Chapter 12: One More Sacrifice
Chapter 12: One More Sacrifice
(Lucas’s POV)
Regina’s violet eyes bore into mine, her gaze sharp and predatory. Even in her human form, her
wolf’s dominance wrapped around me, suffocating like a noose.
Bloodfang resisted, snarling within me, pacing wildly at the challenge. Shadows of her power
radiated through the frozen air, and it was more than clear who held the upper hand here.
“Do you understand what you’ve done?” she asked, her voice deceptively calm yet heavy with
suppressed wrath.
I stood tall, meeting her fire with my own, but my wolf was not foolish. Bloodfang snarled once
more in frustration, finally baring its metaphorical neck, and, like instinct honed through
generations of Alphas, my body followed.
I knelt slightly, lowering my gaze to the ground, neck tilted in the traditional posture of
submission to a royal wolf.
This wasn’t weakness. This was survival.
“I acted to protect my pack’s name and honor,” I growled, keeping my voice even.
“Is that what this is?” Regina stepped closer, her boots crunching against the frozen dirt. Her
energy pressed harder, her words carrying a dangerously quiet edge.
“There is no honor in recklessness. No glory in defying orders. You barged into my domain
without invitation, Lucas,” she spat my name like venom, “endangering alliances for a show of
dominance?”
My jaw clenched at her words. Bloodfang’s pacing halted, silenced under the weight of her
superiority. Yet I refused to shrink further under the gaze of the Alpha King’s sister.
“I will not apologize for punishing wolves who harm the weak,” I said, my voice rough with restrained anger.
Regina’s chuckle was low and devoid of humor. She circled me, her power biting into my skin with each measured step.
“Protection amidst chaos? Or guilt manifesting as rage?” she mocked. Her words dug under my skin, burrowing deep into places I pretended did not exist.
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Chapter 12: One More Sacrifice
I forced my expression blank.
She stopped in front of me, tilting her head as her violet eyes burned through my resolve.
“You are young,” she said softly, almost pitying. “And your actions are not entirely surprising. Alphas often confuse strength for recklessness at your age.”
Her tone sharpened. “But let this be your only mistake, Lucas. Trespass again, and no
allegiance will save you from my wrath.”
Her eyes narrowed, a quiet promise embedded deep within.
“I understand,” I said through clenched teeth, my wolf furious but smart enough to stay quiet.
Her gaze lingered a moment longer, assessing whether I was sincere. Finally, she nodded
sharply, her cold indifference returning as she turned her back.
“Leave,” she said simply, her voice laced with finality. “The next time you act without thought, I’ll deal with you personally.”
My fists tightened at my sides, but I pulled myself together, turning toward the boundary line like the obedient wolf she expected.
Her presence loomed until I stepped over into neutral land. Only then did she retreat into the
shadows, her power fading like the last glow of twilight.
The moment I reached my car, my control slipped.
Bloodfang surged beneath my skin, clawing wildly, his rage uncontained. I slammed the door shut behind me, the cold air barely cutting through the heat of my anger.
Forcing my shaking hands onto the steering wheel, I exhaled hard, my breathing uneven. My
nerves felt like shards of glass, each sharp breath scraping against them.
I turned my head slightly, catching sight of the moon–blessed healing stones sitting neatly on
the passenger seat.
They were carved carefully, meticulously. The stonework bore the designs of Celeste’s favorite lunar flowers–small and rare blooms, cultivated only under light of a full moon.
They had been soaked in blessed water to help a wolf’s healing process.
I had arranged it so carefully. But now, their presence mocked me.
Alexander’s words played in my mind, echoing with haunting accuracy.
“She wouldn’t touch them: The scent offended her.”
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Chapter 12: One More Sacrifice
My grip tightened on the wheel, the leather creaking beneath the pressure. Celeste wouldn’t
even accept a gesture of good faith.
No–she wouldn’t accept anything I did for her.
Why?
I wanted to believe it was her pride. Her cold demeanor that kept me at arm’s length.
