Pursuing My Rejected Luna by Cara Anderson novel Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Skye

Diana is waiting when I arrive at my father’s pack, standing on the front steps of the pack house with a warm smile that makes my chest tight.

“Skye.” She hugs me like I’m family. Like I matter. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Thank you for having me.”

“Always.” She pulls back, studying my face. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m managing.” I hedge.

Dalton is in the sitting room when we arrive and he stands when he sees me. I’m struck by how different he looks. Thinner, his face drawn, shadows under his eyes that speak of sleepless nights and trauma.

But he’s home. Safe.

“Skye.” He crosses the room in three strides and pulls me into a hug that’s almost desperate. “Thank you. I don’t even know how to begin to thank you.”

“You don’t have to-”

“Yes, I do.” He pulls back, his hands still on my shoulders. “I don’t know who you called in to help, but they’re powerful. The guards were terrified when the release order came through. One of them actually apologized to me. Said there’d been a terrible mistake.”

I smile despite myself. “I’m just glad you’re safe.”

“More than safe. I’m free because of you.” Dalton’s voice cracks slightly. “Whatever you need, whenever you need it-I owe you.”

Diana watches us with an expression of gratitude and determination that tells me she’s already working

on her promise.

I find out how true that is at a private dinner with my father, just the three of us. Marco Winters sits at the head of the table, looking older than I remember. More gray in his dark hair. More lines around his eyes.

“Your daughter needs our support,” Diana says, breaking the awkward silence between us. Her voice is firm, leaving no room for argument. “And we’re going to give it to her.”

Marco looks at me, really looks at me, for the first time since I arrived. “Is it true? You want to leave your

mate?”

I meet his stare head on. “Yes.”

“The pack will talk.”

“Let them talk.” I set down my fork and face him. “I can’t stay in a marriage that’s destroying me.”

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Something in my voice must convince him, because his expression softens. Just slightly. But enough.

“What do you need?”

The question nearly undoes me.

“Somewhere to go,” I say quietly. “When I leave. Temporary sanctuary until I can figure out next steps.

“You’ll stay here,” Marco says immediately. “For as long as you need.”

“I’ll need your public support. Your backing when the pack council questions my decision. Without it, I’ll be labeled a rogue. Cast out.”

“You’ll have it.”

“And I’ll need you to stand with me when I ask Jaxon for the divorce. To show him that I’m not alone. That I have allies who will fight for me.”

He’s quiet for a long moment. I can see the calculation in his eyes-weighing the scandal against his duty as a father. The pack’s reputation against my wellbeing.

“I wanted better for you,” he says finally, his voice rough. “I wanted you to be happy. To have what Diana

and I have.”

Not my mother. Diana.

She reaches over and takes his hand. They exchange a look that speaks of years of partnership, of

genuine love.

Everything I don’t have with Jaxon.

“So did I,” I admit. “But that’s not what I got. And I can’t keep pretending it might still happen.”

He nods slowly. “Then we’ll support you. Whatever you need. Whenever you’re ready.”

The relief is overwhelming. I have to press my napkin to my eyes to stop the sudden tears.

“Thank you,” I whisper. “Thank you.”

We spend the rest of dinner discussing logistics. By the time we finish, I have the skeleton of a plan. There are still too many variables, too many things that could go wrong. But it’s more than I had before.

It’s hope.

That night, alone in my old room, I pull out Nicolai’s card.

I’ve memorized the number. Could recite it in my sleep. But I’ve kept the card anyway, tucked in my wallet like a talisman.

Proof that someone, somewhere, cares what happens to me.

I debate calling. Hearing his voice would be… comforting. But what would I even say? Thank you for

Cassandra collapsed. Jaxon is at the hospital with her.

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I should feel something. Concern for her wellbeing. Sympathy for whatever caused it. Even vindictive satisfaction that her manipulations might finally be catching up with her.

Instead, I feel nothing.

Just a tired resignation that even in crisis, Jaxon’s first thought is for Cassandra.

Not his mate who’s been gone for three days. The mate he expected home today on his insistence.

Always Cassandra.

An hour later, Jaxon still hasn’t come home.

Two hours later, my phone is still silent.

By the time evening falls, I’ve accepted the truth I’ve known all along.

He wasn’t scared of losing me when I left three days ago.

He was afraid of losing his control over me.

I press a hand to my stomach, feeling the flutter of movement that’s becoming more frequent.

“Soon,” I whisper to the life growing inside me. “We’ll be free soon.”

And this time, I believe it.

Cara Anderson

Author

Thank you for reading!

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