The Alpha's Runaway Daughter

Chapter 7

Luna Anya began her assessment in silence.

At first, she said nothing as she examined the bruising around my wrists and ankles. Her fingers were gentle, but I still flinched at the slightest touch.

She noticed.

Of course she did.

Her eyes lifted to mine, and something in her expression changed.

“Dear girl…” Her voice was softer now. “Were you r***d?”

The question hit me like a physical blow.

I looked away.

My throat tightened as memories I desperately wanted buried clawed their way back to the surface.

I shook my head.

“They tried,” I whispered. “But they didn’t succeed.”

Silence filled the room.

Then I heard Anya draw in a sharp breath.

“Thank the Moon Goddess for that,” she murmured.

There was something in her voice that told me she understood the gravity of what I had survived.

She didn’t ask for details.

She didn’t make me explain.

For that alone, I was grateful.

The examination continued.

When Anya reached my back, she froze.

Her eyes widened.

“Dear Goddess…”

I swallowed hard.

I didn’t need to look at her to know what she was seeing.

I already knew.

The bruises.

The injuries.

The evidence of what had happened to me.

Evidence I wished I could erase.

Anya didn’t say another word about it.

She continued the examination, checking my ears and throat, examining my eyes, listening carefully to my heart and lungs.

When she finally finished, she gave me privacy to dress.

Once I was dressed, she handed me a specimen container.

“There’s a bathroom directly across the hall. I just need a urine sample.”

I nodded and took it.

Anything to get this over with.

I crossed the hallway, collected the sample, washed my hands and stepped back into the corridor.

And immediately wished I hadn’t.

May was standing there.

Waiting.

The moment her eyes landed on me, her expression twisted with disgust.

“Rogue filth.”

I stopped.

For a moment, I simply stared at her.

I didn’t want to engage.

I knew better.

But somewhere deep inside me, there was a tiny, angry voice screaming that I shouldn’t have to stand there and accept being treated like dirt.

My hands curled into fists.

Don’t.

I reminded myself.

Don’t give her the satisfaction.

May stepped closer.

“What?” she sneered. “Nothing to say, you pathetic rogue?”

The hatred in her eyes was unmistakable.

And for one terrible second, I wanted to hit her.

Gods, did I want to.

But before I could say anything, a voice cut through the corridor like a whip.

“May!”

We both turned.

Luna Anya stood in the doorway.

Her expression had changed completely.

The warmth was gone.

The kindness had vanished.

What remained was pure authority.

“Leave. Now.”

May’s face paled.

“Luna?”

“You’re fired.”

The words landed with such finality that even I froze.

May stared at her.

“But… Luna, you can’t do that. I need this job.”

“You should have thought about that before you brought your prejudice into my medical facility.”

Anya’s voice was frighteningly calm.

“I have watched you treat patients as though they were beneath you. I’ve warned you before. I’ve given you opportunities to change.”

She stepped forward.

“This is the last time.”

May’s mouth opened, but Anya continued before she could speak.

“You do not get to decide who is worthy of compassion. You do not get to mistreat a patient because of where they came from or what rank they hold.”

Her eyes hardened.

“Pack your things and leave.”

May’s face twisted with fury.

“The Alpha will hear about this.”

Anya didn’t even blink.

“Oh, I’m sure he will.”

She smiled.

“And when you speak to him, make sure you tell him everything. Don’t leave out the part where you insulted a patient in the hallway.”

May’s cheeks flushed.

For several seconds, the two women stared at each other.

Then May huffed angrily, spun around and stormed away.

I watched her disappear down the hallway.

Then I looked at Anya.

She appeared completely unfazed.

As though firing an employee who had just threatened her was nothing more than an inconvenience.

She held out her hand.

“The sample, please.”

I handed it to her.

“I’ll have it sent to pathology. The results will be placed in your medical file. If there’s anything concerning, I’ll tell you immediately.”

“Okay.”

I hesitated.

“So… what happens now?”

“My mate is waiting near the nurses’ station.”

She paused.

“And unfortunately, I suspect he’s about to have a rather uncomfortable conversation with himself.”

I almost smiled.

Anya took the sample and carefully sealed it into a pathology bag before attaching the necessary documentation.

Then she led me down the corridor.

When we reached the nurses’ station, she handed the sample to a young nurse.

“Please take this directly to pathology.”

“Yes, Luna.”

Then Anya turned to me.

