Marked by the Alpha Team (Luna Merrick) novel Chapter 182

Chapter 182

Third-Person POV

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The moment Luna finished speaking, the entire living room fell into a silence so complete that it almost became suffocating. No one moved, and five pairs of eyes remained fixed on Luna as though everyone in the room had suddenly forgotten how to react. It wasn’t because they hadn’t heard her clearly. In fact, every single word had reached them perfectly. The problem was that none of them could make sense of what she had just said. She had calmly announced that she had decided to go public with her relationship with Jace, yet as far as four of the five men in the room knew, there wasn’t even a relationship to announce.

The statement had come so unexpectedly that their minds seemed to stop working altogether. Even Luna, despite forcing herself to appear calm on the outside, could feel the crushing weight of their attention. pressing down on her. She had expected shock, she had expected confusion, and she had even expected anger. What she hadn’t expected was this strange silence that somehow felt even more intimidating than shouting.

Orion was the first to recover enough to think clearly, although his expression made it painfully obvious that he wasn’t convinced he had heard Luna correctly. His brows slowly drew together into a deep frown as he replayed her exact words inside his head over and over again. No matter how many times he repeated them mentally, they still didn’t make sense. Surely Luna couldn’t have just announced that she was publicly claiming a relationship with Jace. From everything Orion knew, there wasn’t any relationship between the two of them beyond the unfortunate fact that Jace happened to be the only one among them who had already marked her.

Yes, Luna carried Jace’s scent because of his stupid tricks, but that didn’t suddenly mean they were romantically involved. Nothing Luna had just said fit with the reality Orion believed he understood, and the harder he tried to connect the pieces together, the more confused he became.

Theo’s confusion was no less intense, although the thoughts running through his head were completely different from Orion’s. The moment Luna had spoken, his own brows had immediately furrowed as he stared at her without saying a word. Just two days earlier, he and Luna had shared something so intimate that he hadn’t managed to think about much else since it happened. Every moment during training, every break between classes, and every minute he had spent alone had somehow led his thoughts straight back to her. He had replayed every single second they had spent together until he was beginning to feel slightly insane, and now, with absolutely no warning whatsoever, she was calmly announcing that she intended to publicly acknowledge a relationship with Jace.

The abruptness of it made no sense to him, and for perhaps the first time in his life, Theo genuinely had no idea what conclusion he was supposed to reach.

Ryder wasn’t handling the announcement much better than the other two. Sitting directly beside Luna somehow made the situation feel even more personal, and although he was doing everything in his power to keep his emotions under control, it was becoming increasingly obvious from the tightening of his jaw that he wasn’t succeeding very well. He looked like someone who was caught somewhere between complete confusion and the overwhelming urge to demand answers immediately.

Across the room, Knox remained exactly where he had been since entering the living room, leaning casually against the wall with both hands resting inside his pockets. On the surface, he looked as relaxed and unreadable as ever, but appearances could be incredibly deceptive where Knox was concerned. Behind that calm exterior, his mind was moving just as quickly as everyone else’s. He wasn’t angry yet. He wasn’t even

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9:54 Thu, Jul 30

Chapter 182

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upset. He simply wanted to understand what had happened between the last time he spoke to Luna and this very moment that had somehow resulted in such an unbelievable announcement.

Eventually, Orion decided that continuing to sit there in silence wasn’t helping anyone. He leaned forward slightly without taking his eyes off Luna, his expression remaining deeply puzzled as he searched her face for some clue that this was all one enormous misunderstanding. When he finally spoke, there was far more confusion than anger in his voice, although the disbelief behind his words was impossible to miss.

“What are you talking about, Luna?” he asked slowly as he continued looking directly at her. After shaking his head once in genuine confusion, he added, “What relationship do you and Jace suddenly have?”

The moment Orion asked the question, every pair of eyes in the room settled on Luna again. She could practically feel their attention pressing against her from every direction, but she stubbornly refused to let it shake her composure. She had spent the last several minutes rehearsing this explanation while pacing alone upstairs, and now that the question had finally been asked, she knew there was no point hesitating anymore. Taking a slow, controlled breath, she forced herself to maintain a calm expression before answering.

