The Pack's Daughter (Aysel and Magnus) novel Chapter 115

**Midnight Letters by Daniel Crowe**
**Chapter 115**

The evidence lay stark and undeniable, illuminated under the harsh glare of the Grand Hall’s lights. It felt as if the very air crackled with tension, thickening around the assembled crowd like a storm cloud ready to burst.

Celestine, a master of evasion and deception, had always navigated her way through turmoil with the grace of a silver-tongued fox. Yet now, she found herself ensnared, with nowhere left to hide.

For the first time in her life, she was truly trapped.

The members of the Moonvale Pack exchanged glances filled with confusion and betrayal. Their suspicions had lingered in the shadows, yes, but they had chosen to believe in her, to trust in the woman they thought they knew. None among them had dared to imagine that the truth could be so cruel, so viciously twisted.

What should have been the pinnacle of her achievements, a moment of glorious coronation, had devolved into a public spectacle of disgrace—a ceremonial burial of her reputation.

No one had anticipated this shocking turn of events.

Several enforcers, formidable figures from the regional Alpha Council, advanced through the throng with a predatory grace that sent shivers through the onlookers. All eyes were drawn to them as they approached Celestine, their presence a chilling reminder of the authority they wielded.

“Miss Ward,” one of the enforcers declared, his voice resonating with an icy finality, “you are suspected of engaging rogue wolves to cause significant harm. You will accompany us.”

In that moment, Celestine’s fingers clutched desperately at Damon’s arm, her nails—honed to precision through years of dance and discipline—biting into his skin with a fierceness born of panic. She looked up at him, her eyes wide and pleading, a silent request for understanding and support.

Even the wolves of Moonvale, who felt the sting of betrayal, could not help but feel a flicker of concern for her.

The atmosphere inside the hall was stifling, thick with the weight of dominance, fear, and the instinctual tension of the pack.

“Celestine.”

A single, cutting voice sliced through the charged silence.

Giovanna stepped forward, her eyes as cold and unyielding as the moonlit night. “Do you understand why, despite your remarkable performance that year, I did not choose you as my apprentice?”

Gasps rippled through the crowd. No one had foreseen that Celestine Ward shared a history with the esteemed master, Giovanna.

Celestine’s instincts screamed at her to turn away, to block out the words that were about to unfold.

But Giovanna pressed on, her tone calm yet resolute. “The cub I sought… was your sister.”

A murmur of disbelief swept through the hall, the weight of her revelation settling heavily on the assembled wolves.

“But your family approached me,” Giovanna continued, her voice steady. “They insisted that you too had trained in dance, that your talent was equal to Aysel’s. They urged me to give you a chance.”

“So, I opened the trials. A public spectacle. Whoever excelled would be chosen.”

Her gaze softened for a fleeting moment, revealing a glimpse of the mentor she once was.

“You never possessed Aysel’s instinct. But you were relentless. Fierce. You pushed yourself to the limit, until your claws bled. And I was moved by that.”

She paused, her eyes clouded with memories of the past.

“Before the evaluation commenced, I had already made my choice. I would take the one destined to follow my path—your sister. But I wanted to elevate you as well.”

The murmurs in the hall grew louder, a cacophony of disbelief and intrigue.

“But before the evaluation,” Giovanna’s voice turned heavy, laden with the weight of sorrow, “Aysel was in a car accident. She was forced to say goodbye to her dreams of the stage.”

“And you,” her voice sharpened, cutting through the tension like a blade, “the one I still held hope for… entered the audition and performed a piece choreographed by your sister, claiming it as your own.”

Celestine’s heart raced, disbelief etched across her features.

“You want to know why I didn’t expose you?” Giovanna asked, her tone quiet yet fierce.

“I recognized the choreography instantly.”

Celestine swallowed hard, her throat dry.

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