Chapter 479: The Luna’s wolf

"Why do I feel like we are doing the wrong thing?" The head elder said, watching the Alpha walk up onto the platform that was outside the main pack house that wasn’t in use by him. Though he had agreed to it without so much as an argument, she couldn’t shake the feeling off as his late father had put the boy in their trust and care.

"It’s one of the rightest things you will ever do, Nat. We are elders, forced to make decisions for the betterment of the majority, and just like we once made the hard choice of placing Sebastian on the throne instead of his twin, we have to do this now. He’s bound to become a monster that destroys us all one day." Elder Brenna said, trying to put the other elder’s mind at rest, even though it wasn’t in her nature to comfort anyone.

At this point, Brenna simply wanted a pack free of future threats, and their current Alpha, trapped under the hijacking spell, was bound to become exactly that, a man who could never be with his wife again without wanting to kill her.

"I hope everything goes well," Elder Natasha muttered, watching Sebastian take the seat placed for him. Rather than kneel like most facing execution, he sat and rested his elbows against his knees and bowed his head forward, offering his neck to the executioner’s blade.

Sebastian closed his eyes. In that moment, his mind held no thoughts save one: he hoped everything would go well for his family and that, someday, Viola would forgive him for taking such a drastic step to free her from the burden he had become.

He had thought of countless ways out of this, but he hadn’t been able to find a single one that would guarantee her safety. And hurting her repeatedly... Sebastian couldn’t bear it anymore.

Living under the hijacking spell was far worse than death. One day, he might actually succeed in taking her life, and that would be the worst outcome of all. Sebastian would rather die than become the cause of her death.

Fighting the spell was wearing him down regardless, leaving him weaker with every passing moment. He was becoming a shadow of the powerful man he had once been, and being awake yet helpless would do nothing but burden Viola, Sebastian thought.

So he gave himself over to the decision.

"Do it now," he ordered the executioner.

Then he held his breath, believing it would be his last.

However, just as the man raised the sword to bring it down and take the Supreme Alpha’s head, a voice rang out, yelling, "Stop!"

Everyone turned toward the voice, even the camera feeding the pack members the broadcast swiveling toward it, revealing the Luna, who, until that moment, everyone believed was still in critical condition.

"Supreme Luna," Elder Natasha called, walking from the elders’ seats toward the woman, who turned furious eyes on her that made her stop short, for those eyes carried an intensity that hadn’t been there the last time she’d seen her, days ago.

"Don’t ’Supreme Luna’ me. Didn’t we discuss this? Didn’t you give me your word? How dare you put him up for execution?!" Viola demanded, fury making her voice shake, for had she arrived even a moment later, the sword would have already come down on his neck.

"I was only—" the head elder began, before Sebastian’s voice cut in.

"I made this decision myself, because it’s the only way out for everyone." He spoke without looking at her. "What use am I to you otherwise, if seeing you only makes me lose control?" He asked, his voice emotionless, everything locked down inside him.

"Let me be the one to make that decision. And my decision is for you to be here, with me. I want you by my side through thick and thin, and I will accept you in every form, weak, powerful, or even blindfolded. Now get off that platform, Sebastian Kade, and face me." Viola ordered firmly. "I have a surprise for you that’s going to make killing me a bit of a challenge."

Sebastian felt the temptation to look, but he knew what would happen if he did, and kept his head bowed as he said, "Go back inside, I don’t want to see you." He deadpanned, and Viola realized the stubborn man wouldn’t look at her even if refusing was killing him. She grew annoyed as she saw men step forward to escort her away so the execution could resume.

’Are you going to show them, or should I?’ Cyan asked, as the men came forward, and Viola realized that right now, everyone still saw her as someone easily controlled, despite knowing she was the prophecy. Showing them what she could do now seemed like the best option, especially since containing the wolf was already proving difficult since they merged and having the presence speak to her and demand things was foreign.

"I guess we have to settle this the hard way, Seb. And when this is over, you have a lot of apologizing to do, again." Saying that, Viola surrendered to her other form, her bones beginning to crack and break right before everyone’s eyes.

Fur rose along her skin, and her clothes tore as her limbs shifted and began to change form. It was the first time she was taking this form, and the pain doubled what she’d felt merging with her wolf spirit, Viola couldn’t suppress her scream of agony, which soon transformed into a long, loud howl the moment she completed the shift and it seemed to shake the very ground everyone stand on.

Everyone froze in shock as the wolf rose to all fours, its fur the blackest anyone had ever seen, releasing an aura so intense that the crowd instinctively stepped back, some trembling and falling down to their knees.

The wolf’s coat was dark, streaked with blue along its back that shimmered under the sun. A wolf that black wasn’t something people saw every day, they were rare among normal wolves, and the last black wolf anyone remembered had come from Mooncreek. But this one carried an energy only the Supreme Alpha himself could have matched, paired with the most striking eyes that glared at everyone there.

All the elders stood frozen at the sight of her wolf, and when they saw the crescent-moon-shaped mark began to shine on its shoulder, they understood at once why the prophesied she-wolf was said to be so powerful. One by one, they found themselves dropping to their knees, bowing to her instinctively.

Many expected her to attack them, but she didn’t spare them so much as a glance, facing instead the Supreme Alpha, who had lifted his head at last, his eyes finding hers despite everything he’d sworn to himself moments ago.

The moment their gazes met, Sebastian felt himself slipping, the room tilting, his own voice growing distant somewhere inside him as something darker rose to take its place, drowning him out even as he fought to stay present behind his own eyes, to see his wife in her wolf form.

No, no, not here, not now, I want to see her! He could still hear himself screaming it somewhere far off, but the thought grew fainter with every second, until his eyes turned to murder and it was no longer entirely his own hand reaching for the executioner’s sword.

"Let’s get this over with, Seb. Come kill me, if you can." Saying that, she turned on her heels and broke into a run, and Sebastian yanked the sword free and went after her in long, powerful strides, some last fragment of himself screaming uselessly beneath the surface as his body obeyed a will that was no longer his.

Only after the two of them had left the scene could the people finally breathe again and lift their heads.

"What if he kills her?"

"How did she get a wolf? Shouldn’t we send men to stop him?" Elder Calum said, worry thick in his voice and eyes, but the head elder shook her head.

"Let them be. I think she might just be the one to break him free, this time around. He can’t easily kill her, and I think it’s him you should be worried about."