The sickened luna’s last chance

Chapter 217

Ella

+15 BONUS

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 ankle

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

feet. We gathered the rest of

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Chapter 217

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hand in hand but instead shoulders bumping as we

Last night had changed something between us, shifted us into territory we’d never

husband. Hell, maybe I already had fallen in

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 we raised our child in a house filled with laughter

would Alexander feel the

separate ways to shower and change, I made a decision. I would tell Alexander I loved him, but not yet. I’d wait until the baby gender reveal.

becoming a real family.

didn’t reciprocate my feelings, I

spent my time preparing for the baby. We hardly saw each other, and

there were moments–brief glances, 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

we were having a boy or girl. Alexander had promised to come with me, but that morning he

to go ahead. I would wait to find out the gender

appointment itself 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

said, angling the wand slightly, “we can see the gender. I know you want to wait, so I’ll make sure you

then wrote something on a piece of paper and sealed it in

beaming at Lilith as Evelyn left us so I could clean myself

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Chapter 217

+15 BONUS