The sickened luna’s last chance

Chapter 217

Ella

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Sunlight warmed the ground outside, making hot mist rise into the morning air. For the first few moments of waking, I let my eyes remain closed, just listening to the gentle sounds of cicadas droning in the distance and birds chirping in the treetops around us.

The treetops.

My eyes snapped open as I remembered where I was–not in bed with the curtains closed, but in an old treehouse, laying on the wooden floor. Not laying miles away from Alexander on a mattress that was too large, but rather tangled up in his arms with my head resting on his chest and the sound of his heartbeat beneath my ear.

And last night…

We’d made love again. Right here on this dusty floor with thunder crashing outside and rain beating against the roof. It had been different from the other times–slower, more tender. Like we finally had all the time in the world instead of stolen moments and brief trysts that had to come and go before logic

returned.

Careful not to wake him just yet for fear of shattering the moment, I shifted slightly to look at Alexander’s sleeping face. His red hair was still damp from the rain, and there was a peaceful expression written across his visage that I rarely saw when he was awake.

He looked so completely and utterly perfect.

It hit me, then, that my ankle didn’t hurt anymore, which was weird considering how much pain I’d been in last night. I flexed it experimentally and felt no twinges at all. The mate bond must have kicked in during our intimacy, feeding off the energy of the full moon and accelerating the healing process.

Finally, Alexander stirred beside me, his eyes fluttering open. When he saw me watching him, I was surprised to see a slow smile spread across his face rather than any indication that he thought last night was a mistake.

“Sleep well?” He stretched, bones audibly cracking from a night spent on the hard wooden floor. He had it worse than I did; no comfortable chest to lie on. No warm arm to prop himself on. And he hadn’t complained at all.

and my

if the injury had never even happened. “We should probably head back to the house. Have

Alexander pull me to my feet. We

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Chapter 217

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hand but instead shoulders bumping as we

at Alexander. Last night had changed something between us, shifted us into territory

husband. Hell, maybe

it just made my chest feel warm and full. For the first time in five years, I could actually picture a future where we were happy together. Where

feel the

Alexander I loved him, but not yet. I’d wait until the baby gender reveal. That seemed like the perfect time -when we found out whether we were having a son or daughter, when we took another

becoming a real family.

my feelings, I couldn’t keep them in any

dealing with territorial disputes and trade negotiations, while I spent my time preparing for the baby. We hardly saw each other, and we certainly never talked about that night spent in

the sensation of our knees bumping under a table and the way he didn’t pull away, his hand resting on my lower back–that made me think that Alexander’s feelings might be deepening too. I tried

day of the ultrasound arrived. I’d been looking forward to this appointment for weeks, eager to find out whether we were having a boy or girl. Alexander had promised to come with me, but that morning he got called into an emergency meeting with the Alpha Council that he

I would wait to find out the gender for myself until we

was routine. Dr. Evelyn spread the cold gel on my belly and moved the wand around, pointing out various body parts on the grainy black–and -white screen. Everything looked normal–ten fingers,

gender. I know you want to wait, so I’ll make sure you don’t

screen away and smiled, then wrote something on a piece of paper and sealed it in an envelope,

said, beaming at Lilith

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Chapter 217

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