The Eclipsed Life of Luna Mischa (by Jennifer Francis) novel Chapter 20

CH 20

Anthony walked into the room with a teary Christy clutching at his hand, and she instantly sobbed and cast her eyes down towards the floor as Anthony himself took in the room and the way it was laid out.

Three chairs on one side of the table, one of which she was sitting on. The other two were for him and Christy. His own unit were all over there behind the Elders seated in chairs of their own. As were Brent and Gillian.

His eyes moved to all the manilla folders lined up on the table he knew as well as she did that they contained the statements of all she’d spoken to since Anthony had left her to suffer her heat on her own, or the pack file records of those conversations, all printed out. Each file on that table had the person’s

name on it.

There was also footage to go along with some of those files and that was on his list as well, not just the

footage of Christy that day Mischa had gone into heat, but the footage of him leaving her suite the next

day.

Footage of all his own unit had done to see her be delivered drugs to help with the pain of not being mated through the heat. He knew she was in and never once returned to her room to help her through it.

There was the footage of her talking with Paul and the pack doctor when arriving at the pack hospital, and her concerns over what she and her wolf felt were coming from him and his beast, about how he was mating Christy, and she thought it was possible she’d get injured from it. Absolutely everything had been

accounted for.

Including the actual footage of her and Anthony in her office, of him coming to her office to accuse her of setting Christy up, his and her argument and her ordering the investigation. Then right there on one file were the words Christy and Anthony in the Luna Medical Suite.

Paul had gotten that himself and kept it off the list. She’d not known about that until 15 minutes prior to walking into this room, just like Anthony hadn’t, his own Gamma had kept it from his Alpha and for a singular reason, so no one could get rid of it at the last minute. \

r

His eyes moved right to hers as he realized with full comprehension she could in fact clear her name. That Christy’s well–timed words inside that Luna medical suite were also now there for all to hear and see. She had read the transcript and watched the video footage as she’d walked up here ‘Tone, how did Mischa know I’d need…” There had been a soft pause and her fingers had picked at each other. “Medical care?” she’d stated, and there had even been a tremble to her words.

“I don’t know.” Anthony had frowned right at her, as he’d then thought about that very thing.

“Y… You… don’t think that well…” Christy had trailed off and turned her face away from him, a bigger tremble in her voice and tears had rolled slowly down her face. “No, no, I’m sorry, Tone, I know Mischa isn’t like that.” she’d then rushed out, and a full sob had come from her “I’m in so much pain.” She’d gotten the accusation out and then diverted his attention instantly from it, but the seed of the idea was fully

CH 20

planted.

健

He’d called for more pain drugs to be given to her and even as he turned to leave the room, she’d state, It’s just very odd Tone, only have one heat a year, and it’s not even close to that time. Why’d it suddenly come on?” she’d asked him directly her way of telling him she wanted him to go and find out who did it to her.

He’d stopped walking and looked at her, that she–wolf had been pricking his curiosity and indirectly blaming Mischa for it. “I’ll get to the bottom of it Anthony had told her, “You just stay here and rest up.” He’d not known it at the time but couldn’t bloody miss it when watching it be played out like that, and him then going right to Mischa to accuse her.

Christy had gotten him to do exactly what she wanted all the while, she couldn’t be blamed for any of it. She was sedated in the pack’s Luna Medical Suite. She thought she’d out–smarted everyone. Probably thought she’d wake up to be the only Luna in the pack with an accusation like that hanging about.

Now he’d seen all the evidence himself that proved no one had gone near his beloved Christy to make this

happen to her, and she had all the evidence he’d wrongfully accused her based off just one three–minute

conversation with Christy in the Luna Medical Suite.

He walked over and sat himself down next to her as was his place and Christy sat on his other side. She was still clutching at his hand and he reached out and tried to take Mischa’s hand to show the Elders, she supposed, he was both their Mate and loved both of them.

She moved her hand away from his reach, and when his hand stilled but then went to land on her knee, she picked up the entire chair and moved herself completely out of his reach. It showed everyone in this room her feelings on the matter at hand.

He sat staring at the empty space next to him as if he couldn’t believe she was suddenly gone, and then he pulled his hand back to his own lap and sighed softly into the room. Her reaction spoke volumes to all, including the six Elders. Their bond was broken, is what it said.

