Marked by the Alpha Team (Luna Merrick) novel Chapter 162

Chapter 162

Luna’s POV

The moment Ivy told me that the guys were waiting outside the room, I braced myself for the headache I thought was about to come. Five overbearing mates all walking into one room at the same time sounded exhausting even on a normal day, let alone after I had just woken up from mysteriously passing out for five hours. I expected myself to groan internally, wonder how I was supposed to deal with all of them at once, and especially dread seeing Theo after everything that had happened between us.

The last time we had stood face to face, I had slapped him so hard that the sound had echoed across the football field, and I had told him never to come near me again if he valued his life. Logically, I should have still been angry, or at the very least uncomfortable. Instead, to my complete confusion, I felt excited, actually excited. The realization caught me so off guard that I almost questioned whether the doctors had somehow missed something after all.

What exactly was I excited about? Seeing five men crowd around my bed? That made absolutely no sense. Still, no matter how much I questioned it, I couldn’t deny the strange anticipation building inside me. It wasn’t overwhelming, it wasn’t stressful, and strangely enough, it felt… comforting. It was almost like a part of me had been waiting for them to come through the door ever since I woke up, even if my brain refused to admit it.

Ivy noticed the confused look on my face and smiled knowingly. Without saying another word to me, she opened it slightly and poked her head outside. “She’s awake,” Ivy called through the doorway. “You can all come in now, but please try not to scare her.”

The moment the words left her mouth, I heard several footsteps approaching at once. A second later, Orion was the first person to step into the room, looking like someone who hadn’t slept properly in days. Behind him came Ryder, followed by Jace, then Knox, while Theo entered last. Unlike the others, Theo didn’t actually come fully into the room. He remained near the doorway with one hand still resting against the frame as though he had already prepared himself to leave at the first sign that I wanted him gone.

His shoulders were tense, and he refused to meet my eyes for more than a second before looking away again. For someone who normally carried himself with so much confidence, he suddenly looked unbelievably nervous, and the sight caught me so off guard that I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from smiling/I wasn’t laughing because I wanted to make fun of him. I simply wasn’t expecting Theo Vale, of all people, to look like he was afraid of me.

The image was strangely amusing, and I found myself letting out the tiniest chuckle before quickly looking away so he wouldn’t notice.

Before I could even greet anyone properly, Orion practically rushed across the room as though the few feet separating us were unbearable. In the blink of an eye, he was sitting beside me on the edge of the bed, his expression full of worry. Without asking, he gently took one of my hands into both of his before leaning closer. His free hand rested lightly against my forehead as though checking my temperature himself despite the fact that I was literally in a hospital surrounded by doctors.

His brows stayed tightly knitted together while he looked me over from head to toe like he was personally searching for injuries the doctors somehow missed. The amount of concern written across his face almost made me laugh because he looked far more stressed than I actually felt. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Knox quietly rolling his eyes while standing a few steps away from the bed, and Jace had pressed his lips together so tightly that it looked like he was physically fighting the urge to laugh at Orion’s dramatic behavior.

“How are you feeling?” Orion asked softly, his voice filled with concern. “You scared me, Luna. Are you hurting anywhere? Does your head hurt? Are you dizzy? Tell me honestly.”

Before I even had the chance to answer Orion’s questions, Ryder suddenly marched over to the opposite side of the bed like he had something to prove. To both my surprise and Orion’s, he reached over, gently pulled my hand out of Orion’s grasp, and immediately held it himself instead. Orion blinked several times in confusion before slowly turning to stare at Ryder, who looked completely unbothered by what he had just done.

I looked from one of them to the other, completely unsure whether I should laugh or pretend this wasn’t happening. They

Chapter 162

were literally glaring at each other while I sat awkwardly between them like some kind of referee who had accidentally wandered into the middle of a fight.

“Luna, Ryder said quickly while still holding my hand, “say something. You’ve been asleep for hours, and no one knows what’s wrong with you. Please, tell us you’re actually okay.”

