Chapter 226: A Heartbreaking Farewell
Chapter 226: A Heartbreaking Farewell
(Celeste’s POV)
I raced through the corridors of the Winter Pack house, my heart pounding against my ribs. The taste of blood lingered on my lips from my confrontation with Scarlett. I hastily wiped it away with the back of my hand, desperate to hide any evidence of violence before reaching my grandmother’s chambers.
The wooden doors loomed ahead, heavy with carved pack symbols that had witnessed
generations of Winter Pack history. Outside stood Sarah Miller, my grandmother’s loyal beta attendant, her weathered face etched with worry. Beside her was Dr. Pierce, his medical bag
clutched tightly in his hands.
Their expressions made my silver–scarred wolf whimper with dread.
“How is she?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Dr. Pierce’s kind eyes met mine, filled with the professional compassion of someone who had
delivered bad news countless times before. But this was different. This was my grandmother.
“Miss Celeste,” he began carefully, “I need to prepare you.”
My wolf stilled within me, sensing the weight of his words.
“Your grandmother’s condition has deteriorated significantly,” he continued. “Given the
progression of her terminal wolf illness and the recent stress, I estimate she has…” He paused,
his voice faltering slightly. “Ten days. Perhaps less.”
The world seemed to tilt beneath my feet. Ten days? Just last week, we’d been told she had
months remaining.
“That’s impossible,” I whispered. “Sarah told me she was improving today. That she even
walked a little.”
Sarah’s eyes filled with tears. “She was, Miss Celeste. Just this morning, she seemed
stronger.”
Dr. Pierce shook his head sadly. “That happens sometimes. A final surge of strength before…”
He didn’t finish the sentence. He didn’t need to.
“Without the recent distress,” he added gently, “she might have had a few more months with
< Chapter 226: A Heartbreaking.
- us. But the shock was too much for her weakened system.”
+15 Points >
Guilt crashed over me like a physical blow. If I hadn’t antagonized Scarlett, if I hadn’t pushed for the pack severance document, if I had simply kept my head down and endured…
My grandmother might have lived longer.
“I should have killed Scarlett when I had the chance,” I whispered, more to myself than to the others.
Sarah gasped, but Dr. Pierce just looked at me with understanding in his eyes. He’d treated Celeste after Marcus Blackwood’s beatings, after all. He knew what I had endured.
“Your grandmother is asking for you,” he said simply.
I nodded, steeling myself to face what lay beyond those doors. My silver–scarred wolf gathered her strength, determined to be brave for the woman who had never stopped loving us.
The chamber air hung heavy with the unmistakable scent of decay, that chilling harbinger of death that no amount of healing herbs could disguise. My wolf recognized it immediately, whimpering deep within me.
I approached the massive oak bed where my grandmother lay, her once–powerful frame now diminished beneath the pack furs. Her silver hair fanned out across the pillow like a halo, her golden eyes–once so sharp and commanding–now clouded with illness.
She appeared to be sleeping. I knelt beside her, taking her frail hand in mine. It felt cold, so much colder than it should.
Her eyelids fluttered at my touch. “Celeste?” Her voice was barely audible, a ghost of the commanding tone that had once directed an entire pack.
“I’m here, Grandmother,” I replied, forcing cheer into my voice. “Right here beside you.”
Her eyes opened fully, struggling to focus on my face. “My dear girl…”
The fragility in her voice shattered my composure. Tears spilled down my cheeks despite my
best efforts to contain them.
“Don’t cry,” she whispered, her cold fingers tightening weakly around mine. “I’m not worth your
tears.”
“Don’t say that,” I protested, wiping my eyes with my free hand. “You’re everything to me.”
Her face crumpled with grief. “I’ve failed you. I couldn’t protect you.”
“No,” I insisted, clutching her hand tighter. “Having you in my life has been my greatest
2/5
< Chapter 226: A Heartbreaking.
happiness. You were the only one who stood by me through everything.”
My words seemed to cause her more pain. Her clouded eyes filled with tears that slowly tracked down her withered cheeks.
+15 Points >
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, her voice breaking. “All this time, you suffered in silence.”
I froze. “Tell you what?”
