Chapter Nine

Chapter 9

Celine

I couldn't stop my heart from racing as everyone in the banquet stared at me, some with hatred, some with curiosity, some with both. I drew Kaiden’s suit jacket closer to my body as I scrambled out of the hall, replaying all that just happened. Kaiden defended me.

My heart fluttered and my wolf chuckled as a smile broke out on my face. He was ready to tear that stupid liam apart, and he would have if I hadn't stopped him. Seeing him defend me like that, tugged at my heart strings. No one had ever defended me, not my parents, obviously not my brother. It has only been myself and my wolf no one knew about.

There was something romantic about being saved like a damsel in distress by a man, one that was as attractive as Kaiden being my knight in shining armour.

The thought almost made me laugh at how silly it sounded, but it was true. In that moment, I felt… cared for. Wanted, even.

But that smile faded as quickly as it had appeared when Anya’s words from earlier today rang in my ears. Kaiden will introduce his fiancée tonight at the banquet.

The weight of those words settled over me like a cold fog, and my heart dropped. Was it true? I couldn’t ask. Not now, not with the murderous energy still lingering in the air.

My wolf howled with sadness at the possibility that Anya’s words were more than just gossip. Could Kaiden really have a fiancée? Was he really about to commit to someone else?

I stopped in my tracks, breath hitching as the reality of the situation settled like a heavy stone in my chest. If Kaiden was with someone else, then where did that leave me?

The memory of his defense of me, of his anger at Liam and Spencer, twisted painfully in my chest. It was a cruel irony that the one person who had ever stood up for me might be the one who would eventually break my heart.

My wolf whimpered in the back of my mind, her sadness mirroring my own. We had both been so foolish to believe there was something more between us. Kaiden had saved me, yes. But did that mean he wanted me? Did it mean anything at all?

Did the bond mean anything?

I couldn’t think about Kaiden with another woman—

“There you are!” A voice called out from behind me and i gasped in shock. Its been years since i heard that voice but i could never forget. No one forgets their mother’s voice.

I turned slowly, my chest tightening before bursting with warmth as I saw their familiar faces. My parents.

Tears pricked at my eyes, and a genuine smile broke across my face. “Mother! Father!”

My heart soared at the sight of them.

I had missed them, despite everything. No matter what had happened, they were still my parents. And for a moment, I let myself believe that they had come for me, that they had finally returned to take me home.

But as I took a step toward them, their faces remained cold, their expressions hard. My stomach twisted uneasily. Something was wrong.

“Save it. Celine, drop the pretense. How could you let Kaiden send Liam and Spencer away like that? Are you out of your mind?” Father spat, his face contorted in anger as he glared at me harshly.

My heart clenched. They had seen it. They had watched Liam and Spencer humiliate me, and their only concern was that Kaiden had stood up for me?

I swallowed down the wave of disappointment.

I should have expected this. But it still hurt. These are the selfish people who locked me up here instead of their real daughter. The ones that didn't care about me.

Funny that i thought otherwise.

“I—” I began, but mother interrupted, fury flashing in her eyes.

“You don’t understand, do you?” Mother hissed, stepping closer, her face hard with displeasure. “You’ve forgotten what we did for you. How we raised you as our own. And just because you are sleeping with the king, you think you can turn on us? We made you!”

I flinched at the sharp coated words. The pain they caused was nothing compared to the hollow pit in my stomach. For five years, I had sacrificed my heart, my trust, for my parents, my family and Sheila, for the people who claimed to love me. But now, as I faced them, I saw the truth. They saw me as nothing more than a pawn to be toyed with.

My wolf snarled. They aren’t your parents anymore. The words echoed in my mind, louder and more forceful than ever before. I had known this truth for a while now, but it had never been so clear as it was in this moment.

So i let out a chuckle. “Turn on you? I am here because of you and the next thing you can say is this? I am going to be a prisoner all my life because i was trying to prove that i was grateful for you loving me as your daughter. And the first time you see me in five years, you are here calling me names and blaming me for something that was’nt my fault?”

Her father scoffed, disbelief flashing across his features. “What are you talking about, Celine? You owe us. We gave you everything.”

“Yeah right. And the minute you found out, you replaced me with a thief.”

My mother’s eyes narrowed, . “You think you know better than us now?” she spat. “You’re nothing without us. You’d still be unwanted if it weren’t for the life we gave you.”

I could feel the tears welling up, but I refused to let them fall. Not for them. Not anymore. “And what did I give in return?” I asked, my voice tight. “I gave you everything. My love. My trust. I fought for you. But now I see what I really am to you. A tool. A pawn. A means to an end.”

Father stepped forward, his face hardening with anger and hatred. “You ungrateful little— You better tell Kaiden to let them go or i swear to goddess I’ll-”

“Stop,” I snapped, raising my hand to silence him. The force behind my words shocked even me, but it didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to back down. “You’d do what, father? Throw me in jail? I’m there already. I’ve had enough. Enough of being your puppet. Enough of being the one you can control and manipulate. I’m done.”

I turned to leave, feeling the weight of their gazes on me. I let out a shaky breath and paused in my steps.

“And mother, you should tame your dogs instead of blaming me. They got themselves thrown out, and it would be worse if they laid a finger on me next time.”

Then, without another word, I walked away, leaving behind the people who had never truly been my family.