For a few seconds, I genuinely didn’t know how to react. Orion was staring holes into Ryder, Ryder was pretending Orign didn’t exist, and I was trapped in the middle wondering if this was really happening. The atmosphere had somehow become so ridiculous that I thought I heard someune snort behind me. Curious, I looked toward the back of the room and immediately spotted Ivy. She had one hand covering her mouth while her shoulders shook uncontrollably judging by the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, she was seconds away from bursting into full laughter. The sight of her trying so desperately to stay quiet only made the situation feel even more absurd.

“What the fuck are you two doing?”

Theo’s voice suddenly broke the awkward silence from where he still stood near the doorway. Unsurprisingly, there was actual annoyance in his voice now as he looked between Orion and Ryder “She literally just woke up,” he continued with a frown. “Can you two stop acting weird for five minutes and give her some space?”

His words seemed to snap both Orion and Ryder back to reality. Ryder looked down at the hand he was still holding before immediately letting go like he’d only just realized what he was doing. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly before taking a step backward, giving me enough room to breathe again. Although he remained beside the bed, he kept a much more respectful distance this time. Orion, however, stayed seated beside me. He still held my hand for another brief moment before finally seeming to realize that maybe he had been hovering over me a little too much.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly as he loosened his grip. “I didn’t mean to overwhelm you. I was just… worried.” His expression softened even more before he looked into my eyes again. “Are you feeling better now?”

Seeing how genuinely concerned he looked made it impossible for me to tease him. Instead, I smiled softly before gently sliding my hand out of his. “I’m perfectly fine,” I assured him with a small nod. “Honestly, I feel better than I did before I fainted.”

The relief that crossed Orion’s face was immediate. It was subtle, but I caught the way his shoulders relaxed ever so slightly after hearing my answer. My own attention slowly drifted across the room after that, moving from Ryder to Jace, who gave me a small reassuring smile, before finally settling on Knox.

The moment my eyes landed on him, something inside me immediately tightened. Unlike everyone else, Knox hadn’t rushed toward me or bombarded me with questions. He simply stood quietly near the wall with his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans, watching everything unfold with his usual calm expression. If someone who didn’t know him walked into the room, they would probably assume he wasn’t concerned at all, but I knew better now.

I had spent enough time with him over the last two days to recognize that he wasn’t the type to show his emotions loudly. The fact that he had even come here at all already said more than enough.

Unfortunately, the longer I looked at him, the more painfully aware I became of everything that had happened between us. Just two nights ago, we had been completely alone inside his cabin after training together until I could barely stand. I had actually slept with him, woken up beside him, eaten breakfast with him, and shared moments that I hadn’t shared with anyone else.

Before all of that, I had already shared something equally intimate with Jace, although under completely different circumstances. Somehow, in less than two months, I had crossed lines with two of the five men standing inside this room, and now all of us were pretending nothing unusual had happened, and the thought alone made warmth creep into my

cheeks.

It wasn’t regret, and it wasn’t discomfort either. If anything, I simply didn’t know how I was supposed to look Knox in the eye without remembering every moment we had shared inside that little cabin hidden deep in the woods. For the first time since meeting him, I found myself feeling… shy around him, and the realization almost made me want to hide under my blanket.

09:03 Thu, Jul 16

Chapter 162

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I must have stared at Knox much longer than I realized because suddenly Orion frowned beside me. I noticed him following my line of sight until his eyes landed on Knox as well. Then he slowly looked back at me with a suspicious expression that immediately made my stomach tighten. Ryder noticed the strange silence too, while Jace’s eyes moved curiously between the two of us. Even Knox seemed to notice the shift because one of his eyebrows lifted ever so slightly, although his face remained otherwise unreadable.

“What’s going on?” Orion asked slowly as his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “Why are you looking at Knox like that?” He glanced between both of us again before furrowing his brows even deeper. “What is this weird energy I’m sensing?”

AD