The sickened luna’s last chance

Chapter 58

Ella

65%

Alexander’s green eyes darkened as he knelt beside the bathtub. The spot where his hand met my shoulder

was like a thousand tiny matches being struck at once, igniting the warmth that had begun to spread

through my body.

His nostrils flared, and I knew he had scented it again.

My arousal.

This was exactly like the alley behind The Howling Moon all over again–that same magnetic pull, that same desperation. The way Alexander looked at me now, like he was starving and I was the only thing that could

fill his belly, made me want to forget everything else. Made me want to pull him into the tub with me and

finish what we’d started that night.

Without thinking, I shifted slightly, water sloshing around me as I leaned toward him. Alexander’s pupils dilated, and his free hand came up to brace against the edge of the tub, bringing his face closer to mine. I

could smell the bourbon on his breath, could see the way that one pesky muscle in his jaw jumped.

For a moment, the air between us crackled like a grassy field before a storm.

But then reality came crashing back.

This wasn’t love. This was lust, pure and simple. Biology and the fated mate bond working against my better judgment. Alexander had made it perfectly clear that our contract didn’t include sex or feelings, and I’d made the decision to stop wanting his mark.

I wouldn’t let myself be fooled again by my body’s reactions to him.

“What the hell are you doing?” I snapped, jerking away from his touch so quickly that more water slopped over the edge of the tub. I folded my arms over my chest in a futile attempt to cover my bare breasts. “Get

out!”

Alexander blinked, returning to his senses. He stood. “You were unconscious in the bathtub. I was making sure you didn’t drown.”

“Well, I’m fine, so you can leave. You have no right to be in here.”

Something flickered across Alexander’s face, but it was gone before I could be sure what I saw. He wiped his wet hand on his pants and looked down at me with that same cold expression he’d worn for years.

we’re even,” he

I frowned. “What?”

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Chapter 58

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naked, now I’ve seen you naked. We’re

I’d been so worried about him being hurt that I’d barely processed what I was seeing until it

I sputtered. “You were the one who shifted carelessly and tore your

asleep in a bathtub,” Alexander cut me off. “Accidents

could respond, he turned and walked

my heart still racing from our encounter. I couldn’t help but replay the way he’d looked at me, the way his hand felt on me. For just a few seconds, I’d felt desired. Wanted. Like I was something worth having instead of

Alexander didn’t want my heart; he only wanted my body,

and wrapped myself in a towel, shivering in the

myself, searching for any sign that my wolf might be stirring. After what had happened in the forest, Dr. Evelyn had suggested that strong emotions might be the key to bringing my wolf back. And what I’d just felt with Alexander

was nothing. Just the same hollow emptiness I’d been carrying

still dormant.

news that made my

asked, staring at the invitation Gabriel had

the calendar for months,” Alexander said without

knew.”

invitation with a sigh. The annual Ashclaw Children’s Hospital Charity Auction–quite the mouthful–was one of the biggest social events of the year. Everyone who

be the

makeup to create

days, and already I was exhausted. But Alexander and I needed to go to that event, especially with the

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Chapter 58

a chance to quell some more

session with Lilith carefully

my smile was utterly bulletproof. I looked every inch the devoted Luna, complete with

throat.

a complete and

dear,” Lilith said softly as she put the finishing touches on my hair.

troubled.”

eyes in the mirror. “I’m just tired of

was quiet for a moment as she arranged a few loose curls around my face. Then she