Marked by the Alpha Team (Luna Merrick) novel Chapter 77

Third–person POV

Jace’s eyes opened slowly, like his body was dragging itself back from somewhere deep and heavy. For a few long seconds, nothing made sense to him at all. The ground under him didn’t feel like anything familiar. It wasn’t a bed, and it wasn’t the smooth floor of the house. It was uneven, slightly damp, and soft in a way that made his brows pull together in confusion.

Grass

The scent of earth filled his nose, mixed with something warmer and much more familiar, something that made his chest tighten before he even understood why. He stayed still for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts, but his head felt heavy, like he had been asleep for far too long or had woken up too suddenly.

He shifted slightly, and that was when he felt it. There was weight on his arm, not just weight but warmth. Soft, warm, and very real. His entire body froze in an instant, every muscle going still as his had struggled to catch up. Slowly, almost like he was afraid of what he would see, he turned his head to the side, and the second his eyes landed on her his breath caught

in his throat.

Luna was there, lying against him like she had always belonged there, her body curled slightly into his side, her head resting on his arm in a way that felt far too natural for what he knew this situation was. Her hair was messy, strands falling over her ace and shoulders, and her skin… her skin was bare.

His eyes widened immediately, shock hitting him hard and fast. For a moment, his brain refused to process what he was eeing, like it was trying to protect him from the truth, but the truth didn’t take long to settle in. She was completely naked, and the moment that thought fully formed in his mind, another realization followed right after it, heavier and far worse. So was he.

ace sat up abruptly, his body going stiff as panic rushed through him, his eyes moving quickly over himself just to confirm what he already knew deep down. His stomach dropped, a cold, sinking feeling settling in his chest as everything started to eel very real.

‘What the hell…” he muttered under his breath, his voice rough and uneven as he tried to make sense of what was happening.

At first, confusion filled his mind completely, thick and overwhelming. None of this made sense. Why was he outside? Why was Luna here with him? Why were they both in this state? His thoughts moved too fast, jumping from one question to another, but then, slowly, the answers started to come back, not all at once, but in pieces, like broken memories trying to piece themselves together again.

Jace’s expression changed as the memories began to settle into place, clearer with every passing second. He remembered leaving the house, remembered the way the moon had pulled at him so strongly that it had felt impossible to ignore. He remembered how Ace had taken over, how his control had slipped through his fingers no matter how hard he tried to hold on to it. He remembered the shift, the way his body had changed, and how everything after that had stopped being about choice and had become about instinct. His jaw tightened as the final pieces of memory fell into place, and his chest grew tight with the seriousness of it.

He remembered Luna.

He remembered her coming to him, not as herself, but as her wolf. He remembered the way the bond between them had snapped into something stronger, something impossible to ignore. There had been no hesitation, no thinking, no stopping. just instinct, just need, and that instinct had led to something that could not be undone.

Jace dragged a hand down his face slowly, his breathing growing heavier as the full truth settled in his mind. They had mated, and not only that. Ace had marked her. The thought made his stomach twist, a mix of frustration, disbelief, and something much heavier settling deep inside him. That meant there was no hiding this, and no pretending it had not

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appened. The mark–alone would be enough, and her scene… ber scent would carry his now. The others would know immediately, so there was no way around it.

“I’m such an idiot…” he muttered quietly, fits voice filled with frustration as he stared down at the ground

Of all of them, he had been the one pushing for control. He had been the one telling the others not to cross any lines, not to give in to their instincts, not to take advantage of her when she wasn’t fully herself, and yet, fire had been the first one to fail The first one to lose control. The first one to cross the very line he had drawn so clearly for everyone else. He let out a slow breath, but it did nothing to ease the tension in his chest.

“This is bad…” he said under his breath, more to himself than anything else, because it was. There was no way Luna would take this well. From her perspective, she had not been in control of herself, and how she would wake up to find out that something like this had happened. She would think he had taken advantage of her, and honestly, he wouldn’t even blame

her for it.

Before he could think any further, there was movement beside him. Jace stiffened slightly, his attention snapping back to Luna as she stirred. At first, it was small movements, a slight shift of her body, a sound slipping from her lips. Then her brows furrowed, and she let out a soft groan like her head hurt. Jace immediately looked away, turning his face in the opposite direction as his jaw tightened again. The last thing he needed right now was to make things worse by staring at her when she woke up.

Luna shifted again, more awake now, her hand brushing against the grass as she slowly opened her eyes. Everything felt heavy, like her body didn’t quite belong to her yet. Her head hurt, and her thoughts felt slow, like they were struggling to catch up. For a few seconds, she didn’t understand where she was. The sky above her looked different, open and dark, and the air around her felt cool against her skin in a way that made her frown slightly. Then her eyes moved, and she saw him.

Jace?” she said slowly, her voice a little rough from sleep.

He didn’t answer right away, his shoulders still tense as he kept his gaze turned away from her. Luna frowned slightly. pushing herself up into a sitting position, but the moment she did, she felt it. The air against her skin was cold, too cold. Her entire body froze instantly, and slowly, she looked down.

Her eyes widened in shock.

She was naked, completely butt naked.

For a moment, her brain stopped working, and then the reaction came all at once. She screamed, the sound loud and filled with pure horror as she quickly pulled her arms around herself, trying to cover as much as she could.

“What the hell?!” she yelled, her voice shaking as her eyes snapped toward Jace, only for things to get worse when she realized he was naked too. Her heart started racing, panic settling in fast as her thoughts began to spiral. “What is going on?!”

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Before she could think too far into it, before her mind could fully panic, a voice spoke in her head, clearer in a way it had never been before.

“Stop screaming. You’re being so dramatic.”

Luna froze immediately, her breathing hitching slightly as she recognized the voice. It was her wolf again, but this time, it wasn’t faint or weak like before. It was clear and strong.

“… You’re talking properly now?” She muttered under her breath, confusion flickering across her face.

“Of course I am,” the voice responded easily. “I told you I was just weak before.”

Luna blinked, her thoughts racing again as pieces of memory started to come back, not everything, but enough. Her heat, the way she had acted, and the things she had done with Ryder and Orion. Her face flushed slightly at the memory. embarrassment settling in quickly, but then another thought hit her. She remembered climbing out the window, but after

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Chapter 77

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