Chapter 34: Ungrateful
Chapter 34: Ungrateful
(Celeste’s POV)
Alexander’s words weighed heavily in the air. “Don’t act like your acceptance of Marcus’s possessive displays doesn’t deserve criticism.” His voice was cold, sharp, and deliberate.
His words sliced through me. My wolf stiffened, sensing both truth and humiliation in what he
said. My pulse quickened.
The urge to defend myself sparked like fire, but I had nothing to say. Because no matter how
much I hated it–he was right.
Still, surrendering wasn’t an option. I swallowed the sting and locked my gaze with his. His
ice–blue eyes bore into mine, emotionless yet cutting.
“So I’m the disgrace,” I snapped, my voice harder than I intended. “I’m the one who should stay
silent while Diana and the rest of them trample over me?”
My voice rang louder than I meant. Every wolf watching stiffened. I kept going, too furious now
to stop.
“You think I owe discipline to Lucas because he’s the Alpha heir? Because he thinks he still
holds authority over me?” My lip curled slightly. “Here’s the truth: I’m not a Winters by blood. I
owe Lucas nothing.”
The second the words escaped, I saw Lucas’s face darken. His wolf surged inside him. His golden eyes flared like fire, anger sweeping off him in waves. The air seemed to crackle with
his rising dominance as he took a step toward me.
“Impudent,” Lucas spat, his voice low but filled with venom. His wolf, Bloodfang, hovered
dangerously close to the surface. “You’ve forgotten yourself, Celeste.”
My heart pounded, but not from fear. His accusation didn’t just sting–it infuriated me.
Memories of four years ago burst through my mind, the sight of Lucas watching as I was dragged to Moon Shadow Prison.
The humiliation, the cries that went unanswered–his silence cutting deeper than any
punishment,
Forgotten myself?
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Chapter 34: Ungrateful
The anger grew until it spilled over. I stepped forward, closing the space between us, my voice
trembling with the weight of everything I had held back.
“Forgotten myself?” I repeated, mockery lacing my tone. “Where was this energy, Lucas, when they chained me in silver?”
Lucas froze mid–breath. His wolf faltered for just a second. I saw the flicker in his eyes–the guilt he still refused to face.
“You stood there,” I said, my voice rising, each syllable sharper than the last. “You watched.
Four years, Lucas. Four. Years.”
My throat tightened, but I forced the words through. “You let them take me, all for your
precious Scarlett. You said nothing.”
The silence that followed roared like thunder. The wolves around us barely moved; even
Alexander shifted uncomfortably at the sheer force of my words.
Lucas’s lips parted, but there were no words. None that could defend him. His golden eyes
betrayed a twinge of hesitation. His wolf, confronted with the truth, seemed to falter.
Instead of continuing, he tried to summon his authority, again. His growl was low and dangerous. “You-”
I didn’t let him finish.
“You think you’re still my brother?” My laugh cut through his attempted dominance. It was bitter, cold–a knife against everything we used to have. “That man died a long time ago. My brother died the day he threw his sister into Moon Shadow Prison.”
The impact was immediate. Lucas visibly recoiled. His wolf retreated, stunned. The words
struck their mark, shattering the thin pretense of control he had carried.
His face twisted–shock, disbelief, perhaps even anguish–but he didn’t respond.
The bond that had meant the world to me–it was broken. Lucas seemed to realize that now.
too.
Before either of us could speak further, Scarlett’s soft, trembling voice pierced the silence. She stepped forward, her emerald eyes shimmering with well–timed tears that cascaded down her perfect cheeks.
“Please, stop,” Scarlett begged, her voice breaking. Her hands trembled as she reached for mine, delicate and small, as if her touch alone could mend the ruins of what stood between Lucas and me. “Please don’t do this. Don’t push him away like this.”
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Chapter 34: Ungrateful
Her knees seemed to give out, and she dropped to the ground, her wolf cowering visibly.
“This is my fault,” she sobbed. “It’s all my fault. Four years ago–my return. I ruined everything. If it weren’t for me, none of this would’ve happened.”
The others around us watched in stunned silence as Scarlett broke down like a delicate flower
wilting under the moonlight.
I didn’t miss the way some wolves exchanged glances–whether in pity or doubt of her
sincerity, I couldn’t tell. But to most watching, Scarlett appeared the picture of selfless guilt.
She clutched my hand tightly, her tears spilling over. I felt the burn of my scars beneath her
touch. Her voice cracked as she added, “Even today–I told Marcus you’d be here. I thought
he’d look out for you, but I didn’t mean for this to happen. I’m so sorry.”
The room seemed to hold its breath, waiting for my response.
I stared down at her. My chest tightened, but not in pity.
Enough. I couldn’t take it anymore.
I pulled my hand away sharply, wincing slightly at the pounding ache in my silver scars.
Scarlett blinked up at me, her perfect face painted with confusion and hurt.
“No,” I said chillingly. My voice was cold, even, detached. “He’s your brother now. Keep him.
The pack made that decision four years ago.”
Scarlett’s lips trembled, her emerald eyes widening as if I had slapped her. The pity she had
hoped to summon vanished like fog against sunlight. Her wolf whimpered audibly, shrinking
further.
Lucas quickly stepped in, his hands slipping under Scarlett’s arms to pull her gently to her
feet. His gaze was sharply trained on me now–angry, hurt, and accusing all at once.
“You’ve gone too far,” Lucas snapped, his voice trembling with unbridled rage.
His wolf growled low and deep in his throat. Bloodfang was no longer retreating–he was
rising, golden eyes practically glowing.
I raised my chin, unflinching under the heat of his rage. “Have I? Then say it, Lucas. Say I
deserved everything they did to me.”
“You think you’re blameless?” he roared. “You, who can’t even see past your own bitterness?
Not even the Moon Goddess would grant prayers from such an ungrateful wolf,”
His words hit harder than any whip, not because I believed him but because his ignorance was
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Chapter 34: Ungrateful
unbearable. Was that truly how Lucas saw me now? Ungrateful? Bitter?
Ungrateful–when every scar I carried, every wound I survived, had been in silence? When every
prayer I said in this temple tonight was not for me, but for Eleanor, the only one, who still loved
me?
A spark of fury surged through me. My wolf growled for the first time in years. Not a quiet whimper, not a retreat–but pure, unfiltered defiance.
I stepped closer to Lucas, my voice trembling not with fear but with restrained power. “You
don’t understand the gravity of what you just said, Lucas.”
His eyes narrowed, his confidence flickering for the first time. “What are you talking about?”
The world seemed darker now. The temple felt suffocating, like its walls closed in around us.
My wolf rose to match Lucas’s dominance, not out of strength but out of sheer determination.
“Pray,” I whispered, each word coated with icy venom, “that your words haven’t reached the
Moon Goddess’s ears.”
A flicker of hesitation crossed his face.
I took another step forward, my violet gaze piercing his’golden one. “If anything happens to
Eleanor, I swear to you, Lucas–if my prayers for her health go unanswered because you dared
to curse them–I will hold you responsible.”
The power behind the statement seemed to ripple through the room, cutting through any
remaining tension like glass shattering.
Lucas froze. His wolf faltered beneath the weight of my challenge, his golden eyes wide with something unnervingly.
But nothing else mattered. Not for me. Not for my wolf.
The bond that had once tied us–that had once made us siblings–was gone.
Forever.
