Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 18

14:48 Sat, Jun 13

Underwater: The Silent Luna

Chapter 18

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The ride to the cabin was long, bumpy, and wrapped in a suffocating silence. Meadow sat stiffly at first, hands folded neatly on her lap, but the exhausting events of the day slowly pressed her eyelids shut. She drifted in and out of sleep like a child worn thin by fear.

Each time she slumped over slightly, the van hitting a rough patch in the forest road, she jolted awake, only to find Ethan staring straight

ahead… unblinking, alert, rigid.

He didn’t sleep.

He didn’t even relax.

His eyes scanned the trees, the winding dirt path, the shadows flickering past the tinted windows. He didn’t trust anyone, especially not on the road. Not after the night someone had tried to kill him and Joseph. Not after he had woken up in hospital, legs shattered beyond

repair, his future stolen in a moment of betrayal.

Suspicion was the only armour he had left.

Meadow noticed the way his jaw stayed clenched, the faint twitch under his left eye, the tension humming in his entire body. It was

painful to look at him, this powerful Alpha reduced to a man perpetually on edge.

She wished she could say something to comfort him. Or at least smile courageously. But she didn’t want to disturb the fragile peace of the

van.

Ethan’s mind wandered, just once, to Keith Brines, his former Beta, one of the few people whose loyalty hadn’t wavered after the accident. Keith had resigned the moment Joseph took over as Alpha, refusing to serve under someone else when Ethan was still alive.

He and his mate lived close to the cabin, and Ethan found himself unexpectedly eager to see his old friend again.

Keith was the only person left in the world who still treated Ethan like an Alpha, not a cripple. And Ethan needed that grounding.

They finally arrived.

The tyres crunched over gravel as the cabin came into view, framed by tall pines and golden leaves fluttering from the trees. The driver

parked the van and got out immediately.

“Take your bags and go on holiday,” Ethan instructed curtly.

The man blinked in surprise. “Sir, your mother,”

“Now,” Ethan cut him off, voice cold as ice.

The driver swallowed, nodded, and quickly obeyed. Ethan didn’t want the man returning to the mansion. Didn’t want Amber forcing the

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14:48 Sat, Jun 13

Chapter 18

location out of him. Didn’t want anyone pointing her toward Meadow.

This trip was a shield.

27

And he intended to make sure it stayed that way.

The driver carried Meadow’s bag to the cabin door while Meadow helped Ethan out, carefully guiding his wheelchair down the makeshift ramp. He said nothing, but she could tell from the tight set of his shoulders that he hated needing assistance, even the smallest amount.

The moment she stepped inside, Meadow froze.

The cabin wasn’t small like she’d imagined. It wasn’t some rustic hideaway thrown together in a hurry. It was warm. Beautiful. Lived-in.

And deeply personal.

The ground floor was a large open layout: a cosy living area with plush autumn-coloured sofas, a modern kitchen with stone counters, and a bedroom tucked near the staircase leading to the upper floor.

The upstairs had its own lounge and two more bedrooms.

Meadow quickly realised: because of Ethan’s condition, they would have to stay downstairs.

She walked further in, absorbing the space, the rich wooden walls, the warm lighting, the faint scent of pine and citrus. Her eyes were drawn to the fireplace first. An electric one, flickering with artificial flames.

But above it,

Photographs.

Ethan.

And a blonde woman.

Smiling.

Laughing,

Holding onto him like he was her entire world.

Cynthia.

The woman who left him after the accident.

Her presence lingered like a ghost in every corner. A forgotten sweater draped over a chair. A mug with her name. A vase she likely picked

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14:48 Sat, Jun 13

Chapter 18

out. The cabin was drenched in memories Meadow had no right to touch.

She looked away immediately, guilt prickling her skin. She didn’t want to intrude on the remnants of what Ethan once had. What he had

lost.

Before she could say anything, Ethan spoke.

“You sleep upstairs.”

Meadow turned, startled.

His tone was firm, not harsh, but very final.

“I know I can link you, but you can’t link me,” he added. “So if I need help, I’ll contact you.”

She shook her head quickly, signing with urgency.

I will sleep on the couch in the living room. That way, I can get to you when you need me.

Ethan’s expression hardened instantly.

Why did she think he would need her like that?

Did he look that helpless?

Did she pity him?

Heat flared in his chest, an anger he couldn’t fully name. But Meadow saw the tension rise in him and quickly signed again, hands moving

fast with desperation.

I do not want to sleep upstairs. Even if you do not need me, I want to remain downstairs.

She didn’t lie. But Ethan knew she had already revealed the truth in her first instinct, to help him. To care for him.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Gratitude? Irritation? Shame?

Or all of it at once.

His jaw tightened.

“You sleep upstairs,” he said sternly. “Or I send you back.”

Meadow’s breath caught.

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Chapter 18

“I do not let anyone sleep on the couch.”

:

The words were clipped, icy. Meadow realised immediately; it wasn’t about her. Not entirely. The living room was where he and Cynthia

used to spend their evenings. The couch still held the imprint of that life he had lost.

Ethan didn’t want Meadow sleeping there.

Didn’t want another woman taking Cynthia’s space.

Didn’t want memories mixing with new ones.

He didn’t want to share a room with Meadow.

Not here.

Not in the cabin filled with ghosts he was still trying to forget.

And Meadow understood that.

Silently.

Completely.

She nodded slowly, accepting the boundaries he set, even if her heart ached for reasons she couldn’t explain.

The cabin was supposed to be an escape.

For Meadow, it still could be.

But for Ethan…

this place was a battleground of memories he wasn’t ready to face.

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14:48 Sat, Jun 13

Underwater: The Silent Luna