Chasing His Kickass Luna Back Chapter 360

Abby

“Ahh… My feet are so sore,” Daisy whines as we enter our private chambers. She wanders over to one of the large, plush couches and flops down with a satisfied sigh.

“Your feet hurt, but your heart is soaring, isn’t it?” Anton teases. “What a successful party, eh?”

I almost laugh out loud at that comment. Little do my friends know that while they were having a wonderful time in their element back in the kitchen, I was on an emotional roller coaster, caught between a prince and my ex-husband.

The sight of the study torn to shreds still haunts me; even now, hours later. My wolf still won’t believe that Karl did all of that, and I don’t want to believe it either.

But it’s not easy to deny it, either. Karl has never had a violent streak, but he has had an unpredictability streak.

Hell, he divorced me on a whim over a fake cheating scandal. Who’s to say that last night, during his desperation surrounding our breakup and Damon’s obvious feelings for me, he didn’t break in and cause a scene? Maybe he had been drinking, even. I don’t know anymore.

Still, despite all of it, I… miss him. I keep thinking back to those moments at the gala, when he had my fingers pressed close to his heart. The desperation in his brown eyes, the sorrow, the regret.

And how all of that shifted into pure, unadulterated love and joy when I said those three little words.

Karl, I’m pregnant.

But then Damon showed up. Standing there, wrapped up in his arms, I felt frozen and utterly choked up. Maybe it was my own cowardice that made my tongue tie up in knots. It all feels so foggy now, looking back. Like the entire day has been nothing but one big blur.

All of a sudden, there’s a knock on the door. Anton crosses the room and opens it, shouting in surprise.

“Merde!” he cries out, throwing his hands up in glee. “A gift!” He turns around, pushing in a cart laden with all sorts of treats: wine, seltzers, bread and cheese, fruit, and anything else that one could possibly think of.

Chloe, just as oblivious to my pain as the others, rises from her seat on the couch and gasps. “Time to party!” she shouts.

“I call dibs on the chips!”

“Pour me some of that wine!”

…

I lean against the counter of our little en suite kitchen, a glass of sparkling water in hand as I watch the others play an intense game of Mario Kart on the television. Despite everything, a slight smile tugs at the corners of my lips as I watch them.

At least they’re happy, I think to myself. But right now, I couldn’t feel further removed from the excitement.

I feel as if the past few days have been nothing but a blur of pain and uncomfortable truths. Even the baby in my belly, something that should be cause for a joyous occasion, just feels like another layer to the complete and utter bullshit that has become my life.

Suddenly, a warm arm around my shoulders jostles me out of my deep train of thought. I look over to see John standing there, sipping his own sparkling water. He clinks his cup with mine.

“Not drinking tonight, eh, Abby?” he asks.

I nod casually, still not quite ready to spill the news to everyone just yet. “Not feeling it tonight,” I say softly as I swirl the carbonated liquid around in my glass.

John hums thoughtfully as he watches the others. He opens his mouth a few times as if to speak, then shuts it again. Finally, he takes a step back and looks at me with sincerity.

“So, how did it go?” he asks. “With Karl, I mean.”

My eyes widen slightly at his words. “You knew?” I stutter.

John nods uncomfortably and runs his hand through his hair. “I ran into him while he was looking for you. Poor kid seemed desperate to see you, so…”

I swallow and quickly look away. The very mention of it makes tears come to my eyes. I don’t even know where to begin. “It, um… It didn’t go well,” I finally admit.

He quirks an eyebrow. “No?”

“Nope.” I shake my head and take another sip of my drink. Now, more than ever, I wish it was alcohol to help calm my nerves. But I’ll be damned if I fuck up this pregnancy with something so meaningless as booze; who knows how much I had to drink before I even realized I was pregnant?

“Wanna talk about it?” John asks softly.

I look up at him with a bit of surprise. John and I have been working together practically since the beginning, but still. We don’t tend to chat like this.

“C’mon, Abby,” he says. “I’ve known you for, what, three years now? Going on four? You know you can tell me anything.”

A soft laugh escapes my lips and I nod. “Yeah. I guess it has been that long, huh?” I ask, then pause, scratching my head. “It’s just… It’s complicated between me and Karl. And these past few days, I learned some things that make me uneasy. But…”

“But you still love him,” John says.

“Yeah.”

There’s a slight pause as we both sip our drinks. I find myself gingerly touching my lower belly as though I can somehow feel Karl’s baby inside of me, even though it’s not even the size of a pea yet. The thought of starting a family with Karl, my fated mate, should feel like a dream come true…

But after everything, I just don’t know how to feel about it.

As though sensing my thoughts, John leans toward me and lowers his voice. “You know I’m not exactly a romance guru,” he says with a slight laugh. “But you know I’m here if you ever need to talk, Abby. We all are.”

I follow his hand as he gestures toward our friends, whose game of Mario Kart has intensified tenfold over the past few minutes.

Chloe is currently on the verge of chasing Anton around the room with her controller while Daisy and Ethan might literally break up over a stray banana peel on the track.

We’re just missing Leah, who would no doubt be physically restraining Chloe right now.

And Karl. We’re missing Karl, who would be standing in the doorway, watching everyone with a smirk on his face.

“Man, that wine must be good if they’re all already this drunk off of two bottles between the four of them,” John points out with an amused chuckle.

For the first time all day, I can’t help but laugh myself. It’s true; they’re all pretty much piss drunk already off of a fairly small amount of wine for our bunch. I figure they’re just tired, perhaps. “Yeah. Must be,” I say.

Suddenly, just as I’m about to open my mouth to say something else, the door cracks open. I look over to see Edgar standing in the doorway, looking at me.

“Miss Abby? Prince Damon would like to speak with you for a moment.”