The Sickened Luna's Last Chance novel Chapter 79

Chapter 79

Chapter 79

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“It’s alright.” I reached across the table and squeezed his hand. He still hadn’t told me exactly what happened at that camp, but I was beginning to piece it together. “I’m sure it was all a blur.”

Liam nodded, his hand tightening around mine for a moment before he pulled away.

Molly returned a few minutes later with our drinks and three menus. “I’m officially on break now,” she announced, sliding into the chair next to mine. “So, Luna Ella, huh? Married to the Alpha of Ashclaw. That’s quite the step up from the shy girl I used to know.”

I felt my cheeks heat. “It’s not as glamorous as it sounds.’

>>

“No?” Molly tilted her head, studying me in that way she always did when we were kids. ” Guess not. You don’t look as happy as I’d expect a newly married Luna to be.”

“We’ve been married for five years,” I corrected her.

Molly’s eyebrows shot up. “Five years? Damn, I really have been out of the loop. Did you get married as soon as you turned eighteen?”

“Pretty much. But what about you?” I asked, eager to change the subject. “What have you been doing all this time?”

Molly’s stories kept us enthralled throughout dinner. After that summer camp, she’d traveled across the country, working odd jobs and living in different packs. She’d been a bartender, a tour guide, and had even spent six months living with a nomadic pack in the far north.

“You should have seen the Northern Lights from up there,” she said, sipping her strawberry milkshake. “Like magic dancing in the sky.”

Damn. While I’d been trapped in a loveless marriage, Molly had been living. Really living. Experiencing the world, following her desires, being true to herself. She seemed so free, so authentic-everything I wasn’t.

“I can’t believe all the things you’ve done,” I admitted. “I’ve never even been to a bar.”

Molly’s mouth fell open. “Never? Not even once?

I shook my head, embarrassed. “My father was strict. And then I got married young, and…”

“And your husband keeps you on a short leash?” Molly guessed.

“No, it’s not that.” I twisted my napkin in my lap “It’s just… I never really had the chance to experience those things. I was always trying to be what everyone else wanted me to be.”

“Well, fuck that,” Molly said bluntly. “Life’s too short to live it for someone else.”

She had no fucking idea how on the nose that statement was. Life was too short-especially

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Chapter 79

mine. I only had months left to live unless Alexander marked me or rejected me, and sometimes I really doubted that he would keep his promise.

“You’re right,” I whispered.

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you

“Of course I am.” Molly grinned. “Listen, we should hang out sometime. I could show what you’ve been missing.” She grabbed a napkin and scribbled her number on it. “Text me. We’ll have a girls’ night out.’

“I’d like that,” I said, tucking the napkin into my purse. And I meant it.

By the time we left the restaurant, my earlier embarrassment had faded completely. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed so much or felt so… normal. Just a woman having dinner with friends, not the Luna of Ashclaw with all the expectations that came with it.

Once home, I slipped into the bedroom quietly. The room was dark, and I could make out Alexander’s form beneath the covers. He was already asleep, thankfully.

As I changed and climbed into bed, I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face. Seeing Molly again, hearing about her adventures, being offered her friendship-it felt like a door had opened in my life.

Maybe I would take her up on that girls’ night out.

Alexander

My eyes opened the moment Ella slipped into the room, but I quickly snapped them shut. I heard her moving around, changing, and was she… giggling softly to herself?

Cracking my eyes back open just enough to see, my suspicions were confirmed. Ella was grinning from ear to ear.

Was that smile because of Liam? Because of her night out with him?

My wolf growled angrily. My mate was spending time with another male-smiling for him, laughing with him, while I had sat here alone all night.

Suddenly, I regretted turning down Gabriel’s offer to go out. I’d initially said no, but… why? Because it felt wrong to go out without my mate Because I felt obligated to Ella, the woman who had happily gone out with Liam?

What was I doing? Lying here, letting her go out with another man while I sat at home by myself?

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