Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Run

Chapter 42: Run

(Celeste's POV)

The pain from the silver burns was all-consuming. Each breath I took felt shallow, sharp, and heavy, the throbbing in my arms and back moving in rhythm with my heartbeat.

The cold night air should have been a relief, but it wasn't. Not with Alexander standing before

me,

his aura suffocating and undeniable. His presence pressed down on me like a weight that

wouldn't go away. His ice-blue eyes glowed brighter than the moon above, and his frustration

practically burned through his usually calm exterior.

"What are you doing, Celeste?" His voice was low, shaking with anger barely kept under control. "What are you thinking?"

His words hit me like a slap, but I held my ground, meeting his eyes even though it hurt to do

1. so. "What am I thinking?" I repeated, my voice sharp. "What do you mean, Alexander? I'm

doing what I have to do. What choice do I have?"

"You know exactly what I mean!" he snapped, his words cutting through the still night. He

clenched his fists at his sides, as if trying to stop himself from stepping closer. "You're

agreeing to Marcus like you're accepting a death sentence. Are you even thinking about what

you're walking into? Or who you're dealing with?"

"Don't." I spat the word, bitter and cold. My wolf, still too weak to respond, whimpered softly

within me. I didn't let it show. "Don't lecture me about what I'm walking into." I straightened

despite the agony gripping my frame. "Are you trying to say this is my fault? Maybe Regina

planned all of this too. Maybe she even made Lucas attack me, right? Isn't that what you're

trying to say?"

"Stop twisting my words, Celeste," he growled, his white wolf bristling right beneath his skin.

You know damn well that's not what I mean."

His dominance flared, pushing against me, but I didn't flinch. I couldn't. I refused to give him

the satisfaction of seeing me back down. I stared at him, daring him to continue.

"I mean what they're doing to you!" His voice rose in anger, his usually calm tone fracturing

under the weight of his emotions. "Regina, Marcus, even Lucas-they're all playing you!

They're using you, Celeste-pressuring you to bind yourself to that monster. And instead of fighting back, you're letting them."

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Chapter 42: Run

"Letting them?" I shot back, my voice climbing to match his. "Do you really think this is what I

want? That I have any choice in this, Alexander? What would you have me do? Fight them. alone? Run? Or... or maybe... what?”

His silence infuriated me, so I pushed further, the bitterness cutting through my words. " Maybe you'd suggest claiming me as your mate!" I laughed hollowly, the sound harsh and sharp in the quiet moonlight. "Tell me, Alexander, should we go back in time to when that was

still an option?"

He froze, his ice-blue eyes flashing with silver as his wolf surged further. His shoulders stiffened, and his breath grew heavier, but he said nothing.

"Exactly," I continued, my words dripping with sarcasm. "You can't even answer that, can you?

Because it's not an option anymore, is it? You made sure of that. You did."

His wolf stilled entirely. The air shifted. Heavy. Charged. And when he finally spoke, his words

sent a chill rushing through me.

"I would."

The simplicity of his answer stunned me.

"What?" I breathed, my voice trembling despite myself.

"I would," he repeated. His voice was quieter but no less intense. "If it meant keeping you away

from him, I would."

The weight of his words hung between us. Something inside me cracked, but I didn't let it

show. I folded my arms across my chest, not trusting my trembling hands to stay

still

otherwise.

"Don't..." I began, but the words caught in my throat. My heart raced, each beat uncontrollable,

uneven. My wolf stirred weakly, her walls faltering despite her injuries.

It was too much. His nearness, his tone, his wolf. Everything about standing here with him felt

wrong, and yet, something deep and unspoken clawed at me. I had to end it.

Shaking my head, I pressed my back against the cold, jagged moonstone behind me. The sharp edges dug into my raw skin, a burning reminder of the pain Lucas caused. It kept me

steady. It grounded me.

"What's the point of saying that now?" My voice broke, but I wasn't sure if he noticed. "And

what good does it do? You have Scarlett now. Go back to her."

His jaw tightened, his entire body taut with barely controlled frustration. I could

feel it

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Chapter 42: Run

radiating off him, his wolf restless beneath the surface. "That's not what I-"

"Don't," I cut him off before he could say more, my voice growing sharper. "Don't stand here

and lecture me like you have some right. You watched me fall, Alexander. You've always stood

and watched while I broke, while they broke me."

His fists tightened, the veins in his arms visible even beneath the moonlight. His ice-blue gaze

burned hotter, fierce and unrelenting.

"I tried," he said finally, his voice rough, filled with something dangerous I couldn't place. "I

tried to protect you in the only ways I could-"

"Lies,” I snapped, my voice trembling with raw emotion. "If you'd tried, it wouldn't

have been me dragged into that prison because of lies. If you cared so much, Alexander, why didn't you

speak up then? Why didn't you-"

"Because I couldn't." His voice erupted, louder and harder this time.

The rawness in his tone startled me into silence.

"You think it was easy?" His frustration boiled over. "You think watching you suffer

didn't kill

me? Do you think for one second that I didn't want to fight for you? Tell me!"

I said nothing, my breath caught, frozen between fury and disbelief.

"You don't know what I've carried, Celeste." He took a step closer. I pressed harder against the

stone behind me, futilely trying to create more distance. "You don't know how much I wanted

to rip every one of them apart for what they did to you."

"Stop," I rasped, unable to meet his gaze for much longer without unraveling completely.

"No," he said firmly, his ice-blue eyes locking on mine. "Not until you hear this."

I tried to speak, to will my lips to move, but I couldn't. My throat tightened, sealing the words

inside.

His white wolf flared as he stepped closer, the space between us almost nonexistent now. I

could feel its raw energy pressing against me, daring me to run or push back. But

my legs

wouldn't move.

"Run." The word fell from his lips, spoken quietly, but it was charged with everything he wasn't

saying.

My brow furrowed, confusion-and fear-gripping me. "What?" I barely whispered.

"Run," he repeated, this time with more urgency. His icy gaze softened ever so slightly but still

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Chapter 42: Run

burned with intensity. "If this is your only option, then run. Run and let me find a way to help

you."

I blinked at him, stunned, speechless. His words echoed in my ears, but the meaning behind

them didn't make sense. After everything, after years of coldness and silence,

after watching

me endure everything I had...

"You're insane," I said finally, my voice trembling.

"Then let me be insane," he said bluntly, his desperation bleeding through despite

how much

he tried to rein it in.

"You... you can't just say this now!" I gasped, panic creeping into my voice as my

wolf stirred

weakly within me. "It's too late! My fate is already sealed, and you know it. The mating ceremony is inevitable. Yours. Mine. Marcus."

I choked on his name, my weak resolve faltering.

Alexander stepped back just barely, still close enough that his white wolf's aura wrapped

around me. “Maybe I don't want it to be," he said finally, each word cutting deeper than the

last.

My chest tightened, the air between us thick and suffocating once more. His wolf flared again,

brimming with emotions I couldn't-or wouldn't-name.

And in the silence that followed, with his ice-blue eyes burning into mine, I could

feel

everything I had fought to bury clawing its way back to the surface.