Pursuing My Rejected Luna by Cara Anderson novel Chapter 191

Chapter 191

Jaxon

It’s a Tuesday morning just like any other Tuesday morning. Skye and Nicolai are somewhere in the main house- I can hear the distant sound of pack business, voices in the hall. Benji is on the nursery floor, working on something ambitious with a soft block. He’s been at it for twenty minutes and has not yet achieved his goal, but his commitment is absolute.

Like I said, just a normal day like any other normal day. Except this day is about to be anything but normal. It’s about to be monumental. I just needed a few minutes with my son, that last reminder of my “why” before I turn my world upside down.

Then I leave Benji in Rena’s care. I go to the west wing, close the door, and dial Noah.

He answers on the first ring. He always answers on the first ring when it’s me. I’d like to think it’s because he knows better than to keep his Alpha waiting. But knowing I have a problem he needs to solve is probably closer to the truth.

“Hey,” I say when he answers, clinging to one more moment of normalcy.

“Hey.” He draws at the word, full of suspicion. “What happened?”

“Nothing happened.” I huff, feigning offense. “I have something to tell you.”

“Okay.” Another pause, longer. “Is it big?”

“Yes.” I roll my eyes even though he can’t see it.

“I figured,” Noah says.

“What?”

“Jax.” His voice has that gentleness he uses with me when he thinks I’m being dense. Which is often. “I’ve been your Beta for ten years. I know what it sounds like when you’ve made a decision.”

“I haven’t made it yet.” I argue.

“Yes you have.” He insists.

He’s right. He’s always right. This is both his best quality and his most aggravating one.

“I want to talk to you about succession,” I jump right in before I can take it back. “And what Ironwood needs. And whether you’re ready.”

The silence that follows is the good kind-not the silence of shock, or resistance, or someone buying time to manage their response. The silence of someone who’s known this conversation was coming and is processing the fact that it’s finally here.

“Tell me what you’re thinking,” Noah says calmly, but I know him too well not to hear the excitement underneath the words.

I expected Noah to be surprised. To push back. To insist I think about it more, sleep on it, be sure. But of the two of us, I’m the one who’s shocked.

“I’ve been thinking about it too.” He tells me.

“Thinking about what exactly?”

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“Ironwood,” he says. “What it needs. What I could give it.” He’s quiet for a moment. “I love this pack. You know that I’ve given the last ten years to it and I’d give ten more.” A pause. “But I’ve also been watching you. Since before the divorce. Since before Skye, honestly. I’ve been watching you try to figure out what you want your future to look like. And I think-” He stops. “I think you figured it out. And I think the thing you figured out isn’t in Ironwood.”

“Noah-“I breathe, emotion choking off what I was going to say.

“I’m not saying this to push you,” he adds quickly. “I’m saying it because I want you to know I’ve seen it. That this isn’t coming from nowhere. But Jax-I need you to be sure. Not sure for Skye’s sake. Not sure because the situation made it the logical solution. Sure for your own sake.”

“It’s both,” Because that’s as honest as I can be. “Skye is my reason. She’ll always be my reason, But it’s what I want too.”

I say it without qualification. Without the hedge I’ve been putting on things for months while I circled this question and looked away from the center of it. Yes. Both are genuinely true.

“Then let’s figure out how to do this right.” He says.

After confirming a call for later when Noah and I both have more time to hash out all the logistics, I go find Skye in her office. She’s at her desk when I come in-the Luna work she’s built for herself here, real and ongoing. She looks up. Reads my face, and immediately stops what she’s doing.

“I called Noah,” I say before she can ask.

“Jaxon-” She starts and I know what she’s about to say.

“Don’t tell me I don’t have to,” I jump in. “I know I don’t have to. That’s not why I’m doing this.”

She holds my gaze. “Then why?”

“Because Ironwood was what I built when I didn’t know what I wanted for myself,” I say. “I had a pack because Alphas have packs. Because my father handed me one and I didn’t know what else to do with myself. It seemed like cleaning up his mess and protecting my family name was the obvious choice. I know myself better now.”

She’s staring at me in a way that tells me she’s reading my every microexpression. She hasn’t decided yet if she believes me, so I continue.

“I know what I want,” I infuse all the confidence I feel into my tone. “And I’m done finding reasons to not choose it. Not to choose you.”

A huge smile spread across her face and my heart skips a beat in my chest. I want to put that smile on her face every damn day for the rest of my life.

I’m not sure when I decided to move but the next thing I know, I’m pulling her into my arms and kissing her like both our lives depend on it. I pour everything I feel for into the kiss, my love, devotion, excitement at the thought of our life together, as messy and complicated as it is. Because there’s no version of this where I walk away with her thinking anything in this world matters to me more than she does.

When we finally break for air, both of us panting, I rest my forehead against hers. We stay like that for a minute, just breathing each other in, letting the bond spark between us. When we’ve both recovered, it’s Skye that speaks.

“Does Noah know what it means? What you’re asking of him?” She questions.

“We talked for an hour,” I explain. “He knows. He’s thought about it too. He’s ready. He’s been ready. I was the one who needed to get here.”

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“Jaxon.” Her voice is careful. “This is-”

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know what it is,” My voice is firm, certain. “I know what I’m giving up. But I also know what I’m getting in return.” I lean forward slightly. “I’m done waiting until it’s less scary to say it.”

She pulls me even closer and presses her lips to mine.

Doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t have to.

The kiss says it all.

Cara Anderson Author

Thank you for reading!

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