Marked by the Alpha Team (Luna Merrick) novel Chapter 123

Forgive Me

tuna’s POV

I was on my way back to my dorm, and despite the fact that absolutely nothing productive had come out of tonight the way I had hoped it would, my mind refused to settle down. The night air was cool against my skin as I walked across campus. my hands shoved into the pockets of my hoodie while my thoughts went in circles.

I had left the football field without learning how to control my speed, without learning how to control my strength, and yet, despite that, my head was fuller than it had been before I arrived. Jace had made me save his number before he let me leave, insisting that if I changed my mind and wanted help, I should call him.

He had even offered to walk me back to my dorm, which had rejected so quickly that I was fairly certain I had offended him a little, not that I cared. Or at least, that was what I kept telling myself. The truth was that being alone right now gave me space to think, and unfortunately, thinking was exactly what was making this entire situation worse.

The more I thought about Jace’s suggestion, the less I knew what to think. Part of me wanted to laugh at how ridiculous the whole thing sounded. A Luna?

Even the word sounded important. It sounded like something out of one of those fantasy novels where people lived in castles and gave orders while everyone else bowed their heads. If I accepted what Jace was offering, I would never have to worry about losing my place at Blackridge again. My scholarship would be secure, my future would be secure, and nobody could threaten to remove me from the university. Nobody could hold my place here over my head.

For someone like me, who had spent her entire life worrying about what would happen if one thing went wrong, it was an unbelievably tempting offer.

Unfortunately, life had taught me a long time ago that whenever something sounded too good to be true, it usually was. There was no such thing as free power. There was no such thing as free security. There was no such thing as free authority. Maybe Jace wasn’t asking for anything right now, but who was to say he wouldn’t ask for something later? If I accepted his help, then whether he intended it or not, I would owe him. Worse than that, I would be putting myself in a position where my future depended on him. I hated that thought more than I could put into words. I had worked too hard to become independent. I had spent too many years relying only on myself, so the idea of placing my future in someone else‘ s hands, especially a man I barely knew, made my stomach twist.

What happened if one day he changed his mind? What happened if we fought? What happened if he decided I wasn’t worth helping anymore? I didn’t know enough about werewolf politics to know whether those fears were realistic, but they felt real enough to me.

Then there was the other problem that I hadn’t fully considered while standing in front of Jace. At the time, I had been too busy panicking about my race and my scholarship to think beyond the immediate future. Now that I was alone, however, another issue was becoming painfully obvious.

Jace wasn’t my only mate. If I publicly claimed him, then what exactly would that mean for the others? Maybe Knox wouldn‘ t care. In fact, I was almost certain Knox wouldn’t care, but Ryder? The Orion? Even if they didn’t say anything, there was no way they would be happy about it. I knew that because I had already experienced jealousy through this ridiculous bond. The memory of seeing Ryder with that girl outside campus still annoyed me more than I cared to admit. If something as simple as that had made me irrationally jealous, then I couldn’t even imagine how the others, would react if I officially attached myself to one mate over the rest.

The person I worried about most was Orion. Out of all of them, he was the one who had already shown me exactly what jealousy could do to him. I still remembered the morning after the full moon. I still remembered seeing what happened when he discovered that Jace had marked me. Orion wasn’t loud about his feelings, and somehow, that made him even scarier. There was something about the way he got quiet when he was upset that made me nervous.

If I chose Jace, I couldn’t help wondering what Orion would do. The thought made me uncomfortable enough that I pushed it away almost immediately.

Speaking of Orion, the more I thought about him, the more irritated I became. The man still hadn’t called or texted. He still hadn’t sent so much as a message to explain why he wasn’t coming. If I hadn’t run into Jace, I would probably still be standing on that field right now waiting like an idiot. The realization annoyed me more and more with every passing second. It wasn’t even about the training anymore, it was about basic respect. Orion had suggested the time. He had suggested the place. He had told me to meet him there, so the least he could have done was let me know that he wasn’t going to

make it.

I let out an irritated sigh as I continued walking, and the further I walked, the more my frustration grew. I hated unreliable people. I hated waiting for people who didn’t show up. Most of all, I hated feeling like my time wasn’t important enough to deserve a simple explanation.

Forgive Me

Seriously, what was wrong with him? The more I thought about it, the more annoyed I became

simple lext–that was all it would have taken. Just one message. Instead, I would have spent part of my evening waiting around for someone who would have never shown up.

Just as I was mentally listing all the reasons Drion Dusk was currently annoying me, I suddenly heard a voice.

“Luna!”

I froze, and for a second, I honestly thought I was imagining things. Maybe I was just so annoyed that I was hearing his voice inside my head. It wouldn’t even be the strangest thing that had happened to me recently, so I kept walking.

Then I heard it again. “Luna!” This time it was louder, clearer, and closer. My step’s slowed, and I frowned.

I slowly turned around, and the moment I did, my eyes widened. A figure was running toward me fast, and the closer he got, the more clearly I could make out his face.

Dark hair, glasses, tall frame.

t was Orion.

Part of me was too surprised to react, another part of me was still annoyed. A much larger part of me wanted to know why exactly he was running toward me like his life depended on it.

Within moments, he reached me. He came to a stop directly in front of me, breathing harder than usual from the run. He ooked as though he had crossed half the campus trying to catch up with me, and even before he fully caught his breath, he immediately started speaking.

I’m sorry,” he said quickly.

blinked.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify