The Rejected Luna’s Prince By Aurora Archer
Chapter 74 – Endings
**This chapter jumps a lot, I’m finishing up some closure bits and then the next chapter we have the ceremony and the end.. cue sad/happy tears**
(Willa)
The next few days were spent in a blur of activity. There were last-minute things to do for the royal ceremony on top of keeping track of all these new pack members. I couldn’t keep it all sorted.
I liked figuring out the logistics part, but trying to remember who wanted what and where they were staying was not my wheelhouse. Thankfully, I had Cali for that. Her memory was unparalleled, and I loved seeing her actively taking up the Beta role. The Moon Goddess knew what she was doing, adding her to Crescent Moon.
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We scheduled the pack induction ceremony two days before the royal ceremony. I was glad my biggest stress now was dealing with back-to-back ceremonies instead of trying to find a hidden a*s*sa*s*sin that went after my son.
I finally had an appointment with the doctor. I wanted to give it a few days just to make sure. That intense sickness never came back, but my tiredness was heavy.
I didn’t know how to feel about it, we weren’t trying, but we definitely weren’t not trying. We never talked about more kids, but seeing the way he was with Emmett, I knew that he would continue to be an amazing father to any other kids we had.
But I didn’t know for sure that I was pregnant, but I wasn’t worried about it. It wasn’t the same need I had with Nolan, where I was excited that it would fix everything. There wasn’t anything that Caspien and I needed to fix, so any other addition to our family would be because we chose this path, well, this one chose us, really.
It didn’t matter at the moment, I would deal with all of the emotions when I had confirmation. If I had confirmation. We would handle that together.
_____
I was looking over a potential renovation plan for the pack cottages and some random apartments outside the packhouse on our couch when Caspien walked up to me.
“Your apartment is cleared out completely. Did you want to go back for one last look?” Caspien’s words caught me off, guard.
My apartment that was the last thing on my mind; it felt like a lifetime ago, not mere weeks.
“Yeah, I do.” My throat felt tight.
Caspien came to sit next to me on the couch, taking a hand in both of his, “What are you thinking?” He asked.
“Weird,” I shrugged, “I am over the moon, happy, ecstatic, all those things about the life I have with you. I just don’t think I’ve had time to process everything. We’ve jumped from one thing to the next and I now have to go back and re-look at everything. I just it just hit me by surprise,” I shrugged.
“It was a great apartment,” Caspien said, “I can’t lie,” I gave him a look, “Not to you, at least,” He amended, smiling, “I am happy that you both are here making a home with me, I can’t say that I understand it from my experiences, but I can sympathize.”
He took a deep breath but his eyes never left mine, “I know you, and I understand that this might not have been the most opportune time for you to find me, but I hope that you can still feel independent and grow and change alongside me. You know you have the freedom to do whatever you want, even if it’s stepping away from what you’re doing now, not me, of course, but Luna duties.” His smile was playful, rare.
“I do, I know that.” I placed my other hand on top of his. I knew that we were independent as people as well despite what we created together, “I don’t want to step away from any of it. This is my wildest dreams realized.”
“Want to go for some closure then?” He asked. I nodded, wanting to put that space and the strange feelings swirling through me behind me, “I’ll go get Emmett.” He k*issed the back of my hand and helped me stand.
I really didn’t want him to think that I was sacrificing anything being with him, because I wasn’t. Timing wasn’t everything, it would never be exactly right, and I grew and changed so much since I met him, I wouldn’t go back and change it for the world.
____
The apartment was as I remembered when I first walked into it before summer began. Completely empty, with exposed brick walls, and beams that were less a design choice and more leaning into the apartment’s age and roots.
It felt a bit weird to see it without the mismatched furniture we collected, and I wondered what had happened to it all, but I realized that it didn’t matter.
I walked into the space, holding both Caspiens and Emmett’s hands.
“The place feels different,” Emmett said, dropping my hand to go back to his room, “It’s still blue!” He shouted.
I remembered how my dad painted that when I was away during one of my first days here, trying to figure out cla*s*ses and working and taking care of my son. It was stressful then but looking back on it from where I was made the memories beautiful.
My parents were back in my life on a daily basis, and even though they were with Caspien’s parents helping people get settled near their old packhouse at the moment, they were still here, they didn’t have to leave, not anymore.
“Do you think I’ll get the security deposit back?” I asked Caspien leaning into him. He technically did own the building.
He thought about it for a moment, “I think we can swing it,” He wrapped an arm around me.
We walked through the space that now felt so small. It held memories I would never forget. The first time I got ready for a date with Caspien was here, and the first time Emmett and I stayed alone was here.
Our sleepovers with Cali and Loreli, tired pizza nights, studying past the time I should have been in bed. I would have those memories forever.
“We can keep it if you want,” Caspien came behind me while I was leaning in the door frame, “To come back to, stay over sometimes.”
“No,” I said resolutely, it wouldn’t be the same; we moved on, “I want others to make memories here.”
“I’ll give you some time alone; I’ll be in the car when you’re ready.” Caspien squeezed my hand and left.
I met Emmett in the front room and grabbed his hand, “Are you sad to leave?” I asked him.
Emmett shrugged but shook his head, “Let’s go home, Mama.” He tugged me out.
And so we did. We went home.
The next morning, Caspien had my tacky mug collection out on full display on the kitchen counter, his little matching white mugs were nowhere to be seen.
