The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon (Celine and Bastian) novel Chapter 45

Chapter 45

His voice comes out as a deep growl, half man, half beast.

His attitude doesn’t affect me. Not anymore. I was raised hearing those same words: rejected, useless, undesirable you are not enough.

For years they dropped every one of them on my head like stones. At first they hurt, then they left wounds, and with time. they became nothing but noise.

The only thing that truly interests me now is seeing whether Arlet will have the courage to repeat them when the entire room is watching and Bastian is listening to every single one of them just a few steps behind me.

“Prince Bastian, surely you heard wrong and misunderstood me.” She finally manages to say her lie without tripping over her tongue and forces a trembling smile, as if she truly believes she can get out of this situation. “I only said…”

“I heard every word perfectly, Arlet Black. It is a shame that a she-wolf belonging to such a respected family in the kingdom addresses her future queen like a human vegetable vendor with no manners or survival instinct. Did you really think that because I wasn’t here, I wouldn’t find out what happened?”

He clicks his tongue several times while shaking his head and steps forward until he is standing at my side. His presence fills the dining hall completely.

“These guards are my personal guard. They are my most loyal warriors and my eyes and ears when I am not around. They inform me of everything you say or do behind my back.”

“No, Prince, I swear that…”

“What?” he interrupts her harshly. “I was here the whole damn time, Arlet. The worst part is not what you said. The worst part is that you couldn’t even maintain the mask of falsehood your family has spent years wearing in front of me, my father, and now my mate, who, I repeat, will be your damn queen and Luna in a few days!

The silence becomes heavy.

I can hear the ladies’ hearts pounding against their ribs, fast and uneven. Some have gone so pale they look sick. Others avoid lifting their eyes from the floor.

Listen to me carefully, all of you. You were sent here to help. Not to humiliate children. Not to create problems. Not to behave as though you are superior to the people who live in this village.”

His gaze slowly sweeps across the dining hall, stopping on each of the ladies.

“You are going to cook. You are going to clean. You are going to carry supply boxes. You are going to distribute tood. You are going to help in this school and in every corner of this village that needs hands. And you are going to do it with a smile on your face.”

Several of them hold their breath.

“Because if any of you believes she is above that kind of work, then she is also proving that she does not deserve the title her family carries.”

“You can’t force us to do that!” one of the ladies protests from the back.

The smile that appears on Bastian’s face is anything but kind.

“I can force you to do much worse things.”

No one opens their mouth again.

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“I am not king yet. You are right, Arlet. But I will be very soon. And when that day comes. I will personally review every title every privilege, and every noble family in this kingdom. If I discover that they are incapable of serving their people, then they will stop enjoying the benefits they love to display so much.”

The enure dining hall falls silent.

“Titles do not exist to feed egos. They exist to serve the kingdom. My mother understood that. My father understands it And you had better start understanding it too.”

Bastian’s gaze settles on Arlet once more.

“My mother never wanted you near me because she recognized your ambition from the very first day, but that wasn’t the only reason. You despised her for being born here, in this village. You treated her exactly the same way you tried to trea Celine today.”

Arlet goes pale.

“You thought no one was going to see you. You thought you could behave like a queen in front of a group of defenseless children. And all you managed to do was prove why you will never measure up to the woman you were, trying to humiliate

Bastian’s dominant aura explodes without warning with the force of a punishment

The invisible pressure sweeps through the dining hall like a wave, and several ladies fall to their knees with muffled cries. Some try to resist, but their legs tremble violently before giving out. The children watch the scene with their eyes wide open while the air seems to grow heavier with every passing second.

Behind me, Zack, Bastian’s wolf, roars.

“This is your first warning,” Bastian growls. “The next time, you won’t lose a day of work. You’ll lose something you’ll never get back.”

And this time there is absolutely no one in the dining hall who can pretend not to understand who is in charge in this kingdom.

We leave the school dining hall to go.

The beat-up bus is no longer in sight and it is still raining heavily, but before leaving I stop by William’s house with Bastian. I don’t care about getting wetter or muddier. The ladies of the royal court climb one by one into the 4×4 trucks that Bastian had sent in advance, and none of them dare to complain.

‘Mr. William. I suppose you already know my mate, Prince Bastian Thorn.”

The man nods and half-smiles, looking at me as if I had just told him a bad joke..

Of course he knows him. Suddenly I feel foolish.

“Niece, Bastian says.

My eyes open wide.

“So you and Grandpa scared my Luna?”

The two of them shake hands, and William doesn’t hold back. He grabs his nephew’s arm and pulls him into a hug that Bastian accepts with a naturalness he rarely shows in front of other people.

“We never scared her. We were the ones who got scared when we saw her step out of Alaric’s vehicle and walk through mud as if it were polished marble.” He laughs while shaking his head. “We are incapable of making your mate feel uncomfortable, but perhaps my father pressured her a little to find out what kind of woman you chose.”

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The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon

Bastian snorts in amusement.

“I suppose everyone is as satisfied with her personality as I am, right?”

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