The sickened luna’s last chance

Chapter 81

Ella

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I was lying on the examination table in a hospital gown with my feet up in the stirrups, staring at the ceiling tiles and trying to convince myself that this was the right thing to do. Dr. Evelyn said the procedure would be quick and relatively painless this early in the pregnancy. I could go home within a few hours, and it would be like it never happened.

Did I want that?

“Are you ready, Ella?” Dr. Evelyn asked as she pulled on a fresh pair of gloves.

I opened my mouth to say yes, but the word wouldn’t come out.

Instead, I found myself thinking about the tiny life growing inside of me. About the child who would have a perfect mixture of mine and Alexander’s features. About family dinners and bedtime stories and first steps

all the moments I would never get to experience.

“Ella?” Lilith squeezed my hand.

“I…” My throat felt tight, like I couldn’t breathe properly. “I can’t,” I whispered, and then louder, “I can’t do

this.”

I sat up abruptly, swinging my legs over the side of the examination table. The hospital gown was barely covering me, but I didn’t care. I had to get out of there.

“Ella, wait,” Dr. Evelyn called out as I stumbled toward the door. “We should talk about this-”

“Ella, dear, please,” Lilith added, but I was already pushing through the door and into the hallway.

I ran barefoot down the corridor, my hospital gown flapping behind me, completely ignoring the startled looks from the nurses and patients. All I could think about was getting away from that room, away from the

choice I’d almost made.

When I burst through the doors into the waiting room, I expected to find it empty except for maybe a few random patients. The last person I expected to see was Alexander, sitting in one of the chairs with his head

in his hands.

But there he was.

the one

snapped up at the sound of my voice, and for a

room.

I launched myself across the room and

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easily, pulling me against his chest as I dissolved into tears. I buried my face in

sobbed against his shirt. “I

arms tightening around me. “It’s okay. You

baby–my condition–I don’t know

me.” Alexander pulled back just enough to cup my face in his hands, forcing me to meet his eyes. “I found the test. And the

sent a shock

bond properly. I want to give

painful. Maybe Alexander had finally realized he loved me. Maybe our

our contract, of course,” Alexander continued, and my heart

thinking about legal documents and binding agreements. Not love.

he didn’t hate me. At least he wanted

he was offering me a way to

I said without hesitation. “Yes, I

mine. “Are you sure? Once I mark you, there’s no going back.

us both, or worse, not

“I’m sure.”

a few other people scattered throughout the space, but he didn’t seem to

he warned, his hands moving to frame

“I know.”

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his lips to the spot where my neck met my shoulder. I felt his canines

he bit down.

intense, like being struck by lightning. But it only lasted a second before it transformed into something else entirely–a rush of energy so

a missing piece of myself had suddenly been returned. The hollow ache that had been living in my chest for months, no, years, was gone, replaced by warmth and strength and a connection to Alexander

system faster than I could process it. My vision went white around the edges,