Pursuing My Rejected Luna by Cara Anderson novel Chapter 86

Chapter 86

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Chapter 86

Jaxon

The day of my first monthly in-person visit with Skye to bond with my unborn baby has finally arrived. The days since she left Ironwood have dragged on so slowly, I thought this day might never come.

I drive through Greenwood River Pack territory, and the jealousy hits me before I even see her. This should be my pack. My mate. My life.

Instead, I’m a visitor in another Alpha’s territory, here on sufferance to see my own mate. Ex-mate, I correct myself. The word still feels wrong. Like a wound that hasn’t healed.

The Greenwood River Pack lands are beautiful-rolling hills, dense forests, the river cutting through everything like a silver ribbon. It’s peaceful. Prosperous. Well-managed. Everything Skye deserves. Everything I should have given her.

I pull up to the Alpha house, and Marco is waiting on the front steps. He greets me with cool politeness. We’re not exactly enemies, but we’re sure as hell not friends. Not that we ever were.

“Alpha Vale.” His tone is barely tolerant but I know I deserve worse.

“Alpha Winters.” I return, just as blandly.

“She’s in the garden. Thirty minutes, as agreed.”

I nod, hating the limitations. Hating that I have to be granted time with my own-with Skye. Not mine anymore. Never really was, if I’m honest. The realization stings.

Marco doesn’t offer to walk me to the garden. Just gestures toward the side of the house and returns inside. Leaving me to find my way alone.

I find Skye on a bench surrounded by flowers, one hand resting on her belly in that way pregnant women do. And my breath catches.

She’s beautiful. She was always beautiful, but now… there’s something different. A glow I’ve heard people talk about with pregnant women but never really understood. The pregnancy suits her.

Her face is fuller, softer. Her body has changed-curves where there weren’t before, the unmistakable swell of her belly even through the loose dress she’s wearing.

But it’s her expression that stops me. She looks… happy. Relaxed in a way she never was with me. No tension in her shoulders. No careful mask. No bracing for criticism or coldness. Just peace. It looks

good on her.

“Skye,” I say quietly, not wanting to startle her.

She looks up, and the peace fades slightly. Not gone, but… guarded now.

‘Jaxon

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I move closer, sit on the bench she indicates-not next to her, but close enough to talk. And we make stilted small talk like strangers forced to share a waiting room.

“How are you feeling?” I ask, genuinely interested. Not that I’ve given her any reason to believe that.

“Fine. Her response is clipped.

‘The baby?”

“Healthy.”

“Your father’s pack? Are they treating you well?”

“Of course. I grew up here.”

Every answer is short. Polite. Giving me nothing more than necessary. I guess I can’t blame her. The whole situation is fucking awkward.

I try again, desperate to break through the wall between us. “I’ve been reading about pregnancy,” I say. ” Did you know at five months the baby can hear your voice?”

Skye’s expression softens slightly. “Yes. I talk to him sometimes.”

“Him?” Did she find out the sex without me?

“I don’t know yet.” She admits. “It just feels like a boy.”

My chest tightens. These are moments I should have been part of from the beginning. Sharing our suspicions about the baby’s gender. Learning when he can hear us. Talking to him through Skye’s belly. Instead, I’m learning about my child’s development in thirty-minute intervals because the council decided that’s all I deserve.

“Have you thought more about names?” I ask.

“A few. I’m still deciding.” She hedges.

and she’d be-

When she’d recovered, I’d told myself it was duty. That any Alpha would do the same for their Luna.But I’d felt relieved in a way that went beyond duty.

I’d wanted to hold her. To pull her close and make sure she was really okay. Instead, I’d left for pack business and avoided her for three days.

And was it just six months ago Skye had attended a pack function wearing that blue dress I loved so much? The deep sapphire one that made her eyes look like the ocean.

I couldn’t stop looking at her. Across the room. During dinner. While she talked to other Alphas with perfect grace and political acumen that would make any Alpha proud to call her his Luna.

She’d caught me staring. Smiled hopefully-like maybe, finally, I saw her. And I’d turned away. Angry at myself for the weakness. For wanting her.

For feeling things I’d convinced myself I shouldn’t feel.

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What a fucking idiot I’d been.

Cara Anderson

Author

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Thank you for reading! Just FYI, I will traveling for the next two weeks with a significant change in time zone. I intend to continue to update daily but the time of day may vary and there may be a day or two I do not have connectivity but hopefully not. Thank you for your support!

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