Chasing His Kickass Luna Back novel Chapter 262

Karl

The front door creaks loudly as I push it open, the sound echoing off the walls of the foyer to my all-too-quiet house.

I’ve just come home from the city, with Abby’s words still fresh on my mind. Mistake. Shouldn’t have happened. Never happening again. It feels like tiny knives being stuck under my skin over and over again.

All I ever did was try to make her realize that I still cared—that I still loved her. And yet, no matter how hard I tried, she pushed me away.

I toss my keys onto the small table by the door with a sigh. My wolf stirs inside of me, like a persistent nudge in the back of my mind. He wants me to go back, but I won’t. Not now, at least. Maybe not ever. God, I don’t know.

But right now, I don’t have time to think about Abby. My pack needs me. When I step into my office, there’s already a pile of papers waiting for me on my desk. It’s a welcome distraction right now, and before I know it, I’ve been lost in paperwork for hours.

By the time I even look up from the pile of papers sitting in front of me, the afternoon light has already waned. It’s the tail end of sunset now, with nothing but a few golden rays peeking out over the pink horizon.

Suddenly, there’s a knock at the door. Sharp, insistent. I know who it is before he even speaks. Marcus, my Beta. A man who knows me almost as well as I know myself, maybe better in moments like these.

“Karl?” His voice is muffled through the wood, but I can already hear the concern in his voice.

“Come in,” I call out, more curtly than I intend.

The door swings open and Marcus steps inside, his eyes quickly taking in my disheveled state.

“You look like hell,” he says, never one to mince words. He takes a seat opposite me, his eyes scanning the pile of papers on my desk.

“I feel like it, too,” I admit with a wry chuckle, leaning back and letting out a breath that I didn’t know I was holding.

Marcus is silent for a moment, his gaze steady, before he speaks. “The pack’s talking, Karl.”

I bark a short, humorless laugh. “What else is new?”

“You’re distracted. It’s Abby, isn’t it?” He isn’t asking; he knows.

I look away. “I’m fine. It’s over with Abby. That’s all there is to it.”

He nods, accepting my words at face value, but I can see the gears turning behind his steely gaze.

“Listen, Karl,” he says, his voice taking on that tone that I know all too well, that tone that says that I’m about to receive some counsel that I—more often than not—sorely need. “With the Alpha party coming up, it would be a good look for you to show up with a date.”

A date. The word hits me like a ton of bricks. Abby was supposed to be my date, but now, I’m not so sure.

“And why would I need that?” I ask, cocking my head to the side.

He sighs. “Look, with your brother on the verge of waking up, you want all the strength in your approval ratings you can get,” he says. “And, as draconian as it sounds, an Alpha with a family on the horizon is going to be better off than one without. And given your recent ratings, I think you’d want that edge over him.”

Marcus watches me, waiting for a response, but I remain silent, unsure of what to say. He’s completely right; if I want to hold my position as Alpha over my brother, then I need what my brother doesn’t have.

A family.

But my family was supposed to be Abby. Look, I know I fucked up, but I thought I made it up to her. And yet, after everything, she’s still pushing me away.

“Just think about it,” Marcus urges as though sensing my trepidation. “It would be good for you, good for the pack. Your approval ratings are slipping; this could bolster them.”