The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon (Celine and Bastian) novel Chapter 39

Chapter 39

I do not know how to interpret Alaric’s words about Bastian. He did not mention my family again and I did not want to bring up the subject either because, for the first time in my life, I feel free. A few days have passed since I left the Blood Moon Pack and yet my family feels so far away that it seems as though they never existed at all. I removed them from my life and I want them to remain exactly there, far away from me and from everything I am beginning to build here

Aymara links her arm through mine as we walk through the castle’s long corridors and, far from making me uncomfortable,, the gesture manages to fill an empty space inside my chest. I had never had a friend. Never someone who approached ne with such natural ease, without hidden mockery or bad intentions behind a pretty smile.

I used to fantasize a lot about having that kind of relationship with Anne. I imagined conversations before bed, shared secrets, dresses, laughter, and that kind of bond I saw in other sisters within the pack. More than once I tried to get close to her, thinking that maybe, if I did everything right, I could make her care about me, even just a little.

The only things I received were mockery, contempt, and humiliation.

!

Beatriz never gave me a second of attention unless she wanted to take her anger out on me after Anne accused me of something I had not even done. Cassius, who was supposed to protect me, slowly became someone just as cold and cruel as they were. And my father….

My father never saw me as his daughter. To him, I was the murderer of his luna.

He hated me from the very moment they placed me in his arms.

I was raised until I was three years old by a servant who worked in the house. I barely remember her face, only the warmth of her arms and a song she used to sing at night to help me fall asleep. When she died, my father brought me permanently to the pack house, and from then on my existence practically disappeared.

He told everyone that my mother and I had died during childbirth.

He hid me from the world.

He never introduced me at important gatherings, nor was I present at celebrations or pack events, and when I grew old enough, he turned me into another servant inside the house so that no one would suspect who I really was.

I did not exist.

And the few people who knew the truth were bound by blood oaths that no one dared break.

That is why I am so happy to have Aymara with me now. Because she is everything I ever wanted to find in another woman. Someone I can lean on.

Someone who looks at me and genuinely seems happy that I exist.

I do not say anything. I do not want them to pity me any more than they probably already do, so I simply smile at Aymara and gently squeeze her hand with mine. The past is not going to chase me anymore and here… here I feel that for the first time I am building something that resembles a family.

“Ready to ruin the court ladies’ day?” she asks with a mischievous smile.

I cannot help smiling back.

“Yes, I’m ready. It was Bastian’s idea,” I comment as we begin climbing the stairs. “I only wanted those women to stop following me everywhere, and he told me about what is happening at the southern border.”

Aymara’s smile fades slightly and her expression becomes more serious.

The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon

I think about it as we walk.

Bastian said that the people in the south are hostile, and I still do not understand how someone living within the kingdom’s own territory can feel so disconnected from the rest.

“Ever since Bastian’s mother, our queen, died, they have practically distanced themselves from the kingdom.” Aymara explains. “No one ever truly helped them again, and those who should have simply stopped paying attention to them. They have lived the same way for almost a hundred years. Most of them are farmers, hunters, and craftsmen. There was a time when several nobles tried to take advantage of them and make them work for a few coins, but the people of the south became rebellious and distrustful. The only ones who really do anything for them are Bastian and my brother”

Now I understand many things.

Bastian wants me to meet those people because I will soon be the future queen.

But he also wants the ladies to suffer.

“You can do things they can’t.”

That was what he said. Get my hands dirty. Work. Listen and help.

I am not afraid of work.

Things noblewomen would probably never do willingly.

“Do you think they’ll greet us with stones?” I ask with some uncertainty. “They don’t even know me.”

Alaric, who has been walking behind us listening to the entire conversation, lets out a small laugh.

“They won’t do that, Celine. I’m going with you, and this morning Bastian sent men ahead to inform them of your arrival. Don’t expect flowers or grand welcomes because I’m sure they have no interest in impressing anyone, but they are good at seeing people’s hearts.”

Aymara immediately nods.

“They’ll like you as soon as they meet you. I promise.”

I am not so sure.

Even so, I nod while beginning to think about what I could wear so I would not look like the court ladies. Something comfortable. Something simple.

A warm sensation slowly wraps around my body and I smile when I feel my wolf move inside me. She is still too weak to speak to me, but I can feel her far more present than before, and the calm she sends through me manages to case some of my nerves.

“I’ll try to help them,” I murmur as we finish climbing the stairs to the second floor. “Although… why do I have the feeling the walk was shorter this time?”

“Because it was,” Alaric replies without the slightest remorse. “Earlier I made you take the longer route so you could warm up before training.”

I stop for a second, completely outraged.

Then I stick my tongue out at him like a child.

“Tomorrow I want this exact route or I’m going to jump on you and bite your ear.”

Aymara laughs and Alaric shakes his head while we continue down the corridor of bedrooms until we reach the door of the

The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon

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