Chapter Twelve

Celine

Staying in my room while the festivities went on in the hall was torture. Has Kaiden introduced his fiancée yet? Was Anya telling the truth?

Those questions tumbled back and forth in my mind, and I couldn't keep still. I couldn't just sit here while my mate might potentially be introducing his fiancée to the whole kingdom, while I deceived myself into thinking we were more than what I felt we were.

And after tossing and turning, I couldn't take it any longer. I pulled a coat out of my closet and wore it to conceal myself from being recognized before rushing downstairs to see what was going on.

The grand hall was more alive than it had been earlier today, and as I stood in the corner and watched, I felt like an outsider.

The room was filled with laughter, music, and beautiful wolves. Nobles danced in pairs, warriors boasted of their victories, and servants rushed about, ensuring the guests were well tended to. But none of it mattered. My eyes searched for only one person, and when I found him, my heart clenched painfully in my chest.

Kaiden sat on his grand throne, oozing power and authority, but it was the woman kneeling at his feet that made my stomach twist.

She was a sight to behold, calling me ugly and bland in every way..

The exotic beauty from another kingdom leaned into him, her hands resting on his knee as she whispered something close to his ear.

Kaiden didn’t push her away. He didn’t look disgusted. He simply regarded her with unreadable eyes, allowing her to remain there, allowing her in his personal space.

A flicker of something passed through his gaze, was it obligation? Resignation? Or was it something else? My mind grasped for explanations, but the slight smile on his lips crushed them all.

My breath hitched.

This was it.

This was the truth Anya wanted me to see.

The woman was beautiful, regal, and desirable. She had power in her blood, she belonged in this world, a world that Kaiden ruled over. She wasn’t just some lowly maid who had to fight for scraps of dignity and beg to be respected . She was everything I was not.

My fingers curled into fists beneath the coat.

Had it all been a lie? The way he held me that night? The way he touched me, kissed me, looked at me as if I was something more?

Had I been foolish enough to believe I meant anything to him?

I had always known I wasn’t his first choice. I had always known that I was nothing more than an accident he couldn't undo. But seeing it laid out in front of me, in such a humiliating way, made it all the more unbearable.

As I fought back my tears,words from a couple of nobles beside me floated into my hearing.

“She's so beautiful. I do hope she is the next queen of the kingdom, and not that maid girl, I heard she's a prisoner here..”

The man snorted. “The king wouldn't be so foolish to marry a maid. I heard she was a thief, and worse, wolf less. No one would take the king seriously after that.”

My chest tightened, and I turned on my heels, making my way out of the hall as swiftly as I could. I didn’t care if anyone saw me. I didn’t care if I was breaking some unspoken rule by leaving without permission.

I just had to get away. But like the cursed wolf i was, i bumped into one of the last people i wanted to see. Mother.

“Well, well.” Her voice was like poisoned honey. “Look at you. Lurking in the shadows, as always. At least you now know where you stand.”

I stiffened. My mother, no, the woman who raised me tilted her head as she studied me, a cruel smirk tugging at her lips.

“Don’t tell me you actually thought he’d pick you?” she scoffed. “Kaiden is a king, Celine. He was never meant for the likes of you.”

I swallowed, my throat tight.

“Look at you,” she continued, her voice low, mocking. “Standing there, pathetic and trembling. Did you really think a man like Kaiden would ruin himself for a wolf less nobody? You are an embarrassment, just as you always have been.”

I clenched my fists at my sides, my nails biting into my skin so hard I swore I could feel the sting of blood pooling beneath them.

“Go back to where you crawled from,” she ordered dismissively. “Better yet, leave. Save yourself the shame.” her eyes sparkled with mischief as she lowered to whisper into my ear, her perfume i once used to love settling like poisoned fumes in my lungs.

“If you run away with the carts that are leaving the kingdom now, no one would know. I wouldn't tell. Consider my last act as your mother.”

Her words struck deep. But for once, I didn’t argue.

I pushed past her without another word, my vision blurring as I hurried through the corridors. I needed to breathe. I needed to escape.

By the time I reached my room, my hands were trembling. My body felt weak, like I had run miles without stopping. I leaned against the door, trying to steady my breaths, but the overwhelming ache in my chest refused to subside.

Kaiden had made his choice. He had found his ideal Luna.

And it wasn’t me.

I swallowed hard and forced myself to stand tall. I refused to cry. Not over this. Not over him.

I had to leave.

There was no place for me here. There never had been.

My hands moved on their own, reaching for the small bag under my bed. I had packed it once before, prepared to run, but fate had kept me here. But now, nothing was holding me back.