Chapter 4 Past Memories and Renewed Hope

Lunette's anger radiated like wildfire as she scowled at Celestine. She was ready to bear the consequences of her actions.

"You can't get away with everything! Leave! Do not provoke me further!" Lunette warned with her tiny voice.

Celestine refused to yield. She knew it was either she retreated or brought Lunette down completely. She withdrew her hand from her face, with a sinister smile on her lips - Her smile bore witness to the evil thought orchestrated in her mind.

"How dare you?" Celestine yelled like a snake about to release its venom as she lunged forward and pushed Lunette on her chest.

Due to Lunette's lack of strength, she staggered backward and stumbled. Celestine didn't retreat, she ascended on Lunette and lashed her repeatedly with her hands. She rained down a storm of blows on Lunette's stomach.

Lunette gasped for breath and feared for her life as her stomach wrinkled in pain. She knew the only option left for her was to scream.

"Help, please!" Lunette echoed loudly and continuously. She screamed like her lungs were about to tear off.

Celestine stopped. She knew that if the Alpha or Luna met her on Lunette, she would be doomed. She decided to roll over and drag Lunette forcefully on top of her.

Lunette couldn't decipher what was happening; her naivety got her into trouble. As Celestine dragged her with her long nails, she felt unease. She retaliated by grabbing and pulling Celestine's hair. She thought she was defending herself but never knew Celestine was setting a trap for her.

Lunette's body ached; she struggled to stand on her feet but succeeded with her trembling legs. Her fragile hands reached for Celestine's hair as she pulled and dragged her across the floor.

"Please, help me! Lunette wants to kill me!" Celestine shouted as she played the victim.

Lunette planned to drag Celestine out of her room and close the door but unfortunately, the plan backfired; She was overwhelmed by her mission and unconsciously paid no attention to the footsteps approaching.

"I can see that you've regained your energy. Wow! The next thing you thought of is to fight with my maid. You're a shame!" Lyca exclaimed in disappointment as she stood at the entrance. She nodded her head in disbelief like an Agama lizard.

Lunette's eyes widened in fright, the voice she heard behind her weakened her knees. Instantly, she withdrew her hands from Celestine's hair.

"You can see that your daughter has a problem. She wants to kill an ambitious young maid in my castle. Who gave her the audacity to mishandle my maid? You better deal with this. The next time I witness this nonsense, I will order my guards to execute her," Conrad declared. In annoyance, he left for his room.

"Mother, it's not what you think. I swear, I only tried to defend myself," Lunette pleaded in tears, knowing fully well that her mother wouldn't buy it.

"Celestine, what happened?" Lyca questioned calmly with a firm voice.

"Thank you Luna for not being preferential and for giving an omega like me an opportunity to express myself. This morning, Martha, the chief maid, instructed me to give Lunette the leftovers and her medicine. When I got to the door, I knocked painstakingly but she didn't respond. I couldn't leave because I cared about her health and well-being. Hopefully, she opened the door. I greeted her warmly but she hurled insults at me. She called me names and referred to my parents as commoners. As if that was not enough, when I gave her the nylon containing her food and medicine, she threw it on the floor and said "Who am I to give her a stale food?" Celestine stated as she shed crocodile tears. She wailed like a newborn baby and posed as the victim.

"Celestine! You are a liar!" Lunette said in frustration. She faced her mother and glared into her eyes to narrate the whole incident.

Mother, please, she's trying to implicate me. The moon goddess is my witness. She caused the whole..." Before Lunette could state her point, Lyca interrupted.

"Keep quiet, you fool! Celestine, go on," Lyca retorted.

"She slapped and pushed me to the floor. I couldn't endure the pain so I screamed for help. As if that wasn't enough, she dragged my hair tenaciously. If you weren't here to stop her, she would have done worse. I know I'm an Omega but I don't deserve this punishment," Celestine sobs.

Lunette was startled. Tears rolled down her cheeks as words ceased from her mouth. She didn't bother justifying herself because her mother wouldn't fall for it.

Martha, who stood behind Lyca nodded in disapproval because she knew Lunette was too weak to defeat Celestine. She knew Celestine to be desperate.

"Martha, get me a whip, " Lyca commanded.

