Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Meadow couldn’t move.

:

Her body refused. Her brain refused. Her lungs struggled to remember how to breathe. She stood frozen exactly where Ethan’s insult had sliced through her, her tears falling in silent streams down her cheeks.

Ethan did not look at her.

He simply wheeled his chair back to his desk with a practised efficiency that made her heart clench. He moved with familiarity, years of navigating a world he had been violently forced into. Nothing about him was gentle or forgiving. He radiated bitterness like heat, scorching anything that came close.

And now she was shackled to it.

Her tears didn’t interest him. Her presence didn’t register. Even her fear was a nuisance to him.

Meadow didn’t know what hurt more, his cruelty or the cold, empty realisation that the Luna had done this deliberately.

Ethan McCloud.

The Alpha no one mentioned.

The wolf no one approached.

The name people whispered about but never dared to speak aloud.

The half-wolf.

The broken son.

The monster with a reputation so dark even the servants trembled at his door.

Meadow felt her hope collapse, piece by painful piece.

She would be living in hell.

His voice struck again, sharp, impatient.

“Find a place to sit and do not utter a word.”

He paused.

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Chapter 6

Then, with a mocking curl of his lip, he added, “Ah. I forgot you were mute. Wonderful. At least I won’t have to deal with whining.”

He turned back to his work, dismissing her completely.

Meadow’s hands shook as she stared around the room.

The gown she had once treasured felt like a chain dragging her to the floor. She didn’t dare remove it, not yet. Not in his presence.

The room itself was large but sparse. Empty in a way that wasn’t physical, empty in spirit. A quiet sadness clung to the walls, drowned

out by the heavy tension Ethan exuded.

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A king-size bed dominated the room, and beside it was a small narrow cot. A caretaker’s bed. Positioned so close it was impossible to miss

his breathing, his nightmares, his needs..

So that was her place.

Not as a wife.

Not as a Luna.

But as a live-in nursemaid.

She swallowed hard and sat stiffly on one of the couches, hands clasped in her lap. She didn’t know what was expected of her. She didn’t

know what to do. But she obeyed.

Minutes passed. Maybe hours. She didn’t know.

The door soon opened again, and several servants wheeled in racks of clothing. Dresses, sleepwear, cardigans, shoes, all chosen for her.

Meadow didn’t look at any of it. Her tears still fell silently, soaking the bodice of her ruined wedding gown.

Ethan didn’t look up.

“Change that hideous dress,” he said without emotion.

Meadow flinched at the order. She rose quickly, desperate not to anger him further, and slipped inside the large walk-in closet.

She closed the door gently behind her.

And the moment she was alone, she broke.

She sank onto the little stool inside the closet, her shoulders shaking as painful, helpless laughter escaped her, a frightening, broken sound. Tears drenched her cheeks as she stared blankly at the rows of new clothes.

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14:45 Sat, Jun 13

Chapter 6

Tonight should have been the happiest night of her life.

Tonight should have been meaningful.

Tonight should have been the night she finally felt wanted.

She was a virgin.

Ready. Hopeful. Nervous. Excited.

ཉྙཱ་

But it would never happen.

Ethan McCloud wouldn’t consummate a marriage he didn’t acknowledge. He didn’t even look at her like a woman. She wasn’t his bride.

She wasn’t his mate.

To him, she was a glorified nanny forced into his life by a manipulative Luna.

She wiped her eyes and reached for a simple cotton pyjama set. She took it into the bathroom, not wanting to touch anything belonging to him, not without permission.

She searched the cabinet. Every item, every bottle, towel, brush, belonged to Ethan. Out of fear and courtesy, she didn’t use any of it.

She turned on the tap and washed her face with plain water.

The makeup clung stubbornly. She panicked, wanting desperately to scrub it off. In frustration, she tore a piece from the train of her wedding gown and used it as a cloth.

A pathetic, tragic end to what was supposed to be her most beautiful day.

When she finished, she changed into the pyjamas, folded the remnants of her gown, and dumped it in the bathroom bin.

She couldn’t keep it.

She couldn’t bear to look at it again.

It was a reminder of the day her life ended.

Meadow returned to the couch quietly, curling into herself. She wanted to text Victoria. She wanted to link her mother. She wanted a hug,

a voice, a hand, anything.

But she didn’t want to worry them yet.

She would deal with tonight alone.

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Chapter 6

Her phone became her only companion. Eventually, sleep took her, heavy and painful.

A gentle shake stirred her awake.

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“Madam,” a servant whispered, “the Luna wants to see you.”

Meadow blinked blearily, confused. Night had fallen. Ethan still sat at his desk, working, and ignoring her entirely, as if she didn’t exist.

The servant’s eyes softened with pity as she looked at Meadow.

Pity was worse than anger. Pity made Meadow’s chest ache.

She stood, forcing her legs to carry her, and followed the servant out of the room.

Down the corridor.

Through the empty west wing.

Up the stairs.

Across the grand hall.

Until they reached the Luna’s office.

The servant stepped aside, face tense.

And Meadow entered the room alone.

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Sat, Jun 13

Underwater: The Silent Luna