Chapter 159: A Wolf’s Retaliation
Chapter 159: A Wolf’s Retaliation
(Celeste’s POV)
The air around the Sacred Moon Pool was thick with unease. Scarlett’s shrill scream pierced the calm, and her emerald eyes widened in exaggerated panic as she teetered dangerously
near the bridge’s edge.
“Help! Someone help!” she cried, her voice loud enough to carry across the pack grounds.
Her hand gripped my silver–burned arm with deliberate force, her sharp nails digging into the
sensitive scars. Pain shot through me, burning and immediate. My wolf snarled in frustration.
“Let go of me,” I warned, my tone biting. The rage in my voice caused Scarlett’s wolf to emit a
soft, pathetic whimper.
But Scarlett didn’t let go. She leaned back further, dragging me closer to the edge along with
her.
Her ploy became all too clear in an instant.
She wasn’t trying to save herself. She was trying to make me look like the aggressor.
White–hot anger surged through my chest. I lunged forward, grabbing her other arm with
unrelenting force. I pulled her back from the dangerous fall, my muscles straining as my
weakened body protested.
The movement twisted my already injured arm, but I ignored the searing pain. Scarlett’s
dramatic gasp filled my ears as I dragged her back to the bridge’s solid ground.
Once she was out of harm’s way, I shoved her hard enough to put distance between us.
Her shoulders hit the wooden railing with a light thud. She immediately crumpled to her knees,
clutching her chest as though she had narrowly escaped death itself.
“Why, Scarlett?” I spat the question, stepping toward her with deliberate slowness. My hands clenched at my sides, trembling slightly from both pain and fury. “Why do you keep doing
this?”
Scarlett blinked at me with her large, tear–filled emerald eyes. Trembling lips parted slightly
before forming a quivering pout. Her wolf whined softly, adding to her carefully crafted act.
“I- I didn’t mean to!” she protested, sounding breathless. Her gaze darted toward the
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Chapter 159: A Wolf’s Retaliation
gathering crowd of onlookers, their whispers growing louder by the second.
“Didn’t mean to?” I repeated mockingly, my voice sharp and cutting. “Didn’t mean to grab my
arm–my scarred arm–and pretend to almost fall? Didn’t mean to pull me down with you? Is that what you’re telling me?”
Her bottom lip quivered again. “I was dizzy!” she cried, her tone rising in a hysterical pitch. “I just… lost
my balance! Celeste, you don’t understand!”
“I don’t understand?” I echoed, my violet eyes narrowing dangerously. Her words only fueled
my growing outrage.
At that moment, nothing could stop the fire raging within me.
“You’re lying, Scarlett. And you know it,” I said coldly. My voice carried enough force to silence
some of the whispers among the gathered wolves.
Scarlett recoiled at my words as if they were a physical blow. She sniffled loudly, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“I don’t know why you hate me so much,” she whimpered softly, her voice trembling in just the
right way to tug at anyone’s sympathy. “I never wanted things to be like this between us.”
I let out a bark of laughter, harsh and bitter. “Hate you? You think I hate you?”
I took another step closer, looming over her as she knelt pitifully on the ground. Scarlett’s wolf
whimpered louder, curling inward in what appeared to be submission. But I wasn’t fooled.
“You drugged me with wolfsbane–laced wine,” I continued, my voice low but firm. The rage behind each word sent a ripple of tension through the crowd. “You’ve tried to sabotage me at
every turn. And now, this little stunt? Tell me, Scarlett–am I supposed to just forget all of
that?”
Scarlett’s eyes widened as though she couldn’t believe someone was speaking to her this way. Her tears continued to fall, shimmering under the moonlight as she shook her head fervently.
“Celeste, please,” she begged, reaching toward me. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen! I’m just… I’m scared!”
“Scared of what?” I demanded sharply, my patience dwindling to nothing. “Scared that your lies are finally catching up to you? Scared that someone might see you for the manipulative coward you really are?”
Her hand froze mid–reach, and her breath hitched audibly.
It was then I noticed the faint scent of pine frost carried on the breeze. My nostrils flared
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Chapter 159: A Wolf’s Retaliation
involuntarily as the familiar scent stirred something deep within me.
Alexander. He was here.