“It’s not what you’re thinking,” she responded evenly as she glanced around the room, making sure to briefly meet each of their eyes before continuing. She folded her hands together on her lap to stop herself from fidgeting before adding, “Jace and I aren’t actually in a real relationship… at least not yet.” She paused briefly, choosing her next words carefully, before continuing, “Because being connected to all of you has completely destroyed my reputation on campus and turned me into nothing more than the scholarship girl who’s clinging to rich football players, I decided it would be easier to stop fighting the rumors and simply play into them instead. The entire school will believe that Jace and I are dating, while werewolves like us will recognize me as Jace’s mate because I already carry his mark, or whatever you guys call it.”

For several long moments after Luna finished explaining, nobody responded. Orion simply stared at her before a dry, humorless chuckle escaped him. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of amusement behind the sound. Instead, it carried nothing but disbelief. Slowly, he rubbed one hand across his jaw before shifting his attention away from Luna entirely. His eyes settled firmly on Jace, and the unimpressed expression spreading across his face made it very clear where he believed this entire situation had originated.

“Whose idea was this?” he asked flatly as he continued staring directly at Jace. His eyes narrowed slightly before he asked another question in an even sharper tone. “Was this your fucking idea, Jace?”

The instant Orion directed his attention toward Jace, Luna felt a knot tighten inside her stomach. She recognized that look on Orion’s face far too well. He wasn’t simply asking a question anymore. He was preparing for an argument that would definitely lead to a fight. Remembering Jace’s promise that he would keep everyone under control, Luna immediately decided she couldn’t let him become the only target. She leaned forward slightly, intending to explain that she had agreed to the plan willingly and that it hadn’t been forced onto her.

“It wasn’t entirely Jace’s idea,” she began quickly as she raised one hand slightly, hoping to interrupt the growing tension before it became something worse.

Before Luna could finish her explanation, Jace quietly sighed. Without the slightest hesitation, he deliberately interrupted her, his expression remaining completely calm as though he had already decided long ago that he would shoulder the blame if necessary. His eyes never left Orion, and there wasn’t a trace of uncertainty anywhere on his face.

“Yes,” he responded simply as he gave Orion a steady look. “It was my idea.”

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Chapter 182

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The moment those words left his mouth, Luna’s eyes widened in complete disbelief. She turned to stare at him, momentarily forgetting everyone else in the room. During the drive to the house, he had confidently promised her that he would keep everyone under control and prevent the situation from escalating. Yet now, instead of calming things down, he had practically painted a giant target on his own back by openly accepting responsibility for the entire plan. Luna couldn’t begin to understand how this fitted into whatever strategy he claimed to have prepared.

Before Orion could respond, Theo finally broke his silence. Surprisingly, he didn’t even glance in Jace’s direction. His entire focus remained fixed on Luna, and there was genuine concern behind the question he was about to ask. Unlike Orion, Theo seemed far less interested in assigning blame than he was in making sure Luna hadn’t been pushed into agreeing to something against her will.

“Were you coerced into agreeing to this?” he asked quietly as he carefully searched Luna’s face for any sign that she was hiding her true feelings. “Did Jace pressure you into accepting this plan?”

Luna immediately looked thoroughly unimpressed by the question. She stared at Theo for a brief moment before shaking her head, wondering how anyone who had spent so much time with her could genuinely believe she would simply allow herself to be forced into something she didn’t want. She folded her arms across her chest before answering him without the slightest hesitation.

“Do I honestly look like someone who can be coerced into doing anything?” she responded dryly as she held Theo’s gaze. “You should know me better than that.”

Orion clearly wasn’t convinced. Without taking his eyes off Jace, he slowly leaned back into his chair, crossing one ankle over the opposite knee. There was an edge to his voice now that hadn’t been there before, and it was obvious that this conversation had begun touching on issues far older than the one currently sitting in front of them.

“For your own good Luna, you shouldn’t underestimate just how manipulative Jace can be,” he responded firmly as he briefly glanced toward Luna before looking back at Jace again. His expression hardened as he continued, “It’s not exactly a secret that he’s an expert at manipulating people until he gets exactly what he

wants.”

Jace immediately let out a dismissive scoff, looking far more annoyed than offended by the accusation. Rather than becoming defensive, he simply shook his head once as though Orion had become exhausting to listen to after all these years. His expression settled into one of complete disbelief before he finally answered.

“Aren’t you a little too old to still be sulking over something that happened years ago?” he retorted with an openly unimpressed look as he folded his arms across his chest. He let out another scoff before adding, “Seriously, Orion, just get over it already instead of acting like a little bitter bitch every chance you fucking get.”

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