Chapter 21:Trapped Between Wolves
Chapter 21: Trapped Between Wolves
(Celeste’s POV)
The air in Regina’s sacred territory was heavier than before, pressing me down. My legs began to tremble as exhaustion bit into my muscles.
The silver scars scattered across my arms seemed to burn anew, as if the weight of the
atmosphere targeted them directly.
I tried to steady myself, but it was futile. My knees buckled without warning, and dizziness
blanketed my vision.
Before I hit the ground, an iron grip caught me..
Marcus’s hand clamped tightly onto my wrist. His grip was deliberate, crushing against the
long–healed silver burns with precision that wasn’t accidental.
Pain flared through my body, but I kept my lips pressed shut, swallowing the cry that fought to
escape.
“Careful,” Marcus murmured, his tone syrupy but void of real concern.
His fingers tightened marginally, not enough to snap bone, but enough to remind me who held the power in this moment. “You wouldn’t want the Alpha King’s nephew thinking you’re weak, would you?”
I froze under his touch, my wolf curling inward deeper than ever before, whimpering uselessly. My breaths were shaky, every inhale labored. I couldn’t pull away; he’d made sure of that.
A flicker of movement drew my wavering focus. My violet eyes met Alexander’s ice–blue ones,
sharp and cutting even from a few paces away.
His gaze wasn’t on my face but on Marcus’s hand, where the pressure was concentrated over
my scars.
Alexander’s white wolf pulsed faintly through his aura. The energy smothered the grove,
almost challenging the dominance Marcus exuded. Alexander’s jaw tightened, and his fists
curled briefly at his sides.
“Marcus,” Alexander began, his voice low, steady, but trembling with barely restrained
aggression. “Is that how you handle a potential mate?”
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Chapter 21:Trapped Between W…
Marcus glanced down at his hand still clutching my wrist. He smiled. It wasn’t friendly. If
anything, it sharpened with amusement. His hand slid down slightly, releasing my wrist,
though his fingers brushed the edge of another silver scar near my elbow.
“I apologize,” Marcus said lazily, his violet eyes darting back to Alexander. “She stumbled. I
was simply helping her.”
His words dripped with mockery disguised as civility.
Alexander’s expression darkened, though his posture stayed perfectly controlled. His aura,
however, betrayed him. It grew colder, denser, snuffing out what little warmth the grove held.
My hand instinctively withdrew from Marcus’s lingering touch, though not without him
squeezing one last time before letting go.
“Thank you,” I whispered, though I couldn’t tell if the thanks was sincere or conditioned
compliance.
My voice quivered faintly, my throat constricted by the building weight of two powerful wolves
combatting over a space I could barely hold myself upright in.
Marcus’s head tilted slightly, observing me like a predator amused by its cornered prey.
“You don’t need to thank me, Celeste.” He leaned in closer, his so–called concern mingling with
false sweetness. “After all, I’ll always be here for you. Soon, that will be my role as your mate.”
The word mate sent a chill down my spine. My wolf cringed inwardly, refusing to believe the
inevitability his words conveyed.
“Are
you alright?” Alexander’s voice cut through before Marcus could continue. His sharp tone
didn’t invite Marcus to respond, but rather demanded an answer from me.
I glanced briefly at Alexander, whose ice–blue eyes narrowed, waiting. “I’m fine,” I said quietly,
though my hands betrayed me as they trembled faintly even in their balled–up fists.
“See?” Marcus drawled, his tone bordering on patronizing. “She’s tougher than she looks. Aren’t you, Celeste?”
Shame and anger warred inside me, but my wolf stayed silent. It was safer that way.
Marcus adjusted his stance, turning his attention fully to Alexander. The amusement in his
expression hardened slightly, though it retained its edge of mockery. “What brings you here, Beta Alexander? Important matters for the Alpha King?”
*
Alexander kept his icy gaze pinned on Marcus, his wolf bristling just beneath the surface.
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“Rogues have been spotted near the Northern borders,” he replied curtly. “Exiled wolves
turning violent. My team has been dispatched to monitor the situation.”
The news made my shoulders stiffen. Rogue wolves had always carried chilling rumors: former pack members abandoned by law or loyalty, stripped of their identity, often driven mad
by isolation.
Their reputation was one of brutality.
I opened my mouth slightly to ask more, but Marcus shifted, his attention snapping back to
me before I could find the courage to question further.
“Don’t worry, Celeste,” he murmured, his voice suddenly low and heavy with mock
reassurance. “My Northern territory remains perfectly secure. Any rogues foolish enough to challenge it wouldn’t survive the attempt.”
His words were meant to comfort, but they only trapped me. To Marcus, I would have no fears if I lived beneath his rule. A mate bond with him would offer me nothing but safety.
Safety at a cost I wasn’t willing to consider.
“I’m not worried about myself,” I said softly, my voice shaking nonetheless.
Marcus froze briefly, though the reaction barely registered before his smile widened once again, his violet eyes gleaming.
“No need to pretend bravery for my sake,” he said, leaning closer to me. “A mate of mine will never need to fear. Isn’t that right, Alexander?”
Alexander’s composure faltered briefly, just for a moment. His white wolf surged, visible in the faint way his aura sharpened, cold enough to steal what breath I’d regained.
“Has she agreed?” Alexander asked, his voice deadly quiet. “To your mate claim?”
I snapped my face toward Alexander, alarm sparking briefly. Why was he asking directly? Did he think I-
Alexander’s question froze further in my chest as Marcus chuckled.
“Oh, she will,” Marcus answered, barely looking at me this time, his eyes focused on the annoyance that was Alexander. “We’ve already discussed it, haven’t we, Celeste?”
His confidence knifed through my thoughts, making me flinch instinctively. I hadn’t agreed- not officially. Not fully.
But here, in Regina’s domain, under this suffocating authority, how could I protest?
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“Within three moons,” Marcus added, his voice growing firmer with satisfaction, “she’ll be mine. Marked. And after the ceremony, we’ll leave for the Northern Ranges. The sooner we prepare for her adjustment to her new home, the better.”
The declaration was so absolute, so final, that I stumbled slightly, the weight of his words pressing down harder than my own scarred flesh could bear.
My breathing stilled, and my wolf shrank deeper within its hollowed form.
Alexander’s gaze burned hotter this time. His body stiffened but his voice remained perfectly
level. “Three moons is… abrupt. I wasn’t aware this arrangement had progressed so quickly.”
Marcus finally turned back, addressing him with an offhanded smirk. “My wolf doesn’t care for
delays, Alexander. When it knows what it wants, it takes it. Surely you understand.”
“It takes consent,” Alexander corrected sharply, though his sharpness wasn’t directed entirely
at Marcus.
I lowered my gaze, unable to meet Alexander’s intensity. Silence would keep the fragile
threads of peace intact, even though it continued tying me to a fate I couldn’t escape.
Victoria’s plan had weaved this tightly, ensuring retrieval wasn’t an option. I couldn’t argue, not when Eleanor’s name and future had been whispered alongside the deal.
“You see? No objections,” Marcus added triumphantly. “Perfect alliance by any measure. Even
the Alpha King would commend a union like this.”
“It’s a political choice,” I said quietly. My voice felt hollow, as if I weren’t the one speaking it.
Marcus perked up at my words, as though even my miserable acknowledgment satisfied him.
Alexander’s stare didn’t leave me this time, though, probing beneath every deliberate façade of
formal submission I wore.
“Hmm,” Alexander murmured. He didn’t press further. He didn’t need to, not when his wolf’s
trembling energy seemed to ask every question his voice didn’t.
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