Celeste's POV
*****
"Let go of me!"
"No—behave!" Luther flung me by my arm, causing me to stumble back until I fell butt first to the marble floor.
I felt my dress tense under the pressure of the fall and quickly wrapped my arms around my body. My gaze met his cold blue eyes. He... He shoved me away.
After I caught HIM cheating?!
"You need to relax!" He blinked at me as if he couldn't even believe what he just did, rubbing his forehead. "This... This is not Lysandra's fault in any way so you have no right to attack her."
The girl in question, Lysandra Carrington, was the most popular in school. Hybrid daughter of the Australian Alpha king, she was a natural queen bee, gifted with a powerful wolf and magic that put many witches in the Academy to shame.
In other words... She's everything I've never been.
But Luther was wrong about something—
"You're right," I slowly got on my feet, my legs trembling. "Lysandra wasn't my target..."
The bitch smirked, kneeling on the bed. Her black hair fell in waves over her chest; her purple, knee-high satin gown was folded to her panties.
"My target was YOU." I spat, tears blurring my vision. "Y–You're cheating on me. On my bed. In my room! And you have the fucking nerves to tell me to behave?!"
For a split second, guilt flashed through his features. Just a moment where I thought I could see some kind of pathetic hope to hold on to.
Maybe there was some kind of explanation for what I just witnessed.
But oh how delusional I've been...
"Sorry you had to find out this way, darl." Lysandra cleared her throat, her accent thick and contemptuous. "It's clear you weren't giving your man enough. But me?"
She pulled closer to Luther, keeping eye contact all the way. Her fingers trailed up his chest from behind, nails practically digging across his sweaty chest through his half-buttoned shirt.
My jaw clenched, the tears stinging hard. Luther didn't even try pretending or pushing her away. He just stood there like an obedient puppy, his gaze on me tinted with disgust.
"I have everything he could possibly desire," Lysandra added, her smirk victorious. "And you? You're barely even a witch. You inherited no wolf despite being an Alpha King's daughter. Calling you pathetic would be an insult to the word."
It was one thing to be cheated on. But never did I expect I'd be insulted like trash by the other woman. Or that my boyfriend would just stand there. Expressionless. Cold.
"Your... Your guts, Lysandra..." I chuckled dryly, my fingers digging into my palm. "This is my room. You know that, right?"
Her eyes trailed my body slowly, from head to toes. Then she grinned coyly, adjusting her dress before taking slow steps off the bed.
"Really?" She asked sarcastically, standing beside Luther. "It is? Oh, I didn't notice. Got carried away in the moment and—"
I couldn't take it anymore.
With a swipe of my right hand, I sent an energy ball at her. Luther's eyes widened but he wasn't fast enough. If he jumps in he might as well burn with—
"Aw, a firefly." Those words echoed from Lysandra all of a sudden, sending a chill through the air.
Time slowed. I watched as my energy ball froze mid-air, the magic in it pulsing erratically. Like it was about to burst. And Lysandra—
She was calm, eyes glowing—barely putting any effort into stopping my spell.
As for Luther, he just stood there, gawking at the energy ball. His expression twisted with rage, his eyes landing on me.
"Have you fucking lost it, Celeste?!" He barked, snapping me out of my initial shock.
I jolted, chest heaving heavily. Luther seemed like he was about to do something rash when Lysandra placed a hand in front of his chest, stopping him.
"I know a year in Blood Oak Academy and all the training from your mother wasn't enough of a lesson," she tapped a finger on her lips, the smirk becoming more daring.
More mocking.
"... Maybe I should enlighten you so you know your place. Mutt." Her voice turned icy in a flash.
The energy ball—my spell—hummed violently, strands of energy threading out of it. She was taking control of it. In a blink, it bolted, hitting my chest with enough force to send me flying backwards.
My body crashed past the door, breaking part of it. When I hit the wall outside, air left my lungs. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. My eyes widened as I took it all in.
"I got rid of the trash for you, Luther." Lysandra cooed through the haze.
