Chapter 91 - The Duel

CELESTINA VILLARAMA'S POV

The way that Kris never spoke right after he saw the mark on his brother's neck made me feel a little bit guilty. I know that I shouldn't be feeling this way since he's not really my mate to begin with, but the way that I got his hopes up that I'd be choosing him and sticking together with him in his new pack that he planned to build was just disappointing.

I nudged Siege's arm with my elbow as we were heading inside the Crimson Moon Pack's mansion. He was beside me, and Kris was the one taking the lead.

"What's wrong with Kris?" I asked, my voice almost coming out like a whisper. "I haven't seen him get this furious before," I added, referring to how Kris wasn't talking to us at all.

Siege shrugged his shoulders, pouting. "He's probably hurt that you've got your eyes on me now, unlike before, when he still stood a chance against me," he answered, feeling proud of himself that he was finally able to claim me from his brother.

We crossed through the lobby, heading upstairs. The three of us went directly inside the room of Kris. He turned the lights on with the switch that was beside the door before he shut the door.

Kris sat on the wooden table that was in the center of his room, almost hitting the vase filled with varieties of flowers. "Care to explain the situation, Celeste?" He stared deeply at me, as if he were trying to summon my wolf out, and wasn't satisfied with having me around.

"There's nothing for Celestina to explain to you, Kris," Siege interfered, even though he clearly heard that he wasn't the one Kris was asking. "It'd be best for you to forget how you feel about her if this mark on me infuriates you this much, since we will be doing things even worse than what you can imagine," he added, as if he were purposely trying to make his brother mad.

I sighed at how childish Siege was becoming. I walked in between the two of them to prevent them from fighting. "We've been supposed to do this since the beginning anyway. We were just late. I'm sorry for letting you think that I'd marry you, Kris." I genuinely apologized to him, biting my lip.

Kris raised one of his eyebrows. "Do you think that I'd simply let you be with Siege? We already began our pledge earlier, and you were just abducted by Leo. We'll proceed with that," he grunted.

Siege pushed me away, but I let my feet get stuck on the ground so that I wouldn't stumble. "Move, Celestina. Are you going to defend Kris? Don't wait for me to let him experience the same thing that Lucas and Leo did," he mumbled with such an authoritative tone.

The beta looked quite confused. I bet he still hasn't heard about the passing of those two, and it might add up to his current vexed state.

"I don't want to see the two of you arguing because of me," I replied.

The aching sensation in my heart blossomed. It was a foreign feeling for me, and it was probably because of how I saw the sadness in Siege's eyes. I couldn't help but wonder if it was due to how I was acting too concerned with his brother rather than being jolly about having my curse completely revoked.

"We will never get along, not until one of us dies," Kris said, as if he had a huge grudge against the alpha.

I desperately prayed that they would not commit to a duel, but it was ultimately unavoidable in this state. The beta's eyes turned ocean blue, and even Siege's eyes were darker than Kris. Both of them were longing to kill each other.

"Do you really have to go this far, Kris? Can't we just remain as good friends? I'll also have you as my brother-in-law; isn't that enough for you?" I consecutively questioned him, hoping that it would change his mind.

The beta clicked his tongue as he hissed, giving me a deadly glare. As far as I can remember, this was the second time that he looked at me like he wanted to tear me apart. It was quite terrifying.

"I hereby challenge you, Siege Wong, to a duel to death," Kris declared. His vision wasn't even fixated on his brother; he couldn't bother to look away from me.

It was as if Kris was telling me that he was placing himself in a duel that he didn't want to occur, just to prove himself to me that he would be a greater pair to me than Siege.

"Siege, turn him down, please!" I immediately grabbed onto the alpha's forearm, firmly clinging onto him so that he wouldn't think of agreeing to his brother's duel. "You're not obligated to take Kris' life just to make him stop," I added.

Siege removed my grip on him as he took several steps forward, attempting to make Kris step backwards, but Kris didn't, and he remained in the exact same spot from where he was, to make his brother feel that he wasn't afraid of him at all.

"I accept your duel, Kristoffer Wong," Siege replied to him.

And before I could blink my eyes, the two of them had already begun striking one another, as if they had been longing to do this duel for such a long time now. Siege was sent flying to the air after Kris strongly punched his stomach with his bare fists.

Siege would absolutely not allow himself to be dominated, so he immediately shifted into his wolf form, even though there wasn't any full moon present yet. He made use of his giant body to stumble upon Kris, making the beta immobilized on the ground.

Kris was unable to shift into his wolf because of how quickly Siege did it. My eyes could barely keep up with how swift Siege's movements were. He kept on slashing Kris, but Kris was able to block all of it with his arms, causing it to have numerous bleeding scars.

"Siege, stop this! You're going to kill Kris!" I yelled my lungs out, even though I had no confidence that he would eventually listen to me. "I already agreed not to marry Kris, right? We discussed this before, and you promised that you won't hurt anyone as long as we don't proceed with our marriage!" I added.

If this situation has to come down to the worst, then I'd have to step in. Although I know that I might end up placing myself at risk of danger, I still have to do it. I have to involve myself in their duel and step in between so that when one of them lands a blow, they will hesitate, as they might end up taking my life instead.

The moment that Siege stopped with his slashes for a second or two, Kris managed to get away from Siege's captivity.

"Is this all you've got, Siege? Your strength was way better when we were still doing our daily training before," Kris muttered, wiping the blood that was coming out of his mouth. "Don't tell me that you've gotten weaker because of the influence of Celeste. If being in love is going to make you this fragile, then don't you think that it'd be better for you and the Crimson Moon Pack if you stay the same; no mate, no Luna?" he questioned.

Alpha Siege leaped backwards, stepping near me. His head turned to face me, and I noticed that his eyes weren't blue anymore. "If you don't want me to kill Kristoffer Wong, stop me. Words wouldn't be enough to stop me, though," he said through our mind-link.

My eyes slightly widened, realizing that his heart had softened up a bit for his brother. I really believed that he had the full determination to take Kris' life and that there was no use in stopping him. I guess Siege got to read my thoughts, and he only gave me his permission to step in later on.

But now, I already have a chance to save them both. Kris would be able to avoid the fate of his death. Likewise, Siege would be saved from being punished by the Moon Goddess, who would definitely give him a lot of consequences for annihilating his brother and the innocent beta.

I nodded my head once to let him know that I understood what he wanted to tell me. It was the same moment that he got back to continuously attacking Kris. But this time, Kris has already shifted, given the time that Siege was beside me.

The way that their injured wolves were bleeding nonstop, I was worried that they might end up dead before I could even step in.

Clenching my fists, I heaved out a deep breath, preparing myself for the possibility of losing my own life. This would be a single attempt, so I can't prevent myself from being nervous as hell. With my fast-pacing heart, I took a step forward.

"What the heck is going on here?" A woman's voice suddenly asked, causing me to turn my head around.

And having my eyes off of Siege and Kris might've been the worst decision that I made for my entire existence in this realm.