Chapter 127: A Guard’s Reckoning
Chapter 127: A Guard’s Reckoning
(Celeste’s POV)
“Who is Grace really to you, Scarlett?” I asked, my voice falling to an icy calm that demanded an answer. My violet eyes locked onto Scarlett, who visibly recoiled in her bed.
Scarlett’s wolf recoiled further, radiating pure fear, her emerald eyes darting frantically in every
direction but mine. The tension in the room became suffocating, and even the surrounding
pack wolves seemed to shift uneasily.
“I… I don’t understand what you’re implying,” Scarlett stammered, her voice trembling weakly.
She tried to sit straighter in the bed but her frailty was unnervingly convincing–just enough to
sow a shred of doubt in the others.
Lucas took the opportunity to interject, stepping forward to shield Scarlett from my gaze like a protective wall. His golden eyes glared at me furiously, and his wolf growled audibly.
“Enough, Celeste,” Lucas snapped, his voice heavy with aggression. “Grace is Scarlett’s
childhood companion. She protected her during the years in human territory. Stop this
needless harassment!”
His defense of the beta guard didn’t surprise me. It only confirmed what I was already
suspecting–that there was something more here than just loyalty. Something deeper.
“Protected her during their absence, you say?” I replied, raising an eyebrow. My tone
deceptively neutral. “Then one might wonder why this protection seems so… clingy. So
intimate.”
Scarlett flinched noticeably at the word “intimate,” which made her reaction all the more
telling.
Lucas’s wolf surged forward protectively, bringing his golden eyes dangerously close to glowing. He took another aggressive step forward, his fists clenched. “You’re being cruel,” he growled, his voice low and filled with fury. “What does it matter to you? They’ve already explained everything–you just refuse to listen!”
Victoria joined, her emerald eyes flashing with maternal caution, though the slightest warning
reflected in her tone. “Celeste, there’s no need to escalate this,” she interjected softly. “Grace
and Scarlett have a special bond. Surely there’s no harm in that.”
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Chapter 127: A Guard’s Reckoning
Her wolf’s protective energy blanketed Scarlett in a feigned aura of calm, but my senses
caught the lingering unease. They were uneasy for a reason.
“A special bond indeed,” I mused aloud, though my words carried a deliberate edge. “But tell
me, Mother,” I addressed Victoria directly. “Would Grace protecting Scarlett disqualify her from
the punishment that was decided in the Sacred Moon Temple? Does your ‘special bond‘
somehow make Grace above pack law and judgment?”
Victoria stiffened under my pointed gaze. Her authority as Luna kept her calm mask intact,
but even she hesitated. Her lips parted as if to argue, but no words came.
Scarlett whined softly from her bed, leaning against Lucas for effect as if my words physically
hurt her. “Brother… Mother… please don’t let her take Grace,” she whispered pathetically. Her
trembling voice would have moved anyone else in the room.
Except for me.
Lucas’s wolf surged with fresh anger at Scarlett’s display, and he turned to face me with fire in his golden gaze. “Are you happy now, Celeste?” he barked. His tone was tinged with bitterness
that echoed throughout the room. “Look at what you’re doing to her! You’re tearing your own
family apart–what’s wrong with you?”
I didn’t flinch, didn’t react. My posture remained steady, and my expression cold. “What’s
wrong with me?” I repeated his question with faint amusement. “Brother, perhaps the question
you should be asking is what’s wrong with Scarlett.”
The room fell perfectly still at my words, the pause deafening. Even Lucas faltered for a
heartbeat before quickly regaining his stance.
Scarlett whimpered as tears welled up in her emerald eyes, perfectly on cue to mask the
cracks in her performance. “Why are you attacking me?” she sobbed, her voice trembling in a
mix of staged anguish and calculated vulnerability.
“Scarlett, my patience only stretches so far,” I said sharply, interrupting her dramatic display.
My violet gaze bore into her, unrelenting. “Did you fake this entire illness just to keep Grace at
your side?”
The directness of my words struck like a whip. Scarlett froze in place, her wolf trembling under
the weight of my accusation. The cracks in her facade widened further, and she stared at me
with growing panic.
Lucas, however, quickly jumped to her defense, his golden eyes blazing once more. “You’re out of line!” he roared, his wolf exuding dominance as he took another step forward. “Grace has
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Chapter 127: A Guard’s Reckoning
done more for this family–more for Scarlett–than you could ever understand. Stop twisting things out of jealousy!”
Jealousy? His words would have stung if they held an ounce of truth. But instead, I merely tilted my head, unmoved by his anger.
“Jealousy?” I echoed, my voice calm and mocking. “No, Lucas. I’m merely doing what seems unimaginable to your precious family–asking for the truth.”
