Pursuing My Rejected Luna by Cara Anderson novel Chapter 105

Chapter 105

Nicolai

With Tatiana dealt with, I resume my search for Skye and find her on the terrace as the sun begins its descent. She’s sitting in her usual chair, both hands resting on her protruding belly. Her expression when she looks up at me is complicated. Guarded in a way she hasn’t been recently.

She saw Tatiana. Watched whatever she watched and drew her own conclusions. Vale’s words ring in my ears again: She’ll see the same pattern.

I pull a chair close and sit. “I have something to tell you. Two things, actually.”

“Alright.” She replies warily.

“The investigation is complete.” I watch her face carefully. “The men who attacked you- the trafficking ring’s connections, the people they hired-it’s been handled. The threat is gone.”

Skye can’t hide the hope in her voice. “Gone? As in…”

“As in you’re safe now. You could go back to your father’s pack if you wanted to. Or anywhere else. The reason you came here has been resolved. Neither that man nor any of his associates will ever hurt you again.”

“Oh.” She processes this quietly. “You didn’t have to tell me that.” She says the words as if that’s the treatment she’s come to expect, being kept in the dark.

“I know.” I acknowledge.

“You could have kept it to yourself. Kept me here without knowing I had a choice.”

“I know that too.” I hold her gaze, willing her to believe me. “That’s exactly why I’m telling you. You’ve had enough of your choices made for you by men who thought they knew better. I’m not going to be another one.”

Something shifts in her expression. Opens slightly. “What’s the second thing?”

“Tatiana is leaving today. And I owe you an apology for allowing her visit to happen the way it did.” I lean forward. “I should have been clearer with her from the moment she arrived. Instead I was trying to manage her carefully for political reasons, and I let it go too far. Whatever you saw or heard you deserved better from me.”

Skye is quiet for a moment and I can see the wheels turning in her mind. She wants to ask me about her but she’s still deciding if she’s brave enough. If she decides not, I’ll tell her anyway. She deserves that much from me.

“Will you tell me what happened between you and Tatiana? Actually happened, not the version she’d have me believe.” She finally poses the question.

“We had a brief relationship a few years ago. It was casual on both sides-or so l’ believed. It ended when I realized she wanted more than I was willing to give.” I don’t look away. “I haven’t been with her since. I won’t be. But I handled having her here poorly, and you saw things that probably reminded you of things you’ve tried to move past. It was thoughtless of me and I’m so sorry for that.”

Skye exhales slowly, all the tension leaving her body. She opens her mouth to speak but I continue before she has a chance, wanting to get the words out before I decide not to say them at all.

“You can go back to your father’s pack if you want,” I say again, needing her to hear it. “You’re not in danger anymore. There are no conditions here. No expectations. It has to be your choice-genuinely your choice. I won’t keep you here under false pretenses. But just know, Skye, I’d love you to stay.”

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She stares at me for so long I have to resist the urge to squirm like a schoolboy. I’m sure she’ll decide to go so! start to prepare myself for goodbye.

“Okay,” she says quietly, lifting on her tiptoes to place a soft kiss to the corner of my lips.

Just that.

But it’s everything.

Cara Anderson Author

Thank you for reading!

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