“Everything,” she whispered. “The silver poisoning from Marcus Blackwood. The humiliation at
the Moon Silver Restaurant. Being forced to eat silver–laced scraps meant for omega wolves.”
Each revelation felt like a physical blow. Scarlett’s beta had been thorough in her cruel
reporting.
“I didn’t want to worry you,” I said softly. “You were already ill-”
“I’m your grandmother!” she cried, the effort making her cough weakly. “It was my duty to protect you, and instead I’ve been useless, lying here while they abused you!”
Her distress tore at my heart. “Please, Grandmother, don’t upset yourself. It’s not good for your
health.”
“My health,” she scoffed bitterly. “What does it matter now? I’ve been a burden to you instead
of a protector.”
I shook my head vehemently. “Never a burden. Never.”
Her eyes searched mine, filled with anguish. “They made you eat silver, Celeste. Silver meant
for omega wolves.” Her voice cracked with horror. “My own son did that to you.”
I couldn’t deny it. The memory of that silver–laced meat burning down my throat was still too
fresh, the scars it left inside me still healing.
“Perhaps I made a mistake,” she continued, her voice growing fainter. “Taking you from the
detention quarters only delivered you from one misery to another.”
Tears flowed freely down my face now. “No, Grandmother. You saved me. If you hadn’t
intervened, I would still be in Moon Shadow Prison.”
“And now?” she asked, her golden eyes fixing on me with sudden clarity. “Are you truly out of prison, my dear? Or have I merely exchanged your silver chains for invisible ones?”
Her words struck with painful accuracy. The Winter Pack house had indeed become another
kind of prison.
“I have Matthew now,” I told her, trying to inject hope into my voice. “I’ve found love,
< Chapter 226: A Heartbreaking.
Grandmother. I’m happy.”
A faint smile touched her lips. “The Sterling boy. He has a good heart.”
I nodded eagerly. “He does. And you need to get better so you can be there for our mate
marking ceremony.”
Her smile faltered, tears welling in her eyes again. “Celeste…”
She knew she wouldn’t live to see it. We both did. But I couldn’t bear to acknowledge that
truth.
+15 Points >
“You must leave this place,” she said suddenly, her voice unexpectedly firm. “Take Matthew
and go far from here.”
I stared at her in shock. “Leave? I would never leave you!”
“Listen to me,” she insisted, gripping my hand with surprising strength. “There is nothing for
you here but pain. James will never accept Matthew as your mate. Lucas will never see past
his own guilt to truly support you.”
“I don’t care,” I said fiercely. “I won’t leave you alone.”
Her golden eyes, though clouded with illness, flashed with the authority that had once
commanded an entire pack. “You must. My time is ending, dear one. Yours is just beginning.”
She gestured weakly toward an intricately carved wooden cabinet in the corner of the room.
“In there… my legacy to you. Take it and start your life anew, somewhere far from this pack’s
poison.”
I shook my head stubbornly. “I won’t go. I’ll stay right here beside you.”
“Please, Celeste,” she whispered, her strength visibly fading. “For me. Leave this place…” Her eyes drifted closed.
Panic seized me. “Grandmother? GRANDMOTHER!”
My cry echoed through the chamber, loud enough to bring Dr. Pierce rushing back in. He hurried to the bedside, checking my grandmother’s pulse with practiced fingers.
“She’s just sleeping,” he assured me, his voice gentle but firm. “Her wolf is still fighting, though it’s very weak.”
Relief washed through me, making my knees buckle. I sank to the floor beside the bed, still clutching my grandmother’s frail hand in mine.
“I won’t leave her,” I whispered, as much to myself as to the doctor. “Not for a single moment
4/5
<Chapter 226: A Heartbreaking.
of the time she has left.”
My silver–scarred wolf curled protectively within me, whimpering with determination. We
would stay by her side until the very end, regardless of what awaited us afterward in the
Winter Pack.
+15 Points >
My grandmother’s legacy in the wooden cabinet would have to wait. For now, my only concern. was making her remaining days as peaceful and comfortable as possible.
Ten days. The doctor had given her ten days.
I would treasure every single one of them, every breath, every word, every moment with the only person who had truly loved me unconditionally through all the darkness I had endured.
8
