The sickened luna’s last chance

Chapter 33

Ella

The tears slipped out before I could stop them.

I didn’t expect to be so upset over a stupid dress. But this was supposed to be my first date ever–even if it was fake.

Dammit, I was twenty–two years old and had never experienced a normal date before. The fact that I’d finally worked up the courage to plan something only to have it ruined by Gabriel’s “accident“, which definitely wasn’t even an accident at all, made it a hundred times worse.

What did I do in a past life that prevented me from even having this one thing? This one small, stupid, normal experience that most people had by the time they were sixteen?

Goddess, how I yearned for a real relationship. A man who would hold my hand in a dark theater because he wanted to, not because people were watching. A man who would want to be alone with me instead of insisting on bringing his Beta along as a buffer.

Not whatever this was. This mockery of a marriage where my own husband couldn’t stand to be alone with me for two hours.

The ruined dress was just the icing on the cake of my humiliation.

Suddenly, the bathroom door creaked open. I turned, expecting to see some random woman, but instead found Alexander standing awkwardly in the doorway.

“What are you doing in here?” I sniffled, quickly wiping at my eyes. “This is the women’s bathroom.”

Sexs

He hesitated, glancing around to make sure we were alone, then stepped fully inside and let the door close behind him. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

I let out a humorless laugh and turned away, continuing to dab at the greasy butter stains on the front of my dress. “I’m fine. Just trying to salvage one thing about tonight.”

To my surprise, Alexander approached me and took the wet paper towels from my hands. “You’re making it worse,” he said. “Here, let me.”

Before I could protest, he dampened a fresh paper towel and began gently dabbing at the stains on my dress. His touch was careful, methodical, and strangely… tender.

My breath caught, ears reddening to the brink of giving away my shock. I quickly looked away. “Why are you helping me?”

“It’s an expensive dress. “It would be a shame to ruin it.”

“Right,” I murmured, inwardly chiding my ridiculous, fluttering stomach as his fingers brushed against the fabric over my hip. “Wouldn’t want to waste money.”

Alexander worked silently for a few moments, carefully dabbing at the stains with the damp paper towel. Despite knowing fully well that he was only doing this to save money, I couldn’t help the way my skin heated beneath the thin silk. When his fingers brushed against my waist, I swallowed hard.

He must have heard my gulp, because his hands suddenly stilled. Slowly, he looked up, and our eyes met in the mirror.

Just as it had in the theater, the space between us seemed to shrink. He held my gaze and didn’t let go for what felt like an etern**

me. If he might turn me around and press his lips to mine. If I might be able to run my fingers through

repeat of the kiss at the

theater, just before Gabriel spilled popcorn all over me, when I’d accidentally grabbed Alexander’s hand. He hadn’t pulled away. Instead, he had looked at me with something in his eyes that I had never seen before. Something very close to the way he

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08:37 Tue, 19 Aug

Chapter 33

wasn’t a

he did care for me and just didn’t want to admit it for

cleared his throat and stepped back, breaking whatever

best I can do,” he said, tossing the paper towel into the trash.

to speak. My skin still tingled where

already

fantasy shattered. Right. Gabriel. The man who had deliberately ruined my dress and my first–ever “date“. The

drawing a few curious glances from people in the lobby. Gabriel was waiting near the concession stand, arms folded across his chest, looking bored

“Can we go now? Or does

of taking Gabriel’s snide comments and dirty looks, after years of biting my tongue and playing the perfect, compliant

“What

clearly hadn’t expected me to challenge him, as if the one time I had used my Luna Voice on him had just

it. The

“You deliberately spilled that popcorn on me. And don’t

around us had begun to stare,

me, and treated me like I’m nothing. But

glanced around frantically at the small crowd that had gathered around us. Some of the onlookers were murmuring

Beta shouldn’t speak to the Luna

“It’s disrespectful!”

or embarrassment on his face. After

thing he’d been trying

to my surprise, Alexander looked calm. More than calm, actually–there was a storm simmering behind those green eyes that

commanded, “apologize

Gabriel’s eyes widened. “What?”

heard me. Apologize to Luna Ella for

between us, clearly trying to gauge if Alexander was serious. When

“Alpha, I don’t think-”

08:37 TU, 19 Aug.

Chapter 33

wasn’t a request,” Alexander cut him off. “Consider this a formal warning,

silent. He used the Alpha Voice, forcing Gabriel’s spine to trap straight, the Bela’s Rock Hirund