Alpha’s Rue: His Shunned Luna (Athena Enchanted) novel Chapter 281

Chapter 281

“I didn’t,” she says, her lips curving into a smile, as if to soften the impact of her words. “I had passed out, and Danielle found me.”

“Danielle?” I frown. “Rowan’s mate, Danielle?” I ask, just to clarify because she hadn’t mentioned anything that night, or after that night.

Aeliana slowly nods, “Yeah, she helped me with that and I went home after that.”

Fuck.

She had been under so much pressure, and I was trying to get rid of her, I was putting myself above her. Did she have another panic attack when I marked her? She seemed in disbelief then. “When else?”

“Kingston, please don’t make me list them.”

“Are those incidents over ten?”

She hesitates, her eyes searching mine before she nods again. “Am I related to them? Have I ever contributed to you having one?”

“You calm me down,” she says, but I don’t miss the actual answer masked beneath that statement. She’s not lying, but she’s not telling me the truth I desire either. “Like at our wedding.” She says with a comforting smile.

Did she have a panic attack at our wedding?

I thought she was tense, I felt a mild vibration of anxiety through the bond, and tried to calm her with my pheromones. Was it the same every time I felt her overly tense? Even at the ceremony-our inauguration

ceremony.

“That’s not what I asked you, Aeliana.”

“Fine, Yes.” She sighs, staring at the wall behind me this time. “Some of them, but that doesn’t matter, they’re… random,” she says, hardly trying to lie.

“It does to me,” I snap. “What do you mean I’ve been hurting you since the moment I left? I’ve made you feel so hurt that you-”

“No,” she shakes her head. “It’s not your fault, I just… I don’t know how to explain this, but it’s not you, stop thinking like that, Honey.” She swallows, “I love you.” She smiles.

I love her too.

Which is why it hurts so badly knowing that I let this happen to her. I failed to protect her, if I had stayed eight years ago then she would have never had that panic attack, she wouldn’t have had to leave Mooncrest at all.

The door swings wide open, and the doctor from earlier returns, this time I’m composed enough to read his name tag. Doctor P. Holland.

“Hello,” he greets. “Sorry I’m late, I was at the lab. How are we doing here?”

“Good,” Aeliana says with a polite smile. “Can I leave?”

“You’re still under observation, we need to monitor you, and we can’t discharge you without reviewing the rest of your test results.”

Aeliana frowns, eyes shifting between us. “How many tests did you run on me, I just passed out.”

1/3

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“Routine tests,” Dr Holland says. “You were unconscious for a long time and in pretty bad condition when they brought you in.”

“Oh.” That’s all she says.

“Luna, have you ever felt anything like that before? Heart racing, trouble breathing..”

“Sometimes.”

“Do you have a history of anxiety? I looked at your medical records, but they’re clear of it, and there are no mentions of any psychological conditions.”

“Sort of,” she quietly says. “I never mention them to my doctors.”

“Why?”

“Doctor,” I warn. The unease in her voice making me defensive.

“Pardon me, Alpha.” Hr swallows, “But the Luna’s panic attacks might be linked to some trauma.’

She tenses, I feel her hand go rigid with a slight tremor. “Is that it?” I softly ask.

“No,” she confidently says. “I don’t have any, I don’t..it’s not that.”

The doctor shifts his eyes to me for a moment before turning back to her. Even a stranger can see she’s lying, how had I not? “You see, in those kinds of cases, I’ve found sharing to be helpful. If you could-”

“I’m fine,” she snaps, pulling her hand away like she’s angry with me. I notice both her hands clawing at the sheet below her. “I don’t have that.”

“I still suggest that you have a mental evaluation and don’t worry, it’s perfectly confidential.”

Aeliana shakes her head. “I’m not doing that, do I look like a crazy person to you?”

His eyes widen, “My apologies, I didn’t mean-”

“Leave,” I tell him, nodding at the door.

He nearly bolts, hitting his foot at the door, but he doesn’t stop moving until he’s gone, the door wide open behind him. I sit back in my chair, watching her fidget with the sheets. Her jaw is ticking, but she doesn’t say anything, she just stares down at herself.

I get why the insinuation of trauma unnerved her, it’s not a lucky guess. I’d be surprised if she survived years in the Hartley household without any. However, I didn’t think it was this bad, I don’t know what it is that scarred her so deeply, but I can see it in her eyes now, she’s thinking of it, I can tell from the way the heart monitor reading keeps changing, it beeps loud and rapid. I don’t think she even hears it anymore.

“Aeliana,” I call, her gaze snaps up and she swallows, looking even more pale than she was when I brought her in. “You can lie to the doctor, but you can’t lie to me, what is it? What are you not telling me?”

She shakes her head, “Nothing.”

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