Chapter 2: My former Fiancé
1454 Words
Chapter 2: My former Fiancé
(Celeste's POV)
The sleek, black SUV cuts through the snow and comes to a smooth stop beside me, curling up and hitting me in the face.
The icy blue eyes that had haunted me and kept popping up in my dreams for four years stared back at me. Four years had not dulled its sharpness. If anything, time had intensified the quiet majesty and magnetism of his gaze.
"Little Moon?" His low voice echoed in the howling wind." What are you doing here?"
Little Moon. The nickname struck me like a blow to the chest, pulling up memories I thought I had buried. Memories of warm laughter, stolen touches under the starlit sky, and whispered promises of forever.
"Alex..." My wolf Cece whimpered.
I forced my expression into neutrality, lowering my head instinctively though every fiber of my being screamed against it. "Beta Alexander," I said firmly, my voice void of the affection I once held for him. Respectful, but distant.
Alexander-my former fiancé and lover-is one of the bravest warriors in the Royal Wolf Pack and one of the Alpha King's most valued betas. The Alpha King even promised to give him his own territory in the future, making him the Alpha of the new pack. Such a perfect man, the man I fell in love with at the beginning of my love affair, is now like a dream to me.
His brow furrowed, the sharp line of his jaw tightening. His eyes dropped to my legs, noting my hesitant stance, the slight limp I couldn't fully suppress. Something unreadable flashed in his gaze before it hardened.
"Get in," he ordered, his tone leaving no room for argument.
The small part of me that still believed in freedom rebelled against the command. But the infinitely larger part, weary and resigned, simply nodded. I limped to the passenger side and hesitated before opening the door.
Alexander's sharp gaze followed my every move. I could feel it, like physical weight pressing down on my already overburdened body. As soon as I climbed into the car, his familiar scent filled the air. The smell of pine and winter frost. It used to intoxicate me, but now the smell chokes on my chest, leaving nothing but infinite heartache.
The warmth of the vehicle was a harsh contrast to the bitter cold outside. My numbed fingers twitched slightly, the heat stinging as feeling returned.
He said nothing as he started driving.
I tried to move my body slightly to relieve the pressure on my injured leg, but failed. I could only try to move my injured leg with my hand, but I inadvertently touched the wound left by the silver whip, and I couldn't help but twitch and warble slightly. Alexander noticed, of course he did. His jaw clenched again and his hands gripped the steering wheel.
There was still silence between us, he didn't speak, I didn't know what to say. My former fiancé, I loved him for so many years but in the end... The past between us, which I regarded as a treasure but he discarded as if it were his.
My eyes wandered, unintentionally drawn to the back seat ...... Then I suddenly realized. A familiar box, made of precious wood, wrapped in delicate red ribbon, resting on the leather upholstery. It's mooncakes - Scarlett's favorite.
My stomach twisted into a hard knot.
"You should have waited for someone to escort you." His voice broke the silence abruptly, low yet commanding. "It's reckless to walk in your condition."
The words grated against my nerves. For four years, I hadn't had the comfort of anyone looking out for me. To hear him spout such sentiments now was equal parts ironic and infuriating.
"I don't need. I managed on my own for four years," I replied flatly, keeping my gaze fixed on the passing snow outside.
His knuckles tightened, the faint hum of his wolf's presence brushing against my frayed senses. "That doesn't mean you should keep doing so. The Winter pack—"
I snapped my head toward him. "The Winter pack?" My voice was sharp, dripping with disbelief. "I think we both know where I stand with the pack."
The quick glance Alexander shot me was unreadable. His lips tightened, but he said nothing further.
Cece whimpered faintly in the back of my mind. Despite everything, despite the pain, she still felt my overwhelming emotions for Alexander. However, the weak her is now unable to even recognize if his wolf is her fated mate.
I pressed a hand against my chest, trying to still my racing heart, the ache of old wounds threatening to split open anew.
When we finally reached the pack grounds, Alexander pulled the SUV to a stop in front of the main house, its grandeur glaringly ostentatious against the winter landscape.
I struggled to move my body to get out of the car and before I could, the door opened. My one-time mother, Luna Victoria, walked toward me, her dark hair framing her perfect face. Her eyes lit up with relief.
"Celeste," she breathed, extending her arms as if to embrace me.
In an instant, instinct and memory warred in my mind. My muscles tensed, years of love for this woman intertwined with the pain of being abandoned by her. If it were the old me, I would have cried and thrown myself into her arms and hugged her at this point.
But now I just dropped my eyes and bowed low right before she touched me, and I ignored Cece's whimper of pain.
"Luna," I said stiffly, the title like ash on my tongue. Not "Mother." Never again.
Her smile wavered. The warmth in her golden-green eyes flickered into uncertainty.
"What are you doing? You don't need to bow to me," she insisted, her voice soft but firm. "You'll always be—"
Her words cut off sharply when I reflexively jerked back as her hand reached toward mine.
"Celeste!" Lucas's furious voice carried from nearby, and my head turned to catch his broad figure stalking toward me. His aura of dominance slammed into my already fragile defenses, forcing my body to remain lowered in submission.
"Don't you dare disrespect the Luna!" he snapped, his emerald eyes flaring with anger.
I didn't speak. Didn't look up. The memories of four years' worth of his punishments were enough to silence any protest.
"Lucas, stop!" Victoria stepped between us, her expression tight with worry. "She's been through enough—she's traumatized. Can't you see?"
Lucas's words were filled with anger and his power was still pressing down on me." Trauma is no excuse for rudeness, mother look at her, what is she doing to us now?" His blazing gaze fixed on me. It was all I could do to remain motionless, my body trembling slightly in his fury.
Victoria's hand kept patting Lucas' arm as she pulled him back, her eyes finally turning from me to Lucas." Lucas, please, stop."
Finally, he relented, though not without a disdainful snarl, and turned away. My body relaxed slightly—though not entirely—beneath their combined scrutiny.
"Follow me," Victoria said gently, gesturing toward the far end of the pack grounds. My injured leg protested every step, but I obeyed without question.
We passed the grand entrance to the main house, as familiar as it had been four years ago. I had passed through here countless times before, but for the first time I found its warmth and light so inviting, as if mocking my lack of appreciation back then. Yet we did not enter the main house. She led me on to the back, to my destination for the day, a smaller, older building behind the main house, isolated and cold in both appearance and atmosphere.
It wasn't hard to figure out what this meant.
This wasn't my home.
What they called going home was just another form of exile for me.
As I stepped closer to the shadowed house, I caught movement near one of the windows of the main estate. Scarlett.
She stood there, her long hair slightly curled, the eyes that sparkled like emeralds on her beautiful face looking at me silently. Her delicate hand rested on the windowpane, and a faint smile curled the corners of her mouth.
The perfect image of the pack's darling daughter.
Her gaze burned into mine, and I held it for just a fraction too long before lowering my head.
"It's her, it's her."Cece growled faintly.
"I'm all set for you," Victoria's voice was a little exaggerated, as if trying to express her empty relationship.
I followed her quietly into the small building, the door creaking behind me.
- Writer
