Chapter 116: Seek judgment from the Moon Goddess
Chapter 116: Seek judgment from the Moon Goddess
(Celeste’s POV)
Each step sent jolts of searing agony through my body. The pain of my silver burns after Marcus’s torture was overwhelming, but I refused to slow down. The Sacred Moon Temple rose before me, towering over the gathered pack wolves who had fallen silent at the scene unfolding before them.
They parted like the waters, moving back in stunned silence as I walked forward with purpose. Their curious and uneasy eyes bore into me, but I didn’t care. Let them watch. Let them feel
the weight of my fury.
I stopped in the center of the sacred grounds, my chest heaving as my entire body shook with exhaustion and rage. My silver–scarred wolf surged forward emotionally, growling in anger at the world that had thrown me to the wolves, both figuratively and literally.
“Since the Future Alpha insists,” I declared, my voice sharp and unwavering despite the ache burning through my throat, “let’s seek judgment from the Moon Goddess herself!”
My words echoed across the grounds, cutting through the air like a knife. The wolves gathered gasped as the weight of my declaration settled among them. Invoking the Moon Goddess inside Her temple was not something done lightly. Everyone knew the consequences could be
severe.
I didn’t care. Let the Moon Goddess judge. Someone had to.
Lucas’s heavy footsteps approached rapidly from behind, his golden eyes blazing with barely controlled fury. His wolf’s aggressive energy flooded the space like a storm, rattling those
nearby into an uneasy shift.
“I came here intending to help you after what Marcus did!” he snarled, his voice filled with rage. “Don’t you dare throw this in my face! Don’t be ungrateful!”
Ungrateful? I froze for half a heartbeat, his words cutting deeper than I allowed myself to show. My hands shook by my sides, but I swallowed the lump rising in my throat and
clenched my fists tightly.
“You want gratitude?” I replied coldly, not sparing him a glance as I pressed forward. “After everything you’ve done? You don’t deserve even my acknowledgment.”
1/4
.3 Point
Chapter 116: Seek judgment fro…
Lucas stepped closer, and I could feel the rippling energy of his anger. The golden irritation in his wolf’s aura pressed against mine heavily like he was trying to dominate me into
submission.
I felt my limbs quake as if they struggled under pressure, but I forced my body upright despite
the unbearable weight exerted on me.
“I’m trying to stop this,” Lucas hissed, his voice sharp with frustration. “You can’t keep running headlong into destruction, Celeste. Why won’t you let me fix this?”
“Because,” I spat bitterly, slowly turning my gaze toward him, “you are part of the destruction, Lucas. As much as Marcus, as much as Scarlett. Fix it? You can’t even admit how deeply
you’ve broken everything first.”
I walked forward, brushing unsteadily past the edge of his influence, refusing the chains he
wanted to tie around me. Lucas’s eyes darkened further, and I could feel the rage pouring off
of him like lava threatening to erupt.
“Celeste-” His words were cut short as his eyes dropped to notice my limping gait, the slight
stagger in my steps as my silver–scarred and bruised legs betrayed me even though I fought
to hide it.
“Help her!” Lucas barked with authority, turning to the nearby wolves. “She’s still hurt–help her
walk!”
Two young pack members, a beta and gamma wolf, jolted at his command and began
stepping toward me. Their hesitation was clear in their uneasy expressions.
“No.”
My voice rang out loud and sharp, freezing them in place before they could come even a step
closer.
I straightened, forcing my violet eyes to meet Lucas’s blazing golden ones, which burned in
frustration and concern I didn’t care to receive. “I am Marcus Blackwood’s claimed mate,” I
stated firmly, coldly, sharply. “None of you dare touch me.”
The air grew thick. The wolves froze and retreated quickly as if my words carried physical weight against them. Lucas’s wolf growled audibly in protest as they backed down.
“This is insanity,” Lucas hissed, moving closer again. “You still claim Marcus’s protection after what he did to you? After he nearly killed you? You’re serious, aren’t you?”
