09
Joining the Silver Crescent Pack was like breathing for the first time. Zephyr gave me the role of head healer with
my own clinic and staff. The pack welcomed me wholeheartedly, treating me with respect and kindness. It felt unreal after everything I’d been through.
Lilith became my constant companion, running to the clinic every day to spend time with me. She’d sit beside
me, call me “Mommy,” and bring flowers or gifts. I never corrected her–her love was the balm I didn’t know I needed.
I resigned from the library a week after another attack seemed inevitable. Staying out of sight felt safer, and Zephyr agreed. Life started to feel steady, almost happy. Until that afternoon.
It was quiet in the clinic when a mailman walked in, handing me an unmarked envelope. Lilith was nearby,
coloring as usual.
“Mommy, who’s it from?” she asked, her bright eyes glancing up.
I opened it, my blood turning cold as I read the words:
“Lyra,
You can’t run from me. If you don’t return, I’ll burn that pack to the ground. Zephyr, his daughter, and everyone you hide with will suffer. You belong to me. Come back, or their blood will be on your hands.
-Xavier‘
My hands trembled, the letter crumpling in my grip.
“Mommy? What’s wrong?” Lilith’s voice pulled me back.
I forced a smile. “Nothing, sweetheart. Can you show Zephyr your drawing? I’ll be right there.”
She nodded hesitantly and ran off. The second she was out of sight, I sank to my knees, rage and fear boiling in my chest
Xavier wasn’t bluffing I knew what he was capable of. If I didn’t act fast, the people who gave me a home could
pay the price
I stood, gripping the letter tightly.
-Celeste’s POV-
1 paced the room, my fingers clutching my flat stomach My plan was flawless–except for one damn detail. This
Banshoot and Betrayed but the Waked Again And Papastad Him
child wasn’t Xavier’s. Hell, I didn’t even know who the father was. It could’ve been any of the four men I let take me that night at the bar. But that didn’t matter. What mattered was that Xavier believed it was his. And he did Stupid,
gullible man
I smirked to myself, remembering the look of pride on his face when I told him I was pregnant. “An heir,” he’d said, as if that was all I was good for. Whatever. As long as I had his name and his protection, I’d let him think
whatever he wanted
But my smile faded. My success was starting to crack. Xavier wasn’t calling me back! He wasn’t even looking at
me the way he used to. No, his obsession had shifted–to her. Lyra.
That stupid, pathetic, perfect Lyra. She should’ve been out of the picture by now. The accident was supposed to take care of that I’d planned every detail. Cutting her seatbelt, tampering with the airbag, hiring those rogues to make it look like an ambush–it was all me. And it worked! She was broken, humiliated, and pushed aside.
Or so I thought.
But then she survived. She always survived. Even after I paid the maid to finish the job, Lyra somehow walked away untouched. At first, I couldn’t understand it. Then it hit me. She was hiding her power. That rare, precious healing power. And now Xavier was obsessed with it. With her.
I clenched my fists, fury bubbling in my chest. I hated her. I hated how she still held power over him, how she made me feel like I was second–best. It wasn’t enough to just take her place as Luna. I needed more.
I needed her power.
Grabbing my phone, I dialed Xavier’s number again. Straight to voicemail. I threw the phone across the room,
watching it shatter against the wall.
“Damn it!” I screamed.
He was slipping away. I could feel it. All my efforts to seduce him, to tie him to me, were unraveling. If I didn’t act fast, he’d leave me behind–just like everyone else had.
No. I wouldn’t let that happen. I’d come too far, done too much to lose now. If Lyra wanted to keep her precious healing power, she’d have to fight for it. And this time, I wouldn’t stop until she was truly gone.
Forever.
I sat on the edge of my bed, glaring at the broken pieces of my phone on the floor. My nails dug into my palms as memories crept in, each one feeding the anger that had simmered in me for years.
“Lyra this, Lyra that,” I muttered under my breath, mimicking the voices from my childhood. “Lyra’s so kind. Lyra’s so gentle. Why can’t you be more like your sister, Celeste?”
My fists clenched tighter. Even as a child, she was the golden girl. The perfect little Luna–in–training. The pack adored her, showered her with praise. And me? I was just… the other one. The one who wasn’t quite enough,
I could still hear their voices, their comparisons that cut me like knives.
“Celeste, why can’t you help out more, like Lyra does?”
“Look at how Lyra leads. She’s so natural.”
“Celeste, stop being so stubborn. You’ll never be like her.”
C
Thated her. I hated her stupid smile, her fake humility, her perfect little act. Even though I got all of our parents‘ attention and love, it was never enough. The pack always saw her as the better one. And that’s why I made it my mission to prove them wrong.
When I was old enough, I left for school abroad. I told everyone it was to study medicine, but really, it was to escape her shadow I needed space, time to plot how I could finally outshine her. And when I came back after our parents‘ deaths, there he was–Xavier
Her husband.