The Sickened Luna's Last Chance novel Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Without another word, they turned and left.

+25 BONUS

Alexander

I watched Ella’s parents retreat, my wolf still howling with rage. The moment I’d seen Richard’s hand raised to strike Ella, something inside of me had snapped. It had taken every ounce of self-control not to break his wrist.

Now, observing the way they treated her, I couldn’t help but wonder if I had spent five years misunderstanding her.

Clearly, she was like an outsider in her own family. She told me her father had struck her before, and spoke about it as if it were so routine that she was used to it by now. And then her father and stepmother had blatantly insulted her in front of me.

It was alarming enough to think that my mate was being treated so poorly by her own family, but it also made me wonder… If her father thought so little of her, would he really trust her to spy on me?

Would Ella really be loyal to a man who treated her with such contempt?

“Where’s Gabriel?” I asked then. He should have been by her side tonight. Perhaps this wouldn’t have happened if he had been there.

Ella lifted her chin. “He’s probably sulking by the bar. Mute. I used my Luna Voice on him.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Why?”

She shrugged. “He was being a prick, so I told him to be silent.”

I couldn’t help but feel a strange, unexpected surge of pride-and humor-at that. Ella rarely used her Luna Voice; to find out that she’d punished Gabriel with it for being a snarky asshole didn’t make me as frustrated as it probably should have.

Apparently, there was much more to Ella than met the eye. She had stood up to her father, had silenced Gabriel with her Luna Voice, and was now calmly straightening her dress after nearly being slapped.

This wasn’t the meek, obedient Luma I’d thought married. This was someone with a spine of steel beneath that soft exterior.

And I found myself… impressed.

“We should probably head back to the party,” Ella said calmly. “Before people start to talk even more.”

Chapter 71

+25 BONUS

I nodded, offering her my arm. She took it after only a slight hesitation. But as we made our way through the hallway toward the main ballroom, Ella suddenly stopped, her fingers tightening on my arm.

“Alexander,” she said, “I need you to promise me something.”

“What is it?”

“Stop giving money to my father.” She looked up at me, and the fierce determination in her eyes left me taken aback. “The payments need to end. I don’t care what was in our contract. I don’t want him getting another penny from you.

The request took me by surprise. It was the last thing I expected her to ask for, especially given how crucial those payments had been for Stormhollow-and if she were working for her father, why would she want to end them?

But I could tell from the fire in her eyes and the hard set to her jaw that she was being serious.

Strangely, I found myself wanting to give her what she wanted.

“I promise,” I said before I could stop myself.

Ella blinked, clearly just as shocked as I was that had agreed so readily. “Just like that?”

I smiled. “Just like that.”

She stared at me for a moment longer, as if trying to determine if I was sincere. Whatever she saw in my face must have satisfied her, because she nodded once, her shoulders relaxing slightly.

I placed my arm around her again, feeling an odd sense of rightness at the contact, and led her toward the main hall.

Just before we stepped through the archway, Ella leaned closer to murmur, “They were taking lots of pictures earlier when I arrived alone, by the way. The media will probably complain about me coming without you.”

I glanced down at her, and suddenly an idea formed in my mind. If the press wanted a story, we might as well give them one-something to overshadow her arrival without me.

As we entered the ballroom, camera flashes immediately erupted around us. Without giving myself time to second-guess the impulse, I spun Ella around to face me, one hand on her waist, and dipped her low.

Then, I leaned forward and pressed my cheek against hers.

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