His Abandoned Luna, Her Disabled Alpha

CHAPTER 21

Ivy never questioned these traditions. She had attended countless feasts as a kid. Enjoyed the dessert, hummed along the music and offered playful smiles to the grieving ones, hoping to make them feel better.

Tonight, however, Ivy wasn't that same naive girl anymore. She came to loathe the tradition that expected her to put on smiles merely hours after her grandma was put to rest.

Every sound grated against her nerves, cutting them raw under her cold skin. The music was deafening, lights made her dizzy and her stomach churned with the aroma of food lingering in the air.

Ivy's gaze moved helplessly across the courtyard. She was well aware of her state. She couldn't entertain guests like Emma and Luna Doris, couldn't bury her emotions beneath composure like Luke and even after years of surviving hell, couldn't bring herself to be unfeeling like Alpha Victor.

Knowing her limits, Ivy didn't even try to blend into the happening atmosphere.

She kept her gaze lowered and quietly slipped through the gathering until she found a relatively quiet spot. Hidden from wandering eyes, she sank into the chair and wrapped her arms around herself. Ivy closed her eyes and heaved a long sigh.

For the first time since grandma's death, Ivy allowed herself a moment of rest.

However, the rest didn't last long. A few minutes later, the bright light falling over her was blocked by a shadow. The faint scent of comfort washed over her and Ivy's eyes moved behind the closed lids.

"Why are you sitting here all alone?" The gentle voice made her entire body twich back to life.

Ivy slowly lifted her head and found luna Doris standing before her. For a fleeting moment, genuine surprise flickered across Ivy's face.

She hadn't expected anyone to come looking for her.

Ivy didn't answer. Faced with her blank stare, Luna Doris' smile faltered ever so slightly. The awkwardness lingered for a moment before Luna Doris tried again.

"Aren't you going to eat something?" Her voice was gentle with concern.

"I'm not hungry." Ivy answered, her voice was unintentionally stiff.

"You still need to eat. It's a feast for your grandmother."

Without waiting for her response, Luna Doris extended a plate towards her. The heavy weight settled in her unprepared palms. It was still warm.

Ivy looked at her bony hands holding the plate. There was a little bit of everything on it. Some she liked and some that she didn't.

Before leaving, Luna Doris reached forward and lightly brushed her cheek. The gesture was so familiar it made her heart jolt.

"I've got a busy night ahead of me, so I can't keep track of all you picky kids." She teased softly. "Eat something. And if you feel up to it, go talk to some people. There are even a few handsome young men wandering around tonight."

Ivy nodded wordlessly. Neither of them expected a heart to heart. That bridge had collapsed long ago. The fact that Luna Doris remember to being her food at all was surprising enough.

Once she was alone again, Ivy stared at the untouched plate. She poked at the food with a fork, searching for even the smallest trace of appetite.

It took several minutes before she finally convinced herself to take a bite.

Just as she lifted the fork, a snarky voice cut through the air.

"Luna Doris still has a soft spot for you, huh?"

A cloud of expensive perfume hit her in the face first, then came the memories from highschool. Those paper balls on her back, the glue on her chair, itching spray in her shoes, the torn gym clothes in her locker. The days when she'd been too scared to enter the bathroom alone.

Everything came flooding in and caught Ivy unprepared. The little appetite Ivy had struggled to find vanished instantly.

Slowly, she lowered her fork and looked up. A long shadow stretched from Ivy's feet and at the end of it was a woman in long b

Ivy went down memory lane to find her name. It didn't take long though. Aside from the awful things Juan did to her in highschool, those big blonde curls had also left a lasting impression on her.

"Hey." Juan crossed her arms over her chest and glared down at her. "You've not gone mute, have you? I'm talking to you!"

Her chin lifted in an arrogant arc and eyes full of the same superiority Ivy remembered all too well.

"What do you want?" Ivy asked, clearing her throat when her voice came out hoarse.

Juan laughed as if she heard a joke. "What could you possibly have that I'd want, you loser?"

The girls standing behind her laughed. That's when Ivy noticed that Juan was not alone. A few girls of similar age, some familiar faces and some new had gathered behind Juan at some point.

Juan took her silence as weakness. Her sharp gaze moved over Ivy's bony figure like a blade trying to scrape a layer off.

"Regardless, we used to be best friends during middle school, didn't we? Didn't we spent a good chunk of high school together too? How come you didn't tell us you were back? We couldn't wait to see you!"

Before Ivy could think of a response or an excuse to leave, Juan's gaze landed on her hand. Her eyes narrowed briefly before brightening with curiousity.

"Oh, is that a scar?"

The laughter stopped at once. Juan's question immediately caught everyone's attention.

Juan leaned forward slightly. "How did you get that? It must have happened at the palace, right? I heard from someone that you worked there like a servant. Is it true?"

The girls at the back exchanged excited looks. Suddenly, Ivy was attacked with questions from all sides.

"Was it difficult in the palace?" One of the girls asked. "Is the royal family really that terrible?"

"Did they make you scrub floors?"

Another girl chimed in with a subtle laugh, "Come on, tell us something."

The questions came one after the other but Ivy wasn't given a chance to speak.

Juan seemed to have found something entertaining. She dragged over a chair and sat down. The other girls gathered around too. Ivy was left with no room to move.

Suddenly the air felt stale and heavy. Ivy drew in heavy breaths but it felt like lead stuffed into her lungs. Subconsciously, her grip on the plate tightened. Invisible cracks started to form on the edges of the beautiful ceramic.