"Mother! No! No! Please! Celestine, don't do this," Lunette pleaded In tears as she watched Martha leave.

In a few seconds, Martha arrived with a long wooden cane. She handed it over to Lyca and watched as things unfolded.

"Celestine, I will give you the honor that was deprived of you. Arise! Take this whip and deal with Lunette mercilessly," Lyca blurted, her voice cold and unforgiving.

Celestine wiped her tears as she stood up. Her heart clamored for joy. She watched as Lunette lingered in tears and was satisfied.

"But Luna, I can't do this," she spoke deceitfully to make Lyca believe that she was truly an innocent victim but within her heart, she wanted to give Lunette the lash of her life.

"This is not a request! It's a command! Take this whip or I will end your service in this castle!" Lyca exclaimed.

Celestine was filled with elation. She grabbed the cane and gave Lunette a quick and violent strike over her body. Lunette wailed like a thief stoned for stealing in the market but no one came to rescue her.

"That's enough!" Lyca uttered after watching in satisfaction.

Lyca approached Lunette who lay sprawled on the floor like a log of wood and said "I've warned you countlessly that my maids are not your slaves. This is the tip of the iceberg. I must not remind you about your daily errands to the market. You have 10 minutes to eat and use your medicine."

Lyca and Martha left hurriedly while Celestine gave Lunette an antagonistic smile before leaving.

Lunette wept bitterly. Her body aches from the pangs of strokes that got imprinted on her skin. She managed to sit upright and reached for the nylon containing her food and medicine.

As she opened the nylon, the stench she perceived almost made her vomit. Nevertheless, she dipped her hands into the nylon and rushed the stale food. She used her medicine and rushed to the market to collect the stockfish from Nelly, a trader in the Bluemoon market whose husband is a fisherman. Conrad permitted her to sell in the market by coercively demanding five baskets of stockfish from her daily. This indicates that Lunette will make five different trips back and forth from the castle to the market, carrying each basket individually.

As Lunette hurried towards the path of the market, she felt a surge of irritation and nausea washing over her. In discomfort, she held her stomach and vomited, uncontrollably.

After Lunette emptied the contents in her stomach, she wiped her mouth with the back of her arm and regained her position. Suddenly, she felt an abrupt pain shot through her back. She turned around and spotted a large stone lying behind her. At that moment she realized someone had thrown it intentionally.

Lunette raised her head and saw young boys and girls of her age laughing and mocking her.

"A pathetic outcast! I can't even smell her wolf. Who knows if she has been impregnated with another bastard about to be rejected!" a voice shouted from the crowd and the group emitted a fresh burst of laughter.

Lunette bowed her head in shame and ran towards Nelly's shop. Unfortunately, she was able to deliver four different baskets of stockfish to the kitchen staff because one basket was hijacked from her by the bullies on her way to the castle.

Having done that, she washed the heap of dirty clothes Lyca handed and rewashed the previous ones as instructed. She staggered like a pregnant woman on the verge of delivery, stumbled upon the couch in the sitting room, and dozed off. The weight of the day's event settled on her shoulders.

**************

Lyca got annoyed when she heard the news from the chief maid. "I won't buy those lies. That good-for-nothing daughter is a thief!"

Lunette was awakened to reality with tremendous strikes and scornful words. The slaps emitted heat to her skin as she pleaded for mercy.

"How dare you return four baskets of stockfish to this castle? Oh, You have started getting into the act of stealing right? There won't be a next time for you because you will sleep and rot in the dungeon." Lyca roared.

"Mother, please, I was attacked on my way to the castle by unknown werewolves. I didn't steal the stockfish. The Moon Goddess is my witness," Lunette pleaded desperately because her last experience at the dungeon was horrid.

Lyca turned deaf ears to Lunette by commanding the sentinels to throw Lunette in the dungeon and lock her up. Lunette screamed relentlessly but was overpowered. They took her to the dungeon, threw her in, and locked her up.

*****************

The next morning, the castle in the Bluemoon pack was invaded by swarms of werewolf armies from the Bluestone pack. The sentinels in the Bluemoon pack couldn't attack because they were outnumbered.