___
“Congratulations, Luna.” The doctor looked at me, “You’re pregnant.”
I heard those words before, almost the exact same ones.
I was shocked, terrified, but mostly happy. We weren’t expecting this, but I would have a child with the love of my life. Emmett was going to be a big brother.
“Are you sure?” I asked him.
“I am,” The doctor smiled, “Now, let’s talk about upcoming appointments.”
_____
I sat between Caspien and Cali at the diner we once worked at. Cali forgot to pick up her last paycheck and even though she had a salary with Crescent Moon and I’m sure Holden had more generational wealth than he could account for. She had to get her last few dollars.
“I earned them with my literal sweat and occasional tears.” She told me.
I couldn’t argue with that, so we went back. I felt a bit guilty leaving the job on such short notice, but they replaced us within a few days, so I couldn’t feel that bad.
“Coffee?” The waitress seemed nervous, shifting on her feet.
I wasn’t sure if it was because of Caspien’s presence or if she was new. I wondered if I ever looked that nervous here, but I already knew the answer to that. I was completely out of my wheelhouse here, and I felt like I was drowning for more shifts than I cared to admit.
“Three cups,” Caspien said, “Please,” He added.
“Cream or sugar?”’ She asked.
“You’re going to want the cream.” I looked at Caspien, and he gave me my smile. The smile that took too long for him to feel comfortable with but now was something that seemed to fit him.
“Cream then.” Caspien nodded to the waitress.
“I still can’t believe it,” Cali stretched out her arms around the place, “This was both my salvation and d.amnation in one place and I didn’t have to go back since.”
I was sitting between my dair fairy godmother and the man I ran from when I first saw him here. It might have been poetic if I was into that sort of thing.
“You wanted to be whisked away?” Caspien asked, and Cali gave him a glare that promised a fiery painful d.eath.
“I wouldn’t call it that,” Cali grabbed the mug of coffee set before her, “If anything, I was doing more of the whisking,” She raised a dark red brow over her mug.
“What does that even mean?” I asked, and she shrugged giving me her signature wry smile.
“You know.”
“I quite literally don’t.”
“I hate to admit it,” Caspien cut in, “But you do make a great asset, Holden is lucky, Crescent Moon is lucky.” Caspien said not looking her way.
I had never seen Cali so shocked before. She looked like she might drop her mug. Her mouth opened and closed again.
“We’ll take the check,” Caspien said, taking a long sip of his coffee, but I could see him try not to wince at the bitterness.
He left a $50 on the counter, Cali clutched her check that wasn’t even half of that, and I followed them out, stealing a backward glance at the place that held so much for me.
A place that I sometimes dreaded coming to, a place I counted down the minutes until I could leave. I never thought I would feel so nostalgic about a diner but I did.
_____
“Close your eyes.” Caspien said sounding impatient.
“Have you even seen it?” I countered.
“Yes, well, a bit.” He shrugged, “Come on.”
I did what he said just because he sounded so excited about it. Even though we chose this together, and ultimately let the designers handle it.
“You too, Emmett. I see you peeking.” Caspien chided.
“Now what?” I covered my eyes.
“Trust me?” He asked.
“You’re not giving me an option.” I smiled, “But completely.”
He wrapped an arm around me, and Emmett laughed in my ear from where Caspien picked him up. I was nervous, not for the reveal, but because I thought I would bump into something. Caspien’s scope of movement was way different than mine.
“Two more steps.” I walked forward, “Okay, now.”
I dropped my hands, looking at him first. His eyes seemed to light up. He looked years younger as he smiled down at me.
“Do you like it?” He asked, shifting Emmett to his other arm.
I looked around the room. It was the same ma*s*sive open front room of our apartment but somehow vastly different. It was one thing planning and choosing it, but an entirely other thing to see it come to life.
The stark sharp coolness was toned down. The space was brightened with plants, the sharpness cut through with the dark wooden beams installed on the high ceilings. I think even the floorboards were changed, lightened a bit.
It was the same space but we made it ours. Caspien said he never decorated himself, never cared enough to. I liked that we chose this space together. Brought some elements of both of us into the place that was our family home.
“This looks so good.” Emmett immediately ran to his toy area, which had new furniture instead of the mismatched bins we were using as a temporary measure.
“I love it,” I took a few more steps in.
“I even had the couches changed and added some colored throw pillows,” Caspien shrugged, “Not my idea but I went with their suggestions.”
“It’s beautiful. It’s us.” I pulled him down for a k*iss intertwining my hands in his hair.
This was our home now.
“Emmett, want to check out your room?” Caspien asked, and Emmett bounded up the stairs faster than we could follow him.
His room was, of course, blue. The bed was smaller so that he had room for bookshelves and a toy area.
“I want to play,” He ran in.
I grabbed Caspien’s hand and led him towards our room.
“I didn’t have our room done. I thought we were going to wait.” He frowned.
“I was thinking about this room, the guest room across from ours.” I opened the door flipping on the light.
“What do you want to do with it?” Caspien asked, placing his palm on the low of my back.
“I thought it would be a nice space for a nursery.” I looked at him, and his eyes widened.
“You want to try?” He took a step back, a wide smile plastered on his face, “Can we?”
“We don’t have to.” I said Caspiens eyebrows tugged together, “The baby is already on the way.”