Marked by the Alpha Team (Luna Merrick) novel Chapter 173

Chapter 173

Luna’s POV

By the time I made my way across school, evening had completely settled over the campus. The orange hue of the sett sun had disappeared, leaving behind a cool blue sky that was slowly growing darker with every passing minute Streetli had begun turning on one after another, throwing shadows across the walkways as students either made their way back their dorms or gathered in small groups outside cafés and study halls.

As I walked toward the academic building where Theo and I had agreed to meet, I couldn’t stop myself from wondering whether agreeing to this conversation had been the right decision. A part of me still felt like I was making things too eas him after everything that had happened with Katie. If our positions had been reversed, I wasn’t entirely sure I would ha expected forgiveness so easily. Then again, I hadn’t agreed to forgive him. I had only agreed to listen. There was a difference, and I kept reminding myself of that as I climbed the stairs leading to the classroom where the interaction between Theo and me had truly begun.

Twenty minutes. That was all he was getting, and after that, I was leaving, regardless of whether he had finished talking or

not.

The moment I stepped inside the classroom, a strange feeling washed over me. Since it was only a little after six in the evening, I hadn’t expected the room to be this dark, and I also didn’t expect to see it empty, yet there wasn’t anyone else anywhere in sight. The lights hadn’t been switched on either, leaving the classroom much more eerie than I liked. The last traces of daylight slipped through the windows, throwing scary-looking shadows across the floor and making the room feel strangely abandoned.

My eyes immediately searched every corner, expecting and hoping that Theo was already waiting for me exactly where he said he would.

He wasn’t there.

I frowned almost immediately. I slowly walked farther into the classroom while looking around again, convinced I must have overlooked him somehow. I checked the back rows, the windows, and even the area near the lecturer’s desk, but there wasn’t a single person inside. Every chair was empty, and the silence in the room only made my growing irritation worse. I instinctively glanced at the time on my phone before slipping it back into my pocket. We had agreed on six o’clock, and although only a few minutes had passed, that wasn’t really the issue.

Theo had been the one begging to meet. He had been the one calling me three times until I finally answered The least he could have done was arrive before me instead of making me stand around waiting. I let out an annoyed sigh before shaking my head. If he couldn’t even show up on time after insisting on this meeting, then maybe he didn’t deserve my twenty minutes after all. Without another thought, I turned around and started walking back toward the classroom door, fully intending to leave.

The moment I reached the doorway and turned to step outside, someone suddenly appeared directly in front of me so quietly that I hadn’t heard a single footstep.

“Boo. Theo said loudly with an unmistakably mischievous grin on his face.

The sound exploded through the silent hallway and classroom so unexpectedly that my entire body reacted before my brain even had the chance to understand what was happening. I gasped foully as I stumbled backward several steps my hear pounding violently against my ribs while adrenaline shot through my body: For one brief second. I genuinely thought someone had attacked me, and it wasn’t until 1 focused my eyes properly that I realized it was really Theo standing there Instead of looking apologetic after startling me he threw his head back and burst into ught, and it wasn’t just a seriall chuckle either

He laughed so hard that he actually bent forward slightly, clearly fitting my frightened reaction the funnier than he should Inaye.

The irritation vient had bready been building aide me

diely boil over My liart was still racing from the scare,

and seeing Then laugh only side me even anger than i strely wis

OG

“What the fuck is your problem?” I demanded furiously as I glared directly at him without making the slightest effort my irritation. My voice echoed slightly inside the nearly empty classroom as I folded my arms tightly across my chest dare you try to scare me like that?” I asked sharply, still feeling my heartbeat slowly settling back to normal. “What exa you think is so funny about making me think somebody had jumped me?”

Theo tried to stop laughing almost immediately after hearing how genuinely angry I sounded, but every time he mana to calm himself, another small laugh escaped him anyway. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly while shaking his head at himself, and although the laughter gradually faded, an amused smile stubbornly remained on his face.