His words were a collision of fury and desperation, but I had no interest in his theatrics.
211
Chapter 116: Seek judgment fro…
Lucas stepped closer, grabbed my left arm, and his claws extended slightly with the motion. The pain was immediate, fresh blood blooming where his claws tore through my healing fascia.
“Do you even hear yourself?” Lucas demanded furiously, his golden eyes blazing. “Marcus. doesn’t deserve your silence. He doesn’t deserve any allegiance you’re still giving him!”
I wrenched my arm free with a hiss of pain, staggering back unsteadily. A deep, crimson stain
seeped into the bandage from his careless grasp.
“That is enough,” I hissed coldly, pushing past the rising ache in my throat. “Whether I accept
his mate claim is none of your concern. None of it is. Not after everything all of you have done.
”
I made another step forward toward the temple, dragging myself away despite the screaming
pain in my arms, back, and legs.
“Today, the Winter Pack will answer for their treatment of me before the Moon Goddess
herself,” I declared louder than before, leaving Lucas dumbstruck as he remained frozen.
I allowed my fury to surge with each step, needing to lean into it to keep the exhaustion from
pulling me down entirely. This wasn’t just for me anymore. This was about honor, truth,
accountability–things the Winter Pack always claimed to uphold and had never managed
with me.
I reached the entrance of the temple’s inner sanctuary, trembling slightly from the effort it took
to walk. Sweat dripped off my brow but I refused to falter, even for a moment.
Before long, the energy in the air turned familiar–yet not comforting.
Alpha James and Luna Victoria arrived, their wolves entering ahead of them as dominant presences gripped the immediate space. Alpha James’s towering figure surveyed me sharply
while Victoria rushed in with the usual tears in her glassy green eyes.
“What is the meaning of this!” Alpha James thundered. His voice shook through the chilling
hallowed air, and lesser wolves near the edge of the temple grounds instinctively bowed.
Behind him emerged another figure–a slight, fragile one draped in emerald hues. Scarlett. Of
course.
“Father, please don’t be angry!” Scarlett said sweetly, her tone filled with practiced earnestness. She stepped closer toward him with wide emerald eyes shimmering like glass, her hands curling close to her chest in a perfect image of sorrow.
3/4
+ Paint
Chapter 116: Seek judgment fro…
“I only asked Sister to forgive Brother…” Her voice broke slightly, the perfected edge of vulnerability crafted by years of manipulation.
Victoria, meanwhile, had immediately turned her attention toward Scarlett’s arm, running her hands over where Nina had sunk her teeth in earlier. Her face was painted with concern as she rushed through the act of examining the injury.
“Precious Scarlett,” she murmured, cooing softly. “Show me what that guard has done to you.”
Her voice cracked with maternal wounding.
The entire scene felt forced and hollow.
Scarlett tilted her head toward Victoria’s hands with a soft whimper, still clutching Alpha James’s arm dramatically.
Behind them, Lucas appeared again at a measured pace. His eyes scanned the scene, and
once again they settled on me with the same storm of frustration and guilt. His growing
aggression could be felt leaking out through his wolf’s energy, even in such a sacred place.
“Your guard assaulted my sister.” His voice was sharp now, his every word deliberate, loaded
with the weight of accusation.
I remained silent, my body steadying itself near the moonstone altar as I prepared for their
endless excuses.
It was Victoria who finally dared speak directly to me.
I could sense her wolf reaching forward through the air, a failed effort to soften the pressure
even slightly. She spoke with a faultless veil of concern cracking her voice just perfectly
enough to appear earnest. “Little Moon,” she said softly, “if your guard attacked Scarlett, then
your brother’s punishment–his decisions–were justified.”
She took slow, deliberate steps closer to me, careful to keep her aura maternal, warm, and
approachable.
“There’s no need to push this into such a severe situation, child. The Moon Goddess doesn’t
need intervention here. Just tell us what’s driving this today, Little Moon.”
