The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon (Celine and Bastian) novel Chapter 85

The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon

Chapter 85

20 vouches

Silas and Magnus assured us that we still had time to enjoy a late breakfast before making our way back the same way we had come. However, if anyone seemed truly determined to get me to sit down at the table, it was Bastian. Ever since we had left his grandfather’s library, he had barely let go of my hand, as though everything we had just discovered had left him needing to reassure himself every second that I was still there beside him.

The dining room was nowhere near as vast or extravagant as the one in Thorn Castle. Unlike the grand hall built for royal banquets, this one felt warm and intimate. A large stone fireplace kept the room pleasantly warm while the aroma of freshly baked bread, butter, and freshly brewed coffee filled the air. The morning light streamed through the tall windows, reflecting off the snow blanketing the forest and bathing the room in a golden glow.

A solid wooden table stood in the center of the room. It was small, just large enough for four people, and set with a simplicity that somehow felt far more welcoming than any luxury the kingdom had to offer.

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience, sweetheart. I don’t usually have guests, and a small table is much more comfortable for me than a large one.” Silas absently brushes his hand over my back as Bastian and I take our seats across from Magnus. “Centuries ago, I stopped enjoying those enormous tables where everyone talks at the same time.”

His hand lingers against my back for only a brief moment before pulling away.

The gesture visibly annoys my mate.

I notice it in the way his jaw tightens and in the subtle warning glance he directs at his grandfather.

But from my point of view, there is no ill intent behind it.

All I feel is the genuine affection of a man who opened the doors of his home to me only a few hours after meeting me, and I realize, with a touch of embarrassment, just how much I had needed to experience something as simple as the love of a family.

“Please don’t worry about it. I adapt very easily.” I smile sincerely as I straighten the napkin on my lap. “Bastian and I are truly grateful for your hospitality.”

Beneath the table, I search for my mate’s hand and lace my fingers with his when I notice he’s still watching me out of the corner of his eye. As I look up, I find one of his eyebrows raised.

“Don’t make Grandpa feel bad.”

“He’s taking liberties that I don’t like.”

I can’t help smiling to myself.

“And I’m experiencing the affection of a loving father and grandfather for the first time.”

For several seconds, he says nothing.

I only feel his fingers tighten gently around mine before relaxing again.

“Fine…” he finally replies with obvious resignation. “But if he tries to hug you again in front of me, I can’t promise I’ll behave. I hate it when another man touches you.”

Our silent conversation ends the moment the dining room door opens.

A tall, muscular man dressed in a simple lightweight shirt and dark trousers walks in with his gaze fixed on the floor. His footsteps are quiet, calm, almost as silent as those of a predator accustomed to moving through the forest.

Then he lifts his head.

13.16 Tue, Aug 10

The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon

And I recognize him instantly.

i get to my feet so quickly that my chair scrapes loudly across the stone floor.

“Jared!”

In only a few strides, I reach him and throw my arms around him.

“I barely recognized you!”

The young man I met in the forest of the Blood Moon Pack no longer exists.

The thin, exhausted, fragile-looking boy has disappeared completely.

20 vourney

Now his shoulders are much broader, his arms are defined by countless hours of training, and he carries himself with a confidence that wasn’t there before. His skin looks healthy, the sickly paleness has vanished from his face, and his eyes hold a quiet light they never had before. He even seems a little taller, or perhaps he simply walks with the confidence of someone who has finally found where he belongs.

Jared returns my embrace with a genuine smile.

Although it doesn’t last long.

Bastian’s deep growl echoes through the dining room, making Jared immediately step away from me. He clears his throat awkwardly before flashing an amused grin at his prince.

“I still think you’re far too jealous, Bastian.”

My mate fixes him with a murderous glare, but Jared doesn’t seem to care in the slightest.

“And I still think you’re about as pleasant as a pain in the ass.” He answers with a scowl as he reaches for his coffee, though he never actually takes a sip. “Pack your things. We’re leaving in half an hour.”

Jared barely has time to open his mouth before Silas calmly cuts in. He slices off a piece of cheese, pops it into his mouth, and chews with an almost provoking calmness, as though he were thoroughly enjoying watching his grandson’s patience slowly unravel.

“Actually, Basti, he still hasn’t completed his training,” he remarks after swallowing, never taking his eyes off his breakfast. Td like him to stay at least another year. Maybe two.”

The silence lasts only a second.

Bastian absolutely hates it when his father and grandfather call him “Basti” as though he were still a child.

Jared’s expression changes completely, and he ends up shaking his head as an amused smile spreads across his face.

“What you really want is someone you can torture with impossible training sessions so you won’t feel so lonely in this enormous palace.” He walks slowly toward the old man, folding his arms across his chest. “Just admit it.”

Silas snorts.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You made me climb a frozen mountain carrying a backpack full of rocks.”

“It builds character.”

“You threw me into an icy lake in the middle of winter.”

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