The sickened luna’s last chance

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Chapter 231

Ella

The moment | saw my body laying there in that casket, lifeless and pale and not quite right-they could never get

anyone's features right in the mortuary, lending everyone to a slightly off appearance in death- | snapped.

The guards who had once keptlocked away in my room on Alexander's orders had foundon my knees

right there in the middle of the parlor, horrified beyond all belief and on the verge of retching up what little I'd

eaten today.

They didn’t listen when | told them | needed to speak to Alexander. Just grabbedforcefully by both arms,

treatinglike a rogue in my own home, and tried to dragaway while the people who were attending my

wake had simply watched in shock.

When Alexander arrived a few minutes later, holding our child-our son, beautiful and tiny and oh so precious-in

his arms, | had hoped he would recognize me.

And for a moment, it had almost seemed like he did. His eyes had widened when | turned to reveal my face, and

he had gone very, very still.

I had tried to send a thrum down our mate bond, tried to prove to him that | was still me; still Ella, his mate and

wife and mother of the child he was currently holding. Even if he still thought | was a spy, he had to believe me.

But the bond felt muted. Dulled. As if the invisible thread that bound our souls to one another had somehow

been whittled down, leaving an even thinner thread than before. Somehow, | feared that if | tugged too hard, it

might snap entirely. Forever.

If he felt that tentative tug, he didn’t indicate it. He just coldly looked atand told his guards to takeaway

like | was nothing more than a nuisance to be handled.

“I won't have anyone causing a scene on the day of my wife's funeral,” he said.

The guards grabbedby the arms again and tried to dragaway. “Wait!” | cried out desperately. “But

me"

Before | could finish saying my name, Lilith suddenly stepped into the room. Her face was just as cold as

Alexander's as she said, “Letsee her out, Sir.” The guards froze, and Lilith gestured to me. “Follow me.”

| stopped my thrashing, hope and fear warring inside ofin equal parts when | saw her face. Lilith. My dear,

sweet Lilith; she had to recognize me, right? But why was she looking atlike | was a stranger?

No, more than a stranger. An inconvenience.

| held onto the hope, though, that she would believeonce I told her the truth-Lilith always believed

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me, even when no one else would-and forced myself to calm down. The guards looked at Alexander, who

hesitated, tightening his hold on our son.

Our son. Oh, how | wanted to hold my baby in my arms. He was alive and well from the looks of it, although he

was so tiny from his premature birth. He needed his mother.

Alexander turned to Lilith and whispered something to her that | couldn't quite make out. They exchanged a few

words, and finally, he nodded and stepped back. The guards releasedto Lilith, who grabbed my wrist tightly

and yankedout of the room with more force than | expected.

| practically had to jog to keep up with her, completely taken aback by how rough she was being. Lilith- my Lilith-

couldn't possibly believe | was actually dead, could she?

My heart sank as the realization hit me. If even Lilith wouldn't believewhen | told her who | really was, then

what would | do? My son was still in that house, potentially in the arms of a man who intended for both of us to

die. | couldn't just walk away, but | also couldn't get close to him. And now, it seemed like

I had no allies.

But then, when we stepped outside, Lilith pulledaround the side of the house and into one of the smaller

gardens that was blocked in by high hedges.

The moment we were alone, she turned towardand threw her arms around me.

“Ella,” she whispered thickly into my neck. “Oh, Ella... My dear Ella... | was wondering when you might

cback.”

| froze for a moment, arms splayed out to the sides in surprise. Lilith didn’t let go. Finally, a wave of relief so

intense took overthat | nearly crumpled, and | threw my arms around her and tucked my face into her

shoulder.

“You recognize me,” | choked out. “I was worried you wouldn't. But...” | pulled back just enough to look her in the

eye. “How did you know it’s me?”

Lilith’s eyes were full of tears as she reached up to brush her hand along my cheek. “The resemblance in your

new body is uncanny. Although | must say, these new features suit you. You're so... striking.”

| swallowed hard around the sudden lump in my throat. New body? Why did it seem like Lilith knew exactly what

was going on? “Lilith, what's happening?” | asked.

Lilith glanced around as if to make sure no one was listening to our conversation, then furtively pulleddeeper

into the garden and over to a small stone bench beneath an oak tree. | didn’t want to sit, but |

did anyway.

“Ella, there's something you must know,” she began. “Your family... It's affected by a curse.”

“A... curse?”

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She nodded. “Anyone in your family who dies will be reborn into a different body. Just once. A second

and final chance at life.”

| blinked, completely taken aback. It didn’t make any sense, it was totally absurd, and yet... It did. | could think of

no other explanation as to how the hell I had wound up like this, a hundred miles away from home, naked and in

a different body.

“But that doesn’t sound like a curse,” | laughed. “It sounds like a blessing! | get a second chance at life, and I get

to raise my son-"

“There's a caveat,” Lilith cutoff, eyes darkening. “Ella, if you tell anyone-or at least, anyone who hasn't been

reborn already-who you really are, they will face severe misfortune. Likely even death.”

At first, | didn’t want to believe Lilith. It felt like something out of a storybook, not real life. But Lilith’s face was

as hard as stone, her gaze so imploring that it made my heart stutter in my chest with a sudden

realization.

The farmer. Oh, Goddess, if this was all true, did that mean | had doomed an innocent man without even

realizing?

With that realization, though, canother one. One that was less grim, but also so incredibly unbelievable that

for a long moment, | couldn't even speak.

“Lilith,” | finally said slowly, tentatively, hardly even daring to hear the response she might give, “if | can’t tell

anyone who hasn't already been reborn, then how is it that I'm telling you now?”

Lilith’s gaze dropped to our joined hands. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

But when she looked back up at me, she was smiling.

“Because, my dear,” she whispered, “I am your mother.”

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