Marked by the Alpha Team (Luna Merrick) novel Chapter 183

10:17 Sat, Aug 1

Chapter 183

Chapter 183

Third-Person POV

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Luna’s heart climbed so high into her throat that, for a brief second, she became convinced everyone in the room could probably hear how violently it was beating. The moment Jace openly admitted that the entire plan had been his idea and then followed it up by calling Orion a bitter little bitch, she had to physically stop herself from glaring at him. During the drive to the house, he had looked her straight in the eyes and confidently promised that he would keep everyone under control if things became chaotic. Instead, within only a few minutes of the conversation beginning, he had somehow managed to do the complete opposite.

Rather than calming Orion down, he had deliberately provoked him. Luna could already see the anger burning in Orion’s eyes, and she immediately recognized that expression. It was the same dangerous look he had worn the day Jace had marked her. She remembered standing helplessly in Jace’s office while Orion completely lost his temper and repeatedly punched Jace until the others had been forced to intervene. That memory flashed through her mind so vividly that her stomach tightened.

As soon as she noticed the intense glare Orion was directing at Jace, she instinctively leaned forward, preparing to tell both of them that there was absolutely no reason for this conversation to turn into another fight. Unfortunately, before a single word could leave her mouth, someone else spoke first.

“Can both of you put your personal beef aside for two seconds and let Luna peacefully explain herself?” Theo hissed firmly as he looked from Orion to Jace with obvious frustration written across his face. He slowly rubbed one hand over his forehead before continuing in an exhausted voice. “I’m honestly sick and tired of the two of you making everything about yourselves.”

Theo rarely sounded genuinely irritated, but this time there was no mistaking it. His patience had already been stretched to its limit long before Jace and Orion started throwing insults at each other. He was still trying to understand the fact that Luna and Jace had somehow reached an agreement to publicly pretend they were dating. Whether he liked that decision or not no longer seemed to matter because it had already been made before any of them were brought into the discussion.

He still hadn’t figured out how he felt about it himself, and the last thing he wanted was to waste the conversation watching Jace and Orion drag years of unresolved arguments into a completely unrelated situation. As far as Theo was concerned, they had spent enough of their lives competing with each other, and now Luna was sitting in the middle of that rivalry looking increasingly uncomfortable. If anyone deserved the chance to speak without interruption, it was her.

Orion immediately let out a scoff, but despite how furious he looked, he surprisingly didn’t say anything right away. His jaw tightened so hard that the muscles along the side of his face visibly flexed, and his hands curled into fists before slowly relaxing again. He still couldn’t believe Jace had looked him directly in the eyes and called him a little bitch without even the slightest hesitation. On any other day, those words alone would have been enough to start a fight before anyone had the chance to stop it.

In fact, if Luna hadn’t been sitting only a few feet away watching everything unfold, Orion knew there was a very good chance he would already be trading punches with Jace. Every instinct inside him urged him to stand up and wipe that smug expression off Jace’s face. Yet despite the anger burning through him, he forced himself to stay exactly where he was. His eyes briefly shifted away from Jace and landed on Luna instead. The nervousness written across her face immediately caught his attention, and the sight of it made something inside him pause.

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10:17 Sat, Aug 1

Chapter 183

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He remembered all too clearly the fear in her eyes after he had attacked Jace following the marking. She had watched him lose complete control once already, and Orion had regretted that moment ever since. The very last thing he wanted was for Luna to start seeing him as someone frightening. If keeping his temper meant protecting the way she looked at him, then he would force himself to stay silent no matter how badly he wanted to lash out.

The heavy silence that settled over the room lasted for several long seconds before Jace finally decided to speak again. Unlike everyone else, he looked remarkably composed, almost as though the argument from a few moments earlier hadn’t affected him in the slightest. His posture remained relaxed as he glanced around the room, making sure each of the others was paying attention before continuing.

