Marked by the Alpha Team (Luna Merrick) novel Chapter 159

Chapter 159

Chapter 159

Luna’s POV

I sat quietly on the bench, forcing myself to keep my eyes on the track even though my thoughts kept trying to drift the strange man I had seen after my heat. Every time I closed my eyes, I could still hear those words in my head as c if someone had whispered them directly into my ear. The voice had sounded so familiar, yet no matter how hard I s my memories, I couldn’t place where I had heard it before.

A cold shiver crawled up my back again, but I quickly shook my head and forced myself to sit straighter. I couldn’t ke thinking about that right now. Whatever had happened would have to wait because I still had another race ahead of 1 allowed mys

become distracted now, everything I had worked so hard for would disappear. There were too man

lieved in me today for me to lose focus because of one mysterious voice.

people wh

Taking

matt

breath, I rubbed my sweaty palms against my face towel and silently reminded myself that nothin

race was over.

began preparing the athletes for the third heat, and despite my own nervousness, I couldn’t stop my se attention. The girls who had competed in the second heat had shocked me. They were unbelievably g safely on the sidelines, I had found myself wondering if I truly belonged among athletes like them. My ss had given everything she had, but she had only managed to finish in fourth place. The disappointment er crossing the finish line had been painful to watch, and I already knew what Coach Ramirez had explained ing Blackridge.

winner of each heat was guaranteed a place in the final, while the remaining fastest runners across every heat ill the remaining lanes. Tess’s time simply hadn’t looked fast enough compared to what we had already seen fror races. Nobody needed to say it aloud, but we all knew her chances were painfully slim. That realization made my y feel strangely heavy instead of exciting.

ne moment, I was the only Blackridge athlete who had definitely secured a place in the final, and while part of me fel ud, another part wished my teammates could be standing beside me instead of sitting here worrying whether their ra

already ended.

he starter finally called the third group into position, and almost immediately my attention locked onto Nadine. She ooked calm on the outside, but after spending enough time around her during/practices, I knew that tiny movement she kept making with her fingers whenever she became nervous. She stretched her legs one final time before walking toward lane with determined steps, refusing to look at the crowd. I quietly found myself rooting for her.

We weren’t exactly friends, and we had barely spoken beyond track practice, but we wore the same Blackridge uniform, we trained under the same coach, and we represented the same school. That alone was enough for me to genuinely hope she would make it through. Coach Ramirez folded his arms tightly across his chest while watching her settle into position, and even Tess, despite clearly still hurting from her own race, stood beside him, quietly cheering under her breath. Around us, the stadium slowly became quiet again as the runners lowered themselves into their starting positions.

I held

my breath without even realizing it.

The starting gun echoed across the stadium, and all eight athletes exploded off the line almost perfectly together. From the very first few strides, it was obvious that this heat was much faster than the previous one. Every girl seemed determined to leave the others behind, their legs moving so quickly they almost looked like machines rather than people. Nadine stayed close to the front almost immediately, running shoulder to shoulder with another athlete wearing the bright blue uniform of another university.

Hleaned forward on the b

The race was unbel

looked strong. He

like she was lig

Then eve

whispered under my breath. “Come on.”

e harder to tell who would finish first. Nadine ed, and she slowly edged ahead until she looked.

lifted. She was actually going to qualify.

09:00 Mon, Jul 13 T·

Chapter 159

One of her feet landed awkwardly as she pushed forward for another stride, and before anyone could react. I watched h lose her balance completely. My eyes widened as her body pitched forward, her hands hitting the track before the rest o followed. The sound of her falling reached us even from where we sat, and my heart dropped instantly.

Around the stadium, a wave of shocked gasps spread through the crowd as every other runner sprinted past her without slowing down. For one terrible second Nadine simply remained on the ground, and all I could think was, ‘Please get up.

Then she did. She scrambled to her feet almost immediately and threw herself back into the race with everything she ha left, refusing to give up despite knowing exactly how much the fall had already cost her. I admired her determination m than I could describe, but deep down I already knew it was too late. The other girls had gained too much distance while had been on the ground.

I watched helplessly as she crossed the finish line in sixth place. She didn’t even slow down properly afterward before lowering her head, disappointment written all over her face. The officials recorded her result while she walked back towa our side of the stadium, and from where I sat, I could already see tears running freely down her cheeks. My chest tighten painfully because I understood exactly what she was feeling.

Years of hard work could disappear in one tiny mistake. One slip, one bad step, and one unlucky second. Coach Ramirez immediately walked over to her before anyone else could. Instead of criticizing her or looking disappointed, he gently rested a hand on her shoulder and quietly spoke to her while she cried. I couldn’t hear everything he was saying from wh I sat, but I caught enough.

He kept telling her she had done well, that the fall wasn’t her fault, that accidents happened even to professional athletes, and that she shouldn’t blame herself because there would always be another competition. Tess stood beside them too, rubbing Nadine’s back while trying to comfort her despite still carrying her own disappointment. Seeing the three of then together made me strangely emotional.

I wanted to walk over and comfort Nadine too, but I stayed where I was. I didn’t think I had earned the right to interrupt th moment. If our positions had been reversed, I wasn’t even sure I would have wanted someone congratulating me for tryin my best after failing. Sometimes people needed space more than words. So instead, I quietly sat there, watching the officia gather papers and compare race times while preparing the final list of qualifiers. My stomach twisted tighter with every passing minute.

Even though I had already won my heat, I suddenly felt more nervous than before. The final would be completely differen There would be no weaker runners anymore. Every athlete who stepped onto that track had earned their place, and every single one of them wanted the gold medal just as badly as I did.

Eventually Coach Ramirez walked back toward me after making sure Nadine had calmed down a little. He stopped directly in front of me, and for a second neither of us said anything. Then he placed one hand lightly on my shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Do your best,” he said simply.

I nodded immediately. “I will, Coach.”

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