The sickened luna’s last chance

Chapter 8

Ella POV

The new boy in class was strange, or so the other kids said.

They said that he was too quiet, that he stared for too long, that his interest in paper airplanes was too obsessive. They said that he didn’t play with them on the playground because he would always ruin their games with his weirdness.

And then the teacher seated him next to me, and I saw those big blue eyes and the way his face lit up when he saw me folding a paper airplane underneath my desk, and I knew we were supposed to be good friends.

“It’s okay. They think I’m weird, too,” I said as we sat together in the big flower field out behind the school, making daisy crowns. “The other kids don’t like me because of what happened to my mom. They think I’m bad luck.”

Liam tilted his head, a few soft golden curls falling into his eyes. “What happened to your mom?”

I shrugged. “I dunno. She died when I was a baby. But that was a long time ago, and I’m a lot bigger now, so it doesn’t bother me.”

He reached out and took my hand. “It’s okay if it does bother you.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re best friends now, and friends are supposed to be there for each other when they’re feeling sad. That way, you can still feel sad but it’s not so lonely because we’ve got each other.”

Liam was right-we were best friends. Inseparable, even. We were practically attached at the hip all through second, third, and fourth grade.

Until his father, the Head Alpha of the Alpha Council Supervisory Board, sent him away.

I didn’t even get to say goodbye; Liam just stopped showing up to school, and when I asked our teacher where he went, she said he went off to some kind of special camp for ‘kids like him. And he wasn’t coming back.

I didn’t know what that meant until years later, when it finally hit me: his father, ashamed of Liam’s shy nature and too- inquisitive mind, sent him to the type of place where they hammer special kids into an ordinary mold.

His father wanted him to become the Head Alpha of the Board.

And now he was.

young boy who had been taken from me all those years ago; he was charming and outgoing, he smiled wide and initiated conversations and no

was still

Alexander suddenly pulled me back to

the Head of the Board,”

little too much. “My father

that, wondering exactly what went on at that camp. But before I could ask, my father cut in, “Is

his hand. “It’s a pleasure

1/3

leaving out the fact that the last time he had seen Liam, Liam had hardly been able to say hello to him. He then gestured to

to use my reunion with an old friend I thought I’d never see again to get what he wanted. And of course Alexander wouldn’t

Liam, hoping my father hadn’t just ruined everything. To my relief, Liam simply nodded. “I assure

slightly. My father could only give a dry

me once more, “how have you

opened my mouth to respond, but no words could come. What was I supposed to tell him? “Nice to see you again, but I’m dying”? Or perhaps “The very man

me”?

new perfect mask he wore back to the young, intuitive boy I had once known. Even after all these years, he could read me like

fucking meant anything. “Ella is just under a lot of stress because we’re under a lot of pressure to have an

pulse spike, heat

clapped Alexander on the shoulder. “And that’s exactly why you’re perfect for my daughter,” he

wanted to laugh. Or cry. I couldn’t decide

“Do you want to talk about it?” His voice was soft, and

for a moment, that I could ruin Alexander right here and now-and potentially resolve my

even less inclined to listen to my wishes if I blurted everything out

frustrations for now, just enough to

and gave him what I hoped was a loving look, even if it felt like I

to sense an

and relaxed somewhat.

didn’t seem particularly convinced. But he didn’t press the matter