From Rejected Mate to Luna (Julia White) novel Chapter 187

Matthew’s POV

Moonlight filtered through the thin curtains of our temporary quarters, casting silver patterns across Julia’s sleeping face. Her breathing had finally even out after seventy–two hours of non–stop work managing the Star Shadow pack’s viral outbreak. Even in sleep, the slight furrow between her brows remain a testament to the burden she’d taken on.

I traced my thumb gently over that wrinkle, wishing I could smooth away her worries as easily. Her fingers clutched at my t–shirt unconsciously, as if afra

might disappear while she slept.

‘She’s working even in her dreams,” I whispered to Hati, feeling a dull ache in my chest. “For a pack that once rejected her.”

Hati rumbled in my mind: She was born to lead. Even those who rejected her can see it now.

I studied her face in the moonlight, pale from exhaustion but somehow more beautiful to me than ever. Her skin felt slightly warmer than usual – a sign the strain she’d been under. My phone screen lit up on the nightstand, displaying a message from James about the situation back at Spring Valley and a carefully worded question about when I might return. I flipped the phone over, focusing entirely on the woman in my arms.

Julia shifted in her sleep, a small moan escaping her lips as her shoulders tensed visibly. I gently turned her onto her stomach, reaching for the small bott of essential oil I’d brought from Spring Valley – one of the few personal items I’d packed. The mixture, specially formulated for werewolf healing propertie was something our pack herbalist had perfected over generations.

“Relax, love,” I murmured, though I knew she couldn’t hear me. I poured the warm oil into my palm and began to methodically massage her shoulders and back. My fingers found each knot of tension, working it loose with practiced pressure.

Years as an Alpha had taught me to sense where attention was needed most. My fingers traced down her spine, feeling the tension beneath each vertebra. When I hit a particularly tight spot near her left shoulder blade, Julia sighed in her sleep, the sound sending Hati into a contented growl within my mind.

“I love you more than I can express,” I whispered, my fingertips circling gently at the nape of her neck where a mating mark should be – where my mark

should be.

Julia made a soft sound of contentment in her sleep, a sound so innocent yet so alluring it made my heart race. I continued my ministrations, keeping my touch professional and controlled despite Hati’s growing restlessness. My wolf wanted more – wanted completion of the bond we’d begun but never

finalized.

My fingers lingered at that unmarked spot on her neck, and the familiar anxiety that had haunted me for over a year resurfaced. Hati paced restlessly in my mind, eager for us to complete the ritual that would make Julia irrevocably ours.

“We understand why she hesitates,” I reminded my wolf silently, though it did little to calm the agitation in my blood.

I remembered the first time we’d made love, how the current of destiny had surged between us with the recognition: She is mine. And the flicker of fear in her eyes that transformed into surprise, then hesitation.

“Give me time,” she’d asked. And of course I had, understanding the trauma she carried from being rejected by Nathan, her first fated mate. I’d been patient

Moon Goddess knows, every full moon Hati howled within me, and considerate, never pushing her to accept my mark. Not because I didn’t yearn for it desperate to complete our connection.

A year of waiting. A year of restraint. A year of anxiety that someday she might change her mind and leave me behind. I drew a deep breath, continuing to massage her tense muscles, feeling them gradually relax under my touch.

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5:27 pm

Chapter 187

PP

Watching her sleep, understanding struck me with sudden clarity. Seeing how she’d thrown herself into caring for the Star Shadow pack these past days, risking exposure to the virus, working herself to exhaustion – I finally comprehended another layer to her reluctance to complete our bond.

.་

It wasn’t just the shadow of Nathan’s rejection. It was a deeper sense of duty. If she accepted my mark and fully became Luna of Spring Valley, she wouldn be able to give herself so completely to her birth pack, as she was doing now. The mark wasn’t just ceremony; it was a soul–deep realignment of pack

allegiance.

Though she had fled this place, I could see plainly how deeply she cared for these people. Her family had rallied around her when they learned the truth. Her medical skills had saved countless pack members, including the man who had once rejected her. Her connection here ran bone–deep.

Her heart is torn between two places, Hati observed quietly.

“Yes,” agreed, gently combing my fingers through her hair. “And we shouldn’t add to her burden.”

The realization brought a strange peace, easing the tightness that had lived in my chest for months. My anxiety about her hesitation suddenly seemed selfish. What Julia needed wasn’t pressure but understanding – not possession but support to fulfill her inner calling.

I glanced out the window at the silver moonlight spilling like quicksilver across the treetops. Soon, I would need to make a decision – stay here to support Julia or return to my own pack to fulfill my responsibilities. Two Alphas couldn’t remain away from their territories indefinitely; it was a hard truth of our

world

– a mix of antiseptic, medication, and her own Julia stirred in my arms, making a contented sound as she burrowed her face against my neck. Her scent unique floral notes – was a contradiction that perfectly represented who she was: healer and leader, gentle and strong, almost–Luna of Spring Valley and temporary Alpha of Ster Shadow.

I made my decision then: tonight was not the time to speak of separation. Julia had already shouldered too much; she needed rest, support, and security. The difficult conversation about our future could wait, at least until this crisis had passed.

‘I’ll be here as long as you need me,” I promised against her hair, even as I recognized that promise might be impossible to keep indefinitely.

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