The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon (Celine and Bastian) novel Chapter 164

The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon

Chapter 164

Johan raises a hand.

“I can take them. I don’t have a problem with it.”

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Everyone looks at him at the same time. A few eyebrows rise, while other expressions make it clear that no one quite understands where he gets all that calmness from.

Is he really not afraid of dying?

Bastian simply nods at the warlock’s question and heads toward the door to take his mate with him.

“Johan, don’t provoke him.” Vlad glares at him.

“I was just volunteering. You’re not the only warlock here, little brother.”

Bastian growls from the other side of the hall, but Johan doesn’t even flinch. He simply holds Vladimir’s gaze for a few seconds, as though that threat were nothing more than another family argument.

Ciro turns his attention toward the rest of the army, then looks back at Vlad.

“Ask Koorush to prepare two more troops and bring them here. The more of us there are, the faster we’ll finish this and go home,” Ciro orders.

Vladimir slowly turns his head toward him.

“And what flavor do you want your ice cream? Anything else you want from me?”

Chris lets out a quiet laugh, but immediately turns serious again.

“Don’t complain. You’re always rewarded after you do your job,” he scolds him. “You’re our friend. Do it for Celine, for her baby, for a world that’s falling apart.”

Vladimir stares at him for several seconds, clearly exhausted, before exhaling through his nose and lowering his hands from his face. Around him, the soldiers begin to move. Orders start being passed from one person to another, and the hall, which only moments ago seemed paralyzed by uncertainty, slowly comes back to life.

For the first time since Celine disappeared, the army has a direction.

Now all they have to do is survive long enough to find the enemy.

On the other side of the forest, Darius, Casius, and eight other alphas are planning their next attack. The city has already been taken, the center has fallen, and the only thing they have been unable to accomplish so far is crossing the castle’s border. The archers’ towers are too high, the walls have been reinforced, and no matter how many explosives they use in an attempt to bring them down, the enormous stones barely show cracks before falling silent again.

The ground around the walls is covered with pieces of wood, stones, and fragments of weapons that have

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The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon

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been abandoned after months of attacks. The bodies of hundreds of warriors were removed long ago, but dark stains still remain on the wet earth, stains the rain has failed to completely erase. The army remains hidden among the trees, waiting for an order that is taking longer and longer to come.

“I’m starting to think you’re a terrible strategist, Darius. The castle is still standing, the king and his son are still inside, and the army has returned to the safety of the walls now that they made sure there were no more lives left to save.”

Darius slowly raises his gaze toward Daven. The fire burning between them barely illuminates their faces, but the tension between the two is obvious.

“Then you do it, Daven. You were the first among us to shout that you wouldn’t rest until you had the king’s blood on your hands. But here you are. More than a year has passed, and so far all I’ve seen you do is give orders to your wolves.”

Daven, the former alpha of the Moon Tear Pack, shoots him a murderous look. His hands slowly clench as he stares at the man who has spent more than a year promising them a victory that never comes.

“I, and everyone else, know now that following you was a bad idea. There’s no food left, water is scarce, and we’ve lost thousands of warriors trying to bring down those walls.”

“We still have thousands of warriors left. Why are you worried?”

The other alphas watch the argument in silence, but this time something has changed. For the first time since they accepted that alliance, they want to say what they really think. Daven isn’t the only one tired of following Darius. The looks exchanged around the campfire make it clear that many of them share the same doubts, even though none of them seems willing to be the first to challenge him.

None of them were honorable alphas. They had all committed unforgivable crimes, grown wealthy at the expense of their own packs, exploited their wolves, and used their positions to accumulate riches while the people they were supposed to protect barely had enough to survive. The prince tore them from their pack homes and exiled them when their crimes could no longer be hidden.

When Darius and his son went looking for them, seeking an alliance to overthrow the king and divide the territory equally among themselves, they all agreed.

They had nothing to lose.

They lived miserable lives, taking refuge in forests where the cold seeped into their bones at night and food had to be divided among too many mouths. Meanwhile, according to everything they had heard for years, inside King Thorn’s castle, they enjoyed everything they had lost: wealth, banquets, warm rooms, and tables overflowing with food. There were even rumors that the king was planning to abdicate and hand the crown to his son, Prince Bastian Thorn, the only one capable of defeating the most powerful wolves on the continent.

To them, the crown represented everything they believed belonged to them.

That’s why they accepted.

That’s why they followed Darius.

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