Chapter 73: Rain and Bitter Memories
Chapter 73: Rain and Bitter Memories
(Celeste’s POV)
I sat in my quarters, staring at the small cloth pouch Nina had just placed in my hands. My fingers trembled slightly as I unraveled the fabric, revealing the smooth moon–blessed healing
stone inside.
The moment my skin touched its surface, memories came rushing back–unrelenting, vivid,
like a dam breaking.
My mind took me back, years ago. I was only eight, sprawled on the training grounds after a particularly harsh session with Lucas and Alexander.
The sharp ache of failing to complete a protective formation echoed faintly in my muscles. I’d been too slow. I’d tripped and slammed into the hard ground matting beneath me.
“Little Moon!” Victoria’s voice from the past rang in my ears, panicked, tinged with worry.
I had tried to laugh it off, lying there like a stubborn pup who didn’t want to admit defeat. But I couldn’t hide the small whimper that escaped.
Victoria appeared before me, abandoning her elegantly stoic posture as Luna. She had
dropped down heavily beside me, cradling my injured wolf, ignoring her pristine ceremonial
robes being dirtied by the dust and training mats.
“Don’t move.” Her hands on me had been warm, steady. “Your wolf is severely injured!”
I remembered how her maternal scent had surrounded me instantly, calming both my body
and spirit. For a young wolf so eager to prove herself, her touch at the time had been nothing
short of divine comfort.
She had taken this very moon–blessed stone from the small pouch she always carried. Back
then, I’d thought it was magical–imbued with her love and strength.
“I’ll make it better, Little Moon,” she had promised, her words soothing as she gently brushed hair from my damp forehead. “Luna knows all the ancient rituals for healing. You’ll feel like brand new by sunrise: I promise.”
The memory hit like a tidal wave. I could still feel how her hands worked tirelessly through the night, the faint glow of the moonstone in her palm radiating energy directly into my battered wolf. She had sung softly, ancient lullabies only Lunas knew, her melodic hums chasing away
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Chapter 73: Rain and Bitter Mem…
the piercing pain of my injuries.
I blinked, snapping back to the present as reality’s cruel contrast sank its fangs deeper.
The same woman who’d promised to protect me had aimed a dagger at my face.
A sigh escaped my lips before I could stop it. The stone sat heavy in my hands now, weighted down not by its moon–blessed properties but by the memory of betrayal.
“My Lady,” Nina’s voice cut softly through the veiled tension of the room.
I glanced up to find her watching me with concern. She’d been distant, perhaps unsure of how to approach the storm rolling within me.
“Your hands,” she said quietly, gesturing toward them. “They’re shaking.”
I looked down. My fingers had curled into a death grip around the small stone, as though anchoring myself with it might stop the chaos swirling through my mind.
“She gave me this once,” I said after a long pause, my voice quiet but steady. “It was the night
I fell during training.”
Nina stepped closer, her silver–gray eyes scanning my expression for more clues.
“She stayed up the entire night,” I continued. “Performed healing rituals without rest. Told me this stone would keep me safe…”
My words trailed off, bitterness creeping in as I glanced at the angry red gash across my cheek. The fresh burns from sacred silver pulsed, a cruel reminder of the very hand that once swore to protect me now inflicting pain.
Nina’s wolf released a faint whine. She wanted to speak, but the weight of the moment held
her back.
Before either of us could say more, Nina’s ears perked up sharply. Her body tensed, frame alert. Her nostrils flared faintly as if picking up a new, unwelcome scent.
I followed her gaze toward the window, my own wolf stirring reluctantly within me. “What is
it?”
“Luna Victoria is outside,” Nina said finally, her tone guarded.
Though my heart jolted slightly at her words, I kept my expression cold and unaffected.”
Outside?”
“She’s in the courtyard,” Nina clarified after a moment. Her words were slow, heavy with
disbelief. “And… she’s refusing to leave until she sees you.”
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Something tightened within my chest–a combination of anger and something I couldn’t, or
wouldn’t, name.
I pushed myself upright, ignoring the fiery ache spreading fresh pain through my poisoned
veins. “Why is she here?”
Nina hesitated before answering, clearly grappling with how to deliver her observations. “She’s alone, My Lady. No guards. No attendants. Just her.”
The fabric in my hands crumpled slightly under my tightened grip. My mind reeled, struggling
to grasp what game Victoria was now playing. “She’s standing outside in the middle of the
night… for me?”
Nina nodded grimly. “Her wolf’s aura feels…” She hesitated, brow furrowing. “It feels genuine.”
My wolf stirred uneasily at Nina’s words, sensing remnants of maternal energy through what
was left of our broken pack bond. The faintest hint of Victoria’s wolf tugged at me, pleading
silently.
“It clawed at me,” I admitted quietly, almost to myself, “like she’s still trying to use that bond.”
“My Lady…” Nina’s voice softened, cautious. “She’s pacing in the rain. She hasn’t stopped. She
looks…” Her gaze flickered to my face. “Devastated.”
I pulled away from the window before the weight of her words could settle.
Silence fell between us, elemental and sharp.
After several moments of hesitation, Nina broke it again. “Should I… offer her shelter? She might fall ill.”
“No,” I snapped sharply, regretting the bite in my tone only a second later. “She made her
choice when she chose silver.”
But how could I convince myself to ignore what I saw through the window?
Victoria’s shoulders shook faintly in the rain. Her usually polished appearance–pristine dresses, elegant hairstyle–had been reduced to ruin. Emerald silk clung heavily to her
trembling frame, soaked and dirtied from hours in the elements.
Every inch of her screamed a broken woman.
“Has she said anything?” I forced myself to ask.
Nina’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Only apologies, My Lady. She keeps muttering that she was wrong. That she didn’t mean to harm you the way she did.”
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I laughed bitterly at that, though the sound carried no humor. “She didn’t mean to harm me?” My fingers traced the edges of the burn across my face. The scar still felt foreign, raw. “That sacred silver would’ve killed me without immediate treatment.”
Nina opened her mouth to respond, but I didn’t give her the chance.
“Tell her,” I said coldly, “that I’m still unconscious. The healer says the sacred silver poison is keeping me down.”
“My Lady…” Nina’s voice held the barest note of protest.
“She made her choice,” I cut her off, my tone hard enough to leave no room for argument. Then, softer but laced with venom, “And tell her this-” My eyes burned down the window scene below as rain masked her sorrow. “The Victoria who promised to protect me died the moment she raised silver against her pup.”
Nina paled slightly at the harshness in my words but nodded obediently. Without another word, she left the room.
Though my face remained still, my wolf whimpered softly, betraying the chaos within. Even
now, some primal part of me yearned for my mother’s embrace.
But I couldn’t let myself falter.
When Nina’s voice reached my ears from below, I tuned back in reluctantly.
“Luna,” Nina began softly, “please–return inside. The rain will make you ill.”
“No,” Victoria’s broken reply came almost immediately, her voice trembling. “I deserve this. I was wrong. So terribly wrong.”
Her words clawed at my composure.
“Just… just tell her,” Victoria’s voice cracked with each word. “Tell her I’ll wait here. As long as it takes. Even if she never forgives me.”
I thought my heart had turned to stone after Moon Shadow Prison… but it ached now.
I watched Nina stand helplessly between us, still trying to shield Victoria with the umbrella while my former mother maintained her rain–soaked vigil.