“Remember, just because Luna and I are doing this public stunt doesn’t mean we’re actually dating,” he responded calmly as he rested one arm across the back of his chair. His eyes moved from Orion to Theo before briefly settling on Ryder and Knox. “So none of you should start getting territorial over something that isn’t real.”

Luna quietly watched the others as Jace continued speaking, noticing the different reactions on each of their faces. Theo remained thoughtful, though the tension in his shoulders hadn’t completely disappeared. Orion still looked unconvinced, but at least he wasn’t arguing anymore. Knox continued leaning casually against the wall with the same unreadable expression he had worn since arriving, while Ryder’s jaw tightened once again as though he were trying very hard not to say something he would regret.

“No matter what happens,” Jace continued evenly as he kept his attention on the other four men, “all of you need to remember one important thing. Outside of the five of us, nobody can know that Luna is mated to all of us. Once she and I go public, every one of you is going to have to control your emotions. You’re also going to have to stop putting yourselves in situations where people might publicly catch you acting awkwardly around her.”

The room became quiet again after Jace finished speaking, but this silence felt different from the earlier one. This time, Luna found herself focusing on one particular part of what he had just said. She completely understood why pretending to date Jace would help reduce the rumors surrounding her. She was also aware that announcing all five of them as her mates to the entire university would be impossible. However, the way Jace had spoken made it sound as though it wasn’t simply inconvenient for other werewolves to find out. He had spoken as though it would create a genuinely serious problem, and that single thought immediately caught Luna’s attention.

Ryder slowly rolled his eyes, making no effort whatsoever to hide his disbelief at everything he had just heard. Unlike the others, Luna wasn’t paying much attention to his reaction. Instead, her eyes remained fixed on Jace while countless questions raced through her mind. The more she thought about his warning, the more she realized it sounded less like advice and more like a rule that absolutely couldn’t be broken.

“Why are you talking like it would be such a big problem if someone outside this room found out all of you are my mates?” she asked curiously as she looked directly at Jace. Genuine confusion filled her expression before she quietly added, “I understand not wanting everyone to know, but the way you said it makes it sound like something terrible would happen.”

Before Jace had the opportunity to answer her question, Ryder quietly spoke instead. His voice was noticeably softer than it had been earlier, and there was a sadness beneath his words that none of the others failed to notice.

“You don’t have to worry about that right now,” he responded gently as he finally looked directly at Luna. He hesitated briefly before asking the question that had clearly been weighing on him since the conversation

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10:17 Sat, Aug 1

Chapter 183

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began. “Are you absolutely certain this is what you want? Because once you and Jace go through with this, there won’t really be any going back.”

Luna turned fully toward Ryder the moment she heard the question. Hearing the hurt in his voice made guilt quietly settle inside her chest because she understood exactly why he sounded that way. None of this had to be easy for any of them. Even so, she had already made her decision long before coming to the house, and changing her mind now would only make everything worse.

“I’m certain,” she responded quietly as she met Ryder’s eyes. She gave him a small but sincere nod before continuing, “I’ve thought about it carefully, and I really believe this is the best decision.”

For several long seconds, Ryder simply looked at her without saying anything. Eventually, he gave a slow nod of his own, though the disappointment in his eyes never disappeared.

“I understand,” he responded softly as he forced a faint smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Without saying another word, Ryder slowly rose from the couch beside Luna. He didn’t look at anyone else in the room as he quietly walked away and disappeared into the hallway. The atmosphere inside the living room somehow became even more suffocating after he left. One after another, the others silently followed. Theo quietly stood first before leaving without another comment; Orion remained seated for only a few moments longer before he also rose and walked out in complete silence, and Knox pushed himself away from the wall and followed them just as quietly.

Within less than a minute, the room that had been filled with tension and unanswered emotions became almost completely empty.

Only Luna and Jace remained behind, and unsurprisingly, Jace looked like the least bothered by everything that had just happened.

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10:17 Sat, Aug 1