Fake Heiress True Luna (Irina) novel Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Waking Up

Irina’s POV

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The first thing I was aware of was the pain. A dull, throbbing ache radiated from every part of my body. The second was the scent.

It enveloped me, a rich, intoxicating aroma of pine needles, damp earth, and clean, cold air- like the heart of the forest right after a storm. It was alluring and unsettling at the same time, making my skin prickle with a strange, tingling awareness. It was everywhere, on the sheets, in the air, seeping into my very pores.

My eyes fluttered open. I was lying in a massive, impossibly soft bed. The room was dark, lit only by the faint glow of embers in a large fireplace across from me. The furnishings were heavy, masculine, and exquisitely crafted from dark wood-a stark, powerful elegance that spoke of immense wealth and uncompromising taste.

This was not my sparse little room in the staff quarters. This was not any room I had ever seen in the Blue Moon pack house.

Panic, cold and sharp, lanced through me. Where was I? How did I get here? The last thing I remembered was the rogue’s weight, its hot breath, the crushing certainty of death… and then a black fur.

I tried to sit up, but a searing pain in my ribs made me gasp and fall back against the pillows. The movement made the intoxicating forest-after-rain scent swirl around me more strongly, and my head spun.

Where am I?

“You’re safe.”

The voice in my head was faint and thready but unmistakable: Theia. She sounded exhausted, but there was a new note in her tone I hadn’t heard in weeks-something like…

awe.

“Theia! You’re back! What happened? Where is this?” I asked, hoping she had some answers.

“I can’t remember what happened after the rogue almost killed us, but then I heard him. He was

there with us.”

“Aiden, he saved us. He killed the rogue and then told the doctor to fix us. I’m sure this is his room, and his scent is all over you,” She explained, the happiness in her voice evident.

“Who?” I asked.

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Theia was on cloud nine. I’m sure she thinks Aiden will accept us now, but I’m not so sure.

“He doesn’t hate us,” Theia said with a purr.

I sighed.

His room.

The Alpha’s room.

The tingling in my skin was because of his scent, because I was recognizing him as my mate.

No, I thought, the panic rising again, thick and suffocating. This can’t be happening. He hates me. He called me Omega. He…

The door to the room opened silently.

I stopped breathing for a moment, waiting for Aiden to come in, but instead, Cindy was the one who stepped inside.

Her eyes widened when she saw me awake, a mixture of surprise and immediate concern washing over her face. She quickly closed the door behind her and hurried to the bedside, a tray with a bowl of broth and a glass of water in her hands.

“Moon Goddess, you’re awake!” she whispered, her voice hushed as if we were in a sacred space. She set the tray down on the bedside table. “How are you feeling? The Alpha said you were hurt protecting the pups.”

I nodded. I knew he was not going to tell everyone in this pack I was his mate, he wanted to keep me as his little secret.

“Sore,” I managed, my voice still a rough whisper. “But… alright. Where is…?” I couldn’t bring myself to say his name.

“The Alpha?” Cindy finished for me, her voice dropping even lower. “He’s dealing with the aftermath of the attack. Securing the borders, questioning how the rogues got through.” She shook her head, a shadow crossing her features. “It’s a mess. But he… he carried you in himself. Told the doctor nothing else mattered but fixing you.” She said this with a sense of awe, as if she were describing a miracle.

My cheeks heated. He’d carried me. Through the crowded gardens, through the pack house. Everyone had seen. The tingling sensation from his scent seemed to intensify.

“He’s been in and out, checking on you,” she added, nodding toward the chair by the fireplace. I noticed then that it was slightly askew, as if someone had been sitting there recently. “Didn’t

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say much. Just… watched.”

He’d been watching me sleep. The thought sent a strange shiver down my spine that had nothing to do with pain.

“See?” Theia purred, her satisfaction a warm hum in my mind. “He cares.”

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I didn’t reply, I didn’t want to hurt Theia. If he cared so much he would have told someone I was his mate, but instead he said he helped me because I had protected the pups.

Cindy helped me sip some water, her movements gentle. “The Alpha said you’re to stay here until the doctor clears you. No arguments.” She said the last part with a firm look, as if she expected me to try to bolt back to my maid’s cot immediately.

The idea was tempting. Being here, in his space, surrounded by his scent, was doing dangerous things to my resolve. It was chipping away at the walls I’d so carefully built.

Before I could form a response, the door opened again.

This time, it was him.

I sighed. Cindy must have told him and I can’t blame her. She is only doing her job.

Aiden stood in the doorway, his frame filling the space. His grey eyes immediately found mine, and that same intense, unreadable look was back. He’d clearly just come from outside; his hair was slightly windswept, and he carried the fresh, cold night air on his clothes, mixing

with the potent scent of the room.

Cindy instantly dropped her gaze, bowing her head slightly. “Alpha. I was just checking on

her.”

“Leave us,” he said, his voice quiet but absolute.

Cindy gave my hand a quick, reassuring squeeze before scurrying out, closing the door softly

behind her.

And then we were alone.

“Mate!” Theia screamed like crazy as she hops inside my mind.

She was ecstatic, so much that she didn’t see the cold look on his face. He didn’t move from the doorway for a long moment, just watched me. The silence stretched, thick and heavy with everything unsaid between us. The bond was a live wire, humming with tension.

Finally, he walked toward the bed. He didn’t sit, but stopped a few feet away, his arms crossed. His gaze traveled over me, from the bandages on my ribs to the way my hands were

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clutching the sheets.

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“The doctor says you’ll recover fully,” he stated, his tone still that flat, report-like delivery. “The children are unharmed. Their parents send their gratitude.”

I nodded, unable to find my voice. What was I supposed to say? You’re welcome? It felt

absurd.

Another stretch of silence. He seemed to be wrestling with something, his jaw working.

“Running into the woods was a stupid risk,” he said finally, the words abrupt and harsh, making Theia whimper. “You could have been killed.”

The words were out before I could stop them, a low, bitter mutter. “I know, but that would solve one of your problems.”

The moment I said it, I regretted it. It was foolish, reckless. I was lying injured in the bed of the most powerful Alpha on the continent, and I was mouthing off.

Well. He won’t kill me. I said, trying to reassure myself. It would be a waste of resources to rescue an omega only to kill her again.

Aiden went perfectly still. The air in the room didn’t just grow cold; it solidified. His grey eyes, which had been unreadable, sharpened into twin shards of ice. He uncrossed his arms, his hands curling into fists at his sides.

His Alpha aura started slipping, making Theia whimper.

He took a single, deliberate step closer to the bed. He didn’t yell. His voice, when it came, was a low, dangerous rasp that vibrated through the floorboards.

“What did you just say?”

I flinched, my own bravado evaporating under the sheer force of his gaze. I dropped my eyes to the dark comforter, my heart hammering against my bruised ribs. “Nothing,” I whispered.

“Look at me.” The command was absolute. He wasn’t using an Alpha command, but I would probably get in trouble if I didn’t do as he said.

I was no longer an Alpha’s daughter but a simple Omega. I had to remember my place.

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