Don't Poke the Luna (Xena and Ryder) novel Chapter 242

Chapter 242

Xena’s POV

ter one of entitlement made me want to vomit. What did she mean by everything we’ve done for us? What had she done besides make our lives worse? My fists clenched under the table as I fought to suppress the rage building inside me.

Dad smiled at her. “We have to walk over there to see it. Let’s all take knew this was going to happen, and so did Penelope. I wasn’t sure if wasn’t prepared.

I followed behind, the unease in my chest growing stronger.

a walk. Dad announced and stood up. Logan acted like he wanted to know or didn’t want to know, but either way, I

We walked behind Dad and Martha. Logan and Penelope were besides, walking quietly. Dad’s steps had a lightness I hadn’t seen in years. Martha was practically bouncing. She looked like a child waiting to unwrap presents.

When we came to a small hill, there was a little archway. It was covered with white flowers hanging down. More white flower pots were arranged in rows, forming an aisle.

Wedding setup? My heart sank. They wouldn’t be…

“Did you do all this? For me? Are we going to renew our vows?” Martha said excitedly, looking at Dad and grabbing his arm. Leonard and Delphine stood on either side of the archway, waiting.

I felt sick at Martha’s expression, but at the same time had a strange premonition that things might not be what I thought.

“Something like that.” Dad smiled brilliantly as we walked over. Logan motioned for us to sit on the left, and they sat on the right. Dad pulled Martha to the front. Standing face to face, he took her hands. Martha had a stupid big smile on her face, tears in her

eyes.

She really thought this was some romantic moment. I watched coldly, the alarm bells in my head getting louder. But Dad’s expression… that wasn’t the look of love.

“This is wonderful.” Martha wiped her tears with her hand, saying with a trembling voice.

“Please let me speak.” Dad announced. She was obviously startled but calmed down. “I’ve prepared some words to say.”

“Okay.” She straightened her back, looking into his eyes.

Here it comes. I held my breath, my heart sinking.

“Martha, you were an old flame who walked into my life when I needed companionship most. I had lost my true mate and my only

true love.”

My hand reached out to grab Ryder. I knew my nails dug into his skin, but he didn’t move,

“I had my children and this pack that needed me. I needed to survive and you gave me that option.” Martha began to frown, blinking several times as if trying to understand what he was saying.

“I believed you would be a good stepmother to my children. I thought you would treat them as your own. Love them, teach them things, make memories with them.”

But she didn’t. My teeth clenched as years of anger and pain churned in my chest. She never loved us, never tried to understand us,

never…

1/3

Chapter 242

Dad paused, seeming to let his words sink in. Martha had completely realized this wasn’t the ceremony she’d imagined. She tried to pull her hands from his, but he held them tightly. Hank… I don’t…

I watched this scene, my heart founding, Finally, it was finally going to end. The fear deep inside was also getting closer.

wrong in every way. You don’t love them. The only thing you ought them was fear and anger. Every chance you got, you abused my daughter, simply because she looked like her mother. Fortunately, I needed to stay alive to ensure they could live to adulthood and find their mates. I’m a smart man, and I’ve arranged their futures so that when I die, they’ll be taken care of. I know you wouldn’t do that. Now that they’re all grown up with their own mates, I’m completely confident in doing what I should have done eighteen years ago.”

My chest felt so tight it might explode. My previous understanding of Dad was that he indulged Martha’s abuse of me, and I carried disappointment and hatred toward him. But his monologue now had cars welling in my eyes. Everything from before no longer mattered; I only wished time could go back eighteen years….

“No!” Martha was still trying to break free from Dad’s hands but failed. He gripped her hands tightly. It took almost no effort; he didn’t even move his feet.

Martha was crying, her voice getting louder. “Please don’t! I love you! I’ve always loved you! I rejected my mate for you!”

What? She rejected her mate? I felt a wave of nausea rise in my throat. What other lies did this woman have?

“What do you want?” Dad seemed confused.

That’s right! I rejected my mate before I came to you and proposed we pair up!” Martha stopped struggling, as if accepting the fact.

I stared at her, trying to read the truth from her expression.

“Who?”

“I’ll never tell!” Martha spat.

Dad released one of her hands and stepped back slightly. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you chose to come into my children’s lives and make them miserable. You chose to hurt them when I wasn’t looking. You chose to be cruel to a little girl who had just lost her mother.”

“She was difficult!” Martha shrieked. “She never listened! She was always causing trouble!”

“She was a child!” Dad’s voice thundered across the clearing. “She was a grieving child who needed love and guidance, not your

cruelty!”

I felt Ryder’s arm tighten around me as my whole body began to shake. Eighteen years of suppressed pain was threatening to overwhelm me.

“Hank, please,” Martha’s voice cracked. “We can work this out. I can change. I can be better.”