Chasing His Kickass Luna Back novel Chapter 18

Abby

Karl hands me a glass of water, and I take a few small sips.

I’m still a little drunk, but I feel better now that I’m away from the bar. Thank God Karl was able to teleport us out of there, even if it made me throw up the minute we appeared on his front lawn. Another blessing, in retrospect, considering I feel a lot less dizzy than I did before.

“Why were you there by yourself?” Karl asks, sinking into the chair across from me.

He sounds a little mad, but I know his anger isn’t directed at me. Not completely, at least. I’m surprised he didn’t tear that guy’s head off. If he had, I don’t think I would have felt the need to stop him. Just the memory of those possessive hands on me makes me shudder.

I’m draped across Karl’s leather couch, my clutch abandoned on the floor beside me, and my heels toppled over nearby. There are a few bruises on my wrist from where that guy grabbed me, and Karl’s eyes keep lingering there, his gaze darkening.

“Leah was with me,” I say.

“I didn’t see her.”

I shrug and place my glass on the ground. “She went off with some guy.”

“Good friend.”

“I told her it was okay,” I admit. She offered to stay with me, but I didn’t want to hold her back from having fun. It was stupid, but I thought I’d be alright by myself.

He shakes his head, his jaw clenched. “I’ve never seen you that drunk.”

“I don’t usually get that drunk.” And I’m not too interested in getting that drunk again. Feeling dizzy and slightly nauseous is never fun. Neither is throwing up on your ex-husbands perfectly manicured lawn while he holds your hair.

I decide to change the subject before he decides to scold me. “Why were you hanging around there?”

“For fun, I guess.” He doesn’t sound convinced. I wonder if someone else dragged him there. His cousin maybe.

“You seem like less of a workaholic than you used to be. I could never get you to go out back when we were married.”

I always wanted to go out dancing, or try a new restaurant, but he was usually too busy. It was always a special occasion when he actually had the time to do something for fun, and that was usually because of some sort of holiday.

“The pack was in a precarious position back then,” he says. “But things have stabilized. I have more time for things now than I used to.”

“But you’d still prefer to be working?” I guess.

He nods. “Yeah, usually.” He seems to weigh what he wants to say next. “I wanted to get more resources for the Alpha party," he admits.

“So, more work than play.”

“Yeah, but work isn’t everything. I know that now.” Something vulnerable comes across his face. He’s being open with me, more open than he has in a while. I’ve gone over the last months of our relationship a million times in my head, and a part of me could tell he was pulling away, even if I didn’t want to admit it to myself at the time. He stopped being open.

“Do you?”

“Yeah.” He looks down at his lap. “You’re just as important to me.” He meets my eyes, an earnest expression on his face. “More important.”

A part of me wants to believe him, but I don’t know how after everything.

“I looked into Olivia after what happened with your employees. I wanted to help you.”