Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Alpha Malcolm leaned forward slowly, folding his hands on the table as Joseph finished speaking. His movements were deliberate, measured in a way that commanded attention without demanding it. His lips curved into a polite smile, but there was something sharp behind his eyes. Something restless. Something predatory.

He had listened to Joseph carefully.

Every figure.

Every projection.

Every promise.

The treaty made sense. The numbers added up. The structure was sound, deliberate, almost airtight. Joseph had spoken with the calm authority of a leader who understood both war and peace.

Still, Malcolm did not address the heart of the proposal.

Instead, he found something else entirely to attack.

“You need to reduce your constant usage of the word ‘very’,” Malcolm said calmly, tilting his head as though offering casual guidance. “Instead of very clean, you could say spotless. Instead of very poor, consider destitute. It sounds more… professional.”

The table went quiet.

Even the wind seemed to pause in the open-air gazebo.

Joseph stiffened, just slightly. A single muscle in his jaw tensed before he smoothed his expression back into diplomacy.

It wasn’t advice.

It was correction.

And it landed like a public slap.

Malcolm was known for this habit, interrupting, polishing, correcting, even when no correction was needed. But this time, it wasn’t about language. It was about hierarchy. About power. About reminding Joseph that in Malcolm’s eyes, he was still something to be

refined… shaped… diminished.

Ethan’s jaw tightened instantly.

They hadn’t travelled across territories and tension just to sit through a grammar lecture dressed as dominance.

“Thank you, Alpha Malcolm,” Ethan said coolly, his voice smooth but edged with quiet steel. “That was a veryinformative lesson.

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Though I’m not quite sure I came here to discuss spotless jokes and destitutely spoken grammar.”

For a split second, the world froze.

Then,

Laughter.

The Gamma snickered openly, unable to contain it.

The Beta tried, and failed, to suppress a grin.

Even Joseph burst into laughter, caught completely off guard by his brother’s unexpected sharpness.

For the first time since their arrival, the tension cracked.

Just a little.

Malcolm’s smile stiffened.

He had gotten the message.

He had pushed too far.

It seemed Ethan’s hunger to return home, to Meadow, had sharpened more than just his impatience.

Far away, in Whitewood…

Meadow lay curled in Ethan’s bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in the quiet space between heartbeats.

It had only been four days since he left, but it felt longer. Much longer. As though time moved differently without him, stretching

into thin, aching strands she had to breathe through.

The outing with Amber had changed something in her.

She felt… accepted.

Seen.

Chosen, in a strange way she never expected.

She had never imagined Amber would be the first to soften toward her. Never imagined that kindness would arrive from the woman

she feared most.

She’d also seen Ashley clearly.

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The jealousy.

The sabotage.

The tight smile hiding resentments too sharp to name.

And somehow, Amber had shut it all down without Meadow lifting a finger.

That alone changed everything.

She hugged Ethan’s pillow to her chest and slowly inhaled his forest scent.

Pine.

Cedar.

Warmth.

Strength.

It filled her lungs and made her chest ache at the same time.

She wished he would already be on his way home.

They might not be in love.

Not yet.

But she was fond of him, deeply. And she missed him in ways that surprised her. In ways that frightened her just a little.

Her old phone, the one Amber returned to her, buzzed softly as it charged beside the bed. The quiet vibration startled her. She

glanced at it briefly… then turned away.

She wasn’t ready to use it yet.

Not after everything her parents had done.

Distance had given her clarity.

Her mother had never truly loved her, only used her. Her affection had arrived only when the wedding drew close, only when Meadow became useful.

Her father had never defended her.

Never corrected the emotional silence that swallowed their home.

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They had left her to suffer alone, quietly, invisibly.

Books became her refuge.

Stories became her voice.

And Victoria, her only true companionship.

Until Ethan.

From a lonely world, he had pulled her into something unfamiliar.

Something warm.

Something filled with gentle touches, teasing humour, stolen breaths, and quiet intimacy that never demanded more than she was

ready to give.

They had explored pleasures she had only read about.

And she wanted more.

Her fingers hovered over the screen.

She almost called him.

Almost.

But she stopped herself.

He was working.

Negotiating peace.

Carrying burdens she hadn’t earned the right to disturb.

Slowly, the ceiling above her blurred as sleep claimed her.

Breakfast the next morning was surprisingly calm.

Sunlight poured through the tall windows, bathing the dining room in gold. The table was alive with soft clinks of cutlery and the quiet hum of servants moving efficiently through the space.

Amber asked Meadow how her night had been.

And for the first time,

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Meadow answered eagerly.

Her hands moved quickly as Rashel struggled to keep up. She spoke about the spa day leftover warmth. About sleeping weli. About

the quiet of the night. About missing Ethan without using his name.

Amber watched her carefully.

Watched how she smiled.

Watched how she leaned forward with interest.

Watched how she spoke about Ethan without speaking his name.

For the first time, Amber saw not a mute girl.

Not a contract bride.

Not a strategic pawn.

She saw a woman waking up inside her son’s life.

And the thought crept quietly into her mind:

She does not want to be Luna…

But she may already be in love with Ethan.

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Underwater: The Silent Luna