Marked by the Alpha Team (Luna Merrick) novel Chapter 65

Chapter 63

Chapter 65

Third–person POV

Vouche

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Luna was aware of everything that was happening, and that was the worst part of it all. If she had not been aware, if she had not been able to hear her own voice and feel her own body moving without her permission, then maybe it would not have been so bad. Maybe she would not have felt the deep embarrassment curling in her chest, or the rising frustration that made her want to scream, but she was aware.

She could hear every word that left her mouth, words she did not want to say, and she could feel every step/her body took/ toward Jace even when she was trying so hard to stay still. It was like she was trapped inside herself, forced to watch as something else took control, and if the situation had been anything less humiliating, she might have found it funny, might have even laughed at how ridiculous it all felt.

What made it worse was Jace.

If someone had told her just a few days ago that Jace, of all people, would be stepping back like this, looking almost uneas just because she was walking toward him, she would have laughed in their face. He didn’t seem like the type to be bothered by anything. let alone a girl, and yet here he was, putting distance between them like she was something dangerous, something he had to stay away from at all costs.

The thought should have only made her laugh, but besides that, it left a strange feeling in her chest, something she didn’t want to think about too much. It felt too close to rejection, and that was not something she wanted to deal with right now, especially not when she already felt like she was losing control of everything else.

She watched him carefully as he stood a few steps away, his posture stiff, his eyes focused on her like he was trying to measure every movement she made. There was something about the way he carried himself now that was different from before, something more tense, more alert, like he was ready to react at any moment.

Then he spoke, his voice calmer than she expected, but still firm. “Are you fine now?” he asked, his gaze not leaving her face. “Can

you sit down so we can talk?”

For a brief second, Luna felt a small sense of hope, hoping that maybe her wolf would listen, that maybe it would allow her to do something as simple as sit down and speak like a normal person, but even before her wolf spoke, she could feel the emotions rising, strong and overwhelming in a way that made her chest tighten. It was not just confusion or frustration. It was something deeper, something raw, and before she could even prepare herself for it, she felt tears welling up in her eyes.

Her breath caught as the first tear slipped down her cheek, and the feeling only grew stronger, more intense, until more tears followed without her being able to stop them. The realization of what was happening hit her hard, and inside, she panicked.

‘No, not this.”

She tried to stop it, tried to push the feeling down, but it was useless. Her wolf did not care about her embarrassment and did not care about how this made her look. It acted on its own feelings, and right now, those feelings were spilling out in a way Luna could not control.

Jace noticed immediately.

The moment he saw the tears falling down her face, something in his expression shifted, and without thinking, he took a small step forward, the distance between them closing just a little. “Why are you crying?” he asked, and this time, there was clear concern in his voice, something that had not been there before.

Luna wanted to answer hit herself. She wanted to tell him that she wasn’t crying because she wanted to, that none of this was her choice, that she was just as confused and frustrated as he was, but she couldn’t

Her wolf auswered instead. “I want to know,” her voice said, softer now, but filled with something that made Luna want to disappear on the spot, why my mate doesn’t want me.

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12:48 Sat, May 30 MMM.

Chapter 63

vouchag

Inside, Luna mentally groaned, wishing she could hide somewhere, wishing she could take back those words before they reached him, but it was too late. She could already feel the heat rising to her face, the embarrassment sinking deeper into her chest.

Jace let out a sigh, his hand lifting slightly before dropping back to his side like he didn’t know what to do with it

“And why do you keep your distance from me?” Her voice continued, the words coming out without hesitation, without shame, even though Luna herself felt both of those things in full force.

She mentally face–palmed, wishing more than anything that she could just take control again, if only for a second, just long enough to stop herself from sounding like someone who was begging for attention, someone who was desperate for something Jace was clearly trying to avoid.

Jace stayed quiet for a moment, his eyes still on her, and when he finally spoke, his voice was calm again, controlled in away, that made it clear he was choosing his words carefully. “I’m not trying to be distant,” he said. “I just think we should talk Ars.”

Luna’s wolf did not seem satisfied with that answer.

“You know what I want,” her voice said, more directly now, and Luna felt her stomach twist in response. “But you don’t want the same thing.”

Luna felt like she could die from embarrassment right then and there. The bluntness of it, the way her wolf said it so openly without caring about how it sounded, made her want to scream. This was not her. She was not someone who threw herself at people like this, not someone who spoke like this, and yet here she was, saying things she would never have said in her right mind.

Jace’s expression didn’t change much, but there was a slight tension in his jaw now, something that showed he was not as unaffected as he looked. “We just met,” he said, his tone still steady. “And what you want right now is not what I want.”

That should have been enough. It should have made her wolf stop, should have made her take a step back, but it didn’t. If anything, it only seemed to push her forward.

Luna felt her body move again, her feet taking another step toward him without her permission, and panic rose inside her as she realized what was happening.

“Stop,” she tried to think, trying to force her body to stay still, but it didn’t listen.

“I’ll talk to you,” her voice said, firm and unwavering, “if you tell me you want me.”

Luna felt like she was burning from the inside out. She wanted to disappear, to hide, to do anything but stand there and say those words out loud, but her wolf didn’t care. It had one focus, one goal, and it was not going to let something like embarrassment stop it.

Jace let out a sound, almost like a groan, as she stepped closer again, and this time, he didn’t just step back slowly. He moved more quickly, creating more space between them, his movements faster now, more urgent.

“Stay back.” he said again, but this time, there was more strain in his voice, more effort behind his control, but Luna didn’t

stop.

She kept moving forward, slow but steady, closing the distance bit by bit, her eyes still locked on him, her expression filled with something that made it clear her wolf was not going to back down easily.

Jace’s patience seemed to snap at that point. For a moment, he just stood there, watching her, like he was trying to decide what to do next, and then, without another word, he turned away from her completely.

The sudden movement caught Luna off guard, even though she couldn’t stop herself from following him with her eyes as he walked quickly toward the door. His steps were fast, almost rushed, like he had already made up his mind and wasn’t going to hesitate.

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