"Wait… So there was actually another survivor of the attack back then?" Kent barely had a chance to utter a word before Kate blurted out, her voice filled with astonishment.
Celeste shifted her gaze towards Kate and caught a glimpse of worry and apprehension in her eyes. Could it be that Kate was also part of Kent's old wolf pack?
It was at that moment that Celeste realized how little she knew about the rogues. She had been living in the rogue pack for nearly a month, but she never truly delved into the history of the wolves in the pack. It was as if deep down, she knew she would leave eventually.
She didn't have a clue why the other wolves had joined Kent's pack. Sure, she knew some rogues had broken away from their former packs to join Kent, but how many of them were from Kent's old pack?
Judging by the way Kent and Kate interacted, it seemed like they had known each other for ages. So, was Kate, too, a member of the wolf pack from back then? Celeste had become quite chummy with Kate, but it dawned on her that she had never even bothered to ask why she joined this rogue pack. But it was not that now was the right time to start asking such questions.
Kent waved his hand dismissively, silently urging Celeste to spill the beans on what exactly had happened. The creases on his forehead remained firmly etched, indicating his deep suspicion. "Why in the world would Byron double-cross his pack? And how can you be so sure that smooth-talking fraud isn't spinning you a web of lies?"
Caught off guard, Celeste froze for a moment. She hadn't even considered the possibility of Byron lying to them. She had accepted his words without a moment of hesitation, clinging to them desperately like a drowning person reaching for a lifeline. She couldn't bear the thought of that last flicker of hope she had with Jeremy being snuffed out like a candle.
Celeste pondered over her conversation with Byron, and she couldn't shake off the image of his face. There was something about his expression that didn't scream deception. The anguish and guilt etched on Byron’s features seemed too genuine to be an act. Sure, Byron may have committed the ultimate betrayal, but Celeste had known him for more than two decades. If Byron was lying, she'd sniff it out in a heartbeat.
Celeste shook her head. "Byron swapped Jeremy for my twin all because the Moon Goddess herself gave him a nod. According to Byron, Jeremy's mere existence has the power to make our wolf pack an unstoppable force. I don't think he's lying about this. After all, if Jeremy and I were siblings, our mate bond wouldn't even exist."
Pausing for a beat, Celeste leaned in to emphasize her point further. "And you know the Moon Goddess isn't one to make blunders. So, if Jeremy and I truly shared blood, why on earth would she orchestrate our destined connection?"
Kent, utterly dumbfounded by her words, furrowed his brow deeper. He had placed blind faith in the Moon Goddess, but now her puzzling decisions left him scratching his head in bewilderment.
Fixated on Celeste's face, Kent's gaze drilled into her like a relentless detective searching for the slightest hint of deceit. But Celeste wasn't one to be shaken by such scrutiny. Instead, she locked eyes with him, unwavering and transparent.
Her countenance wore the badge of honesty, no secrets to hide. Every word she spoke was a pillar of truth.
With a bold stride, Kent closed the gap between them, intruding into Celeste's personal space. The suffocating pressure made Celeste's instincts scream at her to step back, yet she stood her ground, unyielding.
Their eyes remained locked, a battle of wills. And within Kent's gaze, Celeste glimpsed a swirling cocktail of skepticism and tangled emotions.
"But... why? Why on earth would the Moon Goddess pull a stunt like this? Why in the world did she tell him to snatch a child from another wolf pack?" Kent blurted out, his voice tinged with doubts.
Then, his gaze shifted to Jeremy's direction before it settled on Celeste once again. "Are you seriously meant to be each other's fated mates? But why did the Moon Goddess claim that you would become my Luna too? I thought, even if you went back to him, you'd eventually find your way back to me. But... this just doesn't add up."
"Maybe..." Celeste paused, her throat parched, and she whispered softly, as if revealing a hidden secret. "Maybe when the Moon Goddess told you that I would become your Luna, she didn't mean it in the swoony, romantic sense."
"What are you trying to say?" Kent asked in a deep, husky tone, narrowing his eyes. Something flickered in his eyes, too quick for Celeste to discern, but it seemed he grasped the essence of her words.
Kent didn't speak, though. He patiently waited for Celeste to unravel her thoughts.
"It's just a wild guess of ours. Perhaps the Moon Goddess desires to unite our packs, forging an alliance between us. That would mean..."
"That would mean we'd be inseparable, right? So, in a twisted way, the Alpha's Luna becomes my Luna too. Only, I can't have the pleasure of fucking this Luna. Instead, I must submit to her and treat her with reverence," Celeste was about to finish her sentence when Kent bluntly interrupted. When he dropped the word "fucking" so casually, Celeste's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't anticipated Kent being so straightforward.
A flicker of disbelief and a trace of anger crossed Kent's face, as if a sudden realization hit him.
He spoke, pointing towards Jeremy, who still slumbered under the spell, his eyes ablaze with incredulity and fury. "Does the Moon Goddess expect me to submit to you? To submit to your stupid fake twin brother?"