Chasing His Kickass Luna Back by Jane Above Story

Chapter 0160
Abby

The weight of failure feels almost physical, like there’s something sharp and heavy literally lodged in

my chest.

I stare at the computer screen displaying “Truffles Unavailable” in blunt, red letters. I’ve sent countless

emails to suppliers, spent hours scouring online marketplaces, and I’ve even visited local storefronts to

browse their selection, all to no avail.

A part of me wants to give up on the recipe altogether, to throw in the towel and declare the universe

the winner in this sa distic game it’s been playing with me. I could hope that this recipe won’t be chosen,

or at the very least, that I can read enough about it online to get a good idea as to how to make it.

But another part—perhaps the stubborn or perhaps the hopeful part—won’t let me settle for that. What

if this recipe is chosen for the competition? What if the online recipes just don’t do it justice? I need to

be prepared, and this could be my last shot at turning things around.

I close the laptop with a sigh, my eyes drifting to a framed picture of me and Chloe on a past

mushroom hunting trip. It’s not truffles, but maybe, just maybe, I could find something close, something

that’ll at least help me practice the textures and flavors.

…

“Going somewhere?” The voice slices through my thoughts, and I turn around to see Karl standing at

the doorway, his eyes lingering on my hiking boots and backpack. It’s early in the morning, too early for

anyone but me to be here. And yet there’s Karl, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as my grandmother used

to say.

“That’s none of your business,” I shoot back, my voice carrying a sharper edge than I intended. But

really, the last thing I need right now is more complications, more entanglement with him.

He steps into the room, the door falling shut behind him. “Abby, don’t be like this. I told you that I want

to help.”

but I don’t need help,” I interject, zipping up my backpack with more force

mushroom hunting since I was a kid.

studies me for a moment, his eyes penetrating, like

find truffles around here,

to do something, okay? I need to practice and

his demeanor shifts, his voice turning stern, his

you.”

surprised. There’s a flash of Alpha energy in his eyes, a silent,

restrained Karl I’ve been dealing with

way.

hear myself say. “You

a split second, I see something

“Good,” he says, his voice

then he’s gone, leaving me alone in my office, staring at the empty space he just vacated.

did I just agree to

…

boots, each step m

earth.

casting the forest in surreal grays and blues. I feel like

Or maybe a nightmare, if something were

footsteps softly echoing my own.

scanning the ground for any

point to a cluster near a huge oak tree’s

down to take a

the reddish-brown caps. “Definitely not the truffles I

yes, they are edible.”

while, discovering various

vivid colors, others more muted

as I identify them, and the tension that’s

slowly begins to lift.

do you remember that time we went mushroom

a prolonged silence. “You had to stop me from picking

nostalgia sweeping over me. “You were

it right up and ended

for a brief moment, the forest

us, the cool morning air, and nothing else. But then guilt seeps in, muddying the moment.

when I just lost my two best friends because of

But then, something happens.

sca tter as a distant shout cuts through the mist, followed by the disconcerting sound of

echoing between

grabbing my arm and pulling me behind a