“Come on.”

We continued toward Alpha Xavier.

He was waiting exactly where she’d said he would be.

The moment he saw us, his attention shifted to Anya.

“So?” he asked.

He didn’t even look at me.

“How did it go?”

Anya stopped.

She looked at him.

And slowly shook her head.

There was something in her expression that made Xavier’s entire demeanour change.

His eyes moved to me.

And I saw it.

The certainty was gone.

The arrogance.

The suspicion.

Gone.

Something else had taken its place.

Regret.

For the first time since I’d met him, Alpha Xavier looked… vulnerable.

It was subtle.

But it was there.

He had been wrong.

And worse than that, he knew he had been wrong.

Anya’s expression told him everything before she even spoke.

“You owe her an apology, Xavier.”

His face tightened.

“Anya…”

“No.”

She didn’t raise her voice.

She didn’t need to.

“You doubted her. You questioned her story. And then you went and discussed that story with people who had absolutely no business knowing about it.”

Xavier looked at me.

For perhaps the first time, he looked genuinely ashamed.

“Sorry,” he muttered.

I raised an eyebrow.

Anya’s eyes narrowed.

“For the sake of the Moon Goddess, Xavier, say it like you actually mean it.”

He looked at her sheepishly.

It was almost comical.

Almost.

Then he turned back to me.

“I am very sorry for doubting your story, Miss James.”

I held his gaze.

His apology might have been sincere.

But it wasn’t enough.

“Are you going to tell everyone else that?”

He frowned.

“Tell them what?”

“That you were wrong.”

Silence.

I stepped closer.

“The medical staff you spoke to when we first arrived. The people you told about our conversation in your office.”

His expression faltered.

“Are you going to tell them you were wrong?”

“I…”

He hesitated.

“I… well…”

I shook my head.

“That’s what I thought.”

His eyes widened.

“You like to flap your gums to people who have no business knowing anything about other people’s lives.”

He stared at me in shock.

But I didn’t care.

I had spent too long being silenced.

I wasn’t going to start now.

Anya looked at me, and there was no judgement in her eyes.

Only understanding.

“It’s okay, Cleo.”

Her voice softened.

“I know you’re not ready to forgive him.”

“Anya…”

Xavier’s warning was immediate.

She ignored him.

“You were hurt by what he said. And by the fact that he so openly doubted you.”

I looked at Xavier.

“I don’t know if I can forgive him.”

“You don’t have to,” Anya replied simply.

Xavier stared at her.

“Anya…”

She turned toward him.

“Do stop interrupting me.”

The Alpha of Lightning Ridge actually looked chastised.

I couldn’t help it.

A tiny smile tugged at my lips.

Anya turned back to me.

“Once you get to know him better, you’ll realise he’s a fool.”

She smiled sweetly.

“Most men are.”

“Anya!”

She ignored him again.

The sight was so unexpected that I almost laughed.

Almost.

Xavier finally gave up.

He looked at me.

“We should return to my office. I need to finish my discussion with you and Eric.”

I immediately looked around.

“Where is Eric?”

“Already waiting for us.”

My stomach loosened slightly.

Eric.

At least he was there.

I turned toward Anya.

She looked at Xavier.

And suddenly, the warmth disappeared from her face.

“Xavier.”

He looked at her.

“Do not be a d**k when you get back to your office.”

His eyebrows rose.

“I mean it.”

She pointed a warning finger at him.

“You’ve already been proven wrong today. Do not make things worse than they already are.”

For a moment, the Alpha simply stared at his mate.

Then he sighed.

“Yes, dear.”

Anya smiled.

Then Xavier leaned down and kissed her gently.

The sight caught me completely off guard.

The terrifying Alpha who had spent the morning treating me like a liar was suddenly just a man kissing his mate.

Maybe Anya was right.

Maybe there was more to him than the arrogant Alpha I’d seen.

But I wasn’t ready to find out.

Not yet.

We said our goodbyes to Luna Anya, and Xavier led me toward the exit.

As we stepped out of the medical centre, I glanced back at Anya.

She was still standing in the doorway.

Watching us.

Her eyes met mine.

And for some reason, I knew she wasn’t simply watching us leave.

She was worried.

About me.

About Xavier.

Perhaps even about what was waiting for us back in that office.

My stomach tightened.

Because whatever happened next, something told me my story wasn’t finished being questioned.

And this time, Eric would be there to hear it all.