Marked by the Alpha Team (Luna Merrick) novel Chapter 98

Chapter 98

Luna’s POV

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I could feel so many eyes on me, and it made me feel so uncomfortable that I just wanted to disappear completely. The moment Theo and I walked into the main house, it was almost like time itself paused for a second. Conversations died down, footsteps slowed, and every single head turned in our direction so quickly that I nearly stopped walking altogether

The entire place was even bigger on the inside than it looked outside, with righ ceilings, polished floors, expensive decorations, and large staircases that curved upward elegantly, but I barely had time to properly admire any of it because the attention on me was suffocating.

Everywhere I looked, people were staring.

Some were openly curious while others looked completely shocked, and honestly, the worst part was the way they kept glancing between me and Theo like they were trying to solve some mystery. A few people bowed their heads respectfully as Theo walked past them, all of them greeting him with words like, “Welcome back, Alpha,” or “Good afternoon. Alpha Theo” and every single time they did, their eyes somehow always found their way back to me again afterward.

could practically feel myself shrinking under all the attention.

n a very low voice so that nobody else would hear me, I leaned slightly closer to Theo and muttered, “Why are they looking it me like that?”

Theo looked completely relaxed beside me, which only annoyed me because meanwhile, I felt like I had just been thrown nto the middle of a zoo exhibit.

He lowered his head slightly toward me before whispering back, “I already told you that you’re the first girl I’ve brought home like this. They’re probably just curious and trying to figure out who you are.”

frowned immediately. “Surely they’ve seen you around women before,” I whispered back. “So why are they staring at me ike I just fell from space?”

Theo chuckled softly under his breath at my words, and I instantly wanted to elbow him in the ribs. “You’re an outsider,” he xplained quietly. “And you don’t carry the scent of any familiar pack, so they’re trying to figure out where you’re from.”

blinked in confusion while trying to process what he meant. “What do you mean I don’t carry the scent of any

Before I could even finish my sentence, we were suddenly interrupted.

A group of girls rushed toward Theo so quickly that I almost thought they were about to tackle bin to the floor. There were our of them in total, all extremely pretty in that annoyingly perfect kind of way that immechately made me want to roll my yes. One was tall with long black hair and sharp features, another had bright blonde curls and glossy lips, while the other wo looked equally beautiful and equally overdressed for simply existing inside a house

“Theo!” the blonde one exclaimed excitedly. “Oh my goddess, where have you been?”

“We haven’t seen you in forever,” another one added while lightly touching his arm

“You completely disappeared on us,” the tall brunette complained dramatically

I stood there awkwardly while all four girls immediately surrounded Theo, like I was invisible. Not one of them even glanced in my direction properly. They acted like I wasn’t standing right there beside him at all, and the worst part:

Theo was indulging them.

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# was stuiting at them politely, responding calmly to their greetings while they practically hung all over him, and suddenly. irritation trawled up my spine so fast that it shocked even me.

Moon immediately growled happily inside my head. “Too close,’ she muttered possessively.

For once, I actually agreed with her. I crossed my arms over my chest while glaring at the exchange in annoyance. One of the girls laughed loudly at something Theo said, another touched his shoulder again, and honestly, the whole thing was beginning to irritate me more than it should have.

After a few minutes of being treated like a forgotten decoration, I finally cleared my throat loudly. Immediately, all four girls turned toward me, and honestly, if looks could kill, I was almost certain I would have died right there.

The way they stared at me was brutal. Their expressions changed so quickly from cheerful to openly hostile that I almost admired how talented they were at it. The blonde one especially looked at me like I had personally ruined her entire life just by existing near Theo.

Well, too bad for her.

stared right back at them without backing down, and an awkward silence settled over the group for a moment before Theo inally decided to do what he should have done from the beginning.

“Oh,” he said casually, like he had only just remembered I existed. “This is Luna.”

narrowed my eyes at him immediately.

Then Theo gestured toward the girls one by one. “Luna, this is Vanessa, Chloe, Brielle, and Talia.”

forced a smile on my face despite the fact that none of them looked remotely pleased to meet me.

‘Nice to meet you,” I said politely, and not a single one of them returned the smile.

Actually, Vanessa, the blonde one, openly looked me up and down before making a face that screamed judgment.

The brunette, Chloe, tilted her head slightly before asking in one of the most insulting tones I had ever heard in my life. ‘Who exactly is she?”

The way she said she made it sound like she was asking what kind of disease I carried. She looked back at Theo again before continuing, “This is the first time you’ve ever brought just anyone to the pack.”

Moon instantly bristled in my head while I felt irritation spark through me again. I was already opening my mouth to respond when Theo spoke first.

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“To be clear,” he said calmly, though his voice had lost some of its earlier amusement, “Luna is not just anyone.”

Immediately, all four girls looked visibly more confused.

Talia frowned slightly before asking carefully, “Then who is she?”

Honestly, I expected Theo to simply call me a friend from school or maybe somebody he was showing around. That was the normal response, and the safe response.

Apparently, Theo had no interest in being normal or safe, because to my absolute horror, he suddenly took my hand into his, and I nearly choked. His fingers wrapped around mine firmly while he smiled calmly at the girls standing before us.

“This,” he said smoothly, “is Luna.”

The girls stared at him blankly. Then Theo calmly added the sentence that nearly made my soul leave my body.

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Chapter 98

he’s the future buna of Crimson Hollow,” he said. “So all of you should treat her with the same respect you’d give me Silence, complete silence.

For a second, nobody moved at all, and I was honestly not even sure i was breathing anymore. My eyes widened slowly while my brain struggled to process what had just come out of Theo’s mouth. Inside the Moon sounded entirely too prased

with herself.

‘Good, she purred smugly.

Meanwhile, I was standing there internally screaming

The expressions on the girls‘ faces shifted so quickly that it almost would have beet, funny if I wasn’t currently dying from shock. Vanessa looked like she had just swallowed poison. Chloe’s mouth parted slightly in disbelief while Brielle and Talia exchanged stunned looks with each other.

‘You’re joking,” Vanessa finally blurted out.

Theo’s hand tightened around mine slightly. “Do I look like I’m joking?” he asked calmly, and no one answered him mmediately.

could practically feel the tension building in the air around us while the girls continued staring at me with varying levels of horror and disbelief. Honestly, I still could not believe what Theo had just said either.

Future Luna? Was he insane?

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