Chapter 37: Punishment
Chapter 37: Punishment
(Celeste’s POV)
The silver burns throbbed with every beat of my heart, fire racing across my nerves. My legs wavered, exhaustion pulling at me, and the only thing keeping me on my feet was sheer will.
My breath came shallow and quick, the metallic tang of blood heavy in my mouth.
There was a sudden presence beside me–a force so suffocating, so heavy, that my wolf whimpered and shrank.
Marcus.
His hand grabbed my arm, steadying me before I crumbled to the hard moonstone beneath us.
His touch sent a chill through me, but it didn’t carry the cruelty I expected. His grip wasn’t
rough, not the bruising strength he often used to remind me who was in control. This time, it
was firm but careful, almost like he was handling something fragile.
“Stand,” Marcus said, his voice low but commanding.
Every instinct told me to pull away, but I didn’t. I couldn’t afford to collapse, not now, not with
everyone watching. Especially not with Lucas still standing nearby.
I could barely meet Marcus’s eyes as he steadied me. But then, suddenly, his focus shifted.
“Future Alpha of the Winters Pack.” Marcus’s voice erupted across the courtyard like thunder,
freezing every wolf in place. “You dare assault my chosen mate on sacred grounds?”
His words cut through the air, cold and sharp. The crowd instantly silenced. Wolves who had
been whispering seconds ago now lowered their heads, eyes wide and nervous.
Lucas froze, his golden eyes narrowing before realization hit him. His wolf hesitated, the
weight of Marcus’s Alpha dominance pressing down like an immovable force. Slowly, Lucas
sank to his knees, his wolf submitting despite the pride radiating from him moments ago.
“Royal Highness,” Lucas began, his head low, voice tight. “I would never-”
Marcus’s laugh cut him off. It wasn’t warm or amused. It was cruel, sharp, and drenched in
disdain.
“Never?” he echoed, taking a step forward. “You’ve nearly killed her, Lucas. Beaten her with a
silver weapon–on sacred ground, no less.” He paused, his violet eyes narrowing further. “What
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Chapter 37: Punishment
exactly wouldn’t you dare to do?”
Lucas flinched, his wolf letting out a low, pitiful whimper. The dominance rolling off Marcus in
heavy, crashing waves left no room for argument.
Without waiting for Lucas to respond, Marcus flicked his wrist sharply toward his guards.
They immediately moved forward, their dark uniforms a striking contrast against the glowing
moonstone courtyard.
“Hold him down,” Marcus commanded, his voice filled with deadly calm. “Let him feel the kiss
of silver chains until he cannot stand.”
The guards moved with precision, their every movement calculated and efficient. Lucas barely
had time to react before they grabbed his arms, forcing him face–down onto the moonstone
floor with an audible thud. His golden eyes shot wide, his wolf howling in frustration and pain
as the guards held him in place.
“No!” Scarlett’s scream ripped through the tense silence.
She bolted forward without hesitation, her small frame throwing itself across Lucas’s, her
arms shielding him as if her body could protect him from what was coming. Tears streamed
down her delicate face, her emerald eyes wide with desperation.
Her wolf whined loudly, pitiful and fragile. “Please,” Scarlett sobbed, clutching at Lucas with
trembling hands. “Punish me! Punish me instead of my brother!”
The guards paused, uncertainty flickering in their eyes as they looked between Marcus and Scarlett. Even the crowd seemed stunned into silence, Scarlett’s cry reverberating through the
courtyard.
I watched it all from where I stood, Marcus’s hand still steadying me. My wolf whimpered softly, too weak and battered from the beating to do anything more than watch. An uneasy ache grew in my chest, mixing with bitter anger.
Scarlett, always the savior of her family. Always throwing herself into their battles, her tears perfectly placed to draw sympathy. And where was this bravery four years ago? My wolf curled tighter within me at the thought, remembering the cold silence that had sealed my fate
in Moon Shadow Prison.
Marcus’s gaze narrowed as he took a step toward Scarlett and Lucas. His violet eyes burned with intensity, scanning Scarlett, her wolf trembling against Lucas’s protective form.
“For the Alpha’s precious daughter to beg for punishment in her brother’s place,” Marcus sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. “How touching.” His lips curled into a cruel grin, one
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Chapter 37: Punishment
that made the guards stiffen nervously.
Scarlett’s tear–streaked face lifted toward him, her delicate features pleading. “Please, Royal
Highness,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “Please don’t hurt him.”
Marcus tilted his head, studying her with cold amusement before his gaze shifted back to me.
His eyes roamed over my torn, silver–burned arms and bloodied skin. His wolf seethed visibly beneath him, its anger bubbling just beneath the surface.
He looked back to Scarlett.
“Very well.” His voice was quiet, calm, but each syllable carried a vicious edge. Scarlett’s eyes
widened with hope as she clung to her brother.
“If the Alpha’s precious daughter insists…” Marcus’s smirk grew wider, more menacing. “Grant her wish. Proceed with the punishment!”
For a moment, no one dared to move. The guards hesitated, looking between Marcus, Lucas,
and Scarlett, unsure how to proceed. But Marcus’s command brooked no refusal.
The guards raised the silver chains, the moonlight reflecting off their gleaming, polished
lengths.
Scarlett’s wolf let out a pathetic whimper as her arms tightened protectively around Lucas.
Her emerald eyes flickered with terror as the chains hovered, frozen in the air above her.
“NO!”
“DON’T!”
“STOP!”
Three voices shouted at once, their desperate urgency breaking through the growing chaos.
Lucas roared, his golden eyes blazing as he surged upward with a strength born from raw adrenaline. The guards holding him staggered, their grips faltering as Lucas’s wolf pushed
against their restraining force.
He twisted, his arms wrapping protectively around Scarlett, shielding her smaller form beneath his own. His growl was low and menacing as he glared at the guards and Marcus,
every muscle in his body on high alert.
Alexander’s voice rang out next, clear and authoritative. “This has gone far enough,” he snapped, stepping forward. His ice–blue gaze burned with intensity as he glowered at the
scene before him.
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Chapter 37: Punishment
His white wolf stirred visibly, its power radiating off him as he moved closer. Slowly, but
deliberately.
Diana moved last, of all wolves. Her usually sharp features softened with panic as she clung
to Alexander’s sleeve, her ice–blue eyes filled with something.close to desperation.
“Wait!” Diana’s voice was louder than expected. “Don’t… don’t let them do this!”
She latched onto Alexander’s arm tightly, as though she feared her words alone wouldn’t be
enough to stop what was happening.
The silver chains remained raised in the hands of Marcus’s guards, their movements frozen as
they waited for their next orders. Scarlett whimpered beneath Lucas’s protective grasp, her
wolf trembling violently.
Marcus did not move. His expression didn’t waver. But his violet eyes burned as they swept
over the now–chaotic scene in the courtyard.
Even the crowd of wolves had fallen completely silent, their earlier murmurs silenced by the
weight of everything unfolding before them.
And yet, Marcus remained still. Too still.
His gaze flicked between Lucas, Scarlett, Alexander, and Diana. A moment longer, then back to
- me.
I could see it in his eyes–the calculation, the cold amusement lurking beneath the surface as
if he was savoring every second of the chaos he had created.
The silence dragged longer, the tension thickening with every second. No one dared to move. No one dared to speak again.
Not until Marcus decided what would happen next.
