Chapter 91 Celeste
Celeste:
I was born into shadows.
Not just shadows of the night, but shadows of people’s minds. My parents. My clan. The villagers. They saw me — me — as a stain. A curse. From the moment I drew my first breath, they whispered of misfortune, of ruin. They said a child like me would bring death. And in a way… they were right.
At three, they took my eyes. Plucked them from my skull. Cold hands. Sharp instruments. And I… I felt nothing.
Not sadness. Not fear. Not even pain.
Just clarity.
They told me it was to “save the world from me.” To prevent my greed, my dark heart, from spreading evil across the earth. A prophecy they murmured in frightened tones: She will devour what is good. She will bring fire where none should burn. She will curse the land itself.
So they stole my eyes. And the prophecy whispered louder in the darkness.
I hated them. I hated everyone. Everything. The world smelled wrong. It tasted of lies, of fear, of fragile life clinging desperately to meaningless morality.
At six, I killed my mother. Sharp, clean, precise. I remember the weight of her life leaving her hands. And I… smiled. Felt the first spark of joy I’d ever known. Something surged inside me that no punishment, no tears, no fear, could ever touch.
I was alive.
At eight, the village. Every villager. Every praying mouth. Every whispering child. Gone. And still… joy. Ecstasy. Pure, beautiful ecstasy. They had warned me. They had tried to stop me. They had called it evil. But it was not evil. It was truth.
And after that? Roads. Shadows. Darkness that became a companion, a friend, a skin I could wear. Until I was caught. Shackled. Sold. Enslaved.
I hated that too. Hated the weakness. Hated the chains. Hated that they could force me into servitude.
And then — I met her.
Maureen.
The girl who glowed with light. Who made my blood twist in ways I hated and craved at the same time. My first vision of her — I didn’t understand it. A prophecy flashed in my mind again, one I had barely dared to whisper aloud to myself: She will carry fire in her womb. She will shake the heavens. She will crown the broken.
I waited until nightfall, before leaving the pack house.
Lord Cassian’s house loomed ahead — familiar, cold, and full of opportunity.
Riven had told me he wasn’t home.
Good. Perfect. I could make myself comfortable. I could observe, plan, and decide.
I slid inside his chambers and let the door click shut behind me. Darkness wrapped around me like silk. I laid across his bed, watching the Omega slaves grind against each other like animals too foolish to see the chains that bound them.
“Come here, pretty one. Come to me…” I called.
One of them crawled to me, trembling. Weak. Fragile. I could feel every ounce of their essence, every crack in their being. And I smiled.
The door burst open.
“What is the meaning of this nonsense?!” Cassian’s voice cut through the room like a whip.
I didn’t flinch. I let the faintest curve of my lips suggest amusement.
“What do you mean?” I asked lightly, dismissing the Omega with a subtle flick of my hand. Their bodies tumbled backward, scrambling out of reach.
“What are you doing on my bed?”
I stretched, languid, letting my gaze trace the ceiling. “Relax, old wolf. I have news. Interesting news.”
He stepped forward, impatient, his presence sharp, commanding. “Okay… say it. What is it?”
My body twitched — anticipation, not arousal. The news, the leverage, the power. That’s what made me feel alive.
“I performed a dark, intimate reading through touch and sight,” I said slowly, letting the words roll between us. “And I believe… Maureen has a child.”
Cassian froze. His hand tightened into a fist. “What?! That’s impossible! Vuk can’t procreate… and even if he could, she — a beta, a noble daughter — can’t carry something so… heavy.”
I let the words hang. Let the weight sink in. I leaned forward slightly. “She has lunar blood.”
Cassian’s eyes went wide. A dangerous edge of disbelief and anger sharpened his features. “You’re kidding! Lunar blood is nothing compared to Pure Selena Blood… and Lucifer… you’re wrong. Blind witch!”
I didn’t flinch. Didn’t step back. “Enough,” I said softly. “I know what I saw. Give me one week. One week, and I will confirm everything.”
“I don’t have a week to give you!” he barked.
I smiled. Not the smile of innocence, not the smile of gratitude. This was the smile of a predator.
A master of her own game.
I was brought to him as a blind, meek servant. A tool. A pawn. But the fox eyes changed that. They gave me sight beyond sight. Power beyond obedience. And now… I set the rules.
I am not serving him. I am partnering. Not because I owe him. Not because I fear him. But because I see the game, and I will win.
He gaped, unprepared for the shift. I could almost see the realization crawling through his mind: the quiet, obedient girl he thought he controlled was gone. Replaced by something… darker. Calculated. Unstoppable.
“I am Celeste,” I whispered, letting the words slide between us like a blade. “Born in shadow. Shaped by cruelty. Marked by prophecy. And the girl before me… she will not survive the truth of what I have discovered.”
I leaned back, calm, almost regal. The storm in me simmered just beneath the surface — hatred, cunning, the joy of ruin. Every instinct, every prophecy whispered in my veins, said destroy. And I would.
But on my terms.
Cassian’s hand twitched toward me, a silent warning. I didn’t move. I couldn’t. Not yet. He didn’t understand that his old rules no longer applied. Not to me.
I would take the information, shape it, use it. Make him need me. Make him follow. Let him realize, too late, that I am not a tool. I am the architect of what comes next.
THE NEXT DAY~
I approached Lady Livia’s room, holding a small cup of tea. My voice trembled just enough when I called, “Lady Livia…”
Her gaze lifted immediately. “What is it now? Why are you crying?” she asked, concern pulling her from her seat.
I let my shoulders slump, my lips quivering. “I… the other maids… they were teasing me…” My voice cracked. Perfectly measured.
Her brow furrowed, and she stepped closer instinctively. “Oh… that’s awful. Here, let me help.”
I allowed her to lean in, letting the proximity mask my intent. My fingers brushed lightly against her temple — nothing obvious, just a gentle touch. Then, carefully, I reached into her memories, probing for threads of knowledge that might lead me to what I needed.
At first, the memories were scattered. Glimpses of mundane chores, minor disputes, whispers in corridors. Fragments that didn’t matter. I swapped through them deliberately, letting my senses sift the layers, the hidden echoes of people’s lives, searching for patterns, for clues…
Then one thread clicked.
Sudden clarity.
Maureen. Coma. Lunar coils glowing faintly around her stomach. And him — Vuk. The alpha devil — siphoning life from her womb. Not one. Not two. Three.
The weight of it slammed into me like a tidal wave. Embryos. Hidden. Fragile. Yet impossibly potent.
I stumbled back slightly, a thin trickle of blood sliding from my nose. My pulse raced. Even I, Celeste, born to darkness, could not fully bear this sight without cost.
I steadied myself, letting my fake trembling and faint tears mask the storm inside. Livia gasped, her concern palpable. “Oh… you poor thing…”
I nodded, letting the act linger just long enough. “Yes… it’s… too much sometimes.”
But beneath the surface, I calculated. The children’s essence. The lunar energy. The power latent in them. I would need to grow stronger, feed, sharpen myself… anything to step closer to Maureen and unravel the f
ate entwined with these hidden lives.
“Time to feed,” I whispered to no one. “Time to grow strong enough to bend fate itself.”