Chapter 147: A Betrayal Unveiled
Chapter 147: A Betrayal Unveiled
Chapter 147: A Betrayal Unveiled
(Celeste’s POV)
The tension snapped like a bowstring as a pack warrior burst into the room and confirmed the
news again.
“Luna Victoria!” he called, his voice strained from running. “News from the royal territory-
Prince Marcus has been ambushed by rogue wolves in the Dark Forest borderlands!”
The words struck like a stone to the chest. A silence so heavy followed that even the air felt
suffocating.
Alexander’s white wolf stirred visibly beside Lucas, the tension rolling off him in waves. His
ice–blue eyes narrowed into sharp slits as he demanded, “When did this happen?”
“The royal guards lost contact with him an hour ago,” the warrior replied, his voice brittle under the weight of everyone’s gaze. “The last communication confirmed they were near the
borderlands. That’s all we know.”
Victoria let out a strangled gasp. Her stance wavered for a moment as if the news physically
jolted her. “The Dark Forest?” she repeated, disbelief and dread mixing poorly in her tone.
“But… what was he doing there? Marcus was supposed to be traveling to the Northern
territory’s sacred healing grounds!”
The moment that name slipped from her lips, Lucas, who had been strangely quiet, stiffened.
His focus darted downward, jaw tightening as if he’d been caught off guard by something.
My wolf stirred at the sight. Silver–scarred yet still sharp, a shard of suspicion sliced through
my mind. Something in Lucas’s reaction didn’t sit right.
Alexander, too, caught the change, stepping forward with a frown. “The Dark Forest isn’t anywhere near the royal territory–or the sacred healing grounds, for that matter,” he noted
carefully, his voice slow as if testing the waters.
My mind raced alongside my wolf. The timing didn’t add up. Why would Marcus travel to the
healing grounds now, mere weeks ahead of our mate marking ceremony?
That journey would take months, not to mention it would directly conflict with the Alpha King’s
well–publicized deadline. Marcus was due to depart for his diplomatic mission to the Northern
territory immediately after our union.
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Chapter 147: A Betrayal Unveiled
The pieces didn’t fit. And then, I noticed it–Lucas’s hands.
They trembled subtly, his fingers twitching as if itching to pull away unseen threads of guilt
woven tight around his body. His golden eyes darted sideways, unable to meet any of ours.
My wolf’s instincts flared brighter, sharper. He knew something.
So did Victoria. Her expression morphed from sorrow–stricken to thunderous in seconds.
“Lucas Winters!” she snapped. Her voice cut through the invisible fog of uncertainty like a whip. “What did you do?”
Lucas flinched, shoulders tensing under the weight of her direct accusation. His wolf whined
faintly through the pack bond, audible only to those close enough to perceive it, and his
conflict radiated so strongly it pricked at my wolf’s fur.
For once, he didn’t deny it outright. His mouth opened, but no words came. The pause
stretched painfully before his voice finally broke the silence.
“I…” His breath hitched, his voice quieter, filled with hesitance. “I only told him… about the
healing grounds…”
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Victoria loomed closer, her golden eyes blazing now–not with maternal warmth, but with
authority impossible to defy. “What exactly did you tell him, Lucas?” she demanded, her claws
subtly extending from her fingertips.
Lucas glanced at her, his wolf cringing under her weight. “Mother,” he started cautiously, but her sharp glare had him faltering as his words tumbled out all together.
“I told Marcus that the sacred healing grounds might restore his diminished Alpha powers!” he said. He nearly choked on the words. “How was I supposed to know he’d actually go there. immediately?”
Victoria’s face turned pale as understanding hit her like a tidal wave. “You deliberately sent him away!” she accused, her voice shaking with fury. “Knowing full well that those borderlands are crawling with rogue packs!”
Her hand grabbed Lucas’s arm, claws digging in just enough to make her point. The physical confrontation between them was a shock in itself. For all her grief and denial, Victoria had rarely opposed Lucas with such ferocity.
Do you have any idea,” she hissed, her fury sharpened, “what the Alpha King will do to us- what he’ll do to you–if anything happens to his nephew?!”
Lucas jerked his arm away, but didn’t argue. The guilt etched on his face said enough.
Chapter 147: A Betrayal Unveiled
I stood there, the pieces of this twisted puzzle slotting into place. My breath quickened as realization dawned painfully clear.
Turning toward Lucas, I spoke. My voice was low, cold, yet somehow sharp enough to make them both jerk toward me.
“So that’s why you drugged me with wolfsbane and left me in Kane’s quarters,” I said, my words like a blade echoing through the room. “You needed Marcus out of the picture so I could conveniently be given to Kane instead.”
Lucas faltered. His golden wolf energy flared with guilt, but not a denial. My violet eyes locked
onto his, unwilling to let go.
He dropped his gaze to the floor, his shame vibrating into the air around him. For all his
strength as the future Alpha, in this moment, he was nothing more than a craven boy
cowering under the weight of his miscalculation.
(Third Person’s POV)
Alexander stepped forward suddenly, his presence drawing every gaze back to him. His
ice–blue eyes flicked down to me where I stood, burning with fury and something else buried deeper within.
Clearly, he wanted to say something–to explain, perhaps, or justify whatever piece he’d played in this disaster. His wolf quivered briefly, as if suppressed emotions threatened to spill over, but they remained carefully contained.
In truth, Alexander’s mind wrestled. His plan had never been this extreme. Compromising Celeste’s reputation to pull her closer to him–to forge a bond neither royal alliances nor pack
politics could sever–that had been his goal.
But fate, as always, had twisted the knife. Now here he was, unable to find the words to mend
what lay broken before him.
Victoria, meanwhile, was close to collapsing from the weight of the revelation. Her wolf’s energy flared in distress, unable to reconcile how the situation had spiraled so far beyond her
grasp.
Scarlett moved swiftly, gripping her mother’s arm for support.
The ever–submissive Scarlett whispered soothing nonsense, comforting Victoria, but her emerald eyes–wide and shimmering tears dripping theatrically from them–were glued to Alexander.
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* Peints
Chapter 147: A Betrayal Unveiled
Her wolf whimpered with jealousy, apprehension curling like a taut string beneath her carefully cultivated facade.
She couldn’t miss how Alexander’s white wolf continually glanced toward Celeste with deep, complicated emotions clear to anyone who looked closely enough.
Her heart twisted painfully at the realization. Despite everything, did Alexander still have feelings for her?
Those thoughts sent cold, panicked adrenaline coursing through her veins.
What if Alexander discovered the truth–the full truth–behind Celeste’s drugging? What if he learned the role Scarlett had played in concocting that disastrous plan?
Would he hate her? Would he cancel their marking ceremony? That very thought froze her
blood.
Her wolf trembled at the possibilities now storming through her mind.
The panic built until, instinctively, she sought out Celeste’s gaze, almost unconsciously.
Perhaps hoping to find forgiveness, or at least some clue as to what her former sister was
thinking.
And she found it.
Violet eyes as piercing and unyielding as the moon itself stared back at her with a knowing
intensity.
Celeste stood still against the storm. Poised in a way that spoke louder than words, her gaze locked onto Scarlett.
For the first time, Scarlett felt naked under that cold, sharp gaze. Vulnerable as every lie she’d carefully constructed seemed to unravel under the weight of her sister’s piercing eyes.
Her emerald gaze wavered, breaking as her wolf bent beneath the unspoken condemnation.
Without a word, Scarlett stepped back. Her retreat was quick as she sought refuge behind Victoria’s protective presence.
