The sickened luna’s last chance

Alexander & Ella

Alexander

The soda can fell to the bottom of the vending machine with a clatter. | grabbed it, along with a bag of pretzels

to help settle Ella's stomach, then made my way back toward her room. The door was slightly ajar as |

approached, and | could hear voices coming from inside.

“I don’t want him to markanymore.”

Ella’s words stoppeddead in my tracks, my hand frozen midair as | reached for the door handle. | didn't

catch what she said before that, but it didn’t matter. Those seven words were enough.

| don’t want him to markanymore.

For a moment, | just stood there, processing what I'd heard. Ella didn't want my mark. Didn't want me.

Not that it should have been a surprise. She'd already asked for a divorce. Hell, we'd even signed a contract

promising to divorce after my campaign.

Besides, | never had any intention of marking her.

And yet something about hearing her say those words made my chest hurt more than | thought it would.

“Alexander.”

| turned to find Liam approaching from down the hall. He was slipping his phone back into his pocket and his face

was pale.

“I just spoke to Molly,” he said. “And | wanted to apologize for what happened.”

| blinked, momentarily confused before remembering the blue-haired woman from the bar. The one who had

kissed my mate. With everything that had happened afterward, it seemed like a lifetago.

“I had no idea she had feelings for Ella,” Liam went on. “If I'd known, | never would have reintroduced them. I'm

sure the incident was the catalyst behind Ella’s fainting spell.”

| shrugged, trying to appear unbothered even as my wolf snarled at the memory of another person’s lips on

Ella's. “It's fine,” lied.

Liam's eyebrows shot up. “You're... fine? Another woman kissed your mate.”

No. | wasn’t fine. Of course | fucking wasn’t. Ella and | had a contract, but she was still my wife for now. And

lately

Maybe Gabriel was right. Maybe | had gotten in over my head. The show Ella and | had been on, pretending to be

a loving couple, had becall too real.

And then there was what happened in the alley. I'd cso close-so fucking close-to having sex with her. At the

time, it didn’t matter towhether we were in public or not. All | cared about was feeling my mate.

Five years.

Five years of marriage and Ella was still a virgin

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Chapter 49

And she wasn’t even aware that | was, too.

But what had happened out there was clearly a mistake-biology taking over during our lowest point. It was fust,

pure and simple, Ella didn’t wantto mark her, she hated me. And | would never mark her, not when her

family was responsible for my parents’

death.

Still, why did it hurt so much?

Finally, snapping myself out of my thoughts, | nodded. “Yes. I'm fine.”

Liam studiedfor a moment. “If you say so.”

| held out the soda can. “Give this to Ella when she wakes up. I'm heading home. | have work to do.”

“You're leaving?” Liam frowned. “She just collapsed a few hours ago.”

“She’s in good hands,” | said, nodding toward the door. “The doctor said she’s stable, and you and Lilith are

here. | have a meeting in the morning that | need to prepare for.”

Liam took the soda with a skeptical look. “If that’s what you want.”

It wasn’t what | wanted. What | wanted was to go back into that room, to sit beside Ella’s bed and make sure she

was okay. Every fiber of my being wanted to be by my mate's side.

But I'd heard what Ella had said. She didn’t want my mark. Didn't want me. It was better if | let her rest tonight

instead of making her look at my face after the mistakes we made in the alley. | wasn’t sure if | could face her,

either.

“Tell her | hope she feels better,” | said. “I'll check in tomorrow.”

With that, | turned away, striding down the hallway without looking back.

Ella

| woke to the sound of beeping medical monitors and scratchy hospital sheets against my skin. For a moment, |

was confused as to where | was. My head was pounding and | felt dehydrated-a hangover? Or something else?

And then | remembered.

| groaned and rolled over in the uncomfortable hospital bed, squinting against the morning light streaming

through the blinds, Last night had started off so perfectly, only for everything to go to shit. One mistake after

another. And then... my condition.

Tears filled my eyes, but | blinked them away. | wouldn't tell Alexander about my illness, instead, I'd made Lilith

promise to keep my secret while | focused on completing our contract so he would reject me

Besides, he hadn't even returned from getting my soda, and Liam said he had to leave to prepare for a meeting,

which only solidified my belief that what had happened between us in the alley had been a mistake.

Suddenly, I noticed something on the bedside table that had been there when it simp

A vase filled with cherry blossoms

| gasped softly, sitting up My favorite fireers But dhe vid has brought them!ith hail fait to get one rest and gather

worne

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Chapter 49

things forat the house, and she wasn’t back yet. Maybe Liam?

60%

15

Before | could ponder it further, the door opened and Dr. Evelyn walked in with a clipboard in hand. She smiled

when she saw | was

awake.

“Good morning, Luna Ella,” she said. “How are you feeling?”

“Like someone hitwith a truck,” | admitted.

“That's to be expected, given your condition.”

| bit the inside of my cheek. “Has it gotten worse?”

“I'm afraid so.” The doctor pulled up a chair and sat beside the bed. Her expression was grave. “When you first

cto see me, your condition was so rare that I couldn't predict exactly how it would progress. But after what

happened last night... It seems the dormancy is affecting your body more severely than | anticipated.”

I swallowed hard. “What does that mean?”

Dr. Evelyn gavea sympathetic look. “Luna Ella, you need to resolve this soon. Either through marking or

rejection. Otherwise, you'll continue to deteriorate. It won't be like flipping a switch-you won't just suddenly die

one day. It will be a slow, painful process. Increasing weakness. Organ failure. Coma. Then, finally, death.”

The clinical description of my impending death sent a chill down my spine. It was one thing to know | was dying

in the abstract, another to hear it spelled out so viscerally.

“I'd really recommend talking to your mate,” Dr. Evelyn said gently. “He'd certainly mark you if you would only

tell him.”

“You don’t understand,” | said quietly. “It's not that simple. Alexander won't mark me.”

Dr. Evelyn’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “That's surprising. The Alpha seemed incredibly concerned when he

brought you in last night. And again this morning when he cby with those flowers.” She nodded toward the

cherry blossoms. “You're certain he wouldn't mark you?”

| jerked my head up so quickly that pain shot behind my eyes. “Alexander brought those?”

The doctor nodded. “Around six this morning. You were still sleeping. He didn’t want to wake you, so he just

askedto make sure you were comfortable and said he'd check in later.”

| stared at the cherry blossoms, and my heart did a strange little flip in my chest. Alexander had brought me

flowers? My favorite flowers, no less? After everything that had happened between us, he'd still thought to bring