From Rejected Mate to Luna (Julia White) novel Chapter 137

Chapter 137

Julia’s POV

I made it back to my dorm safely, fingers trembling slightly as I texted Matthew to let him know I was okay. Leaning against my closed door, I took a deep breath, the revelation hitting me with sudden clarity.

The only real danger in my life was Nathan.

All this time, I’d been running–from my pack, into college life, and considering Matthew’s suggestion of completing our bond and escaping to Spring Valley,

But running hadn’t solved anything. If anything, it had made everything worse, giving Nathan more opportunities to cross boundaries. First with unwanted

gifts, then the ambush, and now…

Kaia paced anxiously inside me. What will he try next?

Sinking onto my bed, I scrolled through the security measures Matthew had sent–campus patrol numbers, safe walking routes, the new lock he’d installed on my window. All necessary precautions, but they felt like Band–Aids on a much deeper wound.

“We can’t keep running,” I whispered to my wolf. “It only makes us weaker.”

The next few days passed in a strange rhythm of normalcy and heightened awareness. I attended my classes, took notes, participated in discussions. But during every free moment, I found myself in Matthew’s faculty apartment–a sanctuary where Nathan couldn’t reach us.

It wasn’t what I’d expected. When two wolves with our level of attraction spent time alone, I’d assumed we’d barely leave the bedroom. But more often than not, we simply… existed together. He’d grade papers while I studied anatomy charts. We’d cook dinner side by side, his hand occasionally brushing mine. Sometimes we’d just lie on his couch, my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

“This feels right,” he murmured one evening, his fingers threading through my hair. “Having you here.”

I nodded against him, surprised at how safe I felt. How seen.

Friday afternoon came faster than I wanted. My weekend pack visit loomed before me–necessary but unwelcome. After my final lecture, I spotted Matthew waiting outside the building, his tall frame leaning against his car.

“You didn’t have to come,” I said, though my wolf preened at his presence.

“I ended office hours early.” His eyes tracked over me, as if memorizing every detail. “Couldn’t let you leave without saying goodbye properly.”

Back at his apartment, he pulled me into a tight embrace, burying his face in my hair and inhaling deeply. His arms tightened around me, almost desperately, as if trying to memorize the feel of my body against his. I could feel his heart hammering against my cheek.

“Just thinking about not seeing you for two days makes me feel…” He didn’t finish, but a small tremor ran through his body. His scent changed subtly–notes of pine and anxiety mixing together in a way that made my wolf whine.

I pulled back just enough to see his face. His eyes had darkened, pupils dilated with an emotion that mirrored the ache spreading through my own chest. This separation, however brief, felt wrong on a primal level. We’d found each other after so much pain, and every minute apart seemed like tempting fate.

“I know,” I whispered, reaching up to trace the line of his jaw. “I feel it too.”

My wolf pushed against my skin, wanting to be closer to him, to mark him with my scent so thoroughly that no one would mistake who he belonged to. The intensity of that possessive feeling should have frightened me, but instead it felt like coming home.

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9:04 pm

Chapter 137

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I pressed myself against him, sliding my hands beneath his shirt to feel the warmth of his skin. Our bodies fit together perfectly, like pieces of a puzzle finally finding their match. My fingers traced the ridges of muscle along his back as I tilted my face toward his.

“Then let’s make it count,” I breathed against his lips, feeling something electric and inevitable building between us.

What followed was different from our previous times together–more urgent, more primal. My nails scraped down his back as he pinned me against the wall,

his teeth grazing my shoulder. We barely made it to the bedroom, a trail of discarded clothes marking our path.

Afterward, lying tangled in his sheets, a strange fear crept over me. Not of Matthew, but of everything else–Nathan, my pack’s expectations, the unknown future stretching before us. It settled in my chest, making my breath catch.

Acting on instinct, I leaned over and pressed my lips to Matthew’s neck, right where a mating mark would go. I could feel his pulse racing beneath my mouth, the potential of what we could be just a bite away.

Matthew went completely still. “Julia,” he said carefully, his voice tight with restraint. “Are you asking to complete the bond?”

Reality crashed back. I pulled away, shaking my head. “No, I… I don’t know why I did that.”

But I did know. It was fear–fear that all this happiness was temporary, that something would snatch it away. Making him mine permanently seemed like the solution, a fortress against the world.

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