All Chapters of Alpha, I’m No Longer Your Luna: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Afterward, Leah dreamed of Blackthorn Estate less often.Sometimes, she still did.In the dream, she stood outside the operations room holding records that were about to be taken from her.She knew what would happen to her hand.She could not make the door disappear.Then she woke.The bedroom was quiet.There was water beside the bed.The curtains were open by the narrow gap she preferred.She could switch on a light.Call someone.Or do nothing while she waited for her heartbeat to slow.When she told Ronan she wanted to be alone for a while, he did not treat it as rejection.He nodded.“I’ll be next door.”Sometimes, she went to him.He made room.He did not insist on hearing the dream.He did not assume an embrace could solve every part of it.Unbroken Dawn’s team kept growing.Leah went from filming and editing everything herself to learning how to delegate, review, and negotiate.She refused to treat working late as proof of loyalty.She did not want people in recovery to feel th

“Were you scared?”Ronan looked at her.“Yes.”“Then why did you go?”He did not tell her she mattered more than his life.He did not turn what had happened into a sacrifice she would have to repay.“I thought it gave both of us a better chance of getting out safely.”He paused.“And I didn’t want you waiting there alone, not knowing whether anyone would come back.”Leah lowered her head.For a long time, she said nothing.Then she reached for his hand.“Ronan, I still get scared.”“I know.”“I might pull away. Or doubt things. There will be difficult days.”“Then tell me.”His voice remained quiet.“Don’t decide for me that I’m bound to lose patience.”She smiled.Tears slipped down her face.They did not immediately kiss in the medical room.They held hands.Back at Whitepine, Leah went to find him.Not because his injuries entitled him to her love.Not because rescue had created a debt she could settle only by offering herself.For a long time, she had watched how he responded to he

After dinner, Ronan’s father mentioned a project involving accessible accommodation.He hoped there might be an opportunity to collaborate.Leah did not immediately agree.“I’d need to review the details.”“Of course.”The answer was uncomplicated.She realized she could say she was uncertain in this house.She could ask for information.She could set conditions without someone accusing her of ingratitude for not accepting an offer at once.Later, Ronan’s mother sat with her by the window.She did not ask why Leah had taken so long to leave Darian.She did not suggest that she could hand everything over to Ronan now.Instead, she asked, “While you’re staying with us, is there anything we should adjust?”Leah looked at her.Her eyes grew hot.“Everything’s good.”The woman lightly patted the back of her hand.“I’m glad.”Six months after that visit, Ronan proposed.It was still before the alliance banquet where Leah would return wearing his ring.He chose Amberleaf Grove at Whitepine Re

During the exchange of rings, Leah looked down.The ring would not slip away because she lost a little weight.If something happened to it, no one would dismiss her distress by saying he could buy another later.She looked back at Ronan.Then she finished the promise she had chosen to make.After the ceremony, the guests moved onto the lawn for photographs.Leah stood beneath the trees.Unexpectedly, she remembered a question she had once asked a physician.“What if I don’t agree?”She did not need to ask it now.She knew her answer carried weight.She knew love and freedom could exist in the same life.She knew someone would let her finish speaking.Marriage did not turn their days into a flawless fairy tale.They disagreed about work schedules.On tiring trips, they sometimes wanted different things for dinner.Occasionally, in the middle of an argument, Leah went abruptly quiet.Her body remembered danger before her mind could distinguish the present from the past.At first, Ronan d

Leah fed the copies into the shredder.The machine hummed steadily.Thin strips of white paper fell into the bin.Many years earlier, Darian had destroyed her records in much the same way.She had been on the floor then.Her fingers had hurt so badly they shook.She had not been able to stop him.Now she stood.She decided what to retain.What to end.The machine stopped.She switched it off and returned to the desk.The next season’s filming plans still needed to be put away.She gathered them in order and closed the folder.When Ronan arrived, he noticed the document box.“Everything handled?”“Yes.”He did not ask her to explain whether she was sad.He did not tell her what she ought to feel.He handed her a coat.“Still want to go to the grove?”Leah nodded.“Yes.”At Amberleaf Grove that afternoon, the wind was gentle.Light passed through the new leaves.Someone read on a bench.Farther along, patients in rehabilitation practiced slowly on the level path.Leah and Ronan passed th