Marked by the Alpha Team (Luna Merrick) novel Chapter 116

Chapter 116

Luna’s POV

15 YOU MIS

Orion let out a slow sigh and leaned back slightly in his seat. For a moment, he looked thoughtful, as though he were carefully considering how best to answer me. The silence stretched long enough that I felt try anxiety beginning to creep back in, and I was already preparing myself for the possibility that he was about to tell me there was nothing he could do. The thought alone made my stomach twist.

However, before I could spiral any further, Orion finally looked up at me and spoke. “There is definitely a way for you to control your strength,” he said calmly. “What you’re experiencing is normal. You’re only just finding out what you are. Luna Most of us spent years learning how to control ourselves because we had no choice. If we couldn’t control our strength. speed, senses, or instincts, there would be no way for us to live among humans without constantly exposing ourselves”

The moment those words left his mouth, I felt a wave of relief crash over me so hard that I nearly slumped back against the sofa. It felt so good to hear that there was actually a solution, and maybe it wasn’t an immediate solution judging by the look that Crion had on his face, but it was still something. Hope immediately rushed into the empty space that panic had occupied all day.

My mind latched onto his words like a drowning person grabbing onto a life raft. If there was a way to fix this, then maybe everything wasn’t doomed after all. I wouldn’t lose my scholarship, and maybe I wouldn’t end up embarrassing myself in front of the entire university, and I could also still compete.

Then can you teach me?” I asked quickly. “If you’ve all learned how to do it, then surely somebody can teach me, and if we start now, is it possible for me to learn before the meet? I don’t need to become perfect. I just need enough control that! don’t accidentally outrun everybody and end up on the news and in a science lab.”

Orion’s expression softened slightly, but unfortunately the answer he gave wasn’t nearly as encouraging as I wanted it to be. ‘I’m not going to sit here and lie to you,” he replied honestly. “Learning control isn’t something most people master in a few days, especially not when they’re still unfamiliar with what they’re capable of. You’re still discovering new abilities every week, and the more you panic, the harder it becomes to control them. I wish I could tell you that you’ll be completely ready before the meet, but I can’t promise that.”

The little bit of hope I had just gained immediately crashed back down. Frustration exploded inside me so quickly that I couldn’t remain seated. I pushed myself off the sofa and began pacing across the office. My hands ran through my hair while a hundred terrible possibilities flashed through my head. The race was only days away, fucking days, and every second tha passed felt like a countdown clock ticking toward disaster.

The more I thought about it, the harder it became to breathe normally. No,” I muttered, shaking my head. No, ao, no That can’t be it. There has to be something. I need to learn how to stop myself from running too fast before the meet. I don’t have another option.”

1

Orion remained seated, watching me carefully as I paced. His eyes followed me back and forth across the room, but he didn’t interrupt immediately. That only made me keep talking “You don’t understand.” I continued, my trustration pouring out before I could stop it. I’ve worked too hard to get here I can’t just pull out of the meet because my legs suddeniv decided they belong in a superhero movie. Coach Ramirez would absolutely lose his mind it I backed out now Hed probably kick me off the team, and even if he didn’t, I’d still be letting everyone down. The guls have been iraming for weeks. We all have, and I can’t just disappear right before the competition because I suddenly became some weird werewolf

disaster.”

I stopped pacing long enough to look at him. The knot in my chest only tightened when I magined standing on the trackin front of hundreds of people and suddenly taking off at some impossible speed It would be over for me Everything I had worked toward would disappear in an instant. “And besides,” I added stubbornly. Im not a coward. I don’t qui. I don’t back out of things because they’re difficult. If I’ve made it this far, then I’m running in that race. I just need to figure out how in do it without exposing myself.”

jon sud up then Before I could continue pacing, he crossed the distance between us and gently placed both hands on my shoulders. The contact startled me enough that I finally stopped moving. My heart, which had already been behaving badly all afternoon, immediately started acting worse.

Unfortunately, Orion seemed completely unaware of the effect he had on me. Hexpression remained calm and steady. exactly like it always was when he was trying to solve a problem.

“Luna,” Orion said firmly.

I stared at him.

“Luna,” he repeated more softly. “Look at me.”

Reluctantly, I lifted my gaze to meet his. For a second, neither of us said anything. Standing this close to him felt strangely dangerous. There was something about him that made it difficult to stay angry or panicked for long. The steadiness in his eyes was annoyingly comforting, and I hated that it worked.

“I’m not going to promise that you’ll be completely ready for the race,” he told me honestly. “But I can promise that I’ll help you as much as I can. I’ll teach you everything I know. The only thing I need from you is for you to stop fighting yourself. You have to be willing to fully accept what you are.”

I immediately scoffed. “I already accepted it,” I replied.

Orion gave me a look that clearly said he didn’t believe me.

“I have,” I insisted. “What exactly am I supposed to do? Pretend it isn’t happening? I know I’m a werewolf. I know all of this is real. It’s not like I’m going to wake up tomorrow and discover that the last few weeks were some horrible dream.

The look Orion gave me became even more knowing. “How about you start by not referring to it as a horrible dream?” he suggested calmly.

I folded my arms across my chest. “Easy for you to say.”

Orion’s eyebrows rose slightly. “Why is it easy for me to say?” he asked.

I let out a frustrated sigh. “Because you’ve always been this way,” I replied. “You grew up knowing exactly what you were You didn’t wake up one day and suddenly find out your entire life was different. Let me ask you something, if you woke up tomorrow and found out you were completely human, powerless, and your entire life as a werewolf had just been a dream. how would you feel?”

For a second, Orion looked genuinely surprised by the question. Then he nodded slowly, and a quiet chis sie es aped him before he rubbed the back of his neck.

1

“Okay,” he admitted. “I see your point.”

I couldn’t help feeling slightly victorious.

“But,” Orion continued, holding up a finger before I could celebrate too much. “that doesn’t change the fact that tighung what you are will only make things harder. Whether you like it or not, this is your reality now The sooner you stop sceux as something terrible, the easier it becomes to control”

I wasn’t convinced. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to be convinced

Maybe one day I would reach the point where I accepted everything completely Maybe one day Id look back and laugh how dramatic I was being Today was not that day Today I was a stressed athlete who just wanted her lite back

Instead of arguing again, I shrugged his hands off my shoulders and tocused on the more important issue “When can we

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པ་་་

Chapter 116

Carl Lasked

Orion blinked. “What?”

“The training.” I clarified impatiently. “When can we start? The sooner the better.

A small smile appeared on his face. Apparently, my ability to jump, directly back to the problem amused him.

He thought about it for a few seconds before finally answering. “How about tonight?” he suggested.

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