The Rejected Luna (Avery and Kaden) novel Chapter 5

**Between Then and Now by Mark Twain**
**Chapter 5**

I raised my head, directing my gaze toward Adrian, who stood silhouetted against the harsh light streaming through the window.

A decade had passed, yet it seemed to have left him untouched—if anything, the years had only enhanced the formidable aura of authority that surrounded him as a high-ranking Alpha.

For a fleeting moment, the present blurred into a haunting recollection from ten years ago.

I could almost see him again, standing there in the visiting room of the psychiatric hospital, hands clasped behind his back, observing with an icy detachment as the orderlies forcefully escorted me back to the isolation ward.

The shadows had concealed much of his face, but the glacial disdain in his eyes had pierced through the dimness, chilling me to the core.

Now, facing me, the same harsh light distorted his expression, but there was a tension in his posture that spoke volumes.

Isla, standing beside me, looked between us, her brow furrowed in confusion. “You know Hazel?” she asked, her voice laced with disbelief.

Adrian’s gaze remained locked onto mine, his voice strained with an intensity that was palpable.

“The bullet casing… the one you gave me. It’s still with you.”

Isla’s eyes widened in shock, her disbelief morphing into incredulity. “Hazel, you said he was just a regular customer!”

Her eyes darted to the bracelet she held tightly in her hand. “And you called this trash…”

Adrian’s expression darkened, shadows creeping into the depths of his eyes.

I placed the ledger down with a decisive thud. “If he wants it, give it to him.”

Sensing the rising tension in the air, Isla hurled the bracelet at him, her distrust palpable.

Adrian barely managed to catch it, his fingers trembling ever so slightly as he grasped the object.

“Hazel… how have you been all these years?” he asked, his voice tinged with a mixture of hope and uncertainty.

I forced a smile, though it felt more like a mask than a genuine expression. “Fine. Is there anything else, Alpha?”

The box of macarons he held was crushed in his grip, the delicate packaging crumpled and distorted as if it bore the weight of his unspoken emotions.

He lowered his head, enveloped in silence for what felt like an eternity, before his voice broke through the stillness, hoarse and strained. “I want chocolate chip cookies.”

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