The Alpha's Mafia Luna novel Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Selene’s POV

The morning air tasted like ‘sleep and slow healing.

I blinked, letting my eyes adjust to the soft light spilling through the curtains. The room smelled like lavender and something warmer-

something familiar. Damian.

The sheets were warm, tucked around me like a cocoon, and I almost didn’t want to move. Not because it was cozy. Because I knew what

would happen if I did.

Pain. Always pain.

Still, I shifted.

Big mistake.

A hiss escaped before I could stop it. The dull ache in my ribs sharpened like a knife made of memory.

“Damn it,” I whispered, just barely. The sound was scratchy, pitiful.

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Mira burst in like a human storm, frizzy hair in a bun and one sock

missing. “Selene! I told you not to sit up alone–are you Beyoncé now

or what?”

I blinked at her, lips twitching into the ghost of a smirk.

She rolled her eyes and dropped the blanket she was holding. “Don’t

give me that look. You may be hot and half–healed, but you’re still not

allowed to sass me.”

She crossed the room and helped me lean back against the pillows.

Her touch was gentle, practiced now. She fluffed them in that

obnoxious way people do when they want you to know they’re taking

care of you and you should just stop being difficult.

“You were asleep for almost thirteen hours,” she said, brushing hair off my forehead. “I was going to give you twenty more minutes before

I started poking you with a spoon.”

“Thanks,” I rasped, eyes fluttering closed.

Her hand froze.

Then slowly–softly–she whispered, “You’re talking again.”

I nodded.

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“Okay, okay,” she said, fanning her face. “I’m not crying. I just have

emotions. And sinuses.”

A quiet laugh escaped me. It hurt like hell. I grabbed my side.

“Worth it,” I wheezed.

“Okay, stop. No more jokes.” She gently brushed out my hair, fingers moving slowly through the tangles. “You’re not allowed to be funny if

it makes you wince.”

I let her fuss in silence, the rhythm of her motions strangely

comforting. Outside the window, wind shifted through the trees. I

stared for a while, letting the quiet soak in.

But it wasn’t the scary kind of silence anymore.

Mira broke it anyway. “You know Damian’s going to freak out when

he hears you spoke.”

My smile faded.

“Where is… he?”

She exhaled. “Council meeting. He left an hour ago. Practically

growled at the entire world before going.”

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I nodded. Slowly. “Missed… him.”

Mira’s eyes got shiny again. She blinked rapidly and grabbed her

phone. “Okay. That’s it. I’m calling him.”

I reached out. “No.”

She paused. “Why?”

“Let… him work. Just… for now.”

She studied me for a long second, then nodded. “Alright. But the minute you ask, I’m hitting that call button like a damn emergency

switch.”

When Damian finally walked in, blazer slung over his shoulder and a

scowl on his face, I knew.

Three hours. That’s how long he lasted before “checking in.”

Mira didn’t even look up from the couch. “Wow. You made it a whole

three hours. New record.”

“Too quiet,” he muttered, heading straight to me.

I raised a brow at him.

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He glared playfully. “Don’t even give me that look.”

He sat beside me and instantly started fussing–checking my

forehead, brushing my hair back, adjusting my blanket like it was

going to run off without his permission.

“You eat?” he asked.

I nodded.

“She had soup and exactly half a cookie,” Mira chimed in.

“Cookie?” Damian narrowed his eyes.

Mira shrugged. “Girl needed a win. Sue me.”

Damian gave me the kind of look that said we’ll talk about this later,

then leaned in and kissed my temple. “You feel okay?”

“Better,” I whispered.

“Voice sounds a little stronger,” he said softly. “That’s good.”

I didn’t say anything. I just let my hand rest on his.

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He squeezed it back, hard.

Later that night, after Mira left with a dramatic exit and a promise to

“kick his ass if he overcoddled,” Damian helped me brush my teeth.

It wasn’t glamorous. I hated every second of it. But I also… didn’t.

“You could just let me do it,” I murmured, eyes heavy.

“You can barely lift a toothbrush.”

“I lifted a cookie,” I reminded him.

“Exactly. Dangerous behavior.”

I chuckled. It was weak, but it made his lips twitch.

He walked me back to the bed, moving slow, like I was glass. When I was settled, he sat beside me, pulling out a book from the nightstand

drawer.

“What’s that?” I rasped.

“You liked it last time I read it. That fairytale with the wolf prince

and the witch.”

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I gave a sleepy nod.

He opened to the page and started reading. His voice was deeper at

night–softer. I let the words wrap around me.

After a while, I reached for my phone and typed something, handing

it to him.

You suck at the accents.

He snorted. “Wow. Criticism from the peanut gallery.”

I smiled.

“Alright, alright. I’ll work on it.”

He set the phone down and leaned closer. “You’re getting better.”

“Trying,” I whispered.

“You don’t have to try so hard,” he murmured. “You just have to be

here.”

I turned my head toward him. “I… wanted to tell you… I’m still me.”

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Chapter 40

His jaw tightened.

“I know you are.”

”

I hesitated, then touched his wrist. “I was scared I’d… come back

wrong.”

“You didn’t,” he said, eyes fierce. “You came back mine.”

His hand moved to cup my face again, thumb brushing my cheekbone.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I whispered.

His breath caught. “You’d better not. I’d burn the world.”

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