Tears blurred my vision but I spotted her slipping into her heels before walking toward me. Luther followed behind her like a loyal dog.
A sharp pain stung the back of my head. I raised my hands slowly, when Lysandra was a few feet away from the entrance, ready to defend myself.
But then—
"What in the moon's name is going on here?!" A male voice boomed from my far right.
Squinting, I tilted my head in that direction.
The voice belonged to Beta Silas Hale. Luther's brother.
Donned in a sharp black suit, his aquamarine eyes locked on me, short dark brown hair whipping around his face when he quickened his footsteps from down the hallway.
I watched Lysandra's fierce look melt into a mask of panic. But in the same breath—mischief flashed past her eyes.
"Ahhhhh!" She let out a cry, summoning a fire spell and burning her own face.
Horror distorted my expression when she stumbled out of the room, falling to her knees and panting like she was the victim. And as if that wasn't enough, Luther dropped beside her to "help".
"Celeste?" Silas frowned, eyes flicking from me to the wailing bitch. "Lysandra... What... What's going—"
"Her!" Lysandra shakily pointed a finger at me. "C–Celeste. She attacked me. I tried defending myself but... But my face..." She touched her now ashen face again, looking away.
I didn't know what to be more surprised by. The acting skills? The pettiness needed to burn her own face simply to paint me badly? Or the fucking audacity?
"Celeste," she croaked again, this time looking me straight in the eyes. "I... I know I should've told you about Luther earlier. He was planning to break up. I didn't—"
"Cut the act, you little—" I was about to lunge at her but my body still ached from her assault earlier.
Silas grabbed my wrist before I could make a move, his expression calm but scolding. "I never expected such from you, Celeste." That was all he said.
We barely ever interacted before this but that's how he's always been. A man of few words.
He let go of my wrist, turning to Lysandra. "Let's get her out of here. That burn mark could get critical if it's magic."
I watched as the two brothers helped Lysandra to her feet. She clung to Luther like a leech, her hair shielding most of her face.
"L–Luther—" words failed me.
Luther glanced back when they moved down the hallway, his eyes cold. "You disgust me. You can forget about me. Permanently. Because this relationship is over."
Those words stung more than they should. The bastard cheated on me. I should be celebrating our break-up. Yet when I saw him continue moving, holding Lysandra in a way he once held me—reality seemed to be caving in around me.
I was alone. Again.
The tears didn't stop falling but I had to fight through them. Mom and Dad will be here any minute. I can't have them seeing me like this.
With a heavy heart and possibly some internal bleeding, I dragged myself off the ground. Sniffling, I limped through the hallway, trailing my hand on the wall.
.
.
"By the gods, Cel!" Willow gasped when I walked past the hall's side entrance.
It seems she's been standing there waiting.
"Did you fight off a dragon in the toilet or something?" She pulled me closer, voice dripping with worry despite the comment. "You look…"
My hair was a mess and I had my right hand clutching my left shoulder.
But I didn't have time to dwell on any of that right now.
"Did you save us seats?" I straightened my posture, while she helped me arrange my hair.
The hall was already getting crowded with people, and it was hard to spot any faces through the crowd.
"Yeah, I did." She stepped back, grabbing my palm. "Are you sure you're okay? Gosh, you even look like you've been crying."
My jaw tightened.
Somewhere in this hall, where thousands of wolves, hybrids and a few witches were gathered… Luther and Lysandra were present.
Probably laughing at what they did to me.
I could feel all the rage and desire for revenge bubbling up. But it was a lost battle. And I'm done fighting those.
"I'm fine, Willow." I forced a smile, fixing my gaze on the stage. "We should go sit. The ball is about to start."
She looked like she wanted to say more. But she also knew better than to press.
As we walked deeper into the hall, navigating past the tables filled with students, their parents and guests—all laughing, drinking and chattering, my jaw was set.
"Ladies and gentle wolves!" Professor Amelia took the stage. "Grab a seat and get ready to howl. The Annual Lupine Mating Ball is about to begin!"