Alpha’s Regret After Putting Me In Jail novel Chapter 224

Chapter 224: A Severed Bond

Chapter 224: A Severed Bond

(Celeste’s POV)

Alpha James’s face had turned an alarming shade of red. His chest heaved with each breath,

his wolf’s fury radiating from him in waves that made the beta wolf flinch. Victoria’s weeping

intensified, her slender shoulders shaking as she pressed a handkerchief to her face.

Lucas stepped forward, his golden eyes troubled. “Celeste, have you thought this through?”

His voice was low, almost pleading. “Without the Winter Pack…”

“I have,” I interrupted coldly, not allowing him to finish. The words I didn’t speak hung in the air

between us: Without the Winter Pack, I would be free.

I turned my gaze back to Alpha James, who seemed on the verge of explosion. My lips curled

into a bitter smile.

“Now that you’re so reluctant,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm, “it’s as if the Winter

Pack can’t live without me.”

The implication was clear to everyone in the room. After years of mistreatment, after sending

me to Moon Shadow Prison for a crime I didn’t commit, after arranging for me to be forcibly

mated to Marcus Blackwood, after literally starving me–now they suddenly couldn’t bear to

let me go?

(Alpha James’s POV)

That ungrateful, silver–scarred she–wolf! How dare she imply that my pack needed her!

“BRING THE FORMS!” I roared, my wolf surging within me.

The beta practically tripped over himself to comply, rushing from the room. The thought that the Winter Pack–my pack–might somehow rely on Celeste was absurd! Ridiculous!

I had always considered her future, arranged the best possible alliances, protected the pack’s

standing with the Alpha King. And not only did she fail to appreciate my efforts, she now had

the audacity to taunt me.

If I continued to object to her leaving, it would seem as though her accusation held truth. I

couldn’t allow that.

Victoria collapsed into a nearby chair, her face buried in her hands. Her distress tore at my

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< Chapter 224: A Severed Bond

48 Points >

heart, but my pride wouldn’t allow me to back down now.

Lucas stood between us, his eyes moving from me to Celeste and back again. His brow was

furrowed in concern, clearly unsure which of us he should try to appease. He’d always been

caught between his love for his sister and his duty to his pack.

“Father,” he began, but fell silent when I raised my hand.

There was nothing left to say. If Celeste wanted to leave the pack, so be it.

(Celeste’s POV)

The beta wolf returned quickly, a leather folder clutched in his trembling hands. Inside were

the formal pack documents that would officially sever all ties between me and the Winter

Pack.

Alpha James snatched the folder and spread the papers across the polished oak table. He

picked up a pen, his knuckles white from gripping it too tightly.

For a moment, the pen hovered above the paper. I caught his quick glance in my direction–a

final chance for me to reconsider, to beg forgiveness, to submit.

I merely raised an eyebrow, silently questioning his hesitation.

A muscle twitched in his jaw. Any further delay would be humiliating for him, and we both

knew it.

With a surge of barely concealed resentment, he scrawled “Pack Bond Severance” at the top of the page. Then the pen moved furiously across the paper, each stroke filled with anger as he listed what I was sure were all my perceived transgressions against the pack.

I didn’t bother reading the words. They didn’t matter. I needed only his signature and the official pack seal to be free of this family that had abandoned me the moment they discovered

I wasn’t truly one of them.

Victoria continued to weep softly in the corner. Lucas stood rigid, his face a mask of conflicting emotions. None of them had ever truly fought for me. Not when I was imprisoned,

not when I was tortured with silver chains, not when I returned broken and scarred.

Alpha James was halfway through the document when the doors burst open. A beta wolf

rushed in, her face pale with panic.

“Miss Celeste, please come!” she cried, her voice breaking. “Your grandmother is dying!”

My heart stopped, then lurched painfully in my chest. “Grandmother Eleanor?”

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< Chapter 224: A Severed Bond

48 Points >

Without waiting for a response, I bolted from the room, my feet carrying me swiftly through the corridors of the pack house toward my grandmother’s quarters.

She was the only one who had stood by me through everything–the only one who had fought

for my release from Moon Shadow Prison, the only one who had welcomed me home with

genuine love.

I couldn’t lose her. Not now. Not ever.

The door to her quarters was shut tight. Sarah Miller, her loyal beta attendant, stood guard

outside. When she saw me racing down the hallway, her face crumpled, tears streaming down

her weathered cheeks.

“Miss Celeste, don’t worry,” she said quickly, reaching for my hands. “Dr. Pierce is inside. Your

grandmother will be alright!”

But the tremor in her voice betrayed her lack of conviction.

“What happened?” I demanded, gripping her arms tightly. “She was fine just two days ago

when I visited! How could she suddenly…”

My voice caught in my throat as fear clutched at my heart.

Sarah’s tearful expression suddenly hardened, her eyes flashing with anger as she turned to glare at a group of beta wolves kneeling nearby.

“It’s those heartless gossipers!” she spat, her usual gentle demeanor replaced with fury.

I followed her gaze. Five beta wolves knelt on the wooden floor, their heads bowed in shame

and fear.

“Tell me what happened,” I insisted, my fingers digging into Sarah’s arm. “Now.”

Sarah’s face crumpled again, tears flowing freely. “Your grandmother was doing well today,” she sobbed, “better than she had been in weeks. She was even able to walk a little. I thought

to bring her out for some fresh air and sunshine.”

She drew a shaky breath, her voice breaking. “But we ran into those heartless wolves in the

corridor.”

Her grief seemed to choke her, making it difficult for her to continue.

“And?” I prompted, my silver–scarred wolf growing increasingly agitated beneath my skin.

“Your grandmother heard about your severance with the pack,” Sarah whispered, her eyes wide with sorrow. “She pressed me for details, and when I wouldn’t say anything, she-” Sarah’s

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< Chapter 224: A Severed Bond

voice caught. “She forced these betas to tell her everything.”

Cold dread settled in the pit of my stomach.

“Everything?” I echoed.

+8 Points>

Sarah nodded miserably. “Not just about the severance, but how Marcus nearly beat you to death, how Lucas bullied you into eating those silver–laced scraps…” Her voice trailed off,

unable to continue listing the horrors I’d endured.

“So she…” I couldn’t finish the question.

Sarah simply broke down, unable to speak through her sobs.

Rage flooded through me, white–hot and all–consuming. My silver–scarred wolf howled within me, demanding retribution.

I stalked toward the kneeling beta wolves, my hands clenched into fists so tight that

cut into my palms.

my

nails

“I told you all NEVER to breathe a word of my affairs to my grandmother!” My voice shook with

fury. “How DARE you mention me in her presence!”

The betas frantically bowed lower, pressing their foreheads to the floor, begging for