Chapter 64: Pack Bonds Shattered
Chapter 64: Pack Bonds Shattered
(Celeste’s POV)
My silver–scarred wolf whimpered faintly as the relentless burn of wolfsbane clawed at my raw wrists. My injured arm was now dulled to a throb, but the ache settled deeper–rage and
betrayal thickened the pain.
Nina stood close, her silver–gray wolf tense, her injured side shielded from sight as though
trying to still radiate strength.
Others might have seen her as a battered elite guard, but I knew better. Her protective stance
was deliberate, even now ready to spring to my defense.
The council room air felt like a crushing weight. Every wolf present seemed on edge, caught
between the intensity of the accusations and the suffocating dominance of the Winter Pack leadership crowding the chamber.
Familiar faces who once adored me now sat like lifeless shadows, their stares stripping away
any warmth, yet eager for the confrontation to unfold.
“The evidence couldn’t be clearer,” I said coldly, letting my voice slice through the suffocating
silence. “Five rare moon–blessed crystals are missing from Lucas’s private stash–the exact
p*****t those mercenary wolves bragged about receiving.”
Murmurs rippled across the chamber. Even the hesitant tones passing between wolves couldn’t offset Lucas’s boiling hostility.
Lucas’s golden eyes burned with anger. For the first time in the evening, his wolf flared to the
surface–not through shame or regret, but sharp–edged denial. His voice cut through the
tension with a snarl.
“You don’t understand!” he snapped, his nostrils flaring. “I did it to protect you! From him!”
The heat in the room intensified as he glared at Marcus’s absent figure, the name hovering
unspoken but powerfully present.
I met his gaze without flinching. “Stop lying. Protection was never your motive, Lucas.” My voice dropped low, dangerous. “Tell me, does betrayal taste sweet when it’s your sister you’re destroying? Or did jealousy make it easier?”
Lucas growled, his wolf recoiling. “Jealousy? You think this was about jealousy?”
1/5
*8 Point:
Chapter 64: Pack Bonds Shatter…
“Yes,” I said sharply, cutting off whatever further justifications he planned to weakly toss forth. “You couldn’t stand it, could you? That the sister you despised–the one you let rot in Moon Shadow Prison–might rise above you?”
I leaned closer, my tone biting with venom. “You were worried I’d outmatch
eclipse you by forging my own path, even after what this pack did to me.”
you.
That I’d
The truth rippled through the crowd, unspoken…but apparent. Packs thrived on hierarchy, and
Lucas’s pride had been built precariously on his place within it.
Lucas hissed under his breath, guilt flashing briefly before it was once again masked by anger. His wolf bristled, but he said nothing further.
The deafening silence grew sharper until Alpha James strode forward, his dominant presence
seizing control of the suffocating tension.
“That’s enough, Celeste.” His tone was laced with unshakable authority. “You will not continue
spewing baseless accusations against your brother and my heir.”
The weight of his words pressed against the room–or tried to. My silver–scarred wolf rose defiantly within me.
I turned my gaze toward him, dismissing his claim of authority without hesitation. “Baseless?” My laugh brimmed with bitterness that echoed throughout the chamber. “How predictable of you, Alpha. Defending your heir, even amid evidence as clear as daylight.”
The mention of evidence shifted some of the tension; those present couldn’t ignore the clarity of my accusations.
Victoria, ever the dutiful Luna, moved beside her mate, desperation clear in her pleading emerald eyes.
“Celeste, wait, please. Surely there’s been a misunderstanding,” she begged, her voice trembling, but her words mechanical, rehearsed. Perhaps she was hopelessly trying to smooth over the hurricane tearing through the pack ‘council.
My wolf snarled inwardly. I turned to face her then, taking one deliberate step closer until she faltered.
“Misunderstanding?” I echoed mockingly. “Should I misunderstand how Lucas arranged to have me kidnapped? How he tampered with Marcus’s messages to ensure I would be isolated?”
Her pale face twitched, and for the first time, her usually calm wolf’s aura faltered.
