Chapter 117: Chapter 117

The Luna stared back at me, a furrow in between her brows. How could she not remember? I took a step further, noticing Reece stand next to her. Refraining from rolling my eyes at his behaviour, I turned to face Aiden's mother.

"It was a while ago; I was just a pup when you saved me from the Alpha attackers and handed me safely to my father."

Realisation dawned on her face, lips slowly quirking in an upward position. A low-level gasp escaped her mouth, eyes gleaming under the chandelier lights. The Luna strode a few steps in my direction, her hands flying to settle on my shoulder. She looked up through darkened eyelashes, her vision slightly blurred from the shock of the news. “O-Oh, Moons! It’s you! I cannot believe this. Look at you!”

My cheeks tinted pink at the awe in her voice, and I shyly nodded, “Yes, it’s me.”

"Are you okay, Luna?” Reece quickly pointed out, straightening, his lips twisting in confusion. The Alpha did not bother to look at me, which was best for both of us.

Aiden’s mother quickly blinked, looking over her shoulder and forced herself to shake her head to reassure her that she was okay. Judging from the shaky breaths, the Luna was anything but fine. Then again, it must be quite a shock for her to face me, who she saved all those years ago.

“Yes, I am fine, Reece.” She croaked and slowly turned to face me. A kind, warm expression settled on her face, the previous rigid stance relaxed. “Do you want something to eat? A drink, maybe? I am sure it was a long way from the Pack.”

“No! Thanks!” I put on a stern face, crossing my arms tightly against my chest, reminding myself of the real reason I was there. “There’s something else I would like to talk about actually.”

“Go on”

“Your guards broke into our pack boundaries and abducted one of the omegas. She is innocent and has nothing to do with this. Please let her go now.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” The Luna gaped at me, confused lines marring her face.

Taking a deep breath, I explained the ongoing situation in the pack, which shook her to the core. The Luna seemed genuinely upset and insulted at the accusation that they would do something like this. She turned towards Reece, who had not said a word till now.

“Reece, can you please look into this as soon as possible? Please close the door on your way out.”

At that, the Alpha narrowed his eyes dangerously, his stare boring into my skin almost accusingly. “Are you sure? She is an enemy right now, Luna, and you cannot trust—”

“I think I can handle myself.” She cut him off with a tight smile, eyes moving towards the open door.

I directed a smug smile in his direction, watching as he walked away with a scoff and defeated shoulders. It served him right for acting so cold. As soon as he shut the door with a thud, silence enveloped us like a blanket.

“How are you?” Aiden’s mother broke the silence, pointing towards the plush armchair in the middle. I sat down, my body immediately sinking and let out a sigh.

“I am…alright.” I beamed at her.

“The day I saved you….” She slowly started, a faraway look etched on her face, hands folded together. “It was the day I decided to walk out on my Aiden. As a mother, it was the most devastating moment in my life, and I still cannot forget the look on his face. He must have held a lot of resentment towards me, huh!” Her voice sounded heavy and teary, almost scratchy at the end, as the Luna avoided my eyes, staring at the floor instead. Guilt swam on her face, body trembling.

Then it all came back to me. She had a luggage with her in the woods—defeated and expressionless on her face, as if she had lost everything. The Luna challenged those wolves on that day like she did not care about the consequences at all.

“Why did you do it?” I asked bluntly.

At her confused face, I added, “Why did you walk out on my mate? I can see that you still adore him.”

“Of course I do!” She fiercely said, growling in my direction. “He’s my son. I will always love him even if he does not return those feelings.”

I meekly nodded at that, suddenly thinking about the pup in my belly. A sudden emotion encompassed me, sharp and warm as I imagined to have the same love for my child. No matter what, I will always look out for the unborn pup.

“If you explain to him the real reason you did what you did, then I am sure he will understand….” I lowered my voice, afraid of intruding on her matters.

She huffed, shaking her head, meeting my eyes. “It’s too late for that, Rose. My husband must have fed him with all kinds of lies, and I am tired of always trying to prove myself. This war is happening.”

Before I could open my mouth to reply, we were interrupted by the loud sound of footsteps approaching us. My attention was instantly caught off guard as soon as a shadow from the archway of the entrance was thrown over the large table. The two of us snapped our eyes up to see who created such a shade, only to meet gazes with Aiden. My entire body froze.

“Rose!” He breathed; his hands were covered in crimson liquid—blood, the colour certainly staining his hands and running down the length of his forearms. The Alphas canines dug in the corner of his mouth, nose flaring. His black pants had dark patches on the front of the thighs as if he had continuously tried to wipe the blood onto the fabric. He had no shirt on, which troubled me, and I saw the amount of blood that tainted his chest and stomach; it was alarming. “You are okay!”

Panic seeped in me, mouth parting and eyes widening at his state. Did he hurt himself on the way? What happened?

“What’s going on?” His mother screeched, slapping a hand over her parted mouth.

Reece was quick to emerge from behind, his claws raised in the air and chest heaving, ready to attack Aiden. Before he could take a step further, the Luna stopped him with a pointed stare.

I heard Reece growl, “He attacked four of our guards, tore through our gate and almost broke my arm off, Luna!”

When I looked up into the piercing green eyes of my intimidating mate, I watched the emotion in them fade from anger to calmness, shoulders sagging.

“Get those guards treated right away! I’ll talk to him.” Reece opened his mouth to argue but turned on his feet and walked away.

“Why…” Aiden started, anger seething hotly in his chest, the pressure of his nails so much so that he's breaking the skin.

“What?”

"I said, are you okay?" Aiden rushed towards me, his eyes roaming over my entire body.

Both heads turn to me. I wanted to shrink back, wanted to give in to the pressure that's crushing my chest, stop breathing and perhaps make all thoughts flooding my mind disappear.

"Yes?" I shut my eyes, taking a deep breath through my nose. “Why wouldn't I be?”

The Luna turned to her son. “Aiden…”

“I would have killed everyone in here if there had been a single scratch on her. Stay away from my family!”

“Stop it!” I tugged on his sleeves as he glared at his mother, raising his index finger in her direction. “Please, will you listen to me?”

The Alpha’s arms tightly wrapped around my torso, and I was sure my shirt was stained red where his fingers dig into. I tried to force down nausea and the dizziness and the ever-growing anger, desperate to keep my voice down.

“No!” He growled at me, his brows pushed together. “You were stupid to come here all on your own. Have you lost your mind, Rose?!”

“Let me….”

“We are leaving! Come with me!”

With that, Aiden wrapped his arm around my wrist and tugged me along. Looking over my shoulder, I stared at Luna’s face, a weak smile taking over her lips. She didn’t seem surprised by the unfair accusations thrown her away or bothered to correct Aiden. Did she genuinely give up on him?

I nearly slipped on the carpet, stumbling down the stairs, passing the guards by the door that were writhing in pain. Reece shot me a dirty look, snarling as we passed by him. A lump formed in my throat as I noticed the blood on the ground, a few splatters on the wall.

Once we were away from that location, Aiden pulled back and turned to face me, his eyes darkening. “Why would you do something like this?!”

***