The Cursed Alpha's Fifth Luna

Chapter 72: Naked on the Wet Floor

He leaned in. Nina wasn’t sure if she did as well, but all she knew was that the space between them seemed to vanish, and his lips were almost on hers.

Then suddenly—

The large doors of the hall burst open, and footsteps echoed sharply into the hall.

"Alpha—"

Seven exclaimed, but his feet came to a stop mid-step.

His eyes widened instantly as he took in the scene before him.

Nina jerked away from Rodrigo so fast she nearly fell backward.

Heat rushed violently into her face as she created distance between them, brushing back the locs of her hair with her hands.

Rodrigo turned toward Seven slowly.

The softness in his expression disappeared immediately and was replaced by a hard glare.

"What is it?" he asked.

Seven gulped hard.

"I... I was searching for you," he replied quickly. "There’s big news concerning tomorrow’s mission."

Rodrigo stared at him for a second before glancing briefly toward Nina.

"Retire to the chambers," he said calmly. "I’ll join you soon."

Nina’s breath caught slightly at the words.

I’ll join you soon.

Before she could even process them properly, Rodrigo had already turned and walked out of the hall with Seven, leaving her standing alone in the middle of the hall, flushed, breathless, and completely unable to think straight.

The walk back to the Alpha’s quarters was painfully slow.

Nina kept replaying the scene in the ballroom over and over again until she thought she might actually lose her mind from it.

"I’ll join you soon."

Nina bit down on her lower lip as heat rushed into her cheeks.

Did he mean he was going to continue what Seven interrupted?

Her steps slowed.

Then stopped completely.

"What is wrong with you?" she screamed, squeezing her eyes tightly shut.

She pressed both hands against her burning cheeks before groaning under her breath.

Now she was imagining things.

Rodrigo probably meant exactly what he said. He would join her in the chambers later because that was where they both lived now. That was all.

Right?

Nina scoffed weakly and forced herself to keep walking.

Unfortunately, her thoughts refused to cooperate.

Every time she remembered the way his hand had tightened on her waist in the ballroom, warmth spread through her body all over again.

This was getting dangerous.

Very dangerous.

The front gates of the living quarters came into view just as the evening wind swept through the courtyard. The lanterns hanging beside the entrance flickered softly in the growing darkness.

Moreen stood near the entrance with two other maids, speaking quietly among themselves. The moment she spotted Nina approaching, she straightened immediately and hurried toward her.

"Luna," Moreen greeted with a bow.

Nina exhaled slowly. "Run me a very cold bath."

Moreen blinked once in surprise, probably because the weather was already becoming colder by the day, but she nodded quickly. "Right away."

She rushed ahead immediately.

Nina followed after her at a slower pace, climbing the stairs toward the chambers while exhaustion slowly settled into her bones.

She needed to think.

Properly think.

And she had done none of that since this morning.

Everything had become tangled together too quickly.

The curse.

The Vothraki.

Rodrigo.

Especially Rodrigo.

She stepped into the chambers and dragged her feet toward the dressing mirror, dragging in a sharp breath as she stared at her face.

"Your bath is ready, Luna," Moreen said as she stepped out.

"Alright, come help me out of these," Nina instructed.

Maybe the cold bath would finally force her thoughts into order.

Moreen moved behind Nina as she began undoing the laces of her dress.

The dress slid down her shoulders before pooling around her feet. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

"Your wounds are healing," Moreen noted softly as her eyes fell to the faint marks along Nina’s neck. Without the layers of makeup hiding them now, the healing bites stood out clearly against her skin.

Nina made a quiet sound in acknowledgment.

The marks had faded slightly.

But not enough.

Her fingers unconsciously brushed against one of them.

Heat curled low in her stomach again, but she pushed it down as quickly as it came.

She immediately snatched her hand away.

Moreen brought a towel and wrapped it around Nina carefully before stepping back.

"You may leave," Nina said quietly. "I’ll dress myself for sleep."

Moreen bowed her head immediately. "Goodnight, Luna."

"Goodnight."

The doors closed softly behind her.

Silence settled over the chambers.

Nina walked into the bathing room alone.

The cold air immediately wrapped around her damp skin as she untied the towel and let it fall to the floor.

