His Abandoned Luna, Her Disabled Alpha

CHAPTER 14

"How I fell?" Emma echoed, her voice faltering. "Why are you asking that? I...I don't remember clearly."

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, she glanced at Ivy. The brightness in her eyes dimmed, replaced by what looked like fear.

"What does that mean?" Jaxon cut in, his tone sharper than the others. "Do you remember or not?"

Emma flinched at his voice, looked at him as if she had been yelled at. Luke nudged Jaxon lighly on the side, a silent warning. Jaxon stepped aside, irritation flickering across his face. He didn't have the patience for this.

"I remember leaving Ivy's room." Emma said at last, her voice low. "I was in a hurry to meet mom in the garden and I missed a step."

"Oh honey, what was the rush? I could have waited for you. Look at you now." Luna Doris gently brushed a loose strand of hair from Emma's face and pressed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"I'm sorry... I wasn't paying attention." Emma murmured. "But what's going on?"

Her gaze wandered around the room. That's when she noticed the maid on the floor, kneeling. She recognised her and gasped, "Myra? What are you doing down there? Get up.."

"I'm sorry Miss! I thought Miss Ivy pushed you so I accused her!" The maid blurted out.

She has cried so much throughout the day that her tears had run dry. The emptiness in her eyes made her look even more pitiful than before.

"What?! How can you do that?!" Emma exclaimed, only to winch as she clutched her head.

Fearing the strain would worsen her condition, Luna Doris quickly intervened, "That's enough. Go back. I'll deal with you later."

The maid scrambled to her feet and hurried out, almost stumbling in her haste. She didn't dare look back as the door shut behind her back.

Ivy watched it all in silence.

"Ivy, I'm so sorry." Emma said, her voice trembling. "I didn't know you'd go through so much because of me. You're already hurting from everything that happened at the palace...and now this. It's all my fault."

She covered her face with her uninjured hand and broke into quiet sobs.

"Yes, it is your fault." Ivy replied coldly. "My ankle still hurts and I was shoved into the railing. There's probably a bruise. You should apologise for that too."

There wasn't a trace of sympathy in her tone. The looks that maid gave her hadn't escaped Ivy. It dawned on her that the girl who once framed her for the crime of breaking a princess' crown, could do it again.

Emma froze, clearly caught off guard by the response. For a moment, she didn't know what to say, then her sobs grew louder as she leaned into Luna Doris' embrace, muttering apologies.

Luna Doris looked at Ivy, her eyes silently pleading her to let it go as she continued to murmur sweet, comforting words to Emma, holding her close in a protective embrace.

Luke was at his wits end. Unable to watch Emma in such a state, he turned sharply to Ivy. "That's enough, Ivy. She didn't mean for any of this to happen. The maid was at fault and she'll be punished accordingly. Don't take it out on Emma."

"I didn't do anything either. It wasn't my fault too." Ivy shot back. "Yet, I was dragged into this regardless. I tried to help her, I came down the stairs with an injuried leg and still ended up getting pushed around and accused of hurting her."

Her voice tightened, frustration breaking through. "Am I not even allowed to complaint?"

Sensing the rising tention within the room, Jaxon stepped in. "Ivy, it's not that serious. Calm down, we can talk about it later. Emma isn't in the condition -"

"What happened to your leg?" Luke cut in abruptly.

His gaze had locked onto her ankle. Ivy wasn't wearing slippers or socks, leaving the swelling completely exposed. The skin around her ankle was an alarming shade of red and the swelling so severe it has nearly expanded to the size of her calf.

"Did you hurt yourself somewhere?" Luke asked, his tone softening, laced with a hint of concern.

Just like that, the focus shifted to Ivy's ankle. Something so insignificant managed to draw attention away from Emma, lifting the weight off her shoulders and giving her a moment to breathe.

But when Emma noticed their attention stay on Ivy, her chest tightened painfully. The discomfort grew so intense that it reflected on her face.

Luna Doris barely had a moment to register Ivy's condition before Emma's grip tightened around her, pulling her focus back on her with urgency.

"What's wrong, dear? Are you in pain?" She asked softly.

"I'm alright." Emma said, though tears clung to her lashes. "What's wrong with Ivy leg? Is she alright?"

"Silly girl, why don't you worry about yourself?" Luna Doris frowned.

"How did that happen?" Jaxon took a step towards Ivy, concern flickering across his face. Ivy instinctively stepped back, as if repelled by him.

Luke quickly pulled Jaxon back, his sharp look signaling him to stay where he was. Jaxon clenched his outstreched hand, veins popping around his knuckles as he restrained himself.

Luke turned to Ivy again, "Ivy, how did you get hurt?"

"It's an old injury. It keeps flaring up." Ivy replied, subtly shifting her stance to hide the injured leg behind her good one.

"How long has it been like this? Why has it not healed yet?" Luke pressed, his voice growing more insistent.

It looked no different from when she had first arrived at Silver mane. Luke remembered the way she had been limping since then. Given the strength of her wolf, an injury like this should have healed within a day.

Ivy frowned at his questions. She didn't want to answer. Simply because the answer was yet another wound in her heart. One that she'd rather not visit, especially not in front of them.

"Answer, Ivy." Alpha Victor said, his tone firm, leaving no room for refusal.

Ivy closed her eyes for a brief moment, then opened them again, as if preparing herself for something solemn.

It didn't sit well with Luke. His frown deepened and something felt wrong. But before he could stop her, Ivy's cold voice rang in the room.

"Two years ago, my wolf went dormant. I lost the ability to shift and heal."