Chasing His Kickass Luna Back by Jane Above Story

#Chapter 62: Too Much To Ask
The door to Abby’s office swings shut behind me, and my mind races as I walk back into the kitchen.

First, she asks me to make nice with Chloe, and now this? Apprenticing under John, of all people? A

guy I can’t even stand to be in the same room with?

“Karl, grab the veal from the fridge. Now.” John’s voice snaps me back to reality, jarring and grating as

ever.

I grab the veal and set it on the counter, taking a moment to steel myself. I’m doing this for Abby, I

remind myself. As if sensing my inner turmoil, Abby glances over at me from across the kitchen.

Our eyes meet for just a second, but it’s enough. I nod subtly. I can do this.

The dinner rush starts, and the kitchen turns into a whirlwind of flying knives and sizzling pans. John

wastes no time in laying into me.

“Come on, Karl, chop those onions faster! We don’t have all day!”

My knuckles whiten around the knife handle, but I force a smile. “Sure, John, whatever you say.”

Dinner service rushes on like a torrential river, and I’m just trying to keep my head above water. Each

critique from John feels like another weight pulling me down, but I keep reminding myself why I’m here,

who I’m here for.

The clock ticks past nine, and the last orders are finally up. John looks at me, a satisfied smirk

spreading across his face. “Not a complete disaster, I suppose.”

My jaw clenches, my fists curl, but I refuse to let the torrent out. Abby’s eyes catch mine again, her

gaze searching. I look away. I can’t let her see how much this is getting to me.

And that’s when it happens. One small, insignificant straw that breaks the proverbial camel’s back.

“Karl, you idiot! These steaks are overcooked! Do you even know what medium-rare looks like?” John

words out, his face flushed

frustration, the hours of biting my

rushing to the

That’s it.

apron off, my hands shaking with barely contained fury.

to realize that she’s gone.

now met with nothing

I throw my apron down onto the counter. “Cook the steaks yourself,

I growl, more to myself than anyone else, and storm

push through the back door into the alley, my chest heaving. The cold

and light it, drawing the smoke deep into my

fill the gaping void inside

mind reeling. What the hell

all for her. For Abby. Because despite the chaos, the

it all, I want her

I stare up at the sliver of night

of how confined I feel,

yet, as much as I want to break free, to tell John to shove it, to tell Abby that this is

galls me

chance to make things right, to prove that I’m

cold, unforgiving wall of the alley, still wrestling

growl resonates from within, not from my human side, but from the wolf

shares my consciousness.

I murmur under my breath, trying to soothe

wolf’s voice echoes in my head,

pushing your buttons on purpose. You just have to push through it for a little

I reply silently, a conversation taking place entirely within

to prove I can be part

do. It’ll just

I ask. “It feels like she’ll never

I walked out of Abby’s office earlier today.

my neck out, be the bigger man and tolerate John

I’m trying, really trying,

as if reading my thoughts. “She’ll realize you’re

that you’re putting her needs

way into

my old mistakes? What if I’m forever labeled the

who broke her heart?