Chapter 6 The Seventh Choice
Emilia’s POV
After making the announcement, he walked away without a second glance, as if choosing a bride, a Luna, was no different from picking out a pet.
Every woman in that waiting area was stunned.
Their thoughts crashed into my mind like a tsunami after the peaceful silence of Sebastian’s presence.
[That nobody?]
[What does she have that I don’t?]
[This has to be a mistake...]
[How dare she...]
Jealousy, disbelief, rage. All of it crashed over me.
"Since Alpha Sebastian has personally chosen his bride, the selection ends here," the guide stepped forward, though I could hear the doubt screaming in her thoughts. [This makes no sense. Why would he choose her? Why?]
"Really? Her?" someone gasped, pointing at me. "But she’s... she’s wolfless!"
"Ladies, please," the guide said firmly. "Alpha Sebastian’s choice should never be questioned."
"Well, I’m questioning it!"
The voice rang out clear and sharp. A brown-haired woman pushed her way to the front of the crowd.
I recognized her immediately. Vanessa Sterling, daughter of the Moonridge Pack’s Beta.
"There must be some mistake," Vanessa insisted, turning to the guide with an expression of confused innocence that would’ve been convincing if I couldn’t hear her thoughts. [That pathetic little bitch. How dare she steal what should be mine?]
The guide’s jaw tightened. "Miss Sterling, I assure you there’s been no mistake. Alpha Sebastian made his choice very clearly..."
"His choice?" Vanessa laughed. "You expect me to believe that Alpha Sebastian Simons, one of the most powerful Alphas in North America, chose her?" She flung a hand in my direction like I was something diseased.
Murmurs of agreement rippled through the remaining candidates. Several of them were nodding, emboldened by Vanessa’s audacity.
"Miss Sterling," the guide warned, "I really must insist that you..."
"She’s a witch."
The words dropped into the room, and everyone went still.
Vanessa’s eyes glittered with wicked triumph as she turned to face the other candidates. "Emilia Taylor isn’t just wolfless. Her mother was a witch. Everyone in the Frostridge Pack knows it. She’s half-witch, half-wolf. A disgusting hybrid who shouldn’t even exist."
My hands balled into fists at my sides.
"Don’t you see?" Vanessa continued, warming to her subject now. "She must have used some kind of spell on Alpha Sebastian. Bewitched him. It’s the only explanation for why he’d choose her over any of us."
Several women gasped. Others looked uncertain.
"That’s quite an accusation, Miss Sterling," the guide said coldly. "Do you have any proof..."
"I don’t need proof!" Vanessa snapped. "Look at her! She’s nobody! The bastard daughter of a failing Alpha, raised by a witch mother who danced in bars. She has no wolf, no status, no prospects. The only way someone like her could catch Alpha Sebastian’s attention is through witchcraft."
The words should have hurt. But I’d heard worse.
So instead of flinching, I smiled.
"Interesting theory, Vanessa," I said. "But let me get this straight. You just stood in front of everyone here and called Alpha Sebastian,so weak-minded that a wolfless girl could bewitch him with a spell?"
Vanessa’s face went blank for a second. She hadn’t seen that coming.
"That’s... that’s not what I..."
"That’s exactly what you said." I held her gaze without blinking. "You didn’t just insult me, Vanessa. You insulted him. In his own pack house. You basically told everyone that you think your judgment is better than his."
A ripple of unease went through the crowd. Even the guide’s eyes widened slightly.
"I... I wasn’t..." Vanessa’s face flushed an ugly shade of red.
"Weren’t you?" I tilted my head. "Because from where I’m standing, that’s the only way your little story makes sense. If Alpha Sebastian is smart enough to run one of the largest packs in North America, then he’s smart enough to choose his own bride. Unless you think he’s not?"
She opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
"That’s what I thought."
I took a step toward her, and to my satisfaction, she took one back.
"Let’s be honest about what this is really about, shall we? You didn’t come here today because you love him. You came here because he’s the biggest name in the room. The most powerful Alpha, the biggest pack, the highest position. You would’ve said yes to any of them, as long as the ranking was high enough."
Vanessa’s eyes widened. "How dare you..."
"Oh, I dare. Because it takes one to know one, and I know a social climber when I see one." I gave her a slow smile.
Her face went from red to white in an instant. Bull’s-eye.
"And by the way," I added. "For someone who claims to want to be Luna, you have terrible instincts. A real Luna would never publicly question her Alpha’s judgment by insulting him. You’re not Luna material, Vanessa. And I think everyone in this room just realized it."
"You... you..." Vanessa stammered, lost for words.
"Me. Me." I said quietly. "I understand what it means to serve an Alpha better than you ever will."
Vanessa snapped. She lunged.
She moved fast, her hands reaching for my throat with clear murderous intent. I stumbled backward, my shoulder hitting the wall as I tried to dodge.
"ENOUGH."
The single word cut through the hallway, driving everyone to their knees. Every other woman dropped instantly, including Vanessa, who collapsed mid-lunge with a choked gasp.
The guide fell to her knees, her head bowed, trembling.
Sebastian Simons stood in the doorway. His Alpha aura filled the room, so heavy that the air itself felt thick, hard to breathe.
His green eyes were fixed on Vanessa with an expression that promised violence.
"Did I," he said sharply, each word slow and deliberate, "give you permission to touch what belongs to me?"