The sickened luna’s last chance

Chapter 41

uy

Ella

Sunlight streamed through the curtains, warming my face and pulling me from a deep sleep. I blinked groggily, taking a moment to register that I was in bed, tucked beneath the covers and still wearing the black dress from last night.

I had no memory of getting here. The last thing I remembered was falling asleep in the car.

Had Alexander carried me to bed and tucked me in?

The thought made my stomach flutter before I could tamp it down. I couldn’t help but picture Alexander carrying me, his arms strong and secure around my body, just as they had been that day Sophia had pushed me out of the hayloft.

Stop it, I scolded myself. It didn’t mean anything. He probably just didn’t want to wake me up. Or he even had Gabriel carry me instead.

Still, I couldn’t help but wonder about him–and, most of all, his promise from last night. Was he really going to stop sending money to my father, just because I asked? That would be… unprecedented. Alexander never broke contracts, especially not for my sake.

But there had been something in his eyes when he promised. Something soft and sincere. And the way he had smiled afterward… I felt heat creep into my cheeks just thinking about it.

What was happening to me? One moment I was fantasizing about my freedom, about the day Alexander would reject me and my wolf would return, and the next I was blushing like a schoolgirl over a simple smile.

My feelings toward him were becoming more ambiguous by the day, and I hated it. It was dangerous for me to think like this. Alexander would never choose to mark me instead of divorcing me, and it was better if I didn’t let my imagination run wild.

I’d learned early on in our marriage that false hopes would get me nowhere. And with my current condition, they’d just wind up killing me in the end.

With a sigh, I pushed myself out of bed. I peeled off the black dress and tossed it in the hamper, then took a shower, dressed in comfortable clothes, and headed downstairs in search of Alexander. I wanted to ask him directly about his promise, but he didn’t seem to be home.

Finally, I found Lilith in the kitchen. She was cooking something on the stove that smelled delicious. “You slept late,” she said without even turning around, as if simply sensing I was there–she’d always been good at that. “It’s nearly noon.”

“Where’s Alexander?”

“He left early this morning. Something about a meeting.” Lilith spooned some scrambled eggs onto a plate and handed it to me. “There’s coffee, too.”

them, and the coffee helped with my mild hangover. I’d had more to drink last night than I anticipated–the stress of the

a cardboard box on the counter. “Judging from the address, I think it’s that gift your stepmother was

single gift before. And after her strange behavior last night, talking about sending a gift to

toward me and lifted the lid cautiously,

found layers of

My mouth fell open.

it?” Lilith asked,

the box before she

1/3

Chapter 41

eyebrow but didn’t press the issue. “Well, I’ll be in the garden if you need me. There’s more coffee

the box and pulled out the contents, holding them

extremely expensive, extremely revealing lingerie. Black lace, red silk, sheer mesh–all of it designed to leave very little to the

woman who had never given me so much as a birthday card

The implication was clear enough, Margaret thought this would somehow fix my marriage. As if sexy

seeing me naked. We’d been married for five years and had

I hadn’t worn anything like this in years–not since the early days of our marriage when I had still foolishly hoped

the way from the other wing to see

away, burning it in the fireplace along with

around to make sure I was alone, I gathered up the lingerie and headed back upstairs. It couldn’t hurt to try it on, right? Just to see how it looked. It wasn’t like anyone would ever see me in it. Then I

the door and stripped down to nothing. I selected a black lace bodysuit and stepped into it, pulling it up over my hips and sliding my arms through

I turned to

“Whoa,” I whispered.

I barely recognized myself.

than that dress I’d worn last night. Black was my color, wasn’t

looked… sexy. Confident. Like a

would see if he walked in right

before I could squash it, making my belly turn

back early from his meeting, opening the bedroom door, freezing in place when he saw me like this. His green eyes would darken,