The Sickened Luna's Last Chance novel Chapter 36

Chapter 36

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Chapter 36

Ella

“What?” I sniffled, wiping at my nose with the back of my hand—much to the chagrin of the nearby stylist, who looked like she was about to have a conniption as she rushed over to dab fresh powder on it.

“The camp I was sent to had… methods. Harsh methods, but effective.” Something dark flickered across Liam’s face, and for a moment, I saw a hint of a man who had suffered deeply at the hands of others. “But I did learn a few tricks for speaking under pressure.”

He looked around the room, his gaze landing on Lilith, who was arranging flowers in a vase nearby.

“Lilith!” he called. “Can you help us for a moment?”

Lilith set down her flowers and hurried over. “What is it, dear?”

“I need your help preparing Ella for the press conference,” Liam explained. “We’re going to simulate the chaos she’ll experience out there.”

Lilith looked confused but nodded anyway. “Alright. What do you need me to do?”

“I want you to be as distracting as possible,” Liam said. “Talk over me, walk around Ella, touch her shoulder, do whatever you can to throw her off. Meanwhile, I’ll be hammering her with questions similar to what the journalists might ask.”

Lilith’s eyes widened slightly, but she nodded again. “I see. Alright, I can do that.”

I swallowed hard. “Liam, I don’t think-”

“Trust me,” he said firmly. “This is how they trained me. When I first arrived at camp, I could barely speak to anyone without having a panic attack-you know what I was like. The counselors weren’t gentle with me, and I’ll of course be kinder to you. But some of their methods did help. Obviously.”

Liam was right; when I had last seen him, he was a meek and socially anxious young boy who could hardly string two words together with anyone except me, He was far different now; charming, outgoing, well-spoken.

The type of Alpha everyone expected him to be, even if his experiences had added a layer of darkness in between the facade and the boy insid

I sighed. “Okay. I don’t think we have enough time to make a difference at this point, but I’ll give it a try.”

“Luna Ella,” Liam began, “can you tell us why you and Alpha Alexander kept your contract a secret from the public?”

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Chapter 36

+25 BONUS

I opened my mouth to answer, but then Lilith started humming loudly, circling around me and occasionally poking my shoulder or arm. The sudden sensory overload made my mind go blank.

“I… um…” My throat closed up. “We didn’t intend to-”

“Is it true that your father received monthly payments as part of this arrangement?” Liam interrupted.

Lilith bumped into me from behind, causing me to stumble forward. “Sorry, dear!” she said, momentarily breaking her character.

“Answer my question, Luna Ella.”

“Yes, but-

“And now you’re both suddenly acting as if you love one another?” Liam cut me off. “What changed?”

I felt my face growing hot. Lilith was now walking in circles around me, her humming growing louder, occasionally brushing against my arms or tugging at my clothing. At one point, she even flicked the back of my head. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to laugh or cry. The whole situation felt ridiculous.

“Nothing changed, we just-” I stopped, shaking my head. “No, that’s not right. We—”

Lilith suddenly clapped her hands right by my ear and made me jump.

“Goddess damn it!” I snapped. “How am I supposed to focus with all of this?”

“That’s the point,” Liam said. “The press conference will be chaotic-cameras flashing, people shouting questions over each other, microphones being shoved in your face. You need to stay focused through all of it.”

“I can’t do this. I can’t.”

“Try again,” Liam insisted. “Deep breaths. Focus on the question, not the distractions.”

We started over. Lilith resumed her harassment, and Liam fired off more questions. But the more we practiced, the worse I felt. Each question seemed to trip me up more, and Lilith’s distractions were driving me to the brink of screaming.

“Luna Ella, is it true that you and Alpha Alexander are not in love?”

Lilith poked me in the ribs.

“I-we-that’s not-”

“Is there any truth to the rumors that your marriage is a sham and that you never intend to have children?”

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Chapter 36

I felt tears welling up in my eyes. This was impo myself in front of the press. I was going to ruin Alpha King, and then he’d hate me even more, a

A faint cough made me suddenly realize that the small crowd had gathered around us.

Humiliation burned through me. I couldn’t ever me, let alone hundreds of people.

“Enough.”

Alexander’s deep voice cut through the room. T

“This isn’t helping,” he said. A flash of irritation You’re just making her more anxious.”