The sickened luna’s last chance

Chapter 42

Ella & Alexander

Ella

| screamed and lunged for the nearest blanket, yanking it off the bed and wrapping it around myself. But it was

too late-Gabriel had already seen everything. Every inch of black lace. Every exposed bit of skin. And there was

a lot of that.

“Get out!” | shrieked, clutching the blanket to my chest. “What the hell are you doing in here?”

But Gabriel didn’t leave. Instead, he took a step into the room.

“I should be the one asking you what you’re doing,” he growled.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

Gabriel sneered. “Don’t play innocent, Ella. You're trying to seduce him, aren't you? Trying to get knocked up so

he’s forever bound to you? Or are you just hoping he'll be stupid enough to mark you?”

| blinked, my shock and humiliation momentarily replaced with confusion. Was that what he thought? That | had

ordered fancy lingerie to seduce Alexander and get pregnant? And more importantly, why did Gabriel even care?

“So what if | am?” | shot back, lifting my chin defiantly. “He’s my husband. My mate. What business is it of yours

what happens in our bedroom?”

Gabriel's face blanched. Clearly, he hadn't expectedto own up to it. Of course, | hadn't actually ordered the

lingerie, but that didn’t matter. Seeing him so disturbed by the thought filledwith a sense of satisfaction.

“You think he'll fall for it?” Gabriel scoffed after a moment, regaining his composure. “Alexander's smarter than

that. He knows exactly what you are.”

“And what am I, exactly?”

“A manipulator who's using her body to get what she wants. A whore.”

“You're disgusting,” | growled. “And frankly, | don’t care what you think of me. Get. Out.”

| didn’t even mean to use my Luna Voice that time-it just slipped out, as if it becmore natural toeach

t| used it. Gabriel's spine straightened, and he immediately turned to leave.

But before he could get far, the door swung open again, the sunlight in the hallway illuminating an all-too-

familiar figure.

Alexander.

He froze, staring at the scene. Green eyes first flicked to me, wrapped in a blanket with my face as red as a

cherry, then to the box overflowing with lingerie sitting by my feet, and finally at his Beta, who had clearly

seen.., everything.

| opened my mouth to explain what had happened, but Alexander began to speak first. He nodded toward the

box, and his voice was eerily calm. “I hope you're not planning to wear those around the house.”

The mortification was almost too much to bear. | couldn't take it anymore.

“Both of you, out!” | shouted, storming toward them with the blanket clutched around me. “Now!”

| shoved them both into the hallway with one hand, using the other to keep the blanket in place. Before either

could protest, | slammed the door and locked it.

08:39 Tue, 19 Aug

Chapter 42

Alexander

“She was wearing lingerie,” Gabriel whispered as we moved away from the bedroom door. “Trying it on. Black

lace.”

I didn’t need the reminder. The image of Ella’s red face, her bare shoulders visible over the top of that blanket,

the box of lace and silk sitting beside her it was already burned into my brain.

“In private,” | growled, pushing Gabriel toward my study. “Not here.”

Once we were safely behind closed doors, Gabriel continued, “She's trying to seduce you, Alpha. | found her

trying on lingerie-expensive stuff, too. You need to be careful. She might even try to get pregnant.”

The thought of Ella wearing something like that made my wolf surge with excitement. It took everything | had to

keep my feet rooted to the spot so wouldn't run to her and see for myself.

But mixed with that desire was something else-a hot, dark, dangerous fury that Gabriel had seen her that way.

That he had witnessed something meant only for me.

Before | could think better of it, | lunged forward, slamming Gabriel against the wall with my forearm pressed

against his throat.

“You were spying on my mate?” | snarled, my fangs dropping dangerously. “You walked into our bedroom without

knocking and saw her in her underwear?”

Gabriel's eyes widened. “N-No, it wasn't like that. | was looking for you, and the door was-*

“Shut,” | finished for him. “The door was shut, and you opened it without permission.”

Gabriel swallowed hard against my arm. “Alexander, | was just-"

“You're lucky | have an ounce of self-control in my body,” I cut him off. “Because if | didn’t, you'd be bleeding on

the floor right now. No one sees my mate like that. No one.”

Gabriel blinked, clearly surprised by my vehemence. And truthfully, | was a bit surprised myself. But my wolf

wasn’t-he was howling for blood, enraged that another male had seen what was his.

But Ella wasn’t mine. Not really. She wasn’t marked.

“Yet,” my wolf added.

Right. Yet. She wasn’t marked yet.

“I know the truth, Gabriel,” | went on. “Ella is a beautiful woman. Very beautiful. And even you aren't immune to

that, are you? How long have you been sneaking looks at her?”

“What?” Gabriel sputtered. “No, that’s not-I would never-

“Don’t bother denying it. You, the eternal playboy with a different woman in your bed every week, suddenly

concerned about my wife’s undergarments?” | scoffed. “You're barking up the wrong tree.”

Gabriel shook his head frantically. “Alexander, | swear, it’s not like that. | was just concerned that she’s trying to

manipulate you.”

| stared at him for a long moment, searching his face for any sign of deception. All | saw was fear and confusion-

and perhaps a hint

With a disgusted sigh, | released him and stepped back. My wolf growled, urgingto rip the insubordinate

male’s throat out then run to Ella, mark her and fuck her in that lingerie... But | shoved him down. This was

insanity. | was actually thinking of marking her, of making her mine for the first tin five years.

What was happening to me?

Chapter 42

“I'm sorry,” Gabriel said immediately, smoothing down his shirt. “I should have knocked. You're right

“Yes, you should have.”

“But,” Gabriel added cautiously, “I still stand by what | said earlier. You and Ella have been spending more time

together than usual lately. And you’ fated mates, which makes it even more difficult to keep your head straight

around her.”

| turned away, not wanting him to see the conflict | knew was written clearly across my face. Because he wasn't

wrong, Lately, it was becoming harder to maintain my distance from Ella. To remember all the reasons why |

shouldn't let myself fall for her.

The press conference kiss. The movie theater. The way she had defended herself at her parents’ house. Her fire,

her determination, her beauty...

“I can tell you're starting to have feelings for her,” Gabriel said. “And if she seduces you, it could be detrimental.

She could still be a spy for her family. manipulating you for information or something else.”

| didn’t respond. What could | say? That | had already promised to stop sending money to her father at her

request? That | had carried her to bed last night and spent far too long looking at her sleeping face? That the

thought of her in black lace lingerie was making it hard to think straight right now?

Gabriel studiedfor a moment, then sighed. “You know what you need? A distraction. Something to get her off

your mind before you do something you'll regret.”

| shot him a withering glare. “What are you suggesting?” | snapped.”

to

My Beta didn’t flinch at my tone. Instead, a small smirk stretched across his face. “How about | take you out to

the bar tonight?” he asked.

Share to your friends