Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Ethan regretted coming to the cabin the second he crossed the threshold.

He didn’t say it aloud. He didn’t let it show. But the regret lived behind his eyes, tightening his jaw, making his movements sharper,

colder.

The cabin carried memories, too many, of the life he had wanted, the future he had planned, everything he thought he deserved.

Cynthia.

She had been his everything.

His partner.

His Luna-to-be.

His heart.

Until his spine was damaged beneath the twisted wreckage of a car meant to kill him. Until the life he built no longer fit the image she wanted. Until love proved itself painfully conditional.

She left him without looking back.

The cabin still held her scent. Her laugh. Her ghost.

Ethan rolled further inside, hating how the rooms felt smaller, heavier, as though they pressed against him with memories he didn’t have the strength to face.

Meadow remained silent behind him, sensing his discomfort immediately. She didn’t look at him; she didn’t ask questions; she didn’t even breathe too loudly.

Without wanting to piss him off, she quickly nodded and carried her small bag up the stairs.

The wooden steps creaked softly beneath her feet. She tried the first room she came across, but the moment she pushed the door open, she gasped.

The room was littered with clothes, papers, old training gear, and a broken lamp. It looked like a storage room where Ethan had thrown all the things he didn’t want to remember.

So she stepped away quickly.

She would not touch a single thing without his permission.

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Chapter 19

She moved to the second room.

The moment she entered, she paused in the doorway.

The room was… beautiful.

Warm.

Intimate.

And absolutely full of Cynthia.

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A large painting of Ethan and the blonde woman hung directly above the headboard of the queen-sized bed, him smiling radiantly, her with her arms wrapped around him, both of them glowing with a happiness Meadow had never experienced.

Dozens of framed photographs lined the bedside tables, the dresser, the shelves. Their matching wolf pendants rested in a glass case. A silk robe, Cynthia’s, hung neatly on a hook by the wardrobe.

It was a shrine to a love Meadow had never known.

Her chest tightened. She suddenly felt like an intruder. Someone stepping barefoot into a sacred space that wasn’t hers.

How was she supposed to sleep here?

But Ethan had directed her here.

He had chosen this room for her.

And Meadow was too grateful for the escape to complain.

She set her bag down gently, careful not to disturb anything, not a photo frame, not a curtain edge, not even the dustless dresser top.

Just as she turned to leave, a voice echoed sharply in her head.

Do not touch or break anything in that room.

Ethan’s voice.

Direct.

Controlled.

Commanding.

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Chapter 19

She swallowed and nodded instinctively, even though he couldn’t see her.

With no way to respond mentally, she left the room and headed downstairs. But when she reached the living area, Ethan wasn’t there.

She hesitated before knocking on the door to his room.

“Enter.”

She obeyed.

The room was bare, almost painfully so. A simple single bed, a plain dresser, neutral colours, no artwork. No warmth. No comfort.

No Cynthia.

The only thing that hinted at his past was a single framed picture of the blonde woman sitting on a shelf, much smaller than the ones upstairs. More distant. More tolerable.

Meadow signed immediately:

I won’t touch or break anything.

Ethan nodded curtly, but his expression didn’t change because he was struggling with something else, his shirt was half-off, tangled, and he was awkwardly fighting to pull it over his head.

He hated being seen like this. Vulnerable. Dependent. Human.

Before she could stop herself, Meadow stepped forward and helped him.

Her touch was gentle, delicate, respectful.

“I do not need pity, little girl,” Ethan muttered, the words brittle with irritation rather than anger.

She shook her head and signed quickly:

I know. I do not pity you. I just want to help.

Ethan froze.

The honesty in her signing stunned him. Most people walked on eggshells around him. Others treated him like a child. Meadow did

neither.

She simply… understood.

It irritated him.

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Chapter 19

It softened him.

It disarmed him.

He hated all three feelings.

She knelt and untied his shoelaces, then helped him out of his shirt and into something more comfortable. Her movements were efficient, careful, almost soothing. She didn’t stare at his legs, didn’t pause in pity, didn’t let discomfort touch her eyes.

It made Ethan feel exposed in a way nothing else did.

Once he was changed, he rolled to his desk and set up his computer.

The tension in the room thinned but didn’t fade entirely.

“I do not know how long it will take me to get you out of that contract,” he said, voice heavy. “But I will try.”

Meadow’s heart squeezed.

He was taking responsibility for her suffering. Trying to fix something he didn’t break.

She raised her hands, deciding this was her only chance to speak to him honestly now that they were alone.

Alpha.

His eyes lifted immediately. She had his attention.

I am grateful for your kindness… but I know I won’t be able to get out of the contract. My parents were a part of it. If I get out, I will have nowhere to go. I cannot survive on my own in this condition. The world is not kind to people like me.

I’m grateful for this trip. It gives me time to accept what will happen. I will have to do my duty eventually.

Ethan’s blood boiled.

Amber had cornered her, trapped her with no choices, no options, no freedom. And Meadow had accepted it because what else could she

do?

She had nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. No voice to scream with. No allies.

Just him.

“I do not want you to bear my children,” Ethan said roughly. “I will find a way, ”

The words cut Meadow unexpectedly deep.

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She lowered her eyes, fingers trembling as she signed:

I promise my condition isn’t genetic, Alpha. Your children won’t be mute like me.

Ethan’s eyes widened in shock.

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“That is not what I meant, Meadow,” he said sharply. “What she is doing is wrong. You are being forced. Against your will. It is wicked.”

Meadow looked down again, unsure how to respond. So she did the safest thing she could.

She changed the subject.

The cabin is beautiful… and the decoration is warm.

He didn’t smile.

He didn’t soften.

He simply nodded stiffly and turned back to his work.

“I will call for you when I need you.”

That was her cue to leave.

Meadow exited quietly, returning to the kitchen. Her hands moved automatically as she began preparing something simple to eat.

She didn’t know how long the peace would last.

She didn’t know how soon Amber would ruin it.

She didn’t know when Ethan would call.

But for now… she would cook.

And savour the brief, fragile freedom she had left.

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Underwater: The Silent Luna