Alpha’s Rue: His Shunned Luna (Athena Enchanted) novel Chapter 189

Chapter 189

KINGSTON

The last five days have been bittersweet.

Spending time in Astral Fang was wonderful, it’s rare that all of us get together that way, my whole Academy friend group made it to check on Jaxon. It’s why I stayed longer in the first place, but missing the look on Aeliana’s face when she saw the car I bought her saddened me.

Damien did send pictures, pictures I thought were nice, but I couldn’t see any of that excitement and teary joy he spoke of when reporting back to me. We’ve been talking every day, sometimes three times, sometimes just once and every single time, she’s been happy, a little too happy.

On the drive back to the packhouse, I’m staring at the pictures Damien sent me, and those she had sent me from her bedroom and a nearby shopping store. In all three locations, she appears to be smiling, which I find odd because when you whip out a camera in front of Aeliana, her first instinct is to pout, she’s done this for as long as I can remember. So why was she smiling big in everything?

I swipe left and right between the pictures Damien sent and the one she sent me from her room, in one of the images, she appears slightly more serene than in the other one. “Aeliana,” I sigh, tapping the screen.

“Umm, Kingston.” Rowan laughs, “I don’t think your wife is the answer to her problem. How is she giving Dani fatigue?”

“No,” I shake my head. “It’s not that, I was just thinking.”

“About what?”

I turn my phone towards him, “Look at this.”

He frowns, barely looking enough. “Aeliana?”

“Yes,” I nod. “She’s too happy.”

“Too happy?” He pauses, “For goodness sake, don’t tell me you’re jealous she’s happy without you? Because that’s very concerning.”

“No, I just-look at her smile, that’s not normal.”

Danielle reaches over from the front and snatches my phone away. “And that is why we don’t look at pictures for too long, you’ve seen them a hundred times, stop before she looks ugly next.”

“That’s impossible,” I smile. Aeliana is beautiful to me even on her worst days, even when she’s not trying. But maybe Danielle is right, I’ve been staring at her pictures for so long that I started to notice differences, differences which might only exist in my head.

We arrive at the packhouse a little later, after I’ve endured a lecture from Danielle about looking at pictures and my evident obsession with Aeliana which she happens to think needs addressing. Rowan laughs at that, he knows I’m holding back. My obsession runs deeper, but I put a handle on it long ago.

It’s a quarter past two in the afternoon when we arrive, the packhouse is lively as always, and the first thing that I notice is Aeliana’s new car in the driveway. It gives me so much joy knowing I get to see her any moment soon. However, instead of Aeliana, the first person I see is Audrey, posing for pictures by the staircase while Gina captures her.

“Well this is very normal,” Rowan snorts out a laugh. It is in fact, very normal, I’ve come home to this sight

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multiple times before, but it’s not what I need to see.

“Kingston,” Audrey gasps, instantly waving Gina away. “You’re back!”

I stand at a safe distance, somewhere I can’t upset Aeliana if she comes out to see. “Hi.”

“Didn’t Aeliana tell you to address him formally?” Rowan asks, motioning between us.

“Rowan,” I sigh.

Audrey smiles, nodding. “Good to see you too, Rowan.”

“I’m serious, did she not?” He frowns, looking around for any sign of Aeliana. “I wonder if she can thrash you again if I tell her you broke the rules, and you let her.” He says, pointing to me.

I sigh, he appears to only be half joking. He has talked about missing the fight between Aeliana and Audrey four times, today alone, and I’m sure he would make it happen again just for his amusement and unfortunately for me, both Aeliana and Audrey are easy targets, they’ll definitely give in at a second opportunity. “Oh, there she is❞ he gasps, pointing to the staircase to rattle Audrey, but she doesn’t bother turning.

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