The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon (Celine and Bastian) novel Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The small knot inside my chest appears so quickly I can barely breathe normally.

Magnus naturally takes my hand and starts walking through the enormous hallway as if taking me with him were the most normal thing in the world. His strides are long and fast; I practically have to hurry to keep up with him. When he notices, he lets out a low chuckle and immediately slows down.

“Sorry. I forget my son and I walk like two damned war horses.”

This time he offers me his arm so I won’t be dragged through the castle and we move much more slowly. The enormous windows allow the gray morning light to pour in, illuminating the ancient portraits, dark walls, and silver details decorating the corridor.

“Where is Bastian?” I ask when the silence begins stretching between us while we walk toward goddess knows where. “Have you seen him?”

“Yes.” Magnus lets out a tired sigh, though clearly amused. “He fled your room when you fell asleep and since then he’s been turning his guard and your friend Jared into mush in the training area.”

I cannot help imagining it. Bastian unloading all the tension from last night onto poor warriors who probably woke up thinking they would have a normal day. Grave mistake. Living near a two-hundred-year-old Lycan with severe self-control issues clearly does not fall into the category of “peaceful job.”

“And where are we going now, Magnus?” I ask again when the hallway ends and we reach enormous dark stone stairs.

“To have breakfast, Celine. A good day begins with a full stomach. Don’t you think?”

The king’s calm voice, far from making me uncomfortable, actually pleases me. I do not know him at all except for the little I managed to see of him last night, but his presence does not feel heavy or threatening like Bastian’s. There is something much warmer and more relaxed in the way he speaks and moves through the castle.

We slowly descend the stairs and the sound of our footsteps softly echoes through the enormous corridor illuminated by the gray morning light. At the end, a large hall welcomes us and, after crossing it, towering dark wooden double doors open before Magnus even touches them.

Bastian’s best friend, the future Royal Beta, waits beside the long table together with his sister.

Aymara.

She lowers herself into an elegant curtsy and I give her a small smile, relieved to find a familiar face inside this enormous castle.

The Victorius siblings’ green eyes settle on us and, seconds later, Bastian and Jared enter through another side door freshly showered. The clean scent of soap and the faint metallic smell from the training grounds still cling to them.

Jared… oh, poor thing.

He has reddish marks across his face, a split lip that has already begun healing, and new clothes that someone clearly chose for him. Even so, he tries to keep his back straight while walking behind Bastian.

They walk toward us. Bastian comes first, enormous, dressed completely in black and wearing that classic unreadable expression that makes it impossible to guess what he is truly thinking.

“Celine, good morning.” He gives me a quick once-over and a barely visible smile appears on his lips when he sees the clothes I’m wearing. “Let’s sit down and have breakfast.”

He carefully takes my hand and leads me toward the table.

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15:05 Mon, Aug 17

The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon

“Hello, son. Of course I slept well and thank you for inviting me to breakfast.” The king says with sarcasm while crossing his arms like an offended child. His brow barely furrows and, when his son completely ignores him, he dramatically rolls his eyes. “It’s never too late to adopt. Right?”

He says that to Alaric and the man merely shrugs distractedly as if he genuinely supports the idea

“Enough nonsense and let’s eat breakfast.”

The enormous dining room smells of freshly brewed coffee, warm bread, and sweet fruit. The long dark table is already set and several staff members move silently while arranging the last dishes.

Alaric pulls out a chair for his sister with complete naturalness. Bastian does exactly the same for me and Jared remains standing beside the table, stiff and uncomfortable, as if he still does not understand what he is supposed to do in a place like

this.

“Sit down, boy, nobody here is going to pull out your chair.” The king jokes.

Poor Jared instantly turns every shade of red, mutters something unintelligible, and finally sits beside Bastian in absolute silence.

Breakfast was… tense.

Bastian, King Magnus, and even Jared would not stop putting food on my plate. I was close to rubbing my temples, but I held myself back. I did my best to eat everything, but my stomach eventually shut down and I ended up running toward an open window to empty it.

What they do not know is that my stomach is small and not used to receiving large portions. The king looked horrified and concerned, while Bastian immediately reached me to move my hair aside and gently rub my back.

Embarrassment completely consumed me and this time I did not only feel my cheeks burning intensely, but my ears too.

“Don’t worry, I think we gave you too much.” Bastian says while handing me a napkin.

Every single one of them has that same expression on their face and I feel even worse than before.

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