Alpha’s Rue: His Shunned Luna (Athena Enchanted) novel Chapter 86

Chapter 86

AELIANA

Luna Estelle cooks dinner while talking to me and her chef, everyone is different here than at Kingston’s packhouse. The staff are more alive, much kinder, and I meet Lexie’s aunt, who happens to have raised her after her mother took off with someone else’s husband. When one of the chefs tries to teach me how to make gravy, Luna Estelle stops her, telling her I’ll learn from her if I ever choose to.

I love how she respects my boundaries, and my lack of experience in the kitchen. Cooking is one thing I never tried, chef Tanya never lets anyone in her kitchen, much less children, she said we brought in germs and noise. But sometimes, I would sit with her in silence while she cooked, those were my favourite moments that we shared.

Dinner is ready on time, but Luna Estelle refuses to let us leave after eating, only Rowan is able to get away, the rest of us stay. Alpha Dante misses dinner to meet with an acquaintance but he promises Luna Estelle he will be back before she goes to bed and he keeps that promise. Two hours after dinner, he shows up with flowers for her, and Kingston’s younger cousin Olivia complains about him forgetting her, Luna Estelle shares one rose with her, another with me, and two more with the other two girls present, one being their friend’s daughter.

I haven’t felt warmth like this in a while. After dinner, Luna Estelle tells us we are watching a movie to which no one objects. I don’t know if they like this, or if it’s just because she makes it so hard to say no because of her cheerful demeanour. She also has Kingston and Maddox bring snacks for everyone. Kingston tries to refuse her but she insists he go because he would know what snacks I like. As expected, Kingston brings nothing that I like, but I smile and pretend he picked something to my liking.

“Okay, someone turn off the lights.” Maddox says, “Aunt Elle, are you sure this is a new one?”

“Yes, Maddox.” She sighs, this is the fourth time that he has asked this of her. “It doesn’t show to the rest of the world until next week.”

That brings a smile to his face, he even turns the lights off by himself. I sit next to Luna Estelle, Alpha Dante sits on the other side of her and on the other sofa is Kingston, next to him is Delanie. Another girl he used to sleep with as a teen, and just like back then, I swallowed down my jealousy.

“I love these movies,” Olivia giggles from beside me. “I like seeing how the humans portray us. Why don’t those who live amongst us write the scripts, it’s…”

“Olivia,” Maddox groans. “No unnecessary talking. It’s starting.”

Olivia huffs, muttering something under her breath and extending her throw blanket to me. I offer her a thankful smile and she winks, nodding at Kingston. I don’t look at him, I try to focus on the movie. Everyone has critical opinions about the acting, the facts but the moment the story shifts to a heist, almost everyone starts to enjoy it.

My eyes grow heavy but I fight it, I come to realise I’ve lost when I can no longer hear anything, no laughter, gasps, and I can feel arms on my back and knees. I blink, my eyes heavy. I’m no longer being her, my body settles onto something soft and I shift, “No,” I curl closer to his scent, my arms wrapped around his neck. “Don’t leave me,” I mumble, “Not here too.”

I don’t expect a response, I’m pulling at an imaginaryhim when he responds, letting me know I’m no longer dreaming. “Aeliana,” he says, his voice low, strained. “I’m not going anywhere.”

I freeze.

My eyes snap open, the light hits me hard, and his face above me hits harder. I pause, watching the soft edges of his face, he looks breathtaking, he always does. “You fell asleep on Mom’s shoulder,” he says quietly.

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I gasp, eyes widening as my hands slip from his neck. “I fell asleep on her?”

He nods, smiling. “She said you sleep cute, like a kitten.”

I swallow, heat spreading through my cheeks. “I’m not cute, and kitten is such a horrible example.”

“You are cute, Ellie.”

My chest starts heaving, I push up on my elbows and he moves, settling at the edge of the bed. “No, we are not playing that game, Kingston.”

His face twists with confusion, “What game?”

I sigh, remembering my anger from this morning, something about the way he immediately went to her makes it all come back. I could live with her being his choice, I can live with him wanting her, but stringing me along? That bit might kill me, and I won’t let myself be strung or strayed. “What you did today, how dare you manipulate the bond like that?”

“I wasn’t manipulating our bond, Aeliana. You were looking at me, I thought you were curious so I showed you what it was that I couldn’t stop thinking of.”

“No, you don’t get to do. Do you know how hard it was for me to pretend nothing was happening while my pussy just about almost exploded in there?”

His eyes darken, and he shrugs. “As I said, I simply gave you a peek inside my head. You wouldn’t talk to me today, you have avoided me and-”

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