Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Everything Luna Amber had said the night before echoed in Meadow’s head like a curse carved into stone.

Smile. Don’t speak.

Don’t cry. Don’t run.

Care for Ethan. Bear his children.

Stay silent. Stay obedient.

She could barely breathe beneath the weight of those rules.

And she was terrified.

Not just of the Luna.

Not just of Ethan’s unpredictable cruelty.

But of the entire house, its shadows, its silence, its power.

If only Amber had left her phone… she would have set an alarm. She would have woken early. She would have avoided this disaster of oversleeping and the punishment she knew must come.

Her hands shook as she approached the dining hall, a massive, echoing room with tall windows and long chandeliers. She heard voices before she even entered. Low. Sharp. Powerful.

She stepped inside.

Everyone was already eating.

A long rectangular table dominated the centre of the room, set with silverware and crystal glasses. At its head sat Luna Amber, regal and cold. Beside her sat her new husband, Levi Hendricks, a man Meadow had spent her entire life avoiding.

A chill rippled down her spine.

Levi Hendricks was the kind of man who didn’t need to raise a hand to frighten people. His presence alone was enough. Unpredictable. Disdainful. Hungry for authority he didn’t deserve.

Seeing him here, living in the same house with her now, made Meadow’s fear swell until she could barely walk.

Joseph sat on the opposite side, posture straight, eyes scanning the table with the calm authority of a born leader. He looked up when he

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Chapter 10

sensed her.

Compassion softened his features for a brief second.

But it was Ethan who struck her breath away.

He was seated beside Joseph, his dark hair damp from bathing, his expression unreadable as he ate calmly. He didn’t look at her. He didn’t acknowledge her. But he didn’t look angry, either.

That alone cracked open a fragile sliver of relief in her chest.

Meadow bowed politely to everyone, as taught, and made her way to Ethan’s side, the place reserved for a wife. Or, in her case, the glorified caretaker assigned the title.

She stood beside him, hands clasped, waiting for instruction.

Ethan didn’t lift his head, but his voice was gentle.

A surprise.

“Sit down.”

No anger.

No mockery.

No impatience.

Just a simple command, spoken softly.

Meadow blinked, stunned. For a moment she wondered if he had actually spoken to someone else. But when he shifted ever so slightly, she realised the invitation was hers.

She lowered herself onto the chair beside him, heart pounding, fingers trembling. But she didn’t reach for the food. She was too afraid to eat without permission.

She didn’t feel like a wife.

She didn’t feel like part of a family.

She felt like an intruder who might be punished for breathing too loudly.

The room’s atmosphere chilled when Luna Amber’s voice sliced through the silence.

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Chapter 10

“What did I tell you yesterday?”

Meadow froze. Her throat tightened. She couldn’t answer, even if she’d had the gift of a voice. Amber knew this. That was the point.

The cruelty was deliberate.

Joseph cleared his throat lightly, his tone controlled but edged with irritation.

“Take it easy, Mother. It’s her first morning. Under normal circumstances, she should be resting with Ethan, or on her honeymoon.

Yesterday was difficult for her.”

His expression softened as he glanced at Meadow, but there was sympathy in his eyes she didn’t want. Sympathy made her feel weak.

Joseph continued, “Besides, she’s mute. You’ll only exhaust yourself unless you’ve suddenly learnt signing.”

He didn’t say it as a joke.

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But Levi laughed. Loud. Sharp. Cruel.

As if Meadow were the punchline of a cruel story.

Ethan’s face didn’t change, didn’t flinch, didn’t show a single emotion. He ate slowly, methodically, his fingers steady on his utensils. The only hint of tension was a faint tightening of his jaw.

Amber didn’t find Levi’s laugh amusing. Her eyes remained fixed on Meadow.

“She was late,” Amber said coldly. “So she will not eat.”

The servants in the room stilled.

Meadow stared at her empty plate. Her hands trembled slightly under the table. She hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning. Her stomach felt like it might implode from hunger and nerves.

She willed the tears to stop gathering at the corners of her eyes.

Tears were weakness.

Tears invited punishment.

Tears made Luna Amber smile.

She lowered her gaze.

She didn’t respond.

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Chapter 10

She didn’t move.

Joseph leaned slightly forward.

“We are not in the habit of starving people, Mother,” he said firmly. “She is your daughter-in-law. Treat her with basic decency.”

Amber’s lips thinned, but she did not relent. “She will not eat. Actions have consequences.”

Joseph exhaled sharply.

He looked ready to argue, but Levi casually placed a hand on Amber’s arm.

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“Let the girl learn,” he said with a tone Meadow recognised instantly, the condescending patience of a man who enjoyed watching others

suffer. “Discipline builds character.”

Amber nodded once, as if the matter were settled.

Joseph’s face hardened, but he spoke no more.

Meadow sat rigidly in her chair, tears stinging her eyes, but she fought them back. The ache in her chest felt too big. Her heart beat too

loudly.

She wanted to disappear.

She wanted the floor to swallow her whole.

They ate.

They joked politely.

They discussed pack affairs.

They ignored the starving girl sitting silently at their table.

Ethan didn’t look at her.

He didn’t speak to her.

But something in his posture shifted slightly, barely noticeable to anyone else.

As the servants cleared plates, in preparation to serve the next course, Meadow clung to her composure. She’d long learnt how to cry silently. But today, she forced herself not to cry at all.

Crying wouldn’t change anything.

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Chapter 10

It wouldn’t make Amber kind.

It wouldn’t soften Levi.

It wouldn’t make Ethan want her.

It wouldn’t make this marriage real.

Instead, she held herself perfectly still until breakfast ended.

She didn’t want to look weak.

Weak might get her punished.

While they all waited for the next course to be served, Meadow’s heart thudded painfully in her chest.

She waited.

Like she had been trained to now.

She waited for Ethan. For the nod. The command. Anything.

Because whether she liked it or not,

Her life belonged to him now.

And she had no one else.

No phone.

No friends.

No family.

No name beyond the one they had forced on her.

This was her new life.

A life lived in the shadows of the powerful.

A life ruled by a bitter Alpha and a cruel Luna.

A life where she wasn’t a wife…

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Chapter 10

She was a silent servant trapped in a marriage she never asked for.

And there

was no escape.

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Underwater: The Silent Luna