Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Meadow followed Ethan back to their bedroom in silence, anger and humiliation buzzing beneath her skin like a swarm of angry

bees. Amber’s words clung to her, She isn’t yours, Ethan.

That is precisely what she will do.

She is not your property.

She is a mute.

Every insult was another lash, another reminder that she wasn’t seen as a person but as a function, something to be used and

discarded. A nanny. A vessel. A means to an end.

And now she was wondering if Ethan meant what he said.

I am willing to try with her.

Try.

The word twisted painfully inside her chest. She would rather he didn’t say it at all if the only reason he would “try” was pity.

Charity. Duty.

Meadow stood near the foot of the bed, watching him wheel himself around the room with quiet efficiency. He moved with purpose, calm, unreadable, his broad shoulders shifting with controlled precision. He looked like a man deep in thought, and she wondered

what plan he was crafting behind those cold eyes.

How exactly was he going to convince Amber?

He wasn’t going to touch her.

He wasn’t going to mark her.

And he certainly wasn’t planning to build any actual relationship with her.

He might have bought her time… but everyone knew that Luna Amber was relentless.

Sooner or later, Meadow would be dragged to that doctor.

She made up her mind right then, she would condition her mind, harden her resolve, and accept her fate. Mental preparation was

the only comfort she had.

Ethan wheeled himself out of the room without a word. Meadow exhaled shakily and headed to the bathroom to freshen up. The

warm shower steadied her nerves, even if only slightly.

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Chapter 31

When she finished, she wrapped herself in a towel, squeezed the excess water from her hair, and stepped out,

, and froze.

Ethan was in the room.

The shock made her fingers go numb. The towel slipped from her grip, fell to the floor, and time stopped.

Ethan saw everything.

For a split second, he didn’t breathe.

Didn’t blink.

Didn’t move.

Meadow gasped silently, grabbed the towel with trembling hands, and bolted to the closet. Her cheeks burned so fiercely they stung

She felt exposed, vulnerable, undone.

But Ethan… Ethan sat frozen in place, the image burned into his mind.

She was… beautiful.

Beautiful in a way he hadn’t expected.

Soft curves, smooth skin, a body that was feminine, delicate, yet strong.

Not a “girl”, as he often referred to her.

A woman.

A woman with a body that stirred something primal deep inside him.

His wolf growled inside his mind, low, hungry, instinctive.

Ethan shut his eyes and inhaled sharply, trying to steady himself. The sound of her fleeing, the soft click of the closet door, none of

it erased the picture. His hands gripped the armrest of his wheelchair tighter than necessary.

By the time Meadow finally stepped out of the closet, wearing a modest nightdress with her damp hair tied in a ponytail, Ethan had

forced his expression into neutrality. But inside, he was anything but calm.

She looked innocent. Far too innocent for the effect she had on him,

Any other woman in her position would have used the opportunity, seduction, manipulation, a chance to climb.

But Meadow?

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Chapter 31

Meadow immediately hid, immediately covered herself, immediately chose modesty over advantage.

He found himself both relieved and disappointed by it.

Meadow surveyed the room, cautious, unsure. Before the cabin, he had allowed her to sleep beside him. Now that they were back,

she assumed the rules had changed. She quietly walked toward the tiny nanny bed in the corner.

Ethan spoke before the anger and disappointment inside him twisted any further.

“You sleep on the bed now,” he said firmly. “I will have them take the small bed out of the room tomorrow.”

Her head snapped up. Relief washed over her face.

She nodded quickly and signed, Thank you.

He didn’t respond to the gratitude. Couldn’t. Didn’t trust himself to.

Instead, he spoke the last thing she expected.

“Do you mind helping me change?”

Meadow blinked, startled. Ethan almost never asked for help, not willingly. He prided himself on independence, even when it

exhausted him.

But he was asking now.

Something softened inside her. She stepped toward him with gentle hands, and Ethan brought out his pyjamas. Her movements were careful, respectful, practised. She helped him out of his shirt, her fingers brushing his skin lightly, and he fought the shiver that

threatened to betray him.

She helped him out of his trousers, dressed him in comfortable night clothes, and all the while… Ethan watched her through

lowered lashes.

For the first time in a very long time, he didn’t feel broken.

Just seen.

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Underwater: The Silent Luna