Chapter 5<\/p>\n
Third Person\u2019s POV<\/p>\n
The mark still tingled on Lucas\u2019s neck, faintly warm from the magic shared\u2014but unfinished. Rebecca hadn\u2019t let him bite her back.<\/p>\n
From her hidden vantage point behind the silver-leaved willow, Rebecca\u2019s eyes flickered as she watched Maurine slide into the waiting car with a satisfied smirk on her face. Lucas stood behind, alone for a moment\u2014until Beta Cyrus emerged from the trees, his scent sharp with agitation.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re telling me,\u201d Cyrus growled, voice low, \u201cthat you let her mark you, and you didn\u2019t bite her back?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lucas\u2019s voice was calm, too calm. \u201cIt\u2019s what she wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s not even your mate, Alpha,\u201d Cyrus hissed, brows furrowed. \u201cYou\u2019re not thinking straight. You\u2019re the Alpha of Silvana. She won\u2019t even bear your mark.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t need her to bear it,\u201d Lucas replied, turning his eyes up to the stars. \u201cShe wanted it her way. I gave it to her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cyrus scoffed, pacing. \u201cYou\u2019d give her the moon if she asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lucas didn\u2019t deny it.<\/p>\n
Rebecca turned away before she could hear more. Her heart ached in her chest\u2014not just from what she heard, but from what she felt. Something about the marking had hollowed her out. Like a wound she\u2019d stitched shut herself, only to feel it tear again with every word Lucas spoke.<\/p>\n
She refused to follow them after that. She returned home and remained silent.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, within hours, Lucas had brought Maurine back to their territory.<\/p>\n
Later that night, the wind carried another scent\u2014blood, smoke, and moon magic. Outside Aethon territory, deep in the woods of Silvana, Lucas had gone alone. His mission? Retrieve the red lotus moonstone\u2014a sacred artifact sealed away generations ago. Maurine wanted it. And Lucas obeyed.<\/p>\n
It was among the things she blurted out when asked about the man she would allow herself to mate with earlier in the exhibit.<\/p>\n
Cyrus had argued again, of course. \u201cThat stone belongs to Silvana. The elders sealed it for a reason. You want to rip it out of the earth for some she-wolf\u2019s fantasy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll do it,\u201d Lucas had said, eyes glowing dimly. \u201cEven if I bleed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Red Lotus Moonstone isn\u2019t just some gift you toss at a she-wolf to earn her attention!\u201d Cyrus snapped. \u201cEven if she is the key\u2026 That thing is sealed for a reason\u2014our ancestors bled to lock it away. The entire forest is cursed to guard it.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, it seemed like Alpha Lucas had no intention of stopping.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose wards will tear your flesh apart. The forest has a will of its own. The Moonstone has one too. You might not come out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will,\u201d Lucas murmured. \u201cBecause she wants it. I am willing to bleed.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did bleed.<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s POV<\/p>\n
That night, I opened the front door to the scent of pain and pine.<\/p>\n
Lucas stood there like a storm that had been dragged through the mud\u2014ribs fractured, blood crusting his brow, his boots caked in wet earth. He didn\u2019t have a flower in hand this time. He\u2019d already sent it ahead to Maurine, probably through Beta Cyrus. Of course.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a rogue attack,\u201d he said, voice low, eyes avoiding mine.<\/p>\n
I tilted my head. \u201cI see.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded once, stiffly. \u201cI\u2019ll be gone for a few days. Maybe a week. I\u2026 need to rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure,\u201d I said softly. \u201cTake your leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was trying to read something deeper. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to ask more?\u201d<\/p>\n
A faint smile touched my lips. \u201cIt\u2019s fine. I won\u2019t need guarding where I\u2019m going.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked confused. Good. He had no idea what I meant. No clue that I was saying goodbye. He just nodded again and walked away toward his quarters, probably to collapse in some bruised, self-important heap.<\/p>\n
The next day, the skies were too clear. Still. Off.<\/p>\n
I sat with my closest friends in a private room at the VIP club. It was supposed to be a farewell party of sorts\u2014though no one but me knew that. Laughter filled the space, sharp and bright, but to me, it hurt more than any goodbye.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo Alpha Maximus!\u201d someone toasted, raising their glass high. \u201cMay his wedding with Rebecca be peaceful!\u201d<\/p>\n
Lindsay rolled her eyes. \u201cHonestly, Becca, if he ever wakes up and realizes he\u2019s married to you, he might just faint again.\u201d<\/p>\n
I smiled, but it was hollow. None of it felt real. Or maybe too much of it did.<\/p>\n
Lindsay leaned closer, her voice dropping. \u201cThis isn\u2019t fair. Maurine? Really? After everything she\u2019s done? And Alpha Rowan\u2014he\u2019s treating you like a pawn in a war he doesn\u2019t even fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt won\u2019t matter soon,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
Her smile faded. \u201cWe\u2019ll still see you, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
I just raised my glass. \u201cOf course, silly.\u201d<\/p>\n
But I think we both knew that was a lie.<\/p>\n
Later, I returned to the Aethon Pack House. I planned to speak to my father\u2014no, Alpha Rowan\u2014one last time. My heels clicked softly against the polished stone floors. This house never felt like home, just a place with too many echoes.<\/p>\n
Before I reached his study, I heard Maurine\u2019s voice floating from one of the side rooms.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026He actually let me bite him! Can you believe that?\u201d she laughed, slurring slightly from wine. \u201cI own him now. Like a puppy offering a stick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Laughter followed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe must be in love,\u201d someone exclaimed.<\/p>\n
Maurine scoffed. \u201cPlease. He\u2019s a backup. He does what I want when I want it. If I\u2019m bored, I call. If not\u2014he stays useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause. Then, \u201cAnd you still want to marry that sleeping Alpha?\u201d<\/p>\n
She laughed again, shameless. \u201cNo! The heck! If I had the choice, I\u2019d marry the Alpha of Silvana himself. He\u2019s hotter, richer, and easier to control. Can you believe he sent me the Red Lotus Moonstone?\u201d<\/p>\n
I blinked slowly, a dry smirk tugging at my lips. She didn\u2019t even know Lucas and the Alpha she wanted to marry were the same person.<\/p>\n
Lucas\u2014loyal, stupid, bleeding Lucas\u2014had no idea he was being treated like a chew toy. A second option. A convenient pet.<\/p>\n
I turned away, abandoning both my father and that cursed house. I didn\u2019t need to hear more. Instead, I went where I always found peace: the graveyard.<\/p>\n
My mother\u2019s stone stood beneath the yew tree, bathed in silver moonlight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t be like you,\u201d I whispered, laying a single white rose at the base. \u201cYou waited your whole life for love that never came. I\u2019ll survive\u2014even if it means without love.\u201d<\/p>\n
At dawn, I received a message. A gold deposit. Massive. Half of the Aethon treasury. The price of my silence. Of my goodbye. Of my hand in a marriage no one thought I\u2019d see through.<\/p>\n
I accepted it.<\/p>\n
Then I severed every last tie to Aethon Pack. My father. Lucas. Maurine. All of them.<\/p>\n
The next morning, while packing the last of my belongings, I handed Lucas a box.<\/p>\n
\u201cGive this to Maurine,\u201d I said simply.<\/p>\n
He stared at it like it might explode. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy old art supplies,\u201d I replied. \u201cShe wants to be me so badly. Might as well let her have the scraps.\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t know it yet, but I\u2019d already filed the paperwork to reassign him as her wolf knight. She could have him. He was never really mine anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about you?\u201d he asked, gripping the box tightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can handle fine,\u201d I said with a small smirk. \u201cMoving out isn\u2019t that hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
It meant nothing. But it was the last thing I would ever ask of him.<\/p>\n
When he turned to face me, blood crusting his bandages, he frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you moving? Give me the address so I can follow after giving this to Maurine.\u201d<\/p>\n
I gave him a look, unreadable. \u201cI\u2019ll just tell you later.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was no later.<\/p>\n
He stood there, confused, searching my face for an answer that wasn\u2019t coming. I didn\u2019t give him one. And once he was gone, I pulled out my phone, snapped the SIM card in half, and tossed it out the window of the moving car.<\/p>\n
The wind caught it, carrying it far into the trees.<\/p>\n
By the time he returned\u2026 I was already gone.<\/p>\n
When My Alpha Ex-Husband Came Looking for Me by Mark Twain 5 Chapter 5 Third Person\u2019s POV The mark still […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-unclaimed-luna-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23873\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}