My mind drifted momentarily. Scarlett’s face formed in the haze of my thoughts. Her
trembling figure, the smell of her fear–that day at the moon pool came back in sharp clarity. Scarlett had looked grateful. Fragile. Needing protection.
And yet Celeste?
Celeste greeted every effort with those cold, unkind eyes. No gratitude. No warmth. Just
distance.
If she had ever–ever–shown me just an ounce of the softness Scarlett displayed, perhaps I
wouldn’t have reached this level of frustration with her.
The thought ignited something bitter, searing in its intensity.
With an impulsive burst of rage, I grabbed the healing stones and hurled them through the
rolled–down window.
The sound of them shattering against the courtyard stones felt distant compared to the pounding in my skull.
The pieces glinted in the moonlight, sharp and broken.
Just like everything else.
(Celeste’s POV)
My heart was cold as I watched Alpha James’s fist connect with Lucas’s jaw. The sharp c***k
echoed through the quiet expanse of the pack house. Lucas’s head snapped to the side, a thin
trail of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
The metallic tang stirred something faintly in my wolf. A twitch of instinct, perhaps. The
subconscious urge to whine, unbidden. I forced it down.
Alpha James bellowed, his rage as imposing as the figure he cast.
“So reckless, Lucas! Do you have any idea the political consequences?” His wolf snarled beneath the surface, the sharp pressure of authority heavy in the room. “The Alpha King’s sister does not take trespasses lightly!”
FB Point
Chapter 12: One More Sacrifice
The blood on Lucas’s lip only made his determination sharper. He straightened, meeting his father’s gaze boldly despite the blow.
“I’d do it again,” he said, his voice steady despite the anger burning underneath, His wolf pulsed faintly, refusing to help escalate the situation. “I will always protect pack members from harm–even if it costs me my life.”
His words rang hollow in my ears.
Where was this righteous protector when I had been dragged to prison, bound in silver chains?
Where was this unshakable devotion when I had been thrown into a pit of wolves eager to tear
me–apart for crimes I didn’t commit?
It was a convenient sentiment now, but then? He was a silence personified.
Alpha James’s roar interrupted my thoughts as his fury rose again.
“You are not a rogue to act without thought!” he snapped. “You risk not just your life but this
family’s standing within the Alpha King’s court.”
Lucas didn’t flinch, but his lips tightened into a thin line.
The tension rose another notch as Alpha James turned his rage to Luna Victoria.
“And you!” he barked. “What did Regina suggest? What did she say to smooth this storm?
Speak now, woman, or I’ll demand justifications myself.”
Victoria stepped forward hesitantly, her presence softer yet more calculated than her mate’s.
Her green eyes darted briefly to me.
That glance–apologetic, hollow–set my wolf on edge. My muscles stiffened as the warning
ran through me like freezing water.
That look. I knew it well.
It was the exact look she wore four years ago.
The look she gave me before they sent me off to face six years in the Alpha King’s prison.
Dread pooled cold and weighty in my chest, but I shoved it aside, keeping my expression
iron–clad.
“Regina has a solution,” Victoria said softly, her voice carefully neutral. “She promised to
handle matters delicately, to keep us outside the Alpha King’s direct scrutiny.”
Her words were polished, rehearsed. The subtle pause between her explanation reeked of
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Chapter 12: One More Sacrifice
omissions.
My wolf stirred faintly beneath me, but her energy was too weak now to rise fully.
I kept my gaze ahead, steady and distant, despite the unease clawing up my spine.
Victoria’s glance flicked to me again, though I made no move to acknowledge it.
Whatever Regina had planned, I knew better than to expect kindness or fairness.
But after four years of surviving silver burns and wolfsbane–tainted water, pain had become
second nature.
What was one more sacrifice?
My wolf, weary and scarred beyond repair, whimpered softly in my chest–but there was no
fight left in her. Or me.
This storm would break over me like all the others. And like always, I’d endure with silence
and scars.
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