Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Ethan exhaled slowly, the weight of his thoughts pressing heavily against his ribs. With effort, he pushed his wheelchair closer to her. The soft hum of the wheels filled the quiet space between them. He reached out, fingertips brushing her knuckles before gently

tugging her hand.

A silent invitation.

Meadow lowered herself, squatting until her eyes were level with his, close enough for him to see the flecks of gold that always appeared when she was anxious. Her hands rested in her lap, small and trembling, her gaze soft but questioning

Ethan held her stare for a long moment.

Then he spoke, voice low, stripped of all his usual harshness.

“I need you to be bold and strong, Meadow.”

She blinked, startled by the earnestness in his tone.

“People will disrespect you, walk over you, when you show weakness,” he continued, jaw tightening. “This… what we have… might not last. Alright. I know that. But while you’re here, I want you to build something for yourself. Your self-esteem. Your worth.” His eyes warmed. “Being mute isn’t a crime. And you should never be ashamed of it.”

The words hit her harder than she expected. She felt them settle somewhere deep in her chest, heavy but comforting, a truth she

had never been given permission to claim.

She wanted to accept everything he said. She wanted to believe it.

But the world outside this room wasn’t kind. It had never been.

She lifted her hands and signed slowly, “I do not like trouble.”

It was the simplest way she could explain years of shrinking, hiding, avoiding conflict.

His voice softened. “You have my protection, Meadow. Even when this ends.., and you’re a free woman… you will still have my

protection.”

Her breath hitched. Tears welled sharply, blurring her vision.

He didn’t understand.

She didn’t want freedom. Not the kind he imagined. Not freedom from him.

Her hands trembled as she signed, “Thank you, Alpha, but… I do not want to be free of you.”

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Ethan stiffened.

Her cheeks flushed, heart pounding as she added, “I like it here. And I hope you will…”

But her fingers froze mid-air.

She swallowed.

She had said too much.

Too early.

Too honestly.

She looked down, embarrassed, afraid she had crossed a line she could never step back behind.

Because the truth was painfully clear:

She had nothing to return to.

No home.

No family.

No warmth.

Ethan, this man who scared the pack, had been kinder to her in days than people in her life had in years.

And since the night he held her in their room…

Since she lay curled against him, feeling his heartbeat through his chest…

She had known, deep down, that she would rather live in his shadow than live freely anywhere else.

She didn’t love him. Not yet.

But she was impossibly, helplessly fond of him.

A fondness she didn’t want to lose.

Her words struck Ethan harder than she could ever understand.

He went still. Completely still.

Then, with a heavy breath, he murmured, “You cannot live your life like this… with a cripple… as his live-in nanny.”

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The word cripple burned through the air.

And Meadow flinched as though she had been struck.

Tears spilled instantly down her cheeks, silent, raw, wounded.

Why would he say that about himself?

Why couldn’t he take the very advice he had given her?

Why couldn’t he see himself the way she did?

Meadow wanted, so desperately, to throw her arms around him. To tell him he was wrong. That his worth was not tied to his legs

But she held herself back. Ethan had boundaries, and she respected them, because he respected her.

She wiped her tears with shaking fingers and signed firmly, “I do not see any of that, Alpha.”

Her eyes glistened as she continued, “You are my husband. I do not mind the conditions.”

She paused, breath unsteady.

“I would like to remain with you… if you will have me.”

Her throat tightened. Her next sign came slower, heavier.

“Unless you feel I am not good enough. Unless you have someone else.”

She had never pushed him before. This was the boldness he had asked for, and now he had to face it.

Ethan stared at her, stunned.

Her newfound courage was fragile yet fierce.

He liked it… and feared it.

She deserved better than a man tied to a chair. Better than the weight of his broken body and the bitterness he fought daily. He knew this. He had lived through women walking away when the fantasy of saving him wore off.

Cynthia. And all the others.

They had all grown tired.

He believed Meadow would, too.

Still… the way she looked at him now…

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Chapter 38

The sincerity…

The hope…

It melted through the armour he had spent years constructing.

She signed one last plea, placing her hand gently over his.

“Just give it a chance.”

Her touch was feather-light, but it hit him like a storm.

Under normal circumstances, if he were another man, if he trusted himself, he might have pulled her into his arms right then. Bu

he couldn’t. He didn’t know how to hold someone who could break him without meaning to.

He swallowed hard and forced himself to breathe.

She might feel this way because he had been kind. Because he had given her what no one else did: care, safety, attention. Soon, he believed, she would realise the truth, that living with a disabled man was exhausting and limiting.

But he could not crush her newfound confidence.

He had asked her to be bold.

And she was being bold, for him.

So Ethan simply nodded.

He didn’t promise.

He didn’t claim her.

He didn’t deny her.

He nodded.

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A quiet acceptance.

A fragile beginning.

One thing, however, etched itself deep into his heart, something he would carry even if everything fell apart later:

In that moment, Meadow saw him.

Not the wheelchair.

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Chapter 38

Not the spine injury.

Not the shame he dragged behind him.

She saw him.

And she accepted him exactly as he was.

For the first time in years, Ethan felt… enough.

Comments

MermicornQueen

I love how deeply they are falling for each other

7 days ago

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Underwater: The Silent Luna