Chapter 43: _What’s Up With Celine?

Chapter 43: _What’s Up With Celine? There was an awkwardly long silence after Kaelos’ outburst toward Madame Greyheart. I glanced around and noticed the maids giving judgemental looks, probably because of the way Celine’s mother had spoken to Kaelos without any regard. Anyway, Celine’s mother gawked at Kaelos before she chuckled amusingly, placing her hand in front of her mouth. "Pardon me, Alpha King, but what’s gotten you into a mood?" She asked, glancing at me just then with contempt. "Are you finally at the brink of snapping after spending so much ’quality’ time with a certain witch?" My grip on the glass of juice that I held tightened just then as my heart skipped a beat. I glanced at Kaelos first before glancing at Celine who had a disdainful look on her face. Oh no... It seems Celine told her mother that Kaelos and I are having sex. "Do you always speak in parables or are you just specially bent on annoying me today, Greyheart?" Kaelos asked, using the fork and knife in his hands to dissect a big roasted chicken in front of him before taking a bite. I could tell that he was getting pissed but was also trying his best to control himself. It was weird but it was almost as if I could... Feel his emotions. It was probably another effect of that accursed mate bond. "I didn’t say anything that an average ten-year-old wouldn’t be able to understand, Alpha King. I didn’t speak in parables." Madame Greyheart muttered, pouring herself a glass of wine as she did. "But I must remind you that rumors do tend to spread quickly and one like this would be one that the people would frown against if they–" Before she could complete her sentence, Kaelos finally couldn’t take it anymore and angrily smashed the knife in his hand into the table, causing me to jerk in surprise. "Leave!" Kaelos mumbled coldly, turning his gaze to the maids who stood around, including Caroline. None of them wasted a second and scurried away, although Caroline managed to give me one final glance before she left. When the dining room was finally silent, Kaelos pointed his knife at Madame Greyheart who arched an eyebrow in surprise. "Now listen here you aggravating piece of–" "Don’t talk to my mother like that." Celine suddenly blurted, causing Kaelos’ eyes to widen in shock. He turned his gaze to her, tilting his head as he tried scrutinizing her, probably trying to find where her newfound audacity came from. I remained silent throughout all this, not wanting to get caught in the middle. It was clear that Kaelos and Celine’s mother had some secrets they were keeping that allowed her to talk to him like that. That was the only theory I could come up with but the next question was... What was the secret? "Looks like someone has grown some balls overnight," Kaelos remarked, drumming his fingers on the table as he stared coldly at Celine, who was sitting beside him. The girl indeed had some balls if she could rap her mouth so close to him without flinching. Anyway, Kaelos clenched his jaw before he continued speaking. "It seems you’ve forgotten who you’re talking to. And trust me, you wouldn’t like what I’ll do if you want me to enlighten you." There was a tense silence after he said all that but despite it, Celine still gave him an unwavering look. Anyway, Celine shook her head with a bitter smile before she spoke. "I haven’t grown any balls but I’m now realizing how unjust this whole thing is, Kaelos. This was our home. We were happily married together!" I could feel the hurt behind her voice but I found it hard to sympathize with her when she’s done nothing but be a bitch since I came here. She acts like I snatched her husband from her when she and Kaelos were already divorced when I came in. Anyway, Kaelos sniggered, shaking his head as he stared at Celine coldly. "Happy? I was never happy in that marriage, Celine. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, you weren’t even able to give me what I desired most from a union with you." Celine scoffed, shaking her head as she gritted her teeth. "Is that why you decided to bring in a filthy witch into our home?!" Celine snapped, glaring at me with spite. I felt oddly vulnerable, and rightfully so. Everyone here was capable of killing me in an instant while I didn’t even have a way to defend myself. Maybe it’s time I brewed some potions using Aunt Althea’s grimoire. "First off, this is MY home. Not ours. It has never been ’ours’." Kaelos clarified, sounding oddly calm now. "Secondly, my marriage to Odessa is strictly due to the nature of the truce." Madame Greyheart sniggered, glancing at her daughter as she finally dropped the glass of wine in her hand. "Does screwing your so-called witch bride also count as a part of the truce, Alpha King?" She asked with contempt oozing out of her voice. "I’m not even angry that you’re sleeping with someone else other than my daughter. But really? A witch?" As her mother spoke, Celine turned her gaze to me, eyeing me with malicious intent. I felt cornered and the worst part was how meek Kaelos seemed in front of these women. Why wasn’t he doing anything to defend his dignity at least? "Revolting." Madame Greyheart blurted just then, still referring to the idea of Kaelos and I having sex. That was my last straw... "With all due respect, miss, but you have no right to refer to me as if I’m an object who isn’t able to stand up for herself," I said in a calm voice with anger brimming underneath. "My coven and your Alpha king came to a fair agreement that I’m hoping to see through to the end. So, please." There was silence at the dining table as soon as I was done talking. Even Kaelos had his gaze on me, and I could’ve sworn I saw a weird mix of amusement and pride flash through his eyes. That son of a– "How dare you speak to my mother like that you reject?" Celine snapped at me, seeming like she wanted to get up and come strangle me. "Apologize to her or I promise you I’ll–" "You’ll what, Luna Celine?" I asked, my tone oozing sarcasm. "You’ll hide behind mummy dearest once again in your attempts to bully me in front of your ex-husband, who doesn’t even want you anymore? Please, be my guest." At that moment, the worst happened. Celine got up and raised her hand, her eyes glinting with a predatory light that caused me to shrink back in my seat. However, before she could do anything, Kaelos stood up and grabbed her wrist, causing her to gasp in shock. "That’s enough." He muttered coldly, maintaining eye contact with her and making sure she didn’t move an inch while he held her. Meanwhile, Madame Greyheart snapped from where she sat and got up as well, making me the only one sitting. "Unhand my daughter!" "No. Control your daughter before I do something that YOU’LL regret." Kaelos uttered in a bone-chilling tone, barely acknowledging Madame Greyheart before he turned his gaze back to Celine. The latter squirmed and struggled to get out of his hold but it was futile. "I swear to the moon, you’ll regret this!" Celine hissed when she saw that she couldn’t get out of Kaelos’ hold, causing him to tilt his head at her. He squinted his eyes, scrutinizing her closely before he muttered. "What’s happening in that little head of yours?" Celine’s gaze wavered just then, her lips parting like she was about to say something. Fortunately, before she could and before the situation could get any worse than this, a voice interrupted. "Mr. Landon is here, sir." Everyone turned their gazes to the source of the voice only to spot Layla standing there with an awkward expression on her face as she scrutinized the scene. Who the heck was Landon?