Scarlett broke into full sobs at my words, clutching Grace harder as if to shield her. “Please,
Celeste,” Scarlett cried out, her voice reaching new levels of desperation. “Please have mercy!
Don’t punish her for my mistakes!”
Grace’s honeyed–brown eyes widened suddenly at the plea. Even in her submissive posture, I
could see she hadn’t expected Scarlett to take sole blame. Her wolf radiated panic, though her
lips didn’t move.
Curious.
“Your mistakes?” I repeated softly, my tone sharp as steel despite its softness. The question
twisted Scarlett’s sobbing into something that almost resembled choking.
Lucas, of course, stepped forward again, immediately pulling Scarlett into his arms like a
shield. “This is enough!” he barked at me again. “This isn’t justice–it’s a grudge!”
“Grudge?” I murmured with faint amusement. “Do tell me, brother. What kind of grudge do you
imagine I hold against Grace, hmm? The kind where she lied and helped send me to prison?
Or the kind where she assisted Scarlett in…” I let the sentence trail off intentionally.
Everyone froze at my words, particularly Scarlett, whose wolf tensed violently. Even Lucas’s
golden eyes narrowed suspiciously as if he’d caught onto the dangerous edge of my tone.
Grace, meanwhile, spoke at last. Her trembling voice broke the silence. “I–I’ll go with you,” she said quietly, her honey–blonde hair shielding part of her face as she bowed her head
submissively. “If that’s what it takes to end this, I’ll go.”
“Grace, no!” Scarlett shrieked immediately. Tears poured down her cheeks as she clung to
Grace desperately. “Don’t leave me. Just… please stay with me!”
Her cries filled the room, an almost suffocating noise, but they did little to sway my decision.
If anything, they only deepened my suspicions that there was more to this relationship than
loyalty or protection.
“Enough.” My tone silenced Scarlett’s sobs instantly. It cut through her theatrics like an icicle
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Chapter 127: A Guard’s Reckoning
slicing flesh. “This farce goes on no longer.”
With a sharp gesture, I motioned to Nina, who immediately stepped forward and grabbed
Grace’s arm firmly. Her silver–gray wolf exuded control and competence as she began moving
the beta toward the door.
Scarlett lunged forward as if to stop them, but Lucas quickly restrained her, holding her tightly as her cries grew louder. “No! No!” she screamed wildly. “Don’t take her–don’t take Grace!”
But Grace maintained her submissive posture, though I could smell her fear. Lucas and
Victoria remained tellingly silent, unable to interfere without risking exposure of whatever
secret they were protecting.
I smiled coldly, gesturing for Nina to escort Grace. “Wise choice.”
As we turned to leave, Victoria suddenly called out. “Celeste, wait!”
I paused, my silver–scarred wolf instantly alert. Victoria approached carefully, her emerald
eyes showing unusual urgency.
“Regina Blackwood has requested your presence in the royal territory,” she said, watching my reaction closely. “I’m to accompany you.”
My wolf bristled instinctively at the mention of Marcus’s mother. The silver burns from his
torture den seemed to throb in response.
Still, I recognized the implicit threat. Refusing could result in another “private meeting” with Marcus in his Dark Forest hunting grounds.
“Of course,” I replied with a knowing smile. “I’d be honored to visit the royal territory.”
Victoria’s relief was palpable. She reached out as if to touch my arm maternally, but I stepped
back sharply.
The hurt that flashed across her features might have moved me once. Now it only filled me
with revulsion.
I turned abruptly and left, cutting off any further attempts at false maternal concern. Nina
followed with Grace, maintaining a firm grip on the beta wolf’s arm.
As we approached my quarters, Grace’s fear became increasingly obvious. Her honey–brown
eyes darted frantically between Nina and me, like a trapped animal seeking escape.
If not for Nina’s warrior training and iron grip, I had no doubt Grace would have bolted. Despite
their similar builds, my guard’s superior strength easily kept the beta wolf under control.
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Chapter 127: A Guard’s Reckoning
“Please,” Grace whispered, her voice trembling. “Whatever you’re planning…”
I ignored her pleading, gesturing for Nina to bring her inside. The time for masks and pretense
was over.
The hunt for truth was about to begin.
Nina’s silver–gray wolf radiated satisfaction as she guided our captive forward. After all these
years, we would finally uncover what really happened during those years Scarlett spent in
human territory.
And more importantly, we would discover why Grace’s presence was so vital that even the
pack’s precious daughter would throw herself at my feet to protect her.
The door closed behind us with a soft click. Grace’s fear–scent filled the room as she realized
there was nowhere left to run.
