Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Meadow woke with a jolt.

Cold. Alone. Disoriented.

The unfamiliar ceiling loomed above her, and for a second she forgot where she was. Then the sharp ache in her chest reminded her. She

turned her head instinctively toward the larger bed nearby,

Empty.

Ethan wasn’t there.

Her stomach dropped.

She bolted upright, quilt pooling around her waist, and scrambled for the clock on the nightstand. The small digital numbers stared back

at her mercilessly.

8:00 a.m.

The exact time breakfast was meant to begin.

Her veins filled with ice.

She had overslept.

On her first morning.

In a house where one wrong move could cost her much more than reprimand.

A buzzing panic clawed its way up her throat.

How could she have allowed this to happen?

On any normal wedding night, waking up late would have been silly, romantic even. But this wasn’t romance. This wasn’t a marriage. This was a job. An obligation. A cage dressed in silk and vows she never got to speak.

And she had failed before even starting.

Oddly, what hurt the most wasn’t Ethan’s condition or his cruelty. Meadow had known suffering. She had known disappointment. She had known hardship. If Ethan had treated her kindly, crippled or not, she would have found a way to make it work. She would have built something gentle out of the broken pieces fate had given her.

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Chapter 9

No, the pain that hollowed her chest came from Luna Amber’s cruelty.

The way she spoke.

The way she smirked.

The way she stripped Meadow of autonomy, pride, connection, and dignity with surgical precision.

If what they wanted was a nanny, they should have hired one.

They didn’t need to steal a girl’s freedom and call it marriage.

But a nanny couldn’t bear children, heirs, and children born outside wedlock could never inherit an Alpha’s throne. So Amber had chosen

the perfect solution:

A mute girl who couldn’t object.

Couldn’t report their abuse.

Couldn’t run.

Couldn’t scream.

Her phone being taken felt like the cruelest blow. It was the one lifeline she had. The one thing that made her feel less alone.

Now it was gone.

Instead of waking beside a husband, Meadow woke on a tiny stranger’s bed, staring at the clock with dread, as though she were a late intern rushing into her first shift.

It sucked.

It really sucked.

Fear crackled through her as she leapt off the bed. Her legs were stiff from crying half the night. Her eyes felt puffy, her throat tight.

She rushed into the bathroom, brushing her teeth with trembling hands, splashing her face with cold water to hide the evidence of her tears. She didn’t dare touch Ethan’s toiletries, so she used the bare minimum to make herself presentable.

She grabbed the first simple dress she found in her closet, a soft beige one with lace sleeves, and pulled it on. Her hair was damp, clinging

to her neck.

No time to dry it.

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Chapter 9

No time for anything.

She ran.

ร

Her steps echoed through the long corridor until she reached the main hall. Two servants spotted her and immediately stepped forward

“Madam, this way,” one said gently, pity shadowing her eyes.

Meadow followed them, her breath shallow, her heart pounding wildly against her ribs like a trapped animal.

Her tears threatened to rise again, burning hot behind her eyes. But she forced them down. She had cried enough yesterday. She had cried

enough for a lifetime.

Crying made her look weak.

People already saw her as weak.

She wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.

She swallowed the emotion violently, and somehow, miraculously, she won.

But her heartbeat refused to calm.

It thundered so loudly she wondered if the servants could hear it.

No matter how much she tried to steady herself, it refused.

It didn’t listen.

Just like she didn’t have control over anything in this house… including her own fate.

As they approached the dining room, Meadow’s hands grew cold. Her palms were slick with sweat. She felt like she was walking to a

sentencing chamber again.

What would Amber say?

What punishment awaited her?

Would Ethan be furious?

Would he even acknowledge her?

So far, the former Alpha was an enigma, silent, brooding, unpredictable. More frightening than any wolf she had ever met. And while Amber’s cruelty was sharp and calculated, Ethan’s was wild, simmering, unrestrained.

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Chapter 9

He was the one she feared most.

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Her pulse quickened.

She paused at the entrance, inhaling shakily. Her fingers brushed her damp hair nervously. The servants bowed slightly and stepped back.

Meadow stood alone.

This was her first test.

Her first breakfast.

Her first encounter with Ethan and Amber as the new… whatever she was supposed to be.

She braced herself.

She held her breath.

She stepped forward,

And prayed she would survive whatever came next.

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Underwater: The Silent Luna