Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 88

Chapter 88

Ethan had been just nine years old when Cain died.

To Levi, that fact had always mattered more than anything else. In his mind, it justified everything, the years he had stepped in the authority he had assumed, the way he now spoke to Ethan as though he still held unquestioned power over him. Levi/believed he

had been more of a father to Ethan than Cain ever was. Because of that belief, he felt he had nothing to apologise før.

But Amber had asked him to.

So he did it anyway.

The apology tasted bitter in the air, thin, reluctant, heavy with unsaid resentment. Ethan heard it for what it was. He accepted it without a word, his face carved from calm stone, but something hard had settled behind his eyes.

He turned slowly to Joseph.

There was a look there, knowing, searching.

Joseph had returned from Ceenas quieter than usual. More guarded. And now, seeing the tension between Levi and Ethan, Ethan finally spoke what had been sitting in his chest since dinner began.

“Is that so?” Ethan asked quietly.

Joseph hesitated.

Just a fraction.

But Ethan noticed.

“Well,” Ethan continued, his voice firm, “do not worry anymore. I will be taking up my Alpha duties fully. Since my wife will be Luna, it is only natural that we become the full package.”

The words fell into the room with unmistakable authority.

“Once I return from my vacation,” he went on, “Joseph will no longer have to deal with pack matters in acting Alpha capacity.”

Joseph’s mouth opened slightly in surprise.

Amber’s eyes widened.

Levi stiffened.

Ethan was no longer retreating.

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Chapter 88

Then his gaze sharpened, turning cold once more.

“I want to know why this man did not come forward all these years. I want to know who killed my father,” he said. “And you will not be joining Joseph and me when we question this witness.”

Levi bristled.

Ethan pushed back his chair, ready to stand.

That was when Meadow fell.

One moment, she was seated beside him.

The next, her body slid from the chair and struck the floor with a dull, horrifying thud.

Then she began to convulse.

The dining room erupted into chaos.

A sharp cry tore from Ethan’s throat as he turned just in time to see her body jerking violently against the marble floor. Her limbs twisted unnaturally. Her fingers curled tight, nails scraping against stone. Foam formed at her lips as her jaw clenched.

Fear detonated in the room.

Ethan dropped beside her, his heart slamming so violently he could hear it in his ears. His eyes darted wildly to the table, to the plates, the glasses, the food.

Did someone poison her?

“Help me!” he roared, his voice breaking with terror and rage.

Everyone surged into motion at once.

Amber grabbed her phone with shaking hands. “Call an ambulance!” she cried. “And the pack doctor, now!”

Joseph rushed forward, pushing the table aside with brute force to give them space.

Meadow’s body convulsed harder.

Her teeth snapped together.

Then, blood.

A thin line of red leaked from the corner of her mouth where she had bitten her tongue.

Ethan felt his soul tear open.

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Chapter 88

He had never seen anything like this.

None of them had.

The sound of her choking breaths, the violent shaking of her body, it shattered something deep inside him.

Amber dropped to her knees across from Ethan. “Turn her on her left side,” she ordered sharply. “Now!”

Joseph moved instantly, helping Ethan roll Meadow gently onto her side. Ethan cradled her head with trembling hands, whispering

her name over and over again like a prayer.

“Meadow… Meadow… please, please, stay with me…”

Slowly, agonisingly slowly, the convulsions eased.

Her body stilled.

Her breathing grew shallow but steady.

Joseph and Ethan lifted her together.

Ashley watched from the doorway, her hands clenched in the fabric of her dress.

She did not like that Joseph was carrying Meadow.

Not one bit.

To her, this moment was symbolic.

If Ethan had truly decided to reclaim the Alpha position, if he truly believed himself strong enough to take power back from Joseph, then he should be strong enough to carry his mate himself.

Let him prove it.

But Joseph carried Meadow anyway.

They rushed to Ethan’s wing.

The doors flew open.

Joseph laid Meadow carefully onto the bed while Ethan hovered uselessly at her side, his hands shaking, his chest heaving with barely restrained panic.

Everyone followed them into the room.

They waited.

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Chapter 88

Minutes stretched into eternity.

Amber paced the length of the chamber, wringing her hands, her lips trembling with whispered prayers. The fear in her eyes was

raw and unguarded.

Ashley stood near the wall, watching closely.

Then, slowly, she began to cry.

Soft sobs.

Controlled.

Crocodile tears.

“Who did this?” she sniffed loudly. “What happened to her? Or… or is this part of her condition?”

Amber spun toward her, fury blazing through her grief.

“For all the years I have known Meadow,” Amber snapped, her voice shaking with restrained rage, “before and after her condition, she has never convulsed before. Never.”

The room fell silent.

“Something is terribly wrong,” Amber continued, her voice low and trembling. “Either foul play is involved… or her condition has

somehow worsened.”

Ethan stood frozen at the edge of the bed, staring at Meadow’s pale face, the faint smear of blood on her lip, the shallow rise and

fall of her chest.

For the first time since she entered his life…

He was afraid he might lose her.

And someone, somewhere, was responsible.

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Underwater: The Silent Luna