Chapter 44: Alpha’s Fury
Chapter 44: Alpha’s Fury
(Lucas’s POV)
Pain rippled through my body, the memory of Marcus’s silver chains still fresh against my
skin. Each lash shamed me, and each searing mark whispered betrayal.
But none of it compared to the look in Celeste’s eyes at the temple–the way she’d called me
dead to her. That single declaration cut deeper than any wound Marcus had inflicted.
A soft hand dabbed at the burns along my arm, and I flinched, snapping back to the present.
Scarlett knelt beside me, her emerald eyes filled with tears.
She worked diligently, the moon–blessed salve shining faintly in her trembling hands.
That salve was agony, burning against my already raw skin, but she didn’t shy away.
“Careful,” I muttered through gritted teeth, my body stiffening under the sharp sting.
“I’m trying, Lucas,” Scarlett said, her voice trembling with both determination and worry. “This
will help, I promise. Just hold still.”
The salve vial slipped slightly in her grasp, nearly tipping over. Her hands were shaking, but
she kept going. For a second, I wanted to tell her to stop and let me heal naturally. To avoid
herself getting hurt.
Before I could say anything, the door to my chamber flew open with a thunderous crash. The
force of the dominant aura that filled the room made Scarlett freeze, the vial slipping from her
fingers entirely. The spilling salve hissed as it touched her hands, burning her skin.
“Father,” Scarlett gasped in a panic, fumbling to pull her hands away, her wolf whimpering
softly.
Alpha James stood tall in the doorway, radiating anger that felt like an oppressive, suffocating
storm. His golden eyes burned with fury, his wolf surging forward with such force that even I
found my breaths growing shallow.
“What,” he growled, his voice like a c***k of thunder, “were you thinking, Lucas?”
Luna Victoria rushed into the room behind him, her hair disheveled, her expression filled with
both worry and exhaustion. She hurried to Scarlett’s side, grabbing her burned hands with a
wince.
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Chapter 44: Alpha’s Fury
“Scarlett! Let me see,” Luna said softly, her motherly instincts kicking in. She quickly reached
for a cloth to wipe at the burning salve.
Scarlett whimpered but shook her head. “I–I’m fine, Mother. Please, I’m fine!”
“You should leave,” Alpha James roared at Scarlett, though his voice didn’t lack care. “This is
not for your ears!”
“No!” Scarlett still stayed where she was, planting herself between me and our father like a
shield. Her wolf bristled, a mix of fear and protectiveness radiating from her. “I’m not leaving
him, Father! He’s injured! Can’t we handle this later?”
Her words, though brave, made my wolf growl in protest. This was my mess, not hers to fight.
I side–eyed Scarlett and silently tried to tell her to back down, but her emerald eyes met mine
with fierce determination.
Father stepped forward, his presence making the air even heavier. “Later?” His voice growled
with incredulous anger. “You think this can be handled later, Scarlett? Tell me, who do you
think will clean up this mess Lucas caused?”
Scarlett’s wolf keened softly in distress, and Luna Victoria put a hand on her shoulder. “Please,
Scarlett,” Victoria whispered, her voice urging calm. “Come with me. Let’s treat your burns
properly.”
Scarlett hesitated, looking torn, but finally nodded. As she stood and let herself be led away,
my wolf howled quietly inside me. The room, previously brightened by her defiance, felt hollow
once more.
When she was gone, Father turned his full fury on me. His golden eyes pierced through me, and I couldn’t hold his glare. My own wolf recoiled slightly, tail metaphorically lowering, though not entirely submitting.
“You attacked Celeste on sacred ground,” Father spat through gritted teeth, every word burning
like Marcus’s chains. He advanced closer to my bed, his aura slamming into me like a brick
wall.
I forced a steadying breath, though my chest ached in protest. “It wasn’t intentional.”
“Intentional or not, you disgraced this pack!” Father’s roar shook the walls. “The temple! Of all
places, Lucas? The Alpha King’s court will not overlook this. Do you even understand the
political damage you’ve caused?”
“I know,” I muttered, lowering my head to avoid triggering his heightened aggression. I felt
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Chapter 44: Alpha’s Fury
guilt’s weight twisting in my gut, not for the pack’s standing, but for the image of Celeste’s blood on sacred ground.
Father slammed his fist against the edge of the nearest table, his breath ragged and seething. “This is more than just a lapse in judgment. Do you think leadership allows room for this kind of recklessness? Do you think the Alpha King’s court will turn a blind eye just because you’re my son?”
I clenched my fists, my wolf growling softly beneath my skin. “I didn’t plan for any of this.”
“That’s the problem!” Father’s voice rose again, nearly shaking the air. “An Alpha doesn’t act impulsively! This isn’t just about you–this is about the pack! Every mistake you make affects
all of us!”
His words pierced deeply, yet my wolf didn’t back down entirely.
Luna Victoria appeared in the doorway again, her soft voice cutting into the heated moment. James, he’s already been punished. Marcus’s silver chains were…” She trailed off, her eyes flicking between us.
“And rightly so,” Father snapped without turning to her. “It’s about time Lucas faced the
consequences of his recklessness.”
”
Victoria’s shoulder slumped slightly, but Scarlett’s faint whimper from down the hall made her excuse herself quickly.
Father turned back to me, his golden gaze like molten fire. “You are walking a thin line, Lucas,” he snarled lowly. “One more public mistake, and your position as heir may not be salvageable. Not even by me.”
With that, he stormed out of the room, slamming the door with enough force to rattle the
windows.
The silence he left behind was deafening.
When I was finally alone, the tension in the room felt lighter, but the weight on my chest only grew heavier. The image of Celeste’s blood–streaked face and her cold declaration of my
figurative ‘death‘ remained vivid in my mind.
My wolf snarled, whimpering between resentment and something I refused to name.
I turned my attention to the ceremonial moon dagger resting on my nightstand. Its blade gleamed under the room’s faint light, and an idea sparked in my mind.
Gifts. Grand gestures. Celeste could hate me now, but what if I reminded her of how things
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Chapter 44: Alpha’s Fury
were? Moonflowers, rare healing stones, whatever she favored as a pup–surely those could breach her barricades.
I reached for the moonstone plaque on my bedside table, planning to carve a Winters Pack sigil into it as part of my peace offering.
The dagger gleamed dangerously under my hand, its edge lethally sharp. Ceremonial or not,
its
purpose was deadly if mishandled.
My focus consumed in the fantasy playing in my head–how Celeste’s violet eyes might soften at the sight of such a gift–I gripped the blade absentmindedly.
“Maybe…” I muttered to myself. “Just maybe, this can…”
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The slick sound of the blade cutting through skin cut my thoughts short. I inhaled sharply as pain shot through my finger. Blood welled instantly, dripping down to stain the moonstone glaring red.
The coppery scent pierced my senses instantly, flooding my nostrils with unwanted
memories.
Celeste. Her blood.
The ground of the Moon Temple flashed in my mind, her blood streaking sacred stone as she crumpled beneath me during the heated moment. The silver burns that scarred her frail arms,
the pain that mirrored the marks left by Moon Shadow Prison.
My wolf fell silent.
The moonstone before me, now streaked with crimson, seemed colder somehow.
And as I stared, my hands shaking, I knew something heavy lingered in the air between my intentions and reality.
