Chapter 54: Fifty four
Celeste
I stood in the middle of my living room, my chest heaving, staring at the shattered remains of a crystal vase I had just thrown against the wall.
The shards glittered on the marble floor like tiny knives, catching the afternoon light and throwing it back at me mockingly. Blood from the deep claw marks on my side and shoulder had already soaked through the white bandage I’d hastily wrapped around myself. Every breath sent fresh, stinging pain radiating through my body, but the physical hurt was nothing...nothing compared to the burning rage that filled every inch of me.
That bitch.
That fucking omega whore had dared to injure me. In Zander’s own penthouse, in front of him. She had attacked me like a wild animal, slammed me into the coffee table until it cracked, and then stood over me naked and bleeding and whispered those words in my ear like a curse.
“The omega beats the princess every single time.”
The memory made a low, vicious growl rip from my throat. My wolf moved angrily, still raging, still humiliated by the way Iris had overpowered me so easily.
I grabbed the nearest lamp an expensive porcelain piece my mother had given me and hurled it across the room with all my strength. It smashed against the opposite wall with a deafening crash, ceramic shards exploding outward and scattering across the floor like broken teeth.
“How dare she!” I snarled, voice low and trembling with fury. “How dare that worthless, scentless little slut walk into my fiancé’s home and attack me like she owns the place!”
I snatched a heavy crystal paperweight from the side table and smashed it into the large mirror above the fireplace. The glass exploded in a violent shower of shards. My own fractured reflection stared back at me dozens of angry, bleeding versions of Celeste Vorne, all of them humiliated.
“Pathetic,” I growled at the broken mirror. “You think you can touch me? You think you can mark me and walk away like you won? You’re nothing. A nobody omega who crawled out of whatever hole she was hiding in, wearing a borrowed name and a fake smile.”
I kicked over a side table, sending books and a porcelain figurine crashing to the floor. The figurine shattered into pieces. Great, let everything break. Let the whole damn apartment reflect how I felt inside.
“Zander,” I spat his name like poison. “My fiancé. The man who is supposed to stand beside me, rule with me, build something powerful with me and he just stood there. He watched her attack me. He didn’t stop her. He didn’t protect me. He let that bitch draw blood on me and then let her walk out naked like she owned him.”
Another growl tore from my chest as I swept an entire shelf of decorative glass ornaments onto the floor. They exploded on impact, the sound sharp and satisfying.
“You both disgust me,” I hissed, pacing through the wreckage, my bare feet crunching over glass shards that cut into my skin. I welcomed the pain. It kept me focused. “Zander, you weak, spineless fool. You threw away everything our alliance, our future, your duty for a cheap fuck with some random omega who probably spreads her legs for anyone who looks at her twice. And you, Iris… you pathetic little cunt. You think you can come into my world, seduce my man, and walk away unscathed? I will destroy you. I will make sure you regret every second you spent on your knees for him.”
I stopped in front of the broken mirror, breathing hard, staring at my fractured reflection.
Blood trickled down my side. My hair was a mess. My eyes were wild with rage.
But beneath the anger, something colder settled in my chest.
Humiliation.
Zander had chosen her. In that moment, in his own home, he had chosen her over me. He had let her attack me. He had let her leave victorious.
My phone rang on the kitchen counter, the sound cutting through the silence like a blade.
I snatched it up. Daddy.
I answered, trying to keep my voice calm even though my hands were still shaking with fury.
“Daddy.”
“Celeste.” His voice was calm, the way it always was when he was planning something. “I know you're still hurting from what happened at Zander’s penthouse this morning, the fight. The marks on your body. Everything.”
A slow, dangerous smile formed on my lips despite the pain.
“Good,” I said softly, the word dripping with venom. “Then do something to that little omega whore attacked me. She drew blood and humiliated me in front of Zander, and that spineless alpha did nothing to stop her.”
There was a pause on the other end.
“I know,” Daddy said. “Aldric has been informed as well. He is… displeased. Very displeased.”
The smile on my face widened.
“Displeased is an understatement,” I replied, my voice gaining strength. “Zander let her mark me. He let her walk out of his home naked and bleeding like she owned him. He chose her over me. Over us, over the alliance we’ve spent years building.”
Daddy's tone remained even, but I could hear the steel beneath it. “This will not be tolerated. Aldric is calling Zander in for a meeting as we speak. We will handle the girl. She has overstepped, she has shown her true colors, now we will show her exactly where she belongs.”
I walked slowly through the broken glass on the floor, feeling the shards cut into my feet but not caring.
“Make sure it hurts,” I said quietly, the smile still curving my lips. “Make sure she understands that no omega bitch gets to touch what is mine and walk away untouched. I want her gone, Daddy. Completely gone.”
A soft chuckle came through the line rare from him.
“She will be dealt with,” he promised. “Stay strong, Celeste. This is not the end. This is only the beginning of her regret.”
I ended the call and tossed the phone onto the counter.
The smile on my face grew wider, colder, more satisfied.
Let Zander run to his father. Let Aldric scold him. Let them both realize how far he had fallen.
Iris or whatever her real name was had made her move.
Now it was our turn.
I looked around at the destruction I had caused in my own home broken glass, shattered ornaments, blood on the floor.
It felt good.
It felt like justice and soon, very soon, the real destruction would begin.
The omega had drawn first blood.
But the princess would draw the last.