Pursuing My Rejected Luna by Cara Anderson novel Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Skye

The date of the summit is approaching fast. Too fast.

There’s not enough time to prepare myself mentally for the challenge of managing Jaxon’s jealousy and Nicolai’s presence while maintaining the facade I agreed to with Jaxon.

How am I supposed to figure out how to survive a weekend where everything I’ve been carefully controlling could explode in my face?

I’m standing in front of my closet, reviewing my wardrobe options, when Jaxon appears in the doorway.

“I got you something,” he says, holding out a small box.

Another gift.

I take it, already knowing I’ll feel nothing when I open it. And as I suspected, inside is a delicate gold necklace with a small pendant. Expensive. Tasteful. Completely generic.

“Thank you,” I say. “It’s very pretty.”

I close the box. Set it on the dresser with the diamond bracelet I haven’t worn. Is it heartless and ungrateful? Probably. I’m just too tired of pretending to care.

Jaxon’s face falls slightly. “You don’t like it.”

“It’s beautiful. Really.” I turn back to my closet. “I just have so much jewelry already.”

It’s not true. I have very little jewelry because I don’t really wear it. But he doesn’t know that.

Because he doesn’t know me at all.

Watching Jaxon try to court me is almost painful. Or it would be if I didn’t feel… nothing.

The expensive gifts show how little he actually knows about my preferences. The flowers-another enormous bouquet of roses-make me nauseous. The pregnancy has made me sensitive to strong scents, and the cloying sweetness turns my stomach.

But he wouldn’t know that. Wouldn’t know that I prefer wildflowers to roses. That I like simple things over expensive ones. That what I need isn’t jewelry or grand gestures, but genuine connection.

The physical affection is worse. It just feels… wrong. But I try not to show it because I agreed to give him a chance, and I’m a woman of my word.

My heart just isn’t in it. I’m not sure my heart even still works right after three years of damage.

A memory surfaces from the early days of our marriage. We’d been at a pack celebration-someone’s mating ceremony. The whole pack gathered, celebrating love and connection and everything our

marriage wasn’t.

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Chapter 68

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During the dancing, Jaxon had taken my hand. Led me to the floor because it was expected. The Alpha and Luna dancing together. But at the time, I’d been hoping it was more.

And for just a moment, as we moved together, I’d felt the bond surge between us. His hand on my waist felt right. His eyes on mine held something that looked almost like warmth. And I’d thought: This is it. This is the moment he finally sees me.

try

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Because every interaction is painful in its inadequacy.

Every gift is a reminder that he’s courting a stranger, not his mate.

And I’m so tired of pretending that matters.

Cara Anderson Author

Thank you for reading!

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