Chasing His Kickass Luna Back Chapter 323

Karl

Before the speech, I had stepped away briefly to speak with an old family friend who I spotted in the bustling crowd.

“Eugene,” I said as I walked up to him, holding my hand out to shake his. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

Eugene was a kindly older man who had known Ethan and I since we were just kids. I hadn’t seen him in so long, but he looked very much the same; just older, his spine a little more twisted with age.

He chuckled, ignoring my handshake and instead opting to clasp my shoulder with a gnarled hand and give it a tight squeeze.

“My boy, look how you have grown,” Eugene wheezed. “I can hardly believe my eyes.”

I smiled. “You’ve grown, too, Eugene.”

Eugene smirked and patted his rounded belly. “Ah, you know how it is. My wife’s cooking is too delicious to pass up… and from what I see, you’ve got your own wife—perhaps you should watch out.”

As he spoke, he nodded his head toward Abby, who was standing near the wall. She looked utterly beautiful tonight, and I wanted nothing more than to take her home and climb under the sheets with her.

But I couldn’t, because she wasn’t my wife. Not anymore.

“So,” Eugene said, “You and Ethan, competing against each other?”

I nodded. “Yes. What do you think?”

Eugene shook his head, causing his gray hair to bristle a bit. “Forgive me for saying this, but I simply don’t understand,” he said, lowering his voice. “Why, I remember when you two were inseparable as children, thick as thieves. Maybe even more so than the other siblings.”

I smiled weakly as nostalgia washed over me. Eugene was right—Ethan and I had been closer than the others growing up. We wrestled and raced and explored the woods near our home, imagining grand adventures together. At night, we would curl up by the fire as our mother sang lullabies.

Those memories seemed so distant now.

“Well, who am I to judge?” he said. “I trust your judgment, if you feel as though this election is the right thing to do. You are our Alpha, after all.” He paused then, letting out a rumbling chuckle. “For now, anyway.”

“Thanks, Eugene,” I managed, even though my chest hurt at his words.

He nodded. “Best of luck, son. Just… remember what’s important.”

I nodded, clapping his shoulder before slipping away. I needed to breathe. His words echoed in my mind, loud and clear, and I knew I needed to get away for a moment; so I ducked into the bathroom before returning to Abby.

I took a deep breath as I leaned against the marble sink. Eugene’s words had been spot on, and now I was reconsidering things. God, I felt so stupid; I had been so looking forward to this election, but lately…

Lately it just felt… wrong.

In the solitude of the bathroom, I pulled my speech notes out of my pocket and began to scan over the words. Maybe rereading it would remind me of why I was here, what I was fighting for.

But as I read, the words just began to blur in front of my eyes. This speech felt all wrong—too calculated, too polished, too hateful.

It wasn’t me. None of this was… me.

I remembered Eugene’s weathered face and kind eyes as I looked up into the mirror. His simple wisdom still rang clearly in my mind: remember what’s important, he had said.

What was important? Abby? Family? Friendship? Lately, it felt as though those things had begun to rise above the rest, above the concept of power and money and prestige. And now, all of this felt so… silly. So pointless, in the grand scheme of things.

The truth hit me hard as I stood there, my reflection staring back at me. I didn’t want to be here; I didn’t want to be doing this. I didn’t want to fight against my brother, especially not when we were all each other had left.

I just couldn’t.

…

After the speech, I’m guiding Abby away, away from the crowd and the flashing lights and the consequences of what I’ve done. God, what have I done? Did I just make a horrible mistake? Did I just ruin everything, ruin my chances of winning this election and being the Alpha?

Did my words even resonate with my brother, or did they just fall on deaf ears?

It’s too late now. All I can do at this point is get out of here with Abby. But then, there’s a tentative tap on my shoulder.

I turn around to find Ethan standing there, a look of uncertainty written across his face. In the background, Gianna watches us like a hawk, scowling with her arms folded across her chest.

“Ethan,” I manage.

“Can we talk?” Ethan asks gruffly, his eyes darting over to Abby, who is still standing stunned beside me. “Alone?”

I nod, and slip away from Abby with a gentle touch on her arm. She nods almost imperceptibly; there’s a glimmer in her eyes that gives me hope, tells me that maybe, just maybe, I did the right thing tonight.

Ethan and I then slip into a side room away from prying eyes. An uneasy silence falls once the door is shut behind us.

Finally, I’m the first to speak up. “I’m sorry if what I said upset you,” I say. “I spoke from my heart, not politics. I couldn’t have it any other way.”

Ethan sighsheavily, like he’s been carrying around an enormous weight that he’s only now just managed to push off of his shoulders. “Don’t apologize. You were right.” He meets my gaze. “I let this election get between us, but you… you reminded me what actually matters.”

He looks so vulnerable in this moment. I feel as if I can finally see the boy I grew up with, not the ambitious, bitter man vying for power.

“Ethan, you’re the only family I have left,” I mutter, pain thickening my voice. “If becoming Alpha means sacrificing our bond, then I want no part of it.”

Ethan turns away, struggling visibly with his thoughts. He’s silent for a while, but I don’t say anything. Finally, he speaks.

“After my coma, everything changed,” he mutters. “I woke up to a different back, a different world, a dead family. And I thought… I thought that if I could just take control, then maybe I would be regaining control within myself. But it never works like that, does it?”

I shake my head. I know that feeling all too well; that urge to regain control where chaos has taken over. I felt it when I watched my family die off, one by one. I felt it when I thought that Abby was cheating on me.

“No,” I murmur. “It doesn’t.”

He faces me again. “But you held things together while I was gone. The pack has prospered under your lead.” Shame crosses his features now. “And how did I repay you? By challenging your authority and pitting us against each other.”

My hands find his shoulders. “You did what you thought was right,” I say. “You were trying to do right by mom, by dad, by our brothers and sisters.”

Ethan’s eyes glisten. “I should have stood by you instead,” he says. “That’s how to do right by them. By sticking together.”

Overcome, he pulls me into a crushing hug. I return it fiercely, all the tensions of the past months dissolving into instant and utter relief. My brother is here, alive, in my arms. Nothing else matters.

“No more fighting,” I say thickly. “I want to call off the election.”

Ethan nods, but doesn’t speak.

Together, we just stand there, our arms tight around one another’s shoulders.