The sickened luna’s last chance

Chapter 18

Ella

My father’s and Margaret's faces both reddened at the stime.

“You didn’t tellhe was off eating when he should be socializing,” he whispered, turning toward my

stepmother. Her mouth just worked uselessly. The damage had been done.

My father took Margaret by the arm, muttering sexcuse or another, and the two of them hurried away. |

watched them go with a satisfied feeling curling in my chest.

Socializing at events like this was paramount for people of our status; it was an opportunity to network, to get to

know other Alphas and Lunas, and in the case of someone like my younger half-brother, who would one day

inherit Stormhollow-it was a chance to him to build his nand maybe even meet his future Luna.

But Margaret, believing Brian could do no wrong, had let him run around doing whatever he wanted. If she had

any real authority over me, she would have forcedto talk to each and every socialite in attendance,

remember every name, even prepare greeting cards. But Brian...

“Liam,” Kristoff suddenly said, turning, “I didn’t expect to see you here today, either. Have you ever attended the

Spring Market Celebration before?”

Liam shook his head. “No, | haven't.”

Maria giggled. “That's because your father is quite the workaholic. | asshe rubbed off on you in that

regard.”

A muscle in Liam's jaw jumped at the mention of his father, but he nodded. “It’s true.” He gestured towith a

smile. “That's why | have wonderful friends like Ella. If it weren't for her, | wouldn't be here at all.”

“How did you two meet?” Maria asked.

“In grade school,” Liam replied.

“Aww,” Maria cooed, beaming. “Childhood friendships are precious indeed. You two should hold onto each other

—always cherish your connection.”

Alexander, prompted by something that felt an awful lot like jealousy, suddenly moved closer toand

wrapped his arm around my waist, pullingflush against his side. The gesture was all too similar to the way

he'd acted at the banquet, and although | expected it this time, it still took my breath away.

“Yes,” Alexander said, turning his gaze on Liam, “childhood friends. How sweet.”

Liam's eyes guttered, but only for a moment. The tension was swiftly diffused as another Alpha and Luna duo

approached and began commenting on Alexander's and my relationship. To everyone else, we seemed like the

sweet, loving couple who could do no wrong.

And Liam? Liam was just the childhood friend, the adorable third wheel in our relationship.

As the others were talking, | suddenly felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise. | flinched slightly, lifting my

hand to run it across the nape of my neck, and turned slowly.

That was when | saw her.

Sophia.

“Of course,” | muttered, nudging Liam.

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Chapter 8

Liam followed my gaze and growled at the sight of her. “I take it Daddy Dearest let her out of her room.”

“Yep. | knew sending her hwasn’t much of a punishment.”

And the way she was looking atnow... That cold glare, the way her upper lip curled faintly to reveal partially

extended fangs...

It leftunsettled.

| sighed inwardly, wondering if | should go and talk to her. But just as | was about to, she turned away and swiftly

disappeared into the crowd.

Sparks flew into the air as a log popped from the pressure, red and golden flecks disappearing into the midnight

blue night sky. Bodies twirled and laughed around the fire, skirts flaring and drinks sloshing.

| stood off to the side, smiling softly as | watched the dancers. The cup of warm wine in my hands was sweet and

just a little. bitter, the perfect treat to end a long and tiring day.

Alexander was standing not far off, hardly looking atas he talked to his Beta. He didn’t askto dance. Not

that | expected him to.

Maybe, if | made it out of this arrangement with my life intact, | would someday be one of the women dancing

with a male around the bonfire. | was still young-only twenty-two. If | lived, | would have plenty of tfor such

things.

And | would make tfor them. | would live life to its fullest, every day, no matter what.

As the music swelled, | moved closer to the bonfire, savoring its warmth against my cool skin. | swayed slightly

to the sounds, shutting my eyes momentarily.

It was nice. Lively but peaceful. The sort of night where | could be surrounded by life and love and happiness,

even if it wasn’t my own.

And then | heard it.

A scream.

