Chasing His Kickass Luna Back Chapter 328

Abby

I wake slowly in the morning to find warm sunlight spilling across my face. For a moment I keep my eyes closed, clinging to the last little bit of sleep that I can.

But then, awareness creeps in. I realize that I’m not alone in the massive bed.

I peel my eyes open to find Karl already awake beside me, head propped on one hand as he watches me. His hair is a little messy, his lips curved upwards in a playful smile.

“Morning,” he says, his voice gravelly and thick with sleep.

I stretch lazily before replying. “Good morning.”

Neither of us speaks as we just look at each other for a long moment. I can’t quite keep the giddy grin from my face, though, even as butterflies begin to flutter in my stomach. Memories of last night flood back in; his warm body pressed against mine, his lips trailing across my neck, our limbs tangled up with the sheets.

Finally, Karl reaches out to brush a strand of hair out of my eyes. “So… are you going to break your own rules about no hookups already?”

I swat at his chest with a laugh. “I’m not hooking up with you. Not if this is real.” I bite my lip, suddenly feeling strangely nervous beneath his gaze. “Is it? I mean, do you want…”

Karl grows still, his face serious now as he looks down at me. “Abby,” he says, “I wouldn’t have made love to you last night, or ever, if I didn’t really want this—want us—again. You should know that by now.”

As he speaks, his hand comes up to cradle my chin. “I know I broke your trust in the past. But I swear I’ll spend every day trying to earn it back, if you just give me the chance.”

My eyes prickle unexpectedly. I pause for a moment, thinking, then finally nod. “Then yes, I want to try again too,” I find myself whispering. “I want to follow my heart this time.”

A wide, boyish grin stretches across Karl’s face then. He lowers down to press his lips against mine, his warm body pinning me down to the bed.

For the first time in three years, three long years, I let myself relax into this feeling. Despite everything, it feels right. It feels so, so right to finally make this real, and to stop running away from how we actually feel.

When we finally separate both our cheeks are flushed. Karl brushes his thumb over my lower lip. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that.”

I beam up at him before sobering myself up a bit. “But if we do this, you have to keep your promise about the restaurant,” I say. “It’s my dream, my legacy. I can’t lose it forever.”

Karl nods firmly. “You have my word. We’ll get your restaurant back on its feet, even if I have to throw the pack's entire treasury behind it.” His mouth twitches wryly. “We’ll see that bastard who poisoned the Alpha party get locked up, too.”

I nod. Then, after a long moment I pull back, chewing my lip. There’s one more thing I have to ask while we’re laying our promises out on the table. Something that’s been on my mind since… well, forever.

“And...if someday I do want to try having a baby again, not just adopting…” I watch him closely through squinted eyes. “Would you still be open to that?”

Karl sucks in a soft breath, his eyes widening slightly in surprise. “As in IVF?” he asks. “Or Dr. Armitage’s treatment?”

I wince at the mention of Dr. Armitage’s name, but shrug nonetheless. “I haven’t decided.”

Karl nods. “Okay. If carrying our child is really something you decide you want, then of course I’ll support you.” His hands run across my waist warmly. “You’ll have your baby someday. I promise.”

“Our baby,” I whisper.

He smiles. “Yes. Our baby.”

We lay curled together in comfortable silence for a while longer, simply enjoying each other’s presence and warmth beneath the sheets. The winter morning sun climbs higher outside the windows, bright and clear and deceptively warm.

Eventually Karl speaks again, tone unexpectedly hesitant. “Just warning you, you might want to… take your time before looking at the news this morning.”

I lift my head, frowning. “Oh no.”

He bites his lip, nodding. “I mean, it’s not bad, but… the events of last night have officially made their way into the news. I was looking at my phone before you woke up, and it’s… well, it’s a lot.”

With a spike of apprehension I untangle myself from Karl’s arms and quickly grab my phone off of the nightstand. When I unlock it a whole host of fresh notifications greets me—missed calls, frantic texts, news alerts. I scan through them quickly, my anxiety growing.

“People are calling you and Ethan the ‘Alpha Brothers’,” I mutter. Dozens of headlines scream about Karl and Ethan's ‘unprecedented joint leadership’. Opinion pieces debate what it means for the future, not just of the pack, but of the entire idea of pack leadership.

I don’t think Karl and Ethan intended this when they made the decision, but there’s no going back now.

“At least the reactions seem mostly positive so far,” Karl offers. He sits up and runs a hand through his tousled hair. “Hopefully the goodwill lasts when the novelty wears off. Ethan and I have our work cut out for us if we want to make this arrangement actually function.”

I hum absentmindedly, still reading the headlines. Then I freeze, my insides twisting. “Oh god. Someone leaked footage of my blow up with Gianna.”

Karl lets out a slow breath. “I was afraid of that. Are they—is it bad?”

“I’m not sure.”

With my heart in my throat, I begin scanning through comments on the clips that are now going viral across social media. To my shock, many express outrage over Gianna’s cruelty about my inability to conceive.

The hashtag #JusticeForAbby is everywhere again, just like it was during the cook-off.

“People are… defending me,” I whisper in disbelief. My wide eyes darted to Karl’s. “They’re saying no one deserves to be attacked like that over something so painful and personal.”

Karl’s shoulders loosen slightly in relief. Gently, he takes my phone out of my hands and sets it aside before turning to look at me again.

“You stood up to Gianna with a courage and a grace that few people could match in that circumstance,” he says intently. “Of course the public admires you for it.”

His mouth twitches upward into a smirk then. “It doesn’t hurt that you already won them over during the cook-off in the same way.”

I laugh, but I don’t feel any humor in it. My eyes are already welling up with tears. I can only imagine what will happen now.

“Listen,” Karl says, seeing my apprehension. “Maybe this is a good thing. People like you, Abby. And besides, you’re the Luna now; this might just help you with your restaurant. Your legacy, remember?”

I swallow. “You mean that?”

Karl nods. “I do. Don’t be afraid, Abby; I’m here, to figure this out with you.”

A soft gasp escapes my lips. Feeling overwhelmed, I lean forward and wrap my arms around his neck, letting him pull me into his lap.

“I love you, Karl.”

There’s a sharp inhale. Then, with his warm arms pulling me closer than they have in a long time, he whispers in my ear.

“I love you too, Abby.”