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

pent-up frustration, the hours of

of swallowing my pride—it all comes rushing to the

That’s it.

barely contained fury.

before, only to realize that she’s gone. Where her beautiful face

a bit, I’m now met with

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

than anyone else, and storm out of

the alley, my chest heaving. The cold night air

light it, drawing the smoke deep into my lungs

fill the gaping

the brick wall, my mind reeling. What the hell am I doing? All of this,

relentless cr ap—it’s all for her. For Abby. Because despite the chaos, the humiliation,

frustration of it all, I

another drag, exhaling slowly as I stare up at the sliver of night sky visible between

reminder of how confined I feel, boxed in by my own choices, my own

as much as I want to break free, to tell John to shove it,

down, as much as it galls me to admit it, I know

prove that

back against the cold, unforgiving wall of the alley, still wrestling

inside me. A deep growl resonates from within, not from my human side,

shares my consciousness.

my breath,

an a ss, Karl,” my wolf’s voice echoes in my head,

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

silently, a conversation taking place entirely within the confines of

to do this, to prove I can be part of

It’ll just

“It feels like she’ll never be

since I walked out of Abby’s office earlier today.

tolerate John for

really trying, to be

wolf reassures me, as if reading my thoughts. “She’ll

her needs above your

its way into my mind despite my wolf’s reassurance. What if

old mistakes? What if I’m

who broke her heart?