He was watching.
Scarlett must have sensed it too. Her emerald eyes darted toward the direction of his scent, and her false tears faltered for a brief moment. Her wolf whimpered again, but this time, there
was real fear behind it.
I smiled coldly, no longer bothering to conceal my disdain.
“What’s wrong, Scarlett?” I asked, my tone mockingly kind. The sweetness in my voice made her flinch. “Afraid someone saw the real you just now?”
Her lips parted slightly, but no sound came out.
The crowd of onlookers had grown larger, their whispers louder and more curious. I could feel
their eyes boring into the scene before them, their attention fixated on every movement.
This was it.
This was her moment to see how it felt to be humiliated in front of everyone she held dear.
With a deliberate slowness, I reached out and tilted her chin upward using only my index
finger. Her breath hitched as I forced her to meet my gaze.
“Scarlett,” I said, my voice low and devoid of emotion, “you’ve spent your entire life pretending
to be the victim. But do you know what I see?”
Her emerald eyes, wide and glimmering with fresh tears, stared back at me. She didn’t answer.
“I see a coward,” I finished. “A liar. A wolf who hides behind tears and manipulation because
she knows she doesn’t have the strength to stand on her own.”
Scarlett trembled under my scrutiny, her wolf cowering in submission. But I wasn’t done.
My silver–scarred wolf surged forward within me, her presence radiating an undeniable authority. For just a moment, Scarlett’s carefully crafted mask cracked entirely. Pure fear
flashed across her face.
“Do you
you think
you can fool everyone forever?” I asked, my voice dripping with venom. “Do you think the truth won’t come out eventually?”
“Celeste!” Victoria’s voice cut through the tension suddenly.
She darted toward us, her expression filled with alarm. Her motherly instincts seemed to
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Chapter 159: A Wolf’s Retaliation
propel her forward, even as her green eyes flicked nervously between Scarlett and me.
“What is going on here?” she demanded, her voice shaking. “Why is Scarlett crying?!”
Scarlett seized the opportunity instantly, whimpering like a wounded pup. She collapsed against Victoria, her body trembling as fresh tears poured down her cheeks.
“Mother, please!” Scarlett sobbed, clutching at Victoria’s arm. “Please, make her stop. I didn’t
do anything wrong!”
I watched, unblinking, as Victoria’s expression shifted into a mixture of confusion and
concern. Her wolf whimpered audibly at her daughter’s display of distress.
“Celeste, what’s the meaning of this?” Victoria asked, her voice tight.
I laughed again, harsh and bitter. “The meaning?” I repeated sarcastically. “Ask Scarlett. I’m
sure she has a wonderful story prepared.”
Scarlett sniffled loudly, burying her face in Victoria’s shoulder.
“She’s always hated me,” Scarlett wailed pitifully. “Ever since I came back to the Winter Pack,
she’s resented me! She wants to see me suffer.”
I rolled my eyes, thoroughly unimpressed by her performance.
“Is that so?” I muttered coldly. “Tell me, Scarlett, is that why you grabbed my arm and nearly
dragged us both into the pool? Out of some deep desire to win my affection?”
Scarlett’s sobs faltered, and her wolf let out a small, pathetic whine.
The faces of the gathered crowd were a sea of conflicting emotions–curiosity, disbelief, judgment. I could feel their eyes on me, on Scarlett, on the scene unfolding before them.
It didn’t matter anymore.
I took a step closer to Scarlett, looming over her trembling form. Her emerald eyes darted up
to meet mine, filled with genuine panic for the first time.
“Scarlett,” I said softly, “if you wanted to fall into the pool so badly…”
Her eyes widened as she realized what I meant.
“…Allow me to assist,” I finished, my voice icy and resolute.
Before she could react, I grabbed the front of her designer blouse, the fragile fabric tearing slightly beneath my grasp.
“Celeste, no!” Victoria gasped, her voice desperate.
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Chapter 159: A Wolf’s Retaliation
But it was too late.
With one swift motion, I hurled Scarlett backward. Her shriek pierced the night air as her body plunged into the Sacred Moon Pool with an ear–splitting splash.
The gathered pack wolves stood frozen in shock. No one had ever dared manhandle the pack’s precious daughter like this.
