Alpha’s Rue: His Shunned Luna (Athena Enchanted) novel Chapter 103

Chapter 103

I swallow, unable to form words or an explanation while everyone stares at me, waiting.

Mara takes Aeliana’s hand, “Sit with us.” She says, winking at me. I love this woman, she’ll throw a bone right when you need one. Dave chose a good one, everyone did. But me? I think I got the best one.

“Oh-okay.” She says, immediately agreeing with them.

We settle down at our table, Aeliana is sitting between Mara and Luna Lauren. I sit opposite her, close enough to watch her. I feel predatory watching her like this, searching for the slightest shift in her demeanor like she is a time ticking bomb.

When Zachary and his wife arrive, I begin to worry she might break but she’s doing great, better than I expected. Hannah doesn’t appear thrilled to see Aeliana, but she doesn’t say anything negative about it. Zachary however, is ecstatic about seeing her again, they shared a desk for a year in pre-school and he grew very attached.

Soon, dinner arrives, and everyone digs in, I spend more time watching Aeliana than paying attention to anything being said to me. “Ellie,” Zachary calls. “Need help with that steak? Or have you learned how to use a knife now?” He teases, a running joke between them because I used to cut up her food for her when we were younger. Not because she couldn’t, but because I worried.

Aeliana laughs lightly, “Best believe I can. I’m a big girl now, I can definitely cut more than steak.”

“I’ll say,” he nods. “Little Aeliana Hartley isn’t so little anymore huh?”

“Aeliana Hartley?” Lauren trails off. Repeating her name a few more times to herself.

“What a small world,” Seraphine says. “I didn’t know you knew her.”

“We all went to school together babes,” Hannah tells her. “My husband is familiar with her because he got held back a year.”

“I did not,” Zachary gasps. “I was travelling with my Mam.”

Dave pats his shoulder, “Sure buddy.”

Everyone laughs, except Aeliana. She’s eating though, so I’m glad I lied about her needing to attend the dinner with me tonight.

“I got it!” Lauren smacks Finn’s shoulder. “Urban wolf intergerated learning, babe. That’s you, right?”

Aeliana pauses, eyes slightly widening before she nods. “Yes, my colleagues and I took over for our professor when he fell sick, and he let us run wild with our own idea.”

“Don’t be modest,” Mara says. “I read credits, and you mentioned more than twice.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Leon frowns.

I know what she is talking about, the paper in itself was a masterpiece, I didn’t read it myself, one of my Gammas did, then informed my Dad and me, we both agreed to enforce the approach into our educational system. What I didn’t know was that Aeliana was the brains behind the idea. Shocked is an understatement.

Mara taps Aeliana, “Tell him.”

Aeliana hesitates for a moment before she speaks. “I taught and held a few seminars on urban wolf integration studies.”

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Leon appears even more confused. Watching her closely. “It started as a way to help those who had never shifted before, but the central concept changed, It aims to educate everyone on the ins and outs of how not to pathologise our wolf side.”

Luna Lauren smiles widely. “You also published the paper about hybrid schooling models, right?”

Aeliana blinks, “You read it?” she almost gasps, shock present in her voice.

Luna Lauren nods, “Twice,” she says. “Mara made me, but only the first time. The second was purely out of my own interest, I love it. Was talking about it for weeks. Wasn’t I, Leon?”

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