The Sickened Luna's Last Chance - Chapter 39: Chapter 39

Ella & Alexander
Ella
“Oh! Alpha Alexander!” My father quickly yanked his hand away, the tips of his ears reddening despite the warm smile that spread across his face. “I didn’t know you were coming tonight.”
Alexander tilted his head. “Were you just about to hit my wife?”
“Oh, that? I was just messing around,” my father laughed. “We were having a discussion, that’s all.”
Alexander’s eyes had gone cold. “Didn’t seem like ‘messing around’ to me.” He glanced at me. “Ella, were you joking?”
I quickly shook my head. Alexander turned back to my father and took a step closer. My father, despite being a large man, backed up against the wall in fear.
“Ella knows I would never—”
“Maybe you don’t understand,” Alexander cut my father off, “but if anyone—and I do mean anyone—lays a finger on my Luna, they’ll find themselves missing more than just a hand.”
My breath caught. My father’s face paled. “N-Now, Alpha Alexander, there’s no need for threats. This is a simple misunderstanding between a father and daughter.”
Alexander finally took a step back, only to slide his arm possessively around my waist. The sudden contact made me jump, but I quickly relaxed into his touch. His warmth seeped through my dress, instantly soothing me more than I expected.
“Now, I think I’d like a moment alone with my mate,” Alexander said before guiding me away.
I let him lead me through the crowd, grateful for the escape. My pulse was still racing from the confrontation with my father, although Alexander’s sudden and unexpected arrival—combined with the way he jumped to my defense—made it spike even further.
We ended up in a small room off the main hallway. Alexander closed the door behind us, muffling the sounds of the party.
“Are you alright?”
I nodded, trying to push down the strange flutter in my chest at his concern. “I’m fine. This isn’t exactly new behavior from my father.”
Alexander frowned. “What do you mean?”
“He was always strict when I was growing up,” I explained with a shrug. “When I didn’t meet his expectations, which was often, he would… lash out. It’s not a big deal. Even if he had slapped me, I would hardly feel it anymore.”
Something dark flashed across Alexander’s face then. He stepped closer, his hand lifting toward my cheek—the same cheek my father would have struck—before he seemed to catch himself. His fingers hovered in the air between us for a moment before he lowered his hand.
“That’s not acceptable,” he said quietly. “No father should ever hit his child.”
I looked away, as if that would do anything to hide the blush that suddenly rose to my face. “What are you doing here anyway? I thought you weren’t coming.”
Alexander sighed, and the sound took me by surprise—there was something in it that sounded almost like exhaustion. “There was an emergency with the Oxfords. Sophia was…” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s resolved now. I came as quickly as I could.”
“Well, thanks for coming after all,” I said quietly. “Your timing was impeccable.”
Alexander looked at me for a long moment, and there was a tenderness in his gaze that made my stupid heart do that little flip again. I had to look away before I did something ridiculous like believe that he might actually love me.
Just then, the door opened, and my father appeared with Margaret in tow. They were both grinning as if nothing had happened.
“There you are! I was worried you’d left.” My father stepped into the room. “Alexander, I’m so glad you could make it after all. We have so much to catch up on.”
Margaret nodded eagerly. “Yes, and thank goodness you arrived before Ella could ruin the night.”
The words instantly made my blood boil. I opened my mouth to respond, but Alexander beat me to it.
“I don’t think it was Ella who nearly ruined the party.” He looked pointedly at my father, whose face turned an alarming shade of red.
My parents exchanged a glance, clearly thrown off by Alexander coming to my defense once again. I had to resist the urge to smile triumphantly. Or faint. Perhaps both.
“Well, I suppose we should get back to our guests,” my father said stiffly. “Margaret, shall we?”
Without another word, they turned and left.
…
Alexander
I watched Ella’s parents retreat, my wolf still howling with rage. The moment I’d seen Richard’s hand raised to strike Ella, something inside of me had snapped. It had taken every ounce of self-control not to break his wrist.
Now, observing the way they treated her, I couldn’t help but wonder if I had spent five years misunderstanding her.
Clearly, she was like an outsider in her own family. She told me her father had struck her before, and spoke about it as if it were so routine that she was used to it by now. And then her father and stepmother had blatantly insulted her in front of me.
It was alarming enough to think that my mate was being treated so poorly by her own family, but it also made me wonder… If her father thought so little of her, would he really trust her to spy on me?
Would Ella really be loyal to a man who treated her with such contempt?
“Where’s Gabriel?” I asked then. He should have been by her side tonight. Perhaps this wouldn’t have happened if he had been there.
Ella lifted her chin. “He’s probably sulking by the bar. Mute. I used my Luna Voice on him.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Why?”
She shrugged. “He was being a prick, so I told him to be silent.”
I couldn’t help but feel a strange, unexpected surge of pride—and humor—at that. Ella rarely used her Luna Voice; to find out that she’d punished Gabriel with it for being a snarky asshole didn’t make me as frustrated as it probably should have.
Apparently, there was much more to Ella than met the eye. She had stood up to her father, had silenced Gabriel with her Luna Voice, and was now calmly straightening her dress after nearly being slapped.
This wasn’t the meek, obedient Luna I’d thought I married. This was someone with a spine of steel beneath that soft exterior.
And I found myself… impressed.
“We should probably head back to the party,” Ella said calmly. “Before people start to talk even more.”
I nodded, offering her my arm. She took it after only a slight hesitation. But as we made our way through the hallway toward the main ballroom, Ella suddenly stopped, her fingers tightening on my arm.
“Alexander,” she said, “I need you to promise me something.”
“What is it?”
“Stop giving money to my father.” She looked up at me, and the fierce determination in her eyes left me taken aback. “The payments need to end. I don’t care what was in our contract. I don’t want him getting another penny from you.”
The request took me by surprise. It was the last thing I expected her to ask for, especially given how crucial those payments had been for Stormhollow—and if she were working for her father, why would she want to end them?
But I could tell from the fire in her eyes and the hard set to her jaw that she was being serious.
Strangely, I found myself wanting to give her what she wanted.
“I promise,” I said before I could stop myself.
Ella blinked, clearly just as shocked as I was that I had agreed so readily. “Just like that?”
I smiled. “Just like that.”
She stared at me for a moment longer, as if trying to determine if I was sincere. Whatever she saw in my face must have satisfied her, because she nodded once, her shoulders relaxing slightly.
I placed my arm around her again, feeling an odd sense of rightness at the contact, and led her toward the main hall.
Just before we stepped through the archway, Ella leaned closer to murmur, “They were taking lots of pictures earlier when I arrived alone, by the way. The media will probably complain about me coming without you.”
I glanced down at her, and suddenly an idea formed in my mind. If the press wanted a story, we might as well give them one—something to overshadow her arrival without me.
As we entered the ballroom, camera flashes immediately erupted around us. Without giving myself time to second-guess the impulse, I spun Ella around to face me, one hand on her waist, and dipped her low.
Then, I leaned forward and pressed my cheek against hers.