Pursuing My Rejected Luna by Cara Anderson novel Chapter 109

Chapter 109

Jaxon

“I need backup,” I told Noah when I called him last night. “Moral support,” I said.

What I really need is someone to stop me from doing something stupid when I see Skye and Nicolai together. Something more stupid than last time, that is.

Noah agreed without asking for more explanation. He’s been doing that a lot lately-reading between the lines and showing up anyway. That’s what best friends do, I guess. Not that I’ve returned the favor much in recent years.

We’re barely through the first security checkpoint when he says it. “She’s happy here, Jax. With him.”

I keep my eyes on the road winding through Woolf estate grounds. “You don’t know that. You haven’t even seen her yet.”

“I don’t need to. I can read you.” Noah’s voice is gentle in the way it only gets when he’s about to say something I don’t want to hear. “I can tell by the way that you’ve been brooding for weeks that you know it too. You’re just not ready to admit it. Besides, I heard through the grapevine that Nicolai Woolf killed her attacker with his bare hands. If that’s true, then there is no reason for her to still be there but she is.”

My hands tighten on the steering wheel. “She’s my mate. The mother of my child.”

“Jax, how many times do we need to have this conversation before it sinks in? You may still share a mate bond, but you’re already divorced. It’s only a matter of time until she wants the bond severed too. You need to prepare yourself for that.” Noah corrects quietly. “You treated her like shit for three years. Now another man is giving her everything you should have. And they have a history, a friendship to build upon. You can’t be surprised she’s falling for him.”

I want to lash out. To remind him he shared a friendship with Skye too, but when it mattered, she chose me. Because we share a bond. But I don’t respond. Because the truth is, he’s right. And there’s nothing to say that isn’t an admission.

As usual, Skye is waiting in the sunroom when we arrive. And I see immediately that something has changed since my last visit.

She was glowing before-pregnancy suits her, I’ve accepted that. In fact, I haven’t stopped thinking about how I should have kept in my bed from that very first night until I put my pup in her then doted on her every single day of her pregnancy and motherhood after. It should have been my privilege.

But this is different. She’s radiant in a way that goes beyond physical. Something settled and bright behind her eyes that wasn’t there a month ago. She looks happy. Not performing happiness. Not managing happiness carefully so it doesn’t disturb anyone. Actually, genuinely happy.

“Jaxon. Noah.” She smiles, and it’s warm but easy. No tension. No bracing. “It’s good to see you both.”

Noah steps forward to embrace her carefully, mindful of her belly, and she accepts it naturally. “You look wonderful, Skye.”

“I feel wonderful. Tired, but wonderful.” It’s not a lie. I can see it from here.

I’m still standing near the door. I take a few tentative steps closer and that’s when I smell it. Smell him, all over her. My Alpha lurches forward before I can stop him, intent on destroying anything and anyone between him and his mate. It’s only through sheer force of will that I rein him in before he can follow through,

“You do look well,” I just barely manage to keep the growl from my voice. “Really well.”

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“Thank you.” She smiles, a real smile that’s like the sun emerging from behind the clouds.

ook away before she can see the pain in my eyes, focusing on my surroundings instead. The sunroom is beautifully arranged-comfortable furniture, afternoon light streaming through the glass. The pillow positioned at her back. The book on the side table with a bookmark. The small dish of crackers she’s been eating throughout the pregnancy.

Someone pays attention. Someone makes sure everything is exactly right. And then Nicolai appears in the doorway.

He doesn’t knock. Doesn’t announce himself. Just checks-a quick, comprehensive assessment of the room that lands on Skye and stays there.

“Alpha Vale. Noah.” A nod to each of us. Then, to Skye: “How are you feeling?”

He doesn’t mean physically. He’s checking she’s okay with me, that I’m behaving myself.

“Good. I’m good, Nico.” She grants him a sheepish grin and I dig my nails into the palms of my hands to keep from roaring my frustration.

Nico? The familiarity of the nickname guts me. We never made it that far. She was my wife and she never felt close enough to me to use a nickname.

“Why don’t I bring tea?” He’s already turning. “The ginger blend Dr. Chernov recommended.”

He’s gone before she can answer. And I watch Skye smile at his retreating back. Soft. Involuntary. The kind of smile you can’t manufacture.

That smile used to be for me. Once. A lifetime ago. In the first months of our marriage, when she still believed I might love her.

Before I spent three years killing it. 2

“See what?” I grunt, prepared to deny it. But it’s not really a question.

“The way he looks at her. Like she’s the sun.” Noah’s voice is careful. “Like he can’t quite believe she’s real.”

I watch Nicolai reach out and tuck a strand of hair behind Skye’s ear, gentle and natural, and she doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t stiffen. Leans into it, barely perceptibly.

“You never looked at her like that,” Noah says. “Not once in three years.”

I know. I know I didn’t. I was too busy being afraid of what I felt to let it show, to give up control to the bond between us. And now another man is showing it without hesitation. Without pride getting in the way. And she’s responding to it the way she always deserved to be responded to.

Movement from the corner of my eye draws my attention and I turn just in time to see Nicolai Woolf lean in and place a gentle, reverent kiss on Skye’s lips. A kiss she leans into, smiles even as he’s kissing her.

And my entire world shatters.

Cara Anderson Author

Thank you for reading! I will be traveling back home to Hawaii and will not be able to update

tomorrow. I will be back to regular updates the day after!

啗 24

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