single one of them privately believed there was no comparison because Hailey didn’t stand a chance against the woman before them, the wolfless was dressed with elegance and grace, while Hailey had nearly half her butt cheeks on display in a dress that hardly looked appropriate for a formal ceremony like this, they all shook their heads in unison.
“Not in a million years. She could never stand a chance against you.”
“Never!” Another one added.
Hailey got the confirmation she needed and a boost in her ego and confidence. She gulped down the remainder of her wine, handed the empty glass to a passing waiter, and said to her friends,
“Watch me put the bitch in her place. Watch a man grovel over his mate rather than a useless, cheating wife.” She adjusted her dress, making sure every inch of exposed skin was looking its best, before she walked away from her circle and finally moved to approach Sebastian.
She had been deliberately holding off this moment because she wanted the impact to be as large as possible. After all, she was his mate, and that bitch was just a wife. This was where she would show everyone that Sebastian belonged to her, and that a wolfless had no place at his side.
Viola, for her part, kept her chin up and her eyes straight ahead despite the murmuring that broke out after the long stretch of silence, every pair of eyes in the room still trailing after them. She was no longer used to this level of attention, she had learned to live without it, and having it all pointed at her now was somewhat overwhelming, even though she had once moved through gatherings like this without thinking twice. Still, she kept herself composed.
“You’re doing well, my love.” Sebastian murmured, feeling her nails digging into his forearm, and she turned to him with a smile that was trying too hard to hide what was going on underneath it.
“Am I? I feel like my legs have turned to jelly and I might trip and fall and embarrass myself in front of everyone. I had forgotten what it feels like to be stared at like this.”
“Do you want to sit down?” He asked, already beginning to steer her toward where the tables were set, but she stopped him.
“Nobody is sitting yet. Let’s mingle and—”
“Sebastian, darling!” Came a female voice, pitched loud enough to carry across a room full of people with sharp hearing, and every head turned toward Hailey as she walked straight toward him, smiling and swinging her hips deliberately with every step.
Viola had completely forgotten and pushed Hailey out of her mind after everything that had happened in the last few hours, and seeing her now, coming straight at them with that smile, made her look up at her husband instinctively for his reaction. His expression had gone completely blank and unreadable.
She had told herself she wasn’t going to let jealousy take over this time. She had faith in him. But she still watched, quietly, carefully, for any flicker of reaction on his face as one of his mates approached. Subconsciously her arm tightened around his as Hailey closed the distance between them, close enough now that even Viola could pick up the heavy wave of her lavender scent.