Chapter 54 - The Disconnection

CELESTINA VILLARAMA'S POV

My hand was wrapped around the hot palm of Siege as he brought me closer to the fountain's distance. There were a lot of eyes set on us, but the alpha just informed me not to give them much attention. We were only a few inches apart from the fountain now, and after a minute, we finally decided to place our palms on its base.

Just like the first time that I saw the same type of fountain back in the Silver Moon Pack, the aura that emitted from the two of us felt like it had been altered. I thought that it was only Ice who wanted to escape, but it turns out that the alpha and I also share the same intention.

All of us wanted to escape from this realm that the moon goddess forced upon us.

"Don't think about anything else other than the portal, Celestina," Siege warned. "If the fountain detects that you're thinking about something or someone else, it will push you away," he added.

I simply nodded my head at the same time that I shut my eyes, focusing on the image of the portal that appeared in my world a few years ago. It was the portal that destroyed my peaceful youth, and it was the same portal that led me to this terrifying realm where my life is always at risk, all day and all night long.

Lines appeared on my forehead as I started to visualize the portal in my mind. It was like I could freely walk into the depths of my mind. I was conscious beside Siege, but my soul was in the fountain.

"It's the portal," I muttered.

I immediately frowned when I got blocked by an invisible barrier the moment that I tried to cross the portal, causing me to wobble my legs and lose my balance. I rubbed my forehead when I hit the barrier. Before I stood up, I saw the countdown timer that indicated the remaining days before the appearance of the next portal.

"T-twenty-one days?" I said in disbelief at how close it was. My eyes were opened to reality. I stepped back from the fountain, and Siege was already behind, waiting for me. "Did you also see the portal?" I asked him.

The alpha shook his head. "I thought of something else. It would only be convenient for us to check different things at once, right? And besides, this fountain won't function again, not until a week has passed by," he replied.

I raised my eyebrow at him, questioning what he verified. The alpha informed me that it was about the coming of judgment day, the one that all of them feared. The moon goddess is the one who's responsible for judgment day, and she doesn't look like she has any intention to back down.

"So, how many days are left before judgment day?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Exactly twenty days," he answered with a straight face.

"Twenty days?" I covered my mouth with my palm. "But... The next portal's appearance is after twenty-one days. How is that possible?"

The alpha held his own chin, thinking about whatever the moon goddess was plotting for putting the judgment day before the arrival of the next portal. "I think I already have an idea about what she desires," he said.

However, just before I got to hear the next statement from Siege, someone from the other side called us. Turning around to see who it was, I saw the beta waving at us.

"What are the two of you doing here? You never informed me that you'd be heading out today, Siege," Master Kristoffer inquired as soon as he approached us near our spot. "And what's with those serious expressions? Did I just interrupt an important discussion?" He rubbed the back of his head, feeling awkward.

Siege gave him a deadly glare. "You really are clueless, Kris," he scoffed.

The alpha gave me a gesture to follow him, and we weren't expecting that the beta would also follow us around. "How about you, Master Kristoffer? Why were you going through the Fountain of Life?" I asked, wondering what he wanted to discover.

The beta shrugged both of his shoulders. "Nothing in particular. I was just doing my regular patrol around the area when I saw the two of you there." The way that he answered made it difficult for me to know whether he was telling the truth or not.

The alpha and the beta weren't communicating that much, but I guess it was because I was around. Considering what happened lately because of my wolf, who was lusting over the beta, it's understandable that Siege would rather keep quiet than act like everything's normal between them.

"Master Kristoffer," I called out to the beta, but they both turned my way. "I'm really sorry for the commotion that Celeste brought upon you."

He gave me a dismissive wave. "That doesn't matter as long as Celeste won't show herself again in front of me. I don't know how I'd react if she just kept on acting like we were really mates," Kristoffer replied.

The alpha clicked his tongue in irritation at our interaction, so I marched forth to stay beside him. Glancing up at him, I noticed that his lips were slightly pouted, which I found cute.

"The alpha is sulking because I'm talking to his brother. Come on, that was really not my intention; it was Celeste. I'm sure you all know that she's aggressive when it comes to lust," I said, trying to remove the tension among the three of us.

"You came into this realm without a wolf, and now that you have one but were cursed, it just made things worse. Who knows what you'd do if you fell for a man, and Celeste wants a different man?" Siege muttered to himself.

"What do you mean?" I tilted my head to the side, unable to comprehend what he wanted to say.

"Siege is anxious that Celeste would kill someone for her lust and not consider who you love," Kristoffer answered instead of the alpha. "It might be better for you to disconnect with us for good if you want to protect Siege," he added.