Chapter 35 Rejected At Last
Kristen's POV
I've always wanted Alpha Calhoun's rejection since the day it hit me hard that we were mated to each other. But not like this.
He had his men bundled and put me in a car as if I was a criminal caught in the act of thievery. They took me to the council hall where the elders were already gathered like that last time.
I don't have a good feeling about this, because I am being treated like I pushed Mom into the pool to drown.
Calhoