Chapter 15\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
The night reeked of trouble long before I smelled blood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maurine wanted to go out-again. She\u2019d twirled in front of me in her silk dress, feigning innocence with that smug little smile she wore so well.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCome with me, Lucas,\u201d she purred, fastening a glittering choker around her pale throat. \u201cThere\u2019s a new bar downtown with imported bloodwine. We\u2019ll have fun.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fun. That word didn\u2019t exist in my vocabulary when it came to guarding her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, I nodded. \u201cOf course, Maurine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not because I wanted to. Not because I enjoyed parading behind her like a dog in heat. But because I had to. Because the shadows were moving faster these days. And because if I slipped-if the vampires got to her-it\u2019d be the end of us all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maurine was the key.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t know it, not truly. And the last thing I needed was for the other packs and vampires to find out. So I played my part. The loyal knight. The tame Alpha. The shield between her and\u00a0<\/p>\n
death.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The bar pulsed with thumping music and cheap pheromones. Wolves, rogues, a few drunken fae-they all mingled in the chaos of moonlit debauchery. Maurine sparkled like a diamond amidst the grime, swaying with other she-wolves, laughing in that piercing, attention-starved way of hers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sat near the corner, arms crossed, eyes never leaving her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re always watching,\u201d she said at one point, strutting over and leaning against me. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of hot.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I gave her a tight-lipped smile. \u201cIt\u2019s called protecting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh please, don\u2019t flatter yourself,\u201d she teased, running a finger along my collar. \u201cWe both know you\u2019d guard me even if I told you to lick my boots.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She laughed, sauntering away before I could answer. And gods help me-I didn\u2019t even disagree.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then the air shifted. My wolf stiffened inside me first. The scent of ash. Blood. A flicker of shadow where there shouldn\u2019t be one.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The music masked the screams until they were too loud to ignore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGET DOWN!\u201d I barked, shoving past drunk wolves and startled fae.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They were here. The infected. Twisted vampires, long lost to their own minds-hoodlums, we called them. Deranged monsters desperate for the cure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maurine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLucas!\u201d she screamed, tripping over her heels.\u00a0<\/p>\n
11:38 Wed, Jan 28 MR.\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
I leapt to her, claws ripping from my fingers, eyes flashing gold. I tore through the crowd, intercepting the first hoodlum as it lunged. My claw met its throat with a wet crunch. Blood sprayed, but another came.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then another. Too many.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I slammed Maurine behind me, baring fangs. \u201cSTAY DOWN!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She shrieked, covering her ears. I ripped through the infected, primal fury fueling my strikes. But one slipped past me-jaws locking on her arm before I could react.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNO!\u201d I roared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shredded it, sending black blood spraying across the floor, and yanked Maurine into my arms. She was trembling, wide-eyed, clutching her bleeding arm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLucas-\u201d she whimpered. \u201cHe bit me. Am I going to ?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d I tightened my grip, voice low and guttural. \u201cYou\u2019re going to be fine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because she was the key. Her blood would neutralize the poison. That was the prophecy. That was the reason I\u2019d let myself become her knight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shifted halfway into wolf form and burst through the emergency exit with her in my arms, ignoring the chaos behind us. I ran-barefoot, fast, leaping over alley walls and rooftops until\u00a0<\/p>\n
we reached the Aethon Pack house.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was safe. Or so I thought.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As soon as we crossed the threshold, her head lolled back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLucas\u2026\u201d she murmured.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked down. Her skin had gone pale. Her eyes fluttered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMaurine? Hey-Maurine!\u201d I shook her, panic setting in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And then she collapsed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, no, no-shit!\u201d I caught her before she hit the ground, laying her carefully on the couch. Her breathing was shallow, her arm oozing dark blood, more than I expected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Where was the immunity? Where was the resistance she was supposed to have?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I grabbed my comm. \u201cREID! Get the healer. Now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pressed a cloth to her bite, heart racing. My claws trembled against her fragile skin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This shouldn\u2019t have happened. This wasn\u2019t supposed to happen. My thoughts were spiraling.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maurine groaned, her head turning weakly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t realize Beta Reid had arrived until I smelled his approach. His voice was low, urgent. \u201cThe healer\u2019s coming. What happened?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHoodlums,\u201d I growled. \u201cToo many. She was bitten.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Reid\u2019s eyes widened. \u201cBut\u2026 she should\u2019ve handled it. She\u2019s the \u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI KNOW,\u201d I snapped, then softened. \u201cI know. I thought the same.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stepped forward, eyeing her. \u201cWe\u2019ll handle this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 15\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
24 4%%%\u00a0<\/p>\n
11:38 Wed, Jan 28\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded, but the fear in my chest didn\u2019t fade. Because if the vampires were hunting her harder, if they were this close to touching her\u2026 then the veil was lifting. The secret was slipping.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And if Maurine was compromised-then everything I sacrificed, every order I followed, every piece of myself I silenced for her sake-might mean nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
11:38 Wed, Jan 28\u00a0<\/p>\n
R<\/p>\n
When My Alpha Ex-Husband Came Looking for Me by Mark Twain 15 Chapter 15\u00a0 81\u00a0 The night reeked of trouble […]<\/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-23883","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\/23883","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=23883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23883\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}