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

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

given me a single gift before. And after her strange

the box toward me and lifted the lid cautiously, genuinely

of tissue paper, and

My mouth fell open.

Lilith asked, leaning over

quickly closed the box before she

1/3

Chapter 41

eyebrow but didn’t press the issue. “Well, I’ll be in the garden if

box and pulled out the contents, holding them up

pieces of extremely expensive, extremely revealing lingerie. Black lace, red silk, sheer mesh–all of it designed to

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

words from last night: “I promise it will improve your relationship even more.” The implication was clear enough, Margaret thought this would somehow fix my marriage. As if sexy underwear was all it would take to make Alexander

Alexander had never shown any interest in seeing me naked. We’d been married for five years and had never had sex, never even kissed until

my fingers over the silky material, I couldn’t help but feel a tug of curiosity. I hadn’t worn anything like this in years–not since the early days of our marriage when I had still foolishly hoped Alexander might someday want

about Alexander coming all the way from the other wing to

eventually, I packed it all away, burning it in the

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

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

I turned to

“Whoa,” I whispered.

I barely recognized myself.

dress I’d worn last night. Black was my color, wasn’t it? It seemed to suit me extraordinarily well, as if it

looked… sexy. Confident. Like

if he walked in right now?

it, making my belly turn warm like someone had poured hot honey

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