Alpha’s Rue: His Shunned Luna (Athena Enchanted) novel Chapter 214

Chapter 214

KINGSTON

Tonight, I was invited to speak at a charity auction. That was to guarantee a quiet night, an easy night, and things were quiet until I received a call from Hannah telling me Audrey had done something wrong. I initially ignored her, but she called a second time and let me know she had confessed to having taken pills laced with wolfsbane to slowly take her life.

I had a feeling she was spiralling after the conversation we had last night on our way back from my parents’ house, but I didn’t think it would go this far. Aeliana was right, I should have set clearer boundaries sooner, but we never did go into it, I simply told her I wasn’t going to cheat on Aeliana when I decided to marry her, and now I feel responsible for the decision she made.

I thought we could be friends still, I didn’t want to hurt her feelings but I was setting her up for something bigger. It’s my fault she’s taking this step, I let her stay close for too long and set vast boundaries at once.

It takes me less than an hour to arrive at Rivers, the place is too crowded tonight, and it takes me a while to spot Audrey and her friends. Rita ushers me over and I make my way through the crowd. She’s slumped on the seat, enjoying her last moments like Hannah had said. “Audrey, what the hell happened?”

“Kingston,” she smiles. “You came to say goodbye. Isn’t he the sweetest?”

“We tried to take her to the hospital, but she won’t let us, I called an ambulance, and they refused to come because

I lean in to carry her, the pills have a very slow effect, but I don’t have any idea how many she took so it’s best I rush her to the hospital. She throws her arms around my neck and kisses me! It happens so fast that I barely react, but the moment I feel her tongue, I pull away. “No,” I snap. “You can’t do that.”

“It’s my goodbye kiss,” she says, her eyes glossy and gone.

I scoop her into my arms and Rita hands me her purse. She falls into me, resting her head against my shoulder while whispering incoherently about not wanting to live without me. I put her in the backseat of my car, leaving her to the professionals when we get to the hospital. A friend of Maddox’s handles her emergency care, she reaches for me while they roll her away.

I don’t leave just yet, I wait. I sit in the waiting room for quite a bit while they pump her stomach and run tests. Soon, she’s moved to a private room. The doctors say she’ll be fine and can go home in a few hours, her dose was lethal, but the pills were counterfeit, some laced with wolfsbane and others with powdered sugar.

“Kingston,” she blurts out, the same moment that I enter the room.

“Audrey, what the fuck were you thinking?” I snap, the words coming out harsher than I intended as I sit down.” If you weren’t scammed, you would have died tonight.”

“I’m sorry, Kingston, but I just… I felt like..I can’t do this anymore,” she whispers, her voice cracking. “I don’t think I’m capable of living in a world where you choose her over me. I still love you, King.”

“Stop,” I command her. “You can’t love me, Audrey, I’m married, I told you this over. You have to move on, you have to stop, or we can’t be friends anymore.”

Her lips part, “King.”

“What you and I had is over,” I repeat. “I’m never leaving her, it won’t matter what she does. She’s my wife, we are bound to fight sometimes, but we will resolve it.” I tell her, “That’s how a mate bond works, it’s how I want

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us to work. Aeliana would have to crawl over my dead body to leave, and even then I would hunt her. This is just as things should always have been,” I swallow, recalling a reality where we weren’t together makes my stomach turn in the worst way. “I’m sorry things turned out this way, I didn’t mean for you to be hurt like this, but I love her, I love my mate, Audrey.”

“What about me?” She chokes out. “You said you loved me.”

“I do,” I nod. “But not the way I love her, not nearly in any way that you deserve, I love you just about as much as I love Maddox.”

“Maddox?” She scoffs, “Not even Rowan?”

“Both of them,” I swallow. “You are all like family to me.”

She shakes her head, tears running down her cheeks. “We were supposed to be family.”

“I know,” I nod. “You’re important to me too, we’ve been together for years, Audrey. We planned a life together, but that chapter is closed.”

“Do you love her?”

“Yes.”

“She makes you happy?”

I nod, “Very. I’ve never been happier than I am with her.”

She shakes her head, tears spilling free. “But she doesn’t love you the same, she doesn’t value you.

I swallow, offering her a towel. “I’ll earn it.”

“I love you, King.”

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