9/5
+8 Point:
Chapter 64: Pack Bonds Shatter…
“Or maybe,” I said, now directing my icy words at James, “I misunderstood when your ‘heir‘ nearly killed me with a silver staff at the Sacred Moon Temple?”
Gasps erupted, spreading like wildfire. A few wolves trembled, unable to mask their shock.
The faint burn of the fresh silver marks along my back throbbed against my consciousness. The pain didn’t overwhelm me this time–it fueled my resolve.
“You’ve spent years sacrificing me.” My voice cut sharply through the growing tension. “And
for what? To protect the heir you’ve molded in blood and privilege? Four years in Moon
Shadow Prison wasn’t enough punishment for your precious daughter, was it? You needed to
ensure I couldn’t rise above my station through this royal mating.”
No one spoke. Even the council wolves sat like stone statues, eyes darting nervously between
- us.
For the first time in months, the Winters Pack command–the supposed leaders sanctioned by ancient bloodlines and power–were utterly still.
Lucas’s voice broke into the void, his tone trembling beneath his manufactured composure.
“Sister, please…” He stepped forward as if to close the gap between us. “You’ve misunderstood
everything…”
“Mistaken?” I spat coldly, interrupting him yet again. My fury boiled too high to let him
maneuver or spin sympathy.
The memory of those mercenary wolves–smug, carefree, their arrogance fueled by confidence
in p*****t–stilled me:
“They described you, Lucas.” My voice, soft and deadly, held the room in heightened suspense.
“Their story? About the future Alpha’s eyes gleaming with satisfaction while orchestrating the entire thing? Conveniently forgetting how wolfsbane burns deeper than any knife, I suppose.”
Lucus froze. His golden wolf wavered under the weight of my words, guilt flashing ever so
briefly before it was overwhelmed by renewed defiance.
Nina took one step forward, her sharp eyes trained on Lucas. “It’s true,” she declared firmly. “We both heard their laughter…the boasting. They were practically proud.”
Now, murmurs grew louder among the council. Doubt clawed at Lucas like barbed chains, and it was showing–his posture stiffened defensively.
Victoria trembled as her wolf keened softly. “No… no…” she whispered more to herself than
anyone else.
3/5
+8 Points
Chapter 64: Pack Bonds Shatter…
Alpha James’s dominance exploded–filling the air with weight and silencing the growing whispers.
“Enough of these accusations!” he boomed, stepping forward.
But I stood ground, my silver–scarred wolf unyielding beneath the Alpha’s gaze. “No,” I
snapped. “You will not silence me.”
Rage flickered across his expression before control swept forward. Though Alpha dominance
flared in the open, I no longer felt the cowardice that once consumed me beneath such a
presence.
“You know this will reach the Alpha King,” I said coldly, my words deliberate. “You already understand the consequences of your heir interfering with Marcus Blackwood’s claimed
mate.”
The council recoiled slightly, many wolves stunned by the seriousness of my words. It wasn’t just Winters Pack politics at play anymore–the royal bloodlines extended far beyond anything Wolf Council chambers could suffocate.
Victoria whimpered as her wolf visibly trembled. “Please don’t…”
My laugh felt humorless, dark, sharp. “Why not?” I asked, my voice hollow despite the intensity clinging to every word. “You’re desperate to protect him. The son you elevated as sacrificial gold and left me to rot like a failed experiment.”
The sting in their faces was visible now, guilt merging with dread. The fractured house they had tried so desperately to keep intact was breaking apart brick by brick under the weight of exposed truths.
Then, I directed my gaze entirely on Lucas–sharper, calculated.
“You,” I finished, voice venomous, “have betrayed me in every sense of the word. I don’t care about protecting the reputation of a place that eagerly offered me to be sacrificed. I’ll gladly ruin what little remains of my standing if it means justice.”
This time, Lucas’s carefully constructed facade shattered. His wolf surged forward again–but not with dominance. Not with confidence.
It trembled against the weight of truth.