“I don’t think this is at all necessary,” Anthony stated. “I understand I was in the wrong and said things that I shouldn’t have to you, Mischa. But I was hurting myself and in pain that day over Christy’s state,” he

stated.

“That you caused and blamed me for,” she added simply. “You could have at anytime stopped yourself and left that room or called the pack doctor for help. So that you wouldn’t injure her.”

“Please don’t fight.” Christy sobbed out. “May I say something?” she asked, looking at the Elders. She’d never been before them all like this, but Mischa was certain Anthony had informed her of what to expect.

How to act as well.

Elder Simone nodded “Go ahead.”

Christy stood and let go of Anthony’s hand, wiped at her tears and tried to make herself look like she was trying to pull herself together and not look pitiful, or was trying to draw their sympathy towards her Mischa supposed.

Claim

“did not mean to imply that it was Mischa who would…” Christy paused. “Sorry, I meant, might have given me something to go into heat.” She murmured, “How could she possibly do that. She was already in heat herself.” Though that one pause allowed for everyone in this room to see what she meant, it was exactly what she’d done in that hospital to Anthony himself.

Christy then turned and looked at her and said, “I know you would never harm anyone inside this pack. Certainly not Anthony’s Luna… I don’t know how this came about, but I don’t want you, Mischa… to fight with Anthony, it hurts him to be at odds with his Mate.” She turned and looked back to the elders.

Though Mischa was listening specifically to the pauses she was making, Christy had just implied that only Mischa was Anthony’s Mate, by stating herself as the Luna, but then had called her only Misha when referring to her and Anthony. Then again, at odds with his Mate. That one pause made it sound as if she, Mischa, was causing Anthony and Christy to be at odds, and it hurt him to be at odds with her.

She did not understand that those six elders across from her were all listening, to not just the words she

spoke, but the way she spoke them, to catch the implication of them. She was walking herself down into a

ditch all on her own.

Mischa wasn’t going to stop her from digging her own hole and Anthony couldn’t. She’d asked to speak

and been given permission to. Was allowed to say her piece.

“I don’t think Mischa did this to me. I do not blame her for anything that happened during my… unusual heat experience. I also don’t want nor need her to be punished for any of this…” Christy shook her head. “I think I was just tired and filled with too much pain to think straight and wanted…” she sighed heavily, and dropped her eyes away from them. “Just to blame anyone for the pain I suffered in that moment, and the pack doctor told us it was Mischa that set the room up for me,

“I guess… in my state of mind at the time, I just kind of connected dots and attached the blame to Mischa, because it was her name that the doctor spoke.” She sobbed. “I can now see that my pain–filled state and misplaced words has caused all this trouble. I honestly didn’t mean for any of this to happen.

“I certainly don’t want… Mischa and Anthony to reject each other over just one little misunderstanding… they’ve been together for so very long.” Christy murmured.

“There will be no rejection, Christy,” Anthony stated, his voice kind of brooked not argument, as if he knew there wouldn’t be one getting voiced ever. “I made this error and I will be the one to take full responsibility for it. Not you,” he told her, “Sit back down, please.”

She nearly shook her head at the way the she–wolf was trying to absently shift the blame on to their pack doctor, make it out that he was the one that had connected the dots and told her it was Mischa. That wasn’t going to win her any favors with Brent the next time she needed medical care. Wolves had very long memories. He’d just been trying to help Christy, and she was now trying to put it all on him.

She saw the anger cross Brent’s face and didn’t blame him for it. Anthony turned to look at Mischa, and she raised an eyebrow at him as if to say ‘What am I supposed to just accept that?’ It wasn’t going to happen. “I’ll see my name cleared in full.” She told him flatly.

CCH 20

know you didn’t do anything to Christy,” he stated.

“Good.” She nodded, “but let’s let the Elders watch all the footage anyway, shall we, just to be a hundred

percent clear on what happened.”

He stared at her, and she stared right back. “Or do you or Christy have something to hide?” she offered.

“Watch it,” he muttered as he realized she was never going to back down, because clearing her name meant he couldn’t accuse her again in the future without this happening all over again, and she would do it, and she would win, and at some point the Elders were going to tell him what the hell was the point of investigating it when they knew Mischa was innocent, and he and or Christy were in the wrong.

36

Comments

LUCK DRAW >

Vote

770