The Sickened Luna's Last Chance - Chapter 82: Chapter 82

Ella & Alexander
Ella
Dr. Evelyn’s examination was thorough, checking everything from my pulse to my reflexes to the fresh mark on my neck. Every test came back better than it had in months.
“Your wolf’s return has completely reversed the dormancy effects,” she said, making notes on her clipboard. “Your heart rate is strong, your blood pressure is normal, and even the pregnancy seems to be progressing healthily. The marking worked perfectly.”
I couldn’t stop smiling. For the first time in months, I felt like myself again.
Just with… a little bit extra.
Like that pulse that wasn’t my own, but rather the one steadily thrumming in my mate’s chest.
“Finally,” my wolf purred, stretching as if waking up from a long nap, which was technically true. “I was starting to think you’d never figure it out.”
“You disappeared on me for months,” I bit back. Using the mental bond we shared after all this time felt like slipping back into a favorite old pair of shoes. “I thought you were gone forever.”
“I was protecting us. Better to go dormant than live a life where our mate won’t mark us.” That familiar smugness in her voice hadn’t gone away during her dormancy, it seemed. “But look how well that worked out. Now we’re marked and there’s a pup on the way.”
“You’re so dramatic.”
“I prefer the term ‘strategic’.”
Dr. Evelyn finished her examination and handed me a clean bill of health. “Everything looks perfect, Luna Ella. You and the baby should be fine now.”
The baby. Our baby. Alexander’s baby.
As Lilith drove us home, the euphoria of having my wolf back began to fade slightly, replaced by a more sobering reality. Yes, Alexander had marked me. Yes, he’d saved our child’s life and cured my condition. But that didn’t mean he loved me.
I touched the fresh mark on my neck, still tender from Alexander’s bite. He’d done this out of duty, not love. He had made that perfectly clear when he referenced the contract just before marking me.
I couldn’t let myself forget that. I couldn’t let my heart get broken all over again by reading more into his actions than what was actually there.
But deep down, I was still happy that he had done it. Even if it was complicated, at least now I could keep our baby—and I could rest easy knowing that Alexander wanted it.
When we pulled into the driveway, I could see Gabriel waiting on the front steps, likely waiting for Alexander, who had driven his car behind us. The moment I stepped out of the car, The Beta’s eyes immediately zeroed in on my neck.
His expression went from confusion to shock to something that looked an awful lot like rage.
“Well, well,” Gabriel said as we approached the front door. “Looks like someone finally got what they wanted.”
“Excuse me?” I stopped walking.
“The mark.” Gabriel’s eyes narrowed. “Quite the convenient timing, isn’t it? Right after Alexander starts showing interest in you, suddenly you’re pregnant and marked. Very strategic.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Come on, Ella. We both know you’ve been playing the long game here. Poor, sick Luna, wasting away because her cruel husband won’t mark her. What Alpha could resist that sob story, especially when his heir is involved?”
Rage flooded through me at his tone. But this time, instead of feeling weak and helpless, I felt powerful. My wolf snarled in the back of my mind, and suddenly I was moving faster than I ever had before.
I grabbed Gabriel by the throat and slammed him against the front door of the mansion with enough force to rattle the hinges. His eyes went wide with shock as I held him there, my hand firmly pressed against his windpipe.
“I didn’t manipulate anyone into anything. Alexander marked me because he chose to, not because I somehow tricked him into it.”
Gabriel tried to struggle, but I was stronger now. My wolf’s strength was flowing through me, making me feel like I could take on anyone who dared to disrespect me. And unlike before the dormancy, I was no longer the meek and mild Luna who would never do anything to cross anyone else.
I was different now. Stronger, not just physically, but in so many other ways.
And I wouldn’t let the likes of Gabriel walk all over me again.
“You forget yourself time and time again, Beta,” I hissed. “From now on, you will show me the respect I deserve as your Luna.” I pressed him harder against the door. Not enough to crush his windpipe, but just enough to cut off a bit of air. Just enough to make him panic. “And you will never, ever speak to me like that again. Do you understand me?”
Gabriel’s face was turning red, but he was still trying to fight back. “You can’t just—”
I squeezed harder, cutting off his air supply completely. “I said, do you understand me?”
Finally, Gabriel’s resistance crumbled. His eyes rolled back slightly as his body went limp, and he tilted his head to the side, exposing his neck in submission.
“I… I understand, Luna,” he gasped out. “I apologize for the disrespect.”
I held him there for another few seconds, letting him feel the full weight of my displeasure, before finally releasing him just as I heard Alexander’s car pull into the driveway. Gabriel slumped against the door, rubbing his throat and avoiding my eyes.
“Good,” I said, straightening my clothes. “I’m glad we understand each other.”
With that, I turned and walked into the house, leaving Gabriel coughing behind me. As the door shut behind me, I heard Alexander’s voice approaching.
“I can’t believe you marked her,” Gabriel’s voice huffed through the door.
I didn’t pause to hear Alexander’s response.
I had bigger things to worry about than an insubordinate Beta—such as a baby to prepare for.
…
Alexander
“She choked you out,” I pointed out. I hadn’t seen it firsthand, but I could tell from the size and shape of the red ring around his throat that my wife—my mate now—had just had her hand there.
Gabriel’s jaw tightened as he rubbed his neck. “Your wife has gotten stronger.”
“She’s not just my wife anymore. She’s my marked mate. And apparently, she’s also perfectly capable of handling disrespectful Betas.” I strode past him, noting the way Gabriel winced when I said ‘marked mate.’ “What did you say to her this time?”
“I may have suggested that her pregnancy was strategically timed.”
I turned to stare at him. “So you accused my pregnant, newly marked mate of manipulation?”
“Alexander, you have to admit the timing is suspicious. She gets sick, you start caring about her, suddenly she’s pregnant, and now you’ve marked her? It’s textbook manipulation.”
“The timing isn’t suspicious, Gabriel. It’s biology. We slept together, she got pregnant, and I marked her to save her life and our child’s. That’s how mate bonds work.”
“But you don’t even know if you can trust her—”
“Which is why we’re going to accelerate the investigation into her pack.” I turned to face him fully. “I want you to prepare one of our best spies for infiltration. It’s time we found out exactly what happened to my parents.”
Gabriel’s eyebrows shot up. “We’ve been avoiding direct infiltration for years. It’s too risky.”
“The risk is worth it now. I need to know if Ella is a threat or just a pawn in her family’s games.” I folded my arms. “If she’s innocent, then I can stop second-guessing every interaction we have. And if she’s not…”
I didn’t finish the sentence, but Gabriel nodded grimly.
“I’ll make the arrangements, Alpha.”
“Gabriel,” I called out. He paused, shoulders tensing as I said with a smirk, “Don’t cross my Luna again. Now that she has her wolf back, she’ll rip your throat out if you keep disrespecting her.”