Pursuing My Rejected Luna by Cara Anderson novel Chapter 296

Ch. 66

Noah

I really fucked up!

That thought keeps pinging around in my brain so long, I’m starting to feel dizzy. Or maybe that’s just a natural reaction to the total cluster I’ve made of my life. Dizziness, nausea, a general feeling of impending doom. That sounds about right. Either way, I’m screwed.

Because now that I’ve realized I’ve been fighting fire with fire, punishing Cassandra for what she did to me, hurting her the way she hurt me, instead of facing my feelings so I could heal and move on, there’s no going back. And that means I’m going to have to talk about my feelings. With her.

And what a disaster that’s going to be. Because apparently, I’m not all that in touch with my feelings. If I was, maybe I wouldn’t be in this colossal mess in the first place. I drop my head into my hands and groan. Because that thought is depressing as fuck.

“So, how did it go?” The sound of Cole’s voice sends a jolt so violent through me, I nearly tumble out of my chair. “Based on the fact you look like something a wolf chewed up and spit back out, I’m going to guess not so well.”

“Fucking hell!” The curse comes out a little too high-pitched and I have to clear my throat before continuing my rant. “I swear to Goddess I’m going to put a fucking bell on you. You’re like one of those sneaky, evil cats. Always popping up out of nowhere to scare the shit out of people.”

He just rolls his eyes at me and smirks. “What would the pack think if they knew their Alpha was scared of an innocent little kitten? Is your big, bad Alpha wolf scared of an itty, bitty kitty?” The fact he’s addressing me with the tone used with a toddler makes me want to punch him.

“Shut up!” I settle for grumbling at him instead. “You and I both know cats are the spawn of Satan and there’s nothing innocent about them. Anyway, how did what go?”

“Your conversation with Cassandra this morning, of course.” His smirk returns at the bemused expression on my

face.

“How did you-, you know what, nevermind. I don’t even want to know.” I shake my head, deciding his explanation will only prolong this conversation I already don’t want to have. “Fine. It was fine.”

“Was it?” He pokes at me harder, that shit-eating grin never leaving his face. “Because I have it on good authority you barely stuck around for two minutes because hauling ass out of her office like your tail was on fire.”

“Are you stalking me?” I growl. “That’s it, isn’t it? You’re stalking me, asshole.”

“Nah, I don’t like you enough to stalk you.” He teases. “Just happened to be walking by.”

“Mmhmm,” I mutter disbelievingly. “Two minutes is better than nothing. It was a start, okay.”

He drops into the chair across from my desk and props his feet up on it, a move he knows I hate. But I can tell by the twinkle in his eye he’s goading me, so I refuse to react. When he sees I’m not taking the bait, his expression turns serious.

“She’s different since Liam’s episode,” he says.

“How so?”

He thinks about it-actually thinks, which is a rarity for Cole. “Less braced,” he says finally. “Like she’s been waiting for something to go wrong and now that it has, and she actually got support instead of being treated like a

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problem to be solved or too much trouble, she’s-” He pauses, finding his words. “More relaxed, I guess. Like maybe she’s finally starting to believe the world won’t always chew her up and spit her out.”

Something uncomfortable slithers through my chest at his words. I didn’t know Cassandra all that well when she was dating Jaxon, always more focused on Skye than her older sister. But I knew, at least peripherally, that she’d had some struggles at home. Then her very public embarrassment when her sister mated her boyfriend.

Is that why she did what she did? Because she felt she had to fight tooth and claw for a life where she and her son were protected. It’s not an excuse, but maybe there’s more to her than I ever let myself consider before.

“And Liam?” I ask the question I’ve been studiously avoiding since the moment I knew he’d recover fully.

Cole looks at his hands. “He asks about you,” he says. “Whether you’re coming by to see him. Every day, apparently, since you left the medical wing and never went back. He’s resting at home now, you know, in case you’re interested.”

Home. Is that what this is to him now? To her? I do not examine what that thought does to me.

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