“I’m sorry if I scared you,” he responded while trying to suppress another laugh that escaped despite his best efforts. He finally managed to compose himself enough to look me in the eyes before continuing more seriously. “I honestly thoug would be funny,” he admitted sheepishly. “I also thought it might help make things a little less awkward between us after everything that’s happened.”

I stared at him for several long seconds, completely unimpressed by his explanation. Out of every possible idea he could have come up with before meeting me again, somehow he had genuinely decided that jumping out to scare me was the b one. The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous it sounded.

“Oh, absolutely,” I responded sarcastically as I slowly shook my head in disbelief. “Because scaring the shit out of me was definitely the perfect way to ease me into having a pleasant conversation with you,” I added dryly while continuing to glare at him. “I honestly can’t imagine why I didn’t think of that myself. How brilliant of you. Theodore.”

The sarcastic edge in my voice finally wiped the remaining amusement from Theo’s face. His smile slowly disappeared as realization settled over him that I genuinely hadn’t found his little joke funny in the slightest. The playful confidence he’d walked in with seemed to melt away, replaced by something much more sincere. Without saying another word at first, he slowly stepped closer to me until only a short distance remained between us. This time there wasn’t even the slightest hint of teasing in his expression.

“I really didn’t mean to upset you, Luna,” he said quietly, meeting my eyes with an apologetic look that seemed completely genuine. He let out a slow breath before continuing. “I honestly thought it would make things less uncomfortable between us, but I can see now that I completely misjudged it.” He hesitated briefly before giving me a small, almost embarrassed smile. “If it’ll make you feel better, you can hit me, he offered sincerely. “Actually…” He swallowed before finishing his thought. “You can hit me as many times as you want if it’ll help you feel less angry about what I made Katie do to you.” I narrowed my eyes while studying him carefully. For several long seconds, I genuinely considered taking him up on his offer. The image of slapping him flashed through my mind almost immediately, and a small part of me wondered whether hitting him again would finally make me feel better. Then another memory surfaced just as quickly. I remembered standing on the football field only a few days earlier after slapping him as hard as I could. At the time, I had convinced myself that it would make me feel satisfied. Instead, all I had felt afterward was disappointment.

The slap hadn’t changed what had happened. It hadn’t erased the humiliation of being trapped inside the garis locker room. It hadn’t restored the trust Theo had broken. If anything, it had only shown me that violence wasn’t magically going to fix how I felt. The truth was that I wasn’t nearly as angry with Theo anymore, That burning rage had faded over the past few days, and what remained wasn’t hatred. It was disappointment. I had started to expect better from him, and finding out that he was capable of doing something like that to me unprovoked hurt much more than the anger ever had

I slowly let out a tired sigh before relaxing my arms and looking directly at him again

“You only have twenty minutes, Theo, I reminded him firmly as I glanced briefly at my phone before returning my attention to him. “So if you actually called me here for a reason, you’d better get to it I continued seriously. “Time passes much faster than you realize, and I have absolutely no intention of staying here even one minute longer than I plan to.”

Instead of immediately answering my question. The simply stood there quietly for several seconds while looking at ine with an expression I couldn’t quite understand. Before I could ask what he was thinking, he suddenly began walking toward me again. As first I sime he was simply closing the distance so we would have to speak so boudly inside the employ this room, but he didn’t op He kept coming until there was barely any space left between us. Chinision immediately spread drought me as frowned up at him, trying to understand what he was doing

“What are you doing asked exortessly as I instinctively took a small step backward, only tale there was nowhere else for me to go.

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11:09 Fri, Jul 24 T

Chapter 173

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Before I could react any further, Theo suddenly wrapped both of his arms around me and pulled me into a tight hug, and my entire body stiffened instantly.

My very first instinct was to shove him away and demand to know what on earth he thought he was doing. The words were already forming inside my head, but then I felt him inhale deeply against me.

He was breathing in my scent.

Before my mind could fully process that strange action, I suddenly felt the warm brush of his tongue lightly lick the side of my neck, and my entire body froze.

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