“ROGUE!”

Before | could react, the crowd surged. People screamed and ran, wine forgotten on the ground, bodies slamming

into one another. | was jostled so hard | nearly collapsed, each wave of frightened people pushingcloser and

closer to the fire.

Somewhere through the throng, | saw a wolf leap from the treeline. A rogue, its fur matted and patchy, foamy

saliva dripping from its jaws.

As the crowd moved around me, | knew | had to act quickly.

| caught my footing just before someone jostledinto the fire, the heat from the flames nearly singeing my

face, and shoved my way back through the crowd. My heart stuttered as | saw the rogue stalking toward a little

girl who was crying, standing frozen, her ice cream cone melting at her feet.

“Hey!” | shouted, waving my arms. “Over here!”

The rogue snapped its head toward me, its gaze locking onto me. It snarled and leapt in my direction.

| widened my feet, lowering my stance, and waited.

Sure, | didn’t have my wolf anymore. But | had been trained as a female warrior in Stormhollow long before |

ever became

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the docile Luna my dad and stepmother wantedto be. It was my first passion, the one thing | was good at.

Training with the other warriors in my pack... it was my pastime. | used to train day in and day out, following

them on their missions, learning how to not only fight as a wolf, but also in human form-hand-to-hand combat

was my favorite, although archery was a close second.

That had all been taken fromwhen my father essentially soldto Alexander. But the instincts still

remained.

Just as the rogue was about to slam into me, | sidestepped, making it run straight into a nearby tree instead.

While it was momentarily dazed, | grabbed a fistful of its fur and swung myself onto its back, wrestling it to the

ground.

The rogue writhed and snarled beneath me, bucking so hard it nearly sentflying into the forest. But | held on

tight, refusing to let go-I had to keep it distracted long enough for more help to come.

As the rogue struggled underneath me, | scrabbled at my boot, fumbling around for the small knife | always kept

on me. | slipped it out and jammed it with all my might into the wolf's scruff over and over, piercing the leathery

skin, grimacing as blood splattered my dress, face, and hair.

Finally, the rogue let out a whimper and began to falter, even if only a little.

Two wolves-one white, the other a deep chestnut-crunning then. Liam and Alexander. When they saw me

struggling, they pounced, pinning the rogue to the ground as | leapt out of the way.

There was a crunch and a final howl, and then it was over.

| gasped, stumbling backwards, as Alexander and Liam shifted back into their human forms and ran over to me.

“Ella,” Liam gasped, reachingfirst. He grabbed my shoulders and turnedthis way and that, checking me

for injury. “Why didn’t you use your wolf form? You could have gotten killed!”

“I... I didn’t think,” I lied, breathless. Even now, in the heat of the moment, | knew I couldn't tell him the truth

about my wolf. “I just acted.”

Before Liam could respond, we heard screaming coming from the direction of the bonfire. Wanting to ensure no

one had gotten hurt, | stumbled after Alexander, who was running that way.

As we approached, there was a small crowd standing near the bonfire, forming a circle around a person in the

middle.

The circle parted to reveal who was standing within. Sophia. Her skirt had been burnt by the fire, still smoking,

the fabric so badly destroyed that it completely exposed her legs and part of her panties beneath.

Alexander swiftly turned away, face reddening. Acting on instinct, | pulled off my shawl-which was covered in the

rogue’s blood-and tossed it to her.

Sophia's face turned red, but she took it and wrapped it around herself before scurrying away.

There was a long, tense silence. It seemed no one could figure out what to do, how to react to what had just

happened.

And then: “To Luna Ella!”

Kristoff and Maria raised their wine, and soon, the entire crowd was toasting my name. | stared at them, not sure

how to respond or even how to breathe.

Suddenly, Alexander appeared at my side. He wrapped his arm around me, but there was something more

tender about it this time, less possessive.

When | looked up at him, his eyes were soft.

“To Luna Ella,” he said quietly, pushing a cup of wine into my hand and clinking his own cup against it.

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