Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 66

Chapter 66

Although his brother’s words were painfully valid, they cut Ethan deeper than any blade ever could.

It wasn’t just what Joseph said, it was what his words implied.

That Ethan was already dead weight.

That he had become a liability.

That when war arrived, he would be nothing more than a burden left behind.

Those implications lodged themselves beneath his skin and refused to dislodge. He sat in silence long after Joseph’s voice faded from the air, staring at the faint reflection in the glass before him. The man looking back wore his face, but not his fire. Not his

power. Not his wolf.

Ethan knew Malcolm was playing a dangerous game. He had seen it from the first slow smile, the oily politeness, the way the Alpha of Ceenas wrapped threats in silk and called it diplomacy. Malcolm’s greed showed in his stillness, in his patience, in his chilling

confidence that time itself bent for him.

Dominance disguised as “protection.”

Control masquerading as “peace.”

And Ethan could not, would not, allow Malcolm to take advantage of their bloodline, their legacy, their moment of weakness.

The McClouds had always stood at the top.

For generations, their name had carried weight that crossed borders. Alphas sought their alliance before daring war. Packs whispered their name with reverence and fear alike. Whitewood was not merely a territory, it was a standard.

Malcolm was a newcomer.

And newcomers did not rewrite history.

To bow now, to sign away their sovereignty, would be a disgrace that echo through generations. It would desecrate the sweat, the blood, the sacrifices made by men and women who had died to keep Whitewood unconquered. It would declare to the world that the

McClouds had finally broken.

But Joseph was terrified.

Terrified of war.

Terrified of blood.

17

|||

O

Г

1/3

Chapter 66

Terrified of becoming the man who sent others to die.

And in that fear, he was willing to bend.

So Ethan finally did the unthinkable.

He backed down.

“If that is what you want to do,” Ethan said at last, his voice hoarse with restrained fury, “then I am going home today. I will not be

part of it. I will not sign it. I will not agree.”

The finality of his words struck something deep inside Joseph. His brother turned slowly, eyes widening just slightly.

“And what will you do when they come for us?” Joseph asked quietly.

The softness in his voice made it worse.

Ethan opened his mouth, then closed it.

He had an answer.

But the answer required strength he no longer possessed.

The answer demanded that he stand before battle.

The answer demanded his wolf.

And all he had was emptiness.

The accident had taken everything.

And it was still taking.

Pain was not the worst part. Loss was not even the worst part. The worst part was waking every day to the echo of power that no longer answered him. It was the way his body remembered what it once could do, and could not forgive him for losing it.

In his rising rage and helplessness, Ethan reached inward, deep, desperately, for Echo.

Please, he pleaded silently.

For once.

Just once.

Let me feel you.

WED

|||

O

2/3

11:47 Wed, Jun 17 O

Chapter 66

But all that greeted him was familiar silence… and warmth.

No voice.

No shift.

No power.

Just the ghost of what he once was.

The warmth remained, the faint remnant of connection, but it was hollow, unresponsive. Like standing before a door that would

never open again.

“Why are you still silent?” he whispered.

The question escaped before he could stop it.

Joseph moved closer and slowly lowered himself into a chair opposite him, bringing himself to eye level with his broken brother.

The space between them shrank, but the distance felt endless.

“How did it get this bad?” Ethan asked, his voice breaking despite his effort to hold it steady. “How did it come to this? Why…

why?”

Comments

LIKE

WED

Write Comments

SHARE

17

|||

O

Г

3/3

11:47 Wed, Jun 17

Underwater: The Silent Luna