Rebirth Of The Rejected Luna Chapter 120: Mixed Feelings

**Carlo's POV**

I stumbled back, my pulse thundering in my ears. My wolf, my Lycan—was awake now, clawing to the surface, growling in recognition.

Erika frowned. “Carlo?”

I barely heard her. My thoughts were spinning too fast. My body felt like it was burning from the inside out.

She wasn’t just anyone.

She was mine.

I waited, heart pounding, watching Erika for any flicker of recognition in her eyes or any sign that she felt what I felt. The mate bond. But there was nothing. No widening of her eyes in realization, no hitch in her breath, no subtle shift that told me she knew. Panic settled in my chest like a stone.

I had kissed her. And for a moment, it had felt like the world had cracked open and shown me something raw and undeniable. But now? It was just me standing here, suffocating under the thought of something she wasn’t even aware of. I needed to pull myself together.

Forcing a breath, I took a step back. “That… that shouldn’t have happened.” My voice sounded foreign, rough with something I couldn’t afford to name.

Erika blinked up at me, confusion flickering across her face. “You’re the one who kissed me.”

“And you didn’t push me away,” I countered.

She crossed her arms, a stubborn crease forming between her brows. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

I forced a smirk, even though my insides were a tangled mess. “Maybe I was just caught up in the moment.” It was a lie, a terrible one, and I knew she could tell.

Erika narrowed her eyes, studying me like she was trying to pick apart my words. I held my ground, keeping my expression neutral. If she didn’t feel the bond yet, I wasn’t about to be the one to shove it in her face. Because what if she rejected it? What if she rejected me? That thought alone was enough to shove my wolf deeper into the back of my mind, where he growled and paced restlessly. He didn’t like this. Neither did I.

“Right,” Erika said slowly, dragging the word out. “So you just what? Felt like kissing me and then changed your mind?”

I shrugged, keeping it light. “Something like that.”

I could see the irritation building in her. She hated half-answers. Good. If she was annoyed, then she wouldn’t dig deeper.

Erika scoffed and shook her head. “You’re so damn weird, Carlo.” She turned on her heel, ready to leave, and my gut twisted. I had to say something, do something. But what? Tell her the truth? That she was my mate? That the second my lips touched hers, every part of me had known she was mine?

No. Not when she wasn’t ready. Not when I didn’t even know if she’d ever be ready.

So I let her walk away. And for the first time in my life, I felt powerless.

**Erika’s POV**

I didn’t understand it. I shouldn’t care. It was just a stupid kiss. So why did my chest feel like it was buzzing?

I stormed through the training grounds the next day, my mind racing. Carlo was acting weird, even for him. First, he kissed me. Then he practically ran from the moment like it had never happened. And now? Now there was this thing inside me. A warmth. A pull. Like an invisible thread was stretched between us, tugging at me, trying to tell me something I didn’t have the words for.

I rubbed my arms, trying to shake off the feeling. It had to be adrenaline, leftover nerves from training, from the fight with the bear, from all the insane things happening to me lately. Yeah. That made sense.

But my wolf stirred. Not in warning. Not in fear. In something else. Something deep and unfamiliar, curling in my gut like an ember waiting to catch fire. I swallowed hard. No. I wasn’t doing this. I wasn’t going to let a single moment or rather a single kiss mess with my head.

I needed to focus. I needed to train. Carlo had refused to spar with me today, opting instead for all that stupid meditation crap. I didn’t want to sit still. I wanted to move, to fight, to get my body to stop feeling so restless. And yet I found myself glancing over my shoulder. I found myself searching for him, for the source of that pull.

And when I saw him standing across the training field, talking to some of the warriors, I swore I could feel him before I even laid eyes on him. My breath hitched. His stance was stiff, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. He wasn’t looking at me, but I knew he could sense me just as much as I sensed him.

What the hell was happening to me?

I tore my gaze away and marched toward the armoury, determined to shake this off. Because this wasn’t normal. And I refused to let it mean anything.

**Carlo’s POV**

She felt it. She didn’t understand it yet, but I saw it. The way she glanced at me when she thought I wasn’t looking, the way she rubbed her arms like she was trying to chase away a chill that wasn’t really there. She felt the bond. But she was fighting it. And I didn’t blame her.

I was fighting it, too. The whole thing sat heavy on my chest, a constant ache, a whisper in the back of my mind that wouldn’t shut up. My wolf was restless, clawing at the edges of my control.

*She’s ours.*

I gritted my teeth.

*Not yet.*

I couldn’t rush this. If I did, I risked pushing her away completely. She wasn’t ready. And maybe I wasn’t either. But the longer I stood here, the harder it became to ignore the need inside me.

My fingers curled into fists as I forced myself to focus on the warriors in front of me. They were talking about upcoming patrol rotations, about the potential of deranged rogues sniffing around our borders. I barely heard a word. Because all I could hear was my own heartbeat, pounding in sync with the pull I felt toward the girl who had just walked away from me.

This wasn’t going to be easy. And I had no idea how much longer I could hold myself back.

"Erika," I finally said with a sigh, walking in her direction.