Semua Bab His Contract Luna Says Goodbye : Bab 51 - Bab 60

ELLARIA.They dragged me through the forest for what felt like hours.My arms hurt from where they gripped me. My legs were shaking from exhaustion and fear and the effort of keeping up with their pace.Every time I stumbled one of them would yank me upright without slowing down.The sun had set completely now and darkness pressed in from all sides. I could barely see where I was stepping. Tree roots caught my feet and I went down hard twice before they started being more careful about pulling me along.Not because they cared if I was hurt but because it was slowing them down.I listened to them talk as we walked.They were discussing routes and timing and whether anyone would have found the Alpha yet. Whether he was still alive or if he'd bled out in that cave.My stomach turned every time they mentioned him.I didn't know if Arren was still alive.These bastards wanted to use me as ransom but they didn't even let me make sure the man they wanted to negotiate with was still breathing

ELLARIA.I woke up slowly.My head felt heavy and my thoughts were fuzzy and disconnected. Everything hurt but in a distant way like the pain was happening to someone else.I blinked and tried to focus on the ceiling above me.Where was I?I turned my head slowly and the room came into view. A bedroom. Soft light filtering through curtains. Furniture I didn’t recognize.Everything clicked slowly until I realized where I was.Then I saw them.Caden was sitting in a chair near the window. Mirela was beside the bed holding my hand.I tried to sit up and my whole body protested. A groan escaped before I could stop it.“Easy.” Mirela’s hand pressed gently against my shoulder. “Don’t try to move too fast.”I looked at her and then at Caden and tried to make sense of what was happening.How did I get here? Where was here?Caden got up from his chair and crossed to the bedside table. He picked up a glass of water and brought it to me.“Here,” he said. His voice was quiet and steady. “Small si

ELLARIA.Tatum was curled into my side with his head resting on my shoulder.We’d been watching cartoons for the last hour and just talking. Catching up on everything that had happened while I was gone.He told me about the games he played with Mirela. About the new friend he’d made at the park. About how Uncle Caden had taught him how to skip rocks across the pond behind the house.I listened to every word and soaked it all in. His voice. His warmth. The way he gestured with his hands when he got excited about something.I’d missed him so much it hurt.“Mama?” He looked up at me with those bright blue eyes. “Are you going to be okay?”I smiled and smoothed his hair back from his forehead. “I’m going to be fine baby. I promise.”He nodded and seemed satisfied with that answer. Then he went back to watching his show.I held him close and tried not to think about how close I’d come to never seeing him again.After a while I kissed the top of his head. “I’m going to take a shower okay? Y

ELLARIA. The cars were really gone.I stared at the empty space between the trees where Arren said the vehicles had been parked just hours ago.Tire tracks carved deep into the dirt and disturbed leaves scattered everywhere. But no cars.“What the hell?” Kade walked forward and crouched near the tracks. “They were right here. Three of them.”Arren stood completely still and stared at the empty space with an expression I couldn’t read.Caden moved past me and surveyed the area. “How long ago were you here?”“This morning,” Kade said. He stood and turned to look at Caden. “Early. Before sunrise.”“And now they’re gone.” Caden’s voice was flat. “Convenient.”“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kade stepped toward him.“It means someone knew you found them.” Caden didn’t back down. “Someone moved them before we could verify anything.”“We took pictures,” Arren said. His voice sounded off and slower than normal.I looked at him.He was still staring at the empty space and his face had gone ev

ARREN.I woke up to white ceiling tiles and the smell of antiseptic.My head felt like it was stuffed with cotton and my mouth tasted like something had died in it.I blinked a few times and tried to piece together where I was.Hospital. That much was obvious from the sterile white walls and the steady beep of monitors somewhere to my left.How I’d gotten here was hazier.My side throbbed with a dull ache that told me someone had been digging around in there recently.I turned my head slowly because even that small movement made the room tilt.That’s when I saw her.Ellaria was asleep in the chair beside my bed.Her head was resting on the mattress near my hand and her hair had fallen across her face in soft waves that moved slightly every time she breathed.She had one arm stretched out on the bed and her fingers were so close to mine I could feel the warmth coming off her skin.The crutch was leaning against the wall behind her.I stared at her for longer than I probably should have