For a long moment, she simply stood there beside the bath.

Thinking.

Or trying not to think.

Then she slowly stepped into the water.

The cold hit her instantly.

A sharp gasp escaped her lips as chills tore through her body.

The water was freezing.

Good.

Nina lowered herself deeper until she was fully submerged, the icy water prickling painfully against her skin.

It was nearly winter already.

With water this cold, she was probably going to wake up sick tomorrow.

But she did not care. Anything was better than feeling trapped inside her own head like this.

She sank lower beneath the water until silence swallowed everything around her.

No thoughts.

No Rodrigo.

Just cold.

For several long seconds, she stayed there beneath the surface.

Then her lungs burned, and she resurfaced with a sharp inhale, pushing wet locs away from her face.

Water dripped slowly down her shoulders while she leaned back against the edge of the bath.

A few seconds of silence passed, and everything came rushing back again.

Nina shut her eyes.

Well...

She needed him to like her anyway, didn’t she?

That was the entire point of this.

The closer he became to her, the easier it would be to get the book.

That was all this was.

Nothing more.

Right.

Nina swallowed hard.

"The probability of him giving me the book is higher if he’s in love with me," she muttered quietly to herself.

The words sounded weak even to her own ears.

She shifted deeper into the water.

"I’ll just play along."

She cleared the knot in her throat, staring blankly into the distance. She was running out of time. She didn’t have the luxury of falling in love with anyone.

Nina raised her hands, staring at them.

Then she squeezed them shut.

Just then, she heard the bedroom doors creak open, and her eyes lifted.

He was back.

Nina gulped, her heart skipping a beat as warmth simmered low in her belly.

She straightened slowly before climbing out of the bath.

Water streamed down her skin and onto the floor as she reached for the towel, wrapping it tightly around her chest.

She turned toward the door, and suddenly the room spun.

Nina frowned, her feet coming to a stop.

She blinked hard, grounding herself. She had probably stayed in the cold too long.

She breathed and took one step.

Two.

Then suddenly—

A sharp ringing exploded in her ears as the room spun again. The floor tilted violently beneath her feet, and a loud gasp escaped her throat. She grabbed blindly at the air for balance, but there was nothing nearby to steady herself against.

Her wet foot slipped across the marble floor.

Pain shot through her ankle as she twisted hard and crashed down with a scream.

The impact knocked the breath from her lungs.

For one dizzy second, she could only lie there stunned, cold water soaking beneath her body as pain throbbed viciously through her ankle.

Then the bathroom doors slammed open so hard they struck the wall.

"Nina!"

Rodrigo stormed inside.

His chest rose sharply like he had rushed there at full speed.

His eyes swept across the room once before landing on her crumpled on the floor.

And in an instant, every trace of calm disappeared from his face.

He crossed the room immediately.

"What happened?" he demanded, already crouching beside her.

Nina opened her mouth, but embarrassment hit first.

She glanced down.

The towel had slipped low and loosened, leaving her breasts exposed.

She quickly grabbed at the towel, but she’d fallen on it, so it wouldn’t move. Her hands moved up to cover her chest. She looked at him and found his eyes on her.

Heat rushed violently into her cheeks as she looked away immediately.

"I must have slipped," she stuttered, cursing under her breath.

It was the side effects again. She couldn’t deny it anymore. She was running out of time. Nina closed her eyes as she tried not to think about it.

Rodrigo’s jaw tightened as he forced his eyes away from her chest and to her face.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice drawn taut.

"I’m fine," Nina muttered as she moved to stand, but exclaimed immediately as pain shot through her ankle.

"Ouch," she turned to it, her face grimacing.

Rodrigo’s brows pulled together tightly as his gaze dropped toward her ankle.

It was already swelling.

"You’re hurt."

"It’s fine," Nina lied quickly, trying to sit up straighter. "I just fell."

The moment she tried moving her foot, pain shot through her leg again.

She hissed sharply.

Rodrigo’s expression darkened immediately.

"That does not look fine."

Before she could argue, one of his arms slid behind her back while the other moved beneath her knees.

Then suddenly she was lifted effortlessly into his arms.

Nina yelped as her hands went around his neck instinctively, the towel dropping low around her chest.