Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 170

Chapter 170

That question hit where Linus meant it to. Amber could not answer. Not because she had no words, but because all the words around Ethan’s condition were bruised already, and the accusation beneath Linus’s tone made them bruise further.

“Joseph is running the pack now, and he is doing a good job,” Amber said.

Linus laughed.

“You brought the devil into Cain’s home, Amber. Why is he still hanging around? What the fuck is he still doing/there? I also learned you forced Ethan to marry the special needs girl. How could you, Amber? How could you ridicule Ethan like that? You really want to ruin the pack. What the fuck would Ethan do with that worthless piece of trash. All because you want to continue being Luna? What the fuck are the both of you still doing there? You stopped being Luna the moment you married that bastard!” Linus

said.

Amber wanted to hang up on him. The urge came fast and hot. But she controlled herself because shouting would not fix anything and because Linus, for all his ugliness, still occupied a complicated place in the family tree. She hated that. Hated that Cain’s death

had left behind so many men with opinions and none with the grace to carry them quietly.

“Meadow is a sweet girl, and Ethan loves her very much. You have no say in the matter; she will make a fine Luna when the time

comes. As for Levi, he helped me, Linus. While you were trying to prove that he murdered his Alpha, he helped me. He kept

predators away so I could mourn my mate. He trained my sons and kept every promise he made to me. He might not be likeable,

neither was Cain, but he isn’t what you say he is,” Amber argued.

Amber heard the steel in her own voice and did not soften it.

“Left to Levi, we should be far away from here. I am the reason why we are still here. He spent his productive years serving my sons and me. He has no child of his own. He practically sacrificed it all. So I will advise you to stop spewing nonsense. You have just as

much reason to end Cain, Linus. You are an Alpha too, but no one pointed at you. Why can’t you just let it go?” Amber asked.

That last question left a brief silence between them. Linus had no answer that would not reveal too much of himself.

“I just wanted to know how they were doing,” Linus said.

Then he hung up.

Amber set the phone down and began to cry. It was not only because of Linus. Not really. He was simply the hand that pressed on bruises already there. Sometimes Amber doubted Levi too, and she hated herself for it. Hated the small, treacherous parts of grief that still whispered ugly possibilities in lonely hours. Levi had given so much. Too much. Yet she did not love him as she should, or as cleanly as a woman ought to love the man who had done all he had done for her and her sons. Something in her remained divided. Cain’s shadow. The years. The accusations. The lack of closure. Linus had nearly gotten Levi killed after Cain’s death, but he had never been able to prove Levi did it because Levi had an alibi too solid to break. If they could get one eyewitness, just one, maybe everything would end. But they could not. And the not knowing had rotted slowly in the family for years.

Amber felt cheated by that uncertainty. She was still crying when Ashley knocked on the office door. Amber wiped away her tears

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Chapter 170

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immediately, composed herself as best she could, and told Ashley to enter. Ashley came in crying too. Amber rolled her eyes inwardly at once. There was only so much emotional mess she could bear at one time, and Ashley rarely arrived carrying anything

else.

“What is the matter now?” Amber asked.

“Joseph broke up with me and has asked me to go home. I can’t go home while pregnant. Please talk to him, Luna. I know he is mad, but he will listen to you,” Ashley said.

Amber told her to sit down. Ashley sat, though badly. Restless. Uneasy. Too desperate to settle.

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12:25 Wed, Jun 17 MO

Underwater: The Silent Luna