Lyca and Conrad rushed out of their bedrooms because of the noise heard from the castle grounds. They quivered as they saw the numerous armies at the castle ground.

As Lyca set her eyes on Lucian, the Alpha of the Bluestone pack, she trembled. She couldn't believe her eyes. She thought she would never see her first mate who rejected her again.

She remembered how he got blinded by her beauty and took advantage of her. He neglected her after they had a heated intimacy in a cozy hotel. He claimed she was an Omega and could spoil his reputation as the Alpha prince.

Lyca was mistreated by bullies and powerful werewolves because she was an Omega. She had to escape from Bluestone Pack to avoid disdainful comments when she discovered she was pregnant. Her hatred for her baby grew when Lucian denied impregnating her and told her to abort the pregnancy. She vowed to channel the hatred to her child.

"Where is my daughter?" Lucian, Lunette's biological father and Alpha of the Bluestone pack, inquired in a fierce tone with rage filled in his eyes.

"I've aborted her long ago." Lyca lied confidently.

"Fenrir, my spy, confirmed my daughter is lurking in your dungeon. Bring her out before I slit your throat!" Lucian threatened in fury.

"You have no right to claim her! She's mine! Have you forgotten how you rejected us? Have you forgotten you told me to abort the pregnancy?" Lyca lamented her hurtful past as beads of tears flowed through her cheeks.

"I'm not here to trade words with you. I came to rescue my daughter from your vicious hands. You are not fit to be called a mother!" Lucian uttered unapologetically.

"You have no right to claim her as your daughter! Stop acting all righteous. I have the right to do whatever I want with her," Lyca yelled bitterly.

"I must leave here with my daughter. Whoever disrupts my mission will face death. I am ready to destroy this pack for my daughter's freedom," Lucian threatened. His human physique began to change course to a beast mode ready to attack.

Frightened, Conrad ordered his sentinels to bring Lunette out of the dungeon and handed her over to Lucian since his sentinels were outnumbered and wouldn't win the battle.

Lucian was devastated to see his daughter malnourished. He placed her in the back seat of his McLaren 720S, and his driver rode off to the Bluestone Pack, while the armies matched along.

*************

The members of the Bluestone pack rejoiced at their arrival. They welcomed Lunette with utmost joy and she felt loved. Lucian terminated his schedule in his castle to focus on his daughter. Lunette's desires came to pass; all she wanted was to live like a princess in a mighty castle, be treated with honor, a prince who would seek her hands in marriage, and have an Alpha father who cherished her.

Lunette thought she had found peace at her father's pack because he showed her off, cared for her, gave her more attention, and boasted of making her male child the next chosen Alpha of the Bluestone pack.

********************

Lucian fastened his robe as he got out of the bathroom. His gaze fell upon his Luna, Fergus, who sat on the bed looking worried.

"What's wrong, my love," Lucian's voice softened.

"You've forsaken my existence for your daughter! You don't have my time anymore," Fergus uttered, her voice bearing a sense of betrayal.

"If that's the case, you're mistaken. My daughter needs this affection at the moment," Lucian spoke calmly.

Fergus stood up as if she was about to fight, "I know you will support her! Just let me be," She clamored as she turned her back against him.

"Remus, the blind seer, foresees my daughter must be brought to the pack. He said she'll bring us luck and you'll bear an heir for the pack," He appealed. He tried to hold her hands affectionately but she walked out of the room.

********************

Lucian sponsored his daughter's education at the Hermeneutic Private College. On her first day at college, Lunette's heart fluttered in anticipation. She wondered if she would become a notable outcast or a respected princess.

As the driver approached the college gate, Lunette alighted and walked through the entrance. She got lost in the adoration of the campus surroundings and failed to catch a glimpse of an oncoming vehicle after its numerous honks until it was almost upon her.

Terrified, she stumbled backward, but at a swift and lightning speed, a young student grabbed her from falling and stopped the car's movement with his fierce fist, his werewolf strength was unmatched.

Tristan gazed into her blue eyes and felt a deep connection as his arm lurked around her curvy waist. The scent of her long blond hair, her beauty, and her innocence made him fall in love at first sight. His wolf whispered to him, "Finally, you've found your mate!"