Chapter 149: A Wolfs Poison
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Chapter 149: A Wolf’s Poison
Chapter 149: A Wolf’s Poison
(Celeste’s POV)
Another wave of violent tremors ripped through me, my body collapsing onto the bed as the
relentless curse of the wolfsbane coursed through my veins again.
My fingers tightened on the bedsheets, desperate to find something solid, something grounding in this spiraling chaos. The burning cold was unbearable–the exact sensation I’d fought so hard to forget after Moon Shadow Prison.
“Nina,” I gasped, struggling to force the words out. “It’s the wolfsbane… it’s coming back.”
The memories from earlier flooded my mind with startling clarity. Matthew’s steady, strong
arms carrying me. The overwhelming burn of the poison, the fight to stay in control, and my
wolf’s desperate, defeated cries in the background.
If Matthew hadn’t been there, if he hadn’t kept his ironclad restraint while I was drowning in
poisoned vulnerability, I didn’t even want to imagine what could’ve happened.
I shook myself mentally, dragging my focus back to the present. The poison was here–inside
me again—and I needed to handle this. There was no room left for weakness.
A spark of panic ignited in Nina’s silver–gray wolf as she took a step closer. Her normally
sharp and collected demeanor faltered.
“Miss Celeste, let me fetch Dr. Pierce!” Nina blurted, anxiety creeping into her tone. “He must
know how to treat this.”
“No!” The word was so sharp and forceful that it startled even me, echoing off the walls of my
quarters. Nina flinched visibly, her wolf recoiling slightly at my outburst.
But I didn’t have time to reassure her. “No male wolves,” I continued, forcing my voice to
remain steady despite the tremors wracking my body.
A single look at Nina’s confused eyes told me I needed to elaborate. My breaths came in
shaky bursts as I explained, “The wolfsbane… it doesn’t just weaken the body. It affects the
wolf. It makes us… susceptible.”
I swallowed hard, forcing the words out even though they left my throat raw. “In this
condition… my wolf could submit to any dominant male presence, Nina. Even Dr. Pierce.”
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Chapter 149: A Wolf’s Poison
Her eyes widened in comprehension, and her wolf’s panic flared brighter.
“I won’t risk that!” I snapped, my voice ironclad. “I’d rather push through this hell alone than
lose whatever shred of control I have left.”
Nina’s lips parted like she wanted to argue, but her silver–gray wolf whined in distressed agreement. She understood, even if it pained her.
Her face was pale but resolute. “What should I do then, Miss Celeste?” she asked quietly, her voice trembling like a thread on the verge of snapping.
“Cold water,” I forced the words out between gritted teeth, each syllable sending shudders through my chest. “A bath. Lots of it. As cold as possible.”
Nina hesitated, her expression flickering with concern. She knew exactly why I suggested it, and the unspoken weight of those memories loomed heavy in the room.
“Miss Celeste… after Moon Shadow Prison, after everything they put you through…” Nina
trailed off, her voice anguished. She was trying desperately to avoid saying the words cold
water torture.
Her hesitation only strengthened my resolve. My fingers curled into fists against the
bedsheets as I barked out an order. “Just do it, Nina!”
For a moment, she stood there frozen, torn between her loyalty and the unbearable task I’d asked of her. But ultimately, her duty to me as my guard won out. Without another word, Nina dashed out of the room, her silver–gray wolf moving with a swiftness that revealed her
urgency.
The moments alone stretched painfully long, each second ticking by with agonizing clarity as
the poison raged hotter in my veins.
By the time Nina returned with a large metal tub filled with icy water, I was trembling so
violently that I could barely move.
The moment I saw the water, my silver–scarred wolf recoiled. Memories clashed violently
against my will–the dark cells of Moon Shadow Prison, the icy buckets of water that left me
shivering and near–frozen for hours at a time.
I’d sworn those days were behind me. Sworn I’d never touch cold water again of my own
volition.
And yet, here I was.
Nina placed the tub beside the bed, her hands trembling as much as mine as she turned to
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Chapter 149: A Wolf’s Poison
help me. Her silver–gray wolf radiated guilt and sorrow, sensing my hesitation but not daring to say anything.
The first touch of icy water against my bare skin ripped a choked gasp from my throat. The cold carved its way through me like shards of ice embedding themselves deep within my
muscles.
I clenched my teeth so hard that my jaw ached, forcing myself not to cry out as Nina helped
lower me into the water.
The freezing shock sent every nerve in my body screaming in protest, but I forced myself to remain still. The burning poison began to dull almost immediately, its fire snuffed out by the overwhelming cold.
It worked. The icy water quelled the raging storm in my veins, bringing something close to
clarity.
But the cost was high.
Nina hovered at the edge of the tub, her silver–gray wolf pacing in visible distress. She sniffled quietly, tears forming but refusing to let them fall in my presence.
“Don’t worry,” I managed weakly, my voice barely above a whisper. My lips felt numb, and each
word took monumental effort. “This will pass.”
Nina’s wolf whimpered, radiating sorrow and helplessness. Her tears finally spilled over as she
knelt beside me, gripping the edge of the tub like her life depended on it.
I hated seeing her upset. I hated how much I hated it.
But there were no reassurances I could offer. My trembling body spoke for itself–fragile,
broken, and vulnerable all over again.
As I shivered in the freezing water, the weight of betrayal pressed heavier against my chest.
The Winter Pack’s lies, their masks of compassionate family bonds, were threadbare now.
Scarlett’s tears. Lucas’s forced apologies. Victoria’s pleading gazes. They were all hollow, as
empty as the promises they made when they brought me back here.
I’d told myself I could endure it for Eleanor. That I’d suffer through their superficial kindness to
spend her few remaining years by her side.
But this?
Every calculated plan, every betrayal unveiled–it cut deeper than even Marcus’s royal claws
could.
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Chapter 149: A Wolf’s Poison
They had known. Known that Marcus’s so–called generosity hid his true cruelty. Known that he
ruled over his torture den in the Dark Forest.
They had sold me to him nonetheless, smiling through their schemes, watching me step closer to the gallows they’d arranged for me with every passing day.
And when it wasn’t enough, when their deaths couldn’t satisfy their thirst for control, they
drugged me.
Dragged me further into the depths of their treachery with wolfsbane–laced wine, expecting me
to break beneath the weight of their wickedness.
I clung to the icy water like it was my lifeline, barely noticing the violent shivers wracking my
body. The betrayal burned far colder than the water ever could.
This family–the Winter Pack–had crushed every illusion of belonging I’d once held. I could no
longer believe they cared, not after what they’d done.
My wolf snarled faintly at the thought of Marcus, now taken by rogue wolves. The rogues were
merciless, rejecting pack authority and living on the fringes of society.
If Marcus thought himself unstoppable with his royal blood and twisted wolf magic, he’d underestimated the cruelty of the rogue packs.
What they wanted with him, I didn’t know. Perhaps ransom. Perhaps revenge. The rogues
rarely made their intentions clear.
–
But one thing was certain between the lingering effects of the wolfsbane and this latest
development with Marcus, my situation had become even more precarious.
The cold water continued to leech the poison from my system, but it couldn’t wash away the
bitter taste of betrayal.
These people were supposed to be my family. Even after learning I wasn’t their blood, even
after imprisoning me for four years, some foolish part of me had still hoped…
Another violent shiver interrupted my thoughts. The water felt like ice against my skin, a
familiar torment from my years in Moon Shadow Prison.
But at least the cold was honest in its cruelty. Unlike the Winter Pack, it didn’t pretend to care
while plotting my destruction.
