Pursuing My Rejected Luna by Cara Anderson novel Chapter 282

Ch.52

Cassandra

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“Are you still in love with him?

I expect Jack to bolt when I say yes. He doesn’t He just nods, doesn’t even flinch. And if he’s rethinking his position on this whole coffee date, his face gives nothing away. He just sits there calmly, receiving whatever information I offer.

“I’m telling you because you deserve to know what you’re dealing with before you ask me to coffee,” I explain. “I’m not-1 don’t play games with people’s feelings anymore. I’ll admit I used to and I was very good at it. But I’ve learned my lesson and I’m done with it.”

He’s quiet again. I watch him think-doing my best to read the thoughts in his silence, understanding whether he’s convincing himself of something or still processing the facts. But his face gives nothing away.

“Coffee,” he says finally. “Still yes?”

I stare at him. “After all that?”

“I’m not here for a project, Cassie,” he says. “I’m not trying to fix you or be the rebound or prove something. I know who you are and I’m asking if you want coffee.” He holds my gaze. “So. Still yes?”

I can’t help but grin at him and nod. “Still yes,” I say.

We go to the small café at the edge of the pack’s commercial district. The conversation is easier than I expected. He asks questions that aren’t about Noah, which I appreciate more than I can say about the work assignments I like best, about friends I’ve made, and especially about Liam. He listens the way he listened in the office, like the answers actually matter.

I answer honestly. It’s becoming a habit. Who even am I?

He tells me things too-without being asked, which I notice. He’s from the eastern territory originally, a smaller pack, came to Ironwood four years ago when his Alpha dissolved the pack after a succession dispute. He’s been on the eastern boundary team since his first month because he knows that territory better than most. He talks about his work the way I talk about mine, like it’s something he’s good at and actually proud of.

“You’re not what I expected,” he says at one point.

“What did you expect?” I snort. Because, really, that’s not even a little surprising.

He considers it. “Someone more polished,” he says. “More-I don’t know, someone who has it all together, I guess.”

Now I straight up laugh out loud. “Sorry to disappoint you. But I am definitely not that girl.”

“I’m not disappointed at all.” He reaches for my hand across the table and I let him take it. “I didn’t mean it as a bad thing. It’s just, you have this reputation in the pack. I’ve never heard the full story-I don’t care much for gossip-but people talk about what you did before. They also talk about how you’ve been since. I expected someone who’d figured it all out. Made peace with

everything.”

“I haven’t made peace with anything,” Sadness seeps into my tone.

“I know.” He lifts my chin and looks at me steadily. “That’s what I mean. You’re still in the middle of it. Still figuring it out.” He leans back and takes a drink of his coffee. “That’s more interesting.”

I consider whether to say what I’m thinking. Then say it anyway.

“Most people find it easier when someone’s already resolved,” I offer a wry smile. “Less drama.”

“Most people want things to be easy,” he smiles back. “I’ve never had a lot of use for easy.”

I believe him.

1/3

ch 12

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We talk for a while longer about nothing important, which is frankly a relief. Then he drives me home and walks me to the door. He kisses my cheek, not even trying for my lips, and I’m glad. That’s something I’m definitely not ready for.

I go back to my room with my head full of thoughts of our “date.” It definitely wasn’t part of my plan for the day and I’m trying

to understand how I feel about it.

Not elated-but I wasn’t expecting to feel elated I’m not a teenager on her first date. But not guilty either, which surprises me slightly. In fact, I’m kind of proud of myself.

I did something I’ve never done before. I told the truth before someone could decide whether they wanted me. All of the truth. The parts that reflect badly and the parts that are still bleeding and the part where I told him I’m still in love with someone else.

And he wanted me anyway. I’m not really sure what to do with that, but it feels good.

Liam is asleep when I enter the room, his small face slack and peaceful in the way that only happens in deep sleep. I sit in the chair and watch him breathe for a while.

I think about what it means to be moving toward something instead of only holding ground.

I’ve been in survival mode for so long. And it wasn’t making things worse, not giving Noah more ammunition to hurt me with, and not pretending to be contrite so obviously that it looked fakey. It was what I needed when I arrived with cracked ribs and nothing else. I didn’t have the bandwidth for anything else.

But I’ve been merely surviving for months. And tonight felt like a step forward.

Not toward Noah-I know what that road looks like and I know it’s closed. But toward something. The possibility that I could sit across from a decent person and tell him the whole truth and have him say still yes and mean it.

That’s not nothing. And at this point, anything is better than nothing.

I’m halfway through getting ready for bed when my phone buzzes: Same time Thursday?

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