Chapter 81: Dangerous Proximity
Chapter 81: Dangerous Proximity
(Celeste’s POV)
My legs buckled as reality blurred around me. The sharp scent of pine–frost invaded my senses, but not before I felt Alexander’s hands steadying me. His firm grip pressed against my waist, grounding me before I could completely collapse.
I hissed involuntarily at the contact. The silver burns seared fresh agony against my skin, but the embarrassment of needing his help momentarily overshadowed the pain.
“Let go,” I muttered through clenched teeth, trying to summon strength where none existed. My tone dripped defiance, even as my knees trembled against the desire to give in to
exhaustion.
Before Alexander could reply, the air shifted. That sickly–sweet honeysuckle scent hit me like a
punch, sticky and cloying.
Scarlett.
My wolf instantly recoiled.
C
Turning my head, I spotted her standing just a short distance from Eleanor’s chambers, shrouded in shadows. Her emerald eyes gleamed with calculated shock, wide and round, as if she’d stumbled upon something unspeakable. Her delicate features contorted into a mask of disbelief. It was a practiced look–one she undoubtedly spent hours perfecting before her
vanity mirror.
And then, the inevitable sound. Scarlett gasped loudly, enough to echo through the hallway. It was loud because it needed to be heard.
Her loyal beta, Grace, moved swiftly to her side, brushing off the deliberate wetness of Scarlett’s gown shoulders. Grace’s sharp gaze darted between Alexander and me, an implicating glare sharp enough to cut through stone.
“What a sight,” Grace said quietly, though her words were pointed like daggers. “Lady Celeste, in the arms of Scarlett’s intended. How unfortunate.”
There it was–the seed of scandal.
I stiffened, wrenching myself out of Alexander’s steadying grip with renewed determination. The pain of movement shot through me like electric fire, but I couldn’t risk looking vulnerable,
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Chapter 81: Dangerous Proximity
not with Scarlett watching so intently.
“I don’t need your help,” I hissed at Alexander, forcing space between us as I stumbled to stand
upright on my own.
Still, I felt his eyes linger. His wolf’s energy clung to my skin like a shadow, wrapping around me even though my body had fully retreated.
Scarlett never moved closer, but her lips parted softly in horror–another calculated
performance. Her wolf radiated false unease as Grace artfully stepped into the role of
enforcer.
“Lady Scarlett,” Grace said smoothly, as though addressing the entire pack. “Should someone
inform Luna Victoria about this… encounter?”
Her emphasis on the last word was sharp, her tone dripping with an accusation she didn’t
need to spell out with her words. It didn’t need to be said–Victoria would never forgive this
perceived betrayal.
My heart felt heavy, even as adrenaline surged.
Scarlett finally reacted, lifting a pale, trembling hand to silence Grace. Her emerald eyes
shimmered with what could have been mistaken for restrained sorrow, as though the thought
of ratting me out was just too painful for her pure heart to bear.
“That won’t be necessary,” Scarlett murmured, tilting her head gently to the side like a saint
descending from the heavens. “There’s no need to involve Mother over a… misunderstanding,
is there?”
Her voice was deliberate. Measured. It simmered just enough sweetness to sway anyone
listening, leaving room for doubt but also enough to keep her in control.
I clenched my fists at my sides, nails digging into my palms, fighting the urge to snarl.
“No misunderstanding here,” I shot back breathlessly, my chest heaving from the dual pain of
the silver burns and the venom pooling in my heart.. “You can stop pretending otherwise.”
Scarlett’s eyes–so innocent–looking in the dim light–flickered with something darker. But she
didn’t miss a beat.
“Grace,” she finally said, her voice dropping an octave, “I think it would be better if we leave
this matter to rest.”
Grace hesitated for only a second, swallowing hard as she gauged Scarlett’s unreadable
expression. Moments later, the beta offered a shallow nod, stepping aside to allow Scarlett
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the lead.
Scarlett began retreating toward the pack’s sacred prayer hall, her shoulders trembling as if
burdened by immense sorrow. Of course, I didn’t miss the now–familiar subtle tilt of her head
as she whispered something under her breath.
“Gather evidence,” she murmured to Grace, just barely loud enough for my enhanced hearing
to catch. “I want every detail of her manipulation.”
Even before her shadow vanished fully into the hallway, I felt exhaustion weigh heavier on my
shoulders.
Alexander’s presence shifted beside me, pulling my focus away before I could savor the small
window of relief from Scarlett’s departure.
I turned just in time to catch the way his eyes bore into me. Still, silent, but piercing as ever.
I wasn’t prepared for it–the smallest glint of emotion flickering in his ice–blue gaze as if some
internal restraint had been momentarily absent. But before I could name it, it vanished.
Frustrated, my instincts overrode decorum. I shoved both hands against his chest with renewed resolve, stumbling with every step to create at least a few feet of distance between
- us.
“Don’t touch me,” I managed through clenched teeth, fighting the way heat burned against the
fresh reminder of every scar he’d never mended.
To his credit, Alexander let me retreat without intervening. But his wolf’s aura pulsed in the same pattern as before–electric and tense, a silent challenge that spoke more than words could ever say.
He remained where he was but didn’t soften. That same lethal energy radiated around him, quiet yet unmistakable.
“That little display won’t help you,” he finally said, his voice scraping the silence. He took one deliberate step forward, slow but intentional.
A step closer.
Nina, who’d been quietly awaiting the storm, sprang into action the moment Alexander moved toward me. Her silver–gray wolf radiated raw protective energy despite her smaller frame.
“That’s enough,” Nina said firmly, stepping between us like a shield. Her voice didn’t waver, though her wolf’s faint whimpers betrayed just how outmatched she was by Alexander’s power. “She’s recovering. This is already too much.”
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Chapter 81: Dangerous Proximity
For the first time since Scarlett’s departure, Alexander’s attention drifted from me. But it didn’t
make the situation feel any lighter.
His ice–blue eyes swept over Nina with the same subtle judgment I’d seen him use on
enemies, dismissive yet unnervingly calculating.
“Interfering with me, are you?” Alexander growled, his deep voice softened to something dangerous. It wasn’t volume that made it powerful–it was the calm weight it carried.
The force of his energy bore down on Nina like a tidal wave. Her wolf staggered beneath the sheer pressure, her knees bending subtly as every instinct screamed submission.
Yet I watched as Nina somehow held her ground.
“She’s poisoned,” Nina said, louder now. She lifted her chin slightly, defiance briefly overtaking
fear. “Silver lingers in her veins. Aggression now…”
Her voice faltered momentarily as Alexander’s white wolf surged, cutting her off sharply with
its suffocating dominance.
“You’re out of your place, Guard,” Alexander interrupted coldly. His words hit like a blow,
precise and dismissive.
The air thickened as his ice–blue eyes snapped back to me. I felt it then–the full weight of his
wolf’s attention.
The lethal focus that made the atmosphere impossibly heavy.
“Come here,” Alexander said. His tone had dropped, quieter but carrying all the force of an
Alpha’s command.
I froze.
His words weren’t aggressive. But the subtlety made them worse. That same calm lethality he
saved for moments of certainty–when reasoning and restraint were fast becoming irrelevant.
My wolf didn’t move. She couldn’t.
Alexander’s lips twitched upward, forming that dangerous curve–a smile more predatory than
comforting.
“Either you come willingly, Little Moon…”
He paused deliberately, allowing the meaning to settle, his stance shifting slightly forward.
“Or I will come to you.”
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Chapter 81: Dangerous Proximity
The air around us buzzed with tension, tighter and more suffocating than before.
