Alpha’s Rue: His Shunned Luna (Athena Enchanted) novel Chapter 192

Chapter 192

AELIANA

It’s late when Noah’s fling this week finally drops me off at the packhouse, and the clock is nearing midnight. I’m not nearly drunk enough thanks to Noah so I tiptoe into the kitchen, grab a bottle of wine from the liquor pantry, and settle by the kitchen island. Maybe if I get drunk enough, I’ll fall asleep tonight, I haven’t slept in days and it’s scaring me, what if I just drop dead? I mean, it would put an end to my misery, but I can’t die yet, I haven’t achieved nearly enough to rest in peace.

One and a half glasses of wine have me feeling drowsy, I don’t dare move, I let sleep overtake me right there, sitting on a stool with my head lying on the counter. The air in the room shifts, but I’m too tired to move, that is until I feel someone’s hand brushing over my forehead.

“No,” I scream, but my voice comes out weak, inaudible. I soon realise the word didn’t leave my mouth, so I try again, “No.” I firmly say, my eyes fluttering open.

When I look up, I’m met with a familiar face, a face my imagination has conjured one too many times over the last couple of days. “Aeliana.”

“Kingston?” I frown, trying to sit upright a bit too fast, which makes my head spin. Kingston was in Astral Fang with Rowan, Maddox and Danielle this morning, so how did he get here so quickly? “What…when did you get back?”

“Earlier today,” he says, watching me closely. “You weren’t home.”

I nod, I haven’t slept here in three days. “I was out,” I simply say.

I don’t even know what made me come here tonight because I found it unbearable, and Audrey was trying to make me break my promise to Kingston by being in my face.

“I know,” he says with a weak smile. “You look beautiful.” His eyes rake over me, and he groans appreciatively. ” That’s some dress, Siren.”

“Thank you,” I giggle. My dress has the tiniest straps, it’s tight, and flared, not to mention a little short. It’s the same dress I wore when I escaped Audrey’s invite to kick her ass again. She made a few comments about the dress, none of which I took seriously, but it made me a bit self-conscious. “You don’t think my dress is too short?”

Kingston shakes his head, “You can wear whatever you want, I can fight any and everyone off you.”

That brings an instant smile to my face, “I missed you,” I tell him, throwing my arms open.

He steps closer, letting me embrace him for a few beats. “I missed you,” I repeat.

“Yeah? How much?”

“A lot,” I breathe him in, a laugh tickling the back of my throat. “My hand was getting tired of your absence.”

He laughs, slowly pulling away. “Mine too.”

I look up at him, and he’s smiling at me. “You’re real. You’re not my hallucination, are you?” I ask, just checking. “You’re back.”

He cups my face in his hands and kisses my forehead twice. “Yes, I’m back.”

“Pinch me,” I whisper. The next second, my arm heats up with a sting that jolts me completely awake. “Ow, asshole!”

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“You asked me to.”

“Not so hard,” I pout. “You’re going to make me cry.”

“I apologise.” He smiles, taking my hand in his and kissing it repeatedly. “Do you forgive me?”

“I’ll forgive you if you kiss me,’

,” I say, longing for a kiss from him. “I think you forgot how my lips tast-”

His lips crash onto mine, “Never,” he whispers, kissing me hard and slow, only pulling away to let me breathe.

“I’m happy you’re here.”

“Come on,” he smiles. “Let’s get you to bed before you fall asleep again.”

“Can we go outside? Just a little while,” I almost beg, wanting a few minutes with him and my favourite view before I fall asleep because I know I will now that he is here. “I want to see the stars.”

He instantly nods, “Anything you want.”

He helps me off the stool and holds on to my hand, leading me out of the kitchen. At the door, it dawns on me that I have a cigarette tucked into my hair. “Wait, I need to grab a lighter,” I tell him, my hand slipping out of his.

“What?”

“I need a smoke, nothing better than skies and smokes, right?” I tease, rushing to my purse which should have a lighter in it from the last time Noah gave it to me.

Kingston follows me back into the room. “I don’t think you should be smoking, it doesn’t suit you.”

“Takes the edge off,” I shrug, retrieving the pink lighter.

“Aeliana, you hold paintbrushes between your fingers.” He says, grabbing the cigarette from me the second I take my first puff. He throws it on the floor and crushes it under his feet. “Not cigarettes.”

I nod, I wasn’t exactly crazy about it and his tone makes me want to give them up entirely. “No cigarettes. I’ll get a glass of wine instead, will you drink with me?” I ask, trying to fetch him another glass but he doesn’t let me go, he pulls my hand and shakes his head.

“It’s pretty late Siren.”

“I already have the bottle” I tell him, showing him the half-empty bottle that did nothing for my insomnia. “I might as well finish it, and then some.” I joke.

“Okay, stars.” He nods, grabbing my glass for me. “We can talk tomorrow.”

Talk?

God, my least favourite word in the dictionary and apparently his favourite one. Nothing is ever good when one wants to talk, and Kingston loves to talk about the deep stuff. I’ve been trying to communicate with him lately, but I’m still nowhere near half as good as he is. “What about?”

He shakes his head, “It’s nothing, it can wait.”

“No,” I frown. It doesn’t sound like nothing, and it doesn’t look like it either, he appears to be worried about something. “Now we have to talk because I’m anxious now, and I don’t dont have my cigarette.” I jest, “If you don’t tell me, I’ll lose my mind trying to guess, so let’s talk.”

“You know that I love you, right?”

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