Chapter 136: A Sister’s Secret
Chapter 136: A Sister’s Secret
(Celeste’s POV)
Scarlett collapsed to the floor suddenly. Her body hit the moonstone with such force that it echoed throughout the room.
Her wolf’s submission was absolute, her belly pressed to the cold floor as tears streamed
from her emerald eyes like a broken dam.
“Mother, please forgive me!” she sobbed, her usually melodic voice cracking under the weight of her desperation.
Her trembling hands clutched at the hem of Victoria’s dress. Scarlett’s face, ethereal even in
distress, was smeared with tears, creating a striking image of absolute vulnerability.
“I had to protect Grace!” Scarlett’s voice rose with urgency, her breath hitching on each syllable. “I couldn’t risk losing her!”
Victoria stood frozen. For the first time in recent memory, the regal Luna of the Winters Pack didn’t know how to respond.
Her emerald eyes, usually sharp and composed, darted between Scarlett and Grace. Mixed
emotions–shock, disbelief, anger, and grief–flickered like lightning across Victoria’s face.
Her wolf surged restlessly beneath her skin, confused and distressed by her daughter’s revelation. The room crackled with uneasy energy.
Despite Scarlett’s desperate cries, Victoria couldn’t bring herself to speak. Her lips parted but
no words formed, her entire body betraying her inner turmoil.
Scarlett, clearly panicking at the lack of response, pressed her forehead harder against the icy
floor.
Her wolf whimpered loudly, a sound so pitiful that even the coldest heart might falter. But Victoria remained still, her silent judgment weighing heavier with every second that passed.
“I know I deceived you and Father,” Scarlett continued, her hands trembling as she gripped Victoria’s gown tighter. “But Grace is all I had during those years in human territory!”
Hearing her words, Grace immediately dropped beside Scarlett.
If Scarlett’s submission had been desperate, Grace’s was downright frantic. The beta wolf
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Chapter 136: A Sister’s Secret
threw herself onto the moonstone with reckless force, causing the floor to reverberate slightly.
“Luna Victoria, please!” Grace’s voice was trembling, but significantly louder than Scarlett’s
gentle tone. “Don’t blame Mistress Scarlett for my foolishness! The deception was entirely my
fault.”
To emphasize her words, Grace began violently slamming her forehead against the moonstone floor with brutal, repetitive force.
The sickening sound of flesh meeting stone cut through the room like a knife. Even Nina,
whose stoic demeanor rarely faltered, shifted uncomfortably at the exaggerated display.
“I convinced Mistress Scarlett to hide our true relationship!” Grace exclaimed between
thudding impacts. Each collision sent small spatters of blood across the shining moonstone.
“I’m to blame!”
The sight of Grace’s torn forehead caused a murmur of unease among the nearby pack members. Even I, someone all too familiar with theatrics and manipulation, had to admit the
sight was unsettling to witness.
Victoria’s wolf whined softly. The sight seemed to tug at some deeply buried maternal instinct
within her.
For the first time since Scarlett’s confession, her frozen exterior cracked.
Victoria turned her emerald eyes toward me, radiating distress and silent plea for guidance. It
was unlike the proud Luna I had known for so many years.
I recognized her turmoil. My former Luna, the woman I once loved as a mother–figure, was
crumbling under the weight of these sudden revelations.
“Perhaps they should rest,” I suggested, keeping my voice steady and neutral, revealing none.
of the amusement I truly felt deep down.
“They’re injured,” I added pointedly. I gestured toward the twin trails of blood dripping from
both Scarlett and Grace’s foreheads.
There was a moment of hesitation before Victoria seemed to regain some of her composure.
Her wolf stilled momentarily. With visible effort, Victoria nodded.
“Yes,” she murmured. Her voice lacked its usual strength but carried enough command to end
the chaos. “Scarlett, darling, you should lie down.”
Victoria moved toward her daughter, hesitantly hovering over her crumpled form. Her hands
reached out to help Scarlett up, but her touch lacked the warmth and familiarity it once held.
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Chapter 136: A Sister’s Secret
Even Scarlett, as desperate as she was, seemed to notice the difference. Her emerald gaze
flickered with a fleeting flash of pain before she allowed her mother to lift her.
“I’m sorry, Mother,” Scarlett whispered brokenly, keeping her wolf’s submissive stance even
while standing. “I truly am.”
Victoria’s answer was a soft, almost absent stroke on Scarlett’s auburn hair, her expression
distant and tired.
Scarlett looked visibly shaken by the lack of a proper maternal response, but she bit her lip
and said nothing further.
“Come, Grace,” Scarlett finally whispered, turning slightly to face her guard.
Despite the exhausted blood–streaked mess she had become, Scarlett reached out toward Grace with the same delicate hands she had used to beg earlier.
Grace looked up, her amber wolf eyes filled with a mix of guilt and devotion. The beta wolf immediately moved toward Scarlett, catching her outstretched hand as though it were a
lifeline.
Their seemingly tender moment, however, was interrupted by my voice.
“Wait.”
The single word was spoken softly, yet it carried enough weight to freeze both Scarlett and
Grace in their tracks.
Victoria stopped moving as well, her maternal form hovering protectively close to Scarlett but
too curious about my next action to protest.
Scarlett turned slightly, her emerald eyes wide with fresh panic. Grace, on the other hand,
hesitated, a flicker of resigned fear flickering briefly across her face.
I approached them with slow, measured steps. A faint smile graced my lips, but I could feel the nervous energy radiating from the pair as they watched me close the distance.
“Is something wrong, Sister?” Scarlett’s voice trembled as she spoke. Despite her attempt at composure, her wolf instinctively shrank back.
Instead of answering directly, my hand shot out faster than any of them could react, grasping
Scarlett’s arm tightly.
In one fluid motion, I yanked Grace’s hand free from Scarlett’s grip.
The reaction was instantaneous. Their wolves surged forward, radiating protectiveness and
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Chapter 136: A Sister’s Secret
panic simultaneously.
Scarlett’s emerald eyes flashed brightly as she turned, instinctively reaching for Grace again,
even as fear twisted her expression into something almost unrecognizable.
Before she could move further, Nina stepped forward aggressively.
Nina’s silver–gray wolf stood tall, sharp eyes locking onto Scarlett as she bared her teeth
slightly in warning.
“Does the Second Daughter suspect her dear sister would harm her?” Nina asked, her tone deliberately barbed, daring Scarlett to challenge her intent.
“No!” Scarlett said almost too quickly. “Of course not!”
Her voice cracked under the pressure of our collective gazes. Her wolf, usually brimming with
confidence, now barely held its form beneath the weight of my unflinching stare.
It was Victoria’s sudden move that broke the tension. She returned to Scarlett’s side, placing a
firm but tentative hand on her arm.
“Come, darling,” Victoria said softly. “Let’s treat those wounds.”
Scarlett, visibly reluctant, nodded slowly. But her gaze lingered on Grace even as Victoria
gently led her out of the room.
Once the door closed, the air in the room grew noticeably colder.
I shifted my gaze toward Grace, who stood frozen like a cornered rabbit. Her eyes remained
glued to the floor, though her entire body visibly trembled beneath my scrutiny.
“Nina,” I spoke aloud with deliberate precision, my voice calm yet laced with an underlying steel edge.
“Please take good care of Grace,” I added, pausing just enough to let the weight of my words
sink in.
Grace clenched her fists tightly. Every muscle in her body tensed further as though she
anticipated the worst.
Nina’s silver–gray wolf smiled faintly, baring teeth just enough to unsettle the beta wolf. “Of
course, My Lady. I’ll take excellent care of her.”
Grace flinched inwardly at the echo of our words. Her wolf trembled at the tense atmosphere enveloping us.
I allowed myself a final glance at her, my violet eyes gleaming with cold amusement before
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turning away. My plans were far from finished.
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