Chapter 30 - The Preparation

CELESTINA VILLARAMA's POV

Ice has been the only one who stayed by my side as the two of us were watching how the scythe was being formed to make it seem like a real duplicate of the one that Stella had. It has been about two hours now and the person in charge told us that he'd be done with it soon.

"Are you sure that you're going to be battling against Stella?" Ice asked, then I only nodded my head once as a response. "She may be an omega of our pack, but you must not underestimate her capabilities. She's trained herself since she was a young pup, and that scythe of hers almost made it seem like it's her sibling. She doesn't go to any place without it," he added to serve as a warning for me to reconsider my decision. "It's not too late for you to back down, Celestina."

"Sorry but, my decision is already final. I don't want the alpha to think that I'm so weak to actually run away from a fight that wouldn't even put my life at risk. We're only going to have a friendly duel, which would simply determine which rank I would be put in the Silver Moon Pack," I said with full determination in my tone.

"It's done!" the man who held my scythe announced. He approached me and carefully gave me the weapon and whispered how it was heavy, and that I should be cautious with harming myself. "This would take about a decade before it needs to be reforged. I did my utmost best with enhancing that scythe, everything would be up to you now, Lady Villarama. I wish you the best in your duel with the omega, Lady Stella."

I gave him a sweet smile before we left the villa.

"Shall we test your current strength? It's been a few days since I trained you. I want to see how much you've improved." Ice brought out a few pieces of his daggers from his pocket. I didn't even notice that he was carrying those. He must've wanted to protect me in case that there would be an unexpected circumstance.

I held the scythe with my right hand and I could feel that my muscles were somehow adjusting with its weight. It's definitely not that light to lift and also not that heavy to be a burden.

The necklace that I was wearing instantly brightened up the moment that I placed the scythe parallel to my chest. "That's weird..." I muttered to myself as I sensed a random burst of energy flowing through my veins. It was only inside my right arm, until the portion of my chest. "Are all the weapons similar to this?" I asked out of pure curiosity.

"If you're talking about how it's kind of consuming or giving you strength, then yes. It only implies that the scythe itself is accepting you as its user, there's no harm in it or whatsoever," Ice answered me as he got ready to attack me.

The delta and I spent hours before we finally returned to the pack house.

"Where were you?" Lucas questioned Ice as his upper lip curled upwards while he had his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Ice glanced at me for a second. "We were out training. Celestina received her scythe," he said.

"Whatever." Lucas gestured for the two of us to head upstairs to our respective rooms. "Rest for the night. Tomorrow would be the day when you would face Stella," he declared as he was staring deep into my eyes.

***

As soon as the sun illuminated my room, I rose up from my bed and took a short shower. I wore a thin silk dress and only my underwear beneath. It would be inconvenient for me to wear anything else as it would hinder my movements, which could delay my attacks or defensive attempts.

I brushed my fingers above the pointed edge of my weapon. "Maybe I can get to know the real identity of Stella once I defeat her later on..." I mumbled to myself with a timid smile. "I'm counting on you, partner." I talked to my weapon as if it could hear what I'm saying.

Numerous knocks on my room door was the one that kept me distracted. "Lady Celestina Villarama, the alpha, delta, and the omega are all waiting for you downstairs. You're already a minute late, so Alpha Lucas ordered me to come and fetch you," said one of the pack's butlers from the other side of the door.

This alpha really hates anyone who comes in late according to his schedules.

I brought my scythe with me as I followed the butler downstairs. There I saw Stella who had a blank expression on her face, but her eyes were saying the exact opposite thing. It was like she's trying to concentrate and was getting herself pumped up for later.

"You're late." Alpha Lucas glared at me with those deadly eyes. "Stella has a low level of patience. If she ends up dominating you later on, just keep in mind that it's your fault for arriving at this moment."

Ice accompanied me to the venue, while Lucas was the one who stayed with Stella.

The way that they were constantly walking side by side made me curious. "Hey," I called Ice. "Are Alpha Lucas and Stella in a relationship?"

Ice faked a cough as he suppressed his laughter. "That's not the first time that someone actually asked me the same," he said, then turned to face me before he continued, "There's nothing going on between the two of them. If I was to be brutally honest, Lucas isn't fond of Stella's attitude. He's merely forcing himself to pretend that they're on good terms just for the sake of Stella staying within our pack. It would be really dangerous to set her free with those skills that she proved to us with her scythe."

I gulped the instant that I heard his answer. It made me wonder if I chose the right decision when in fact, Ice still gave me another chance to back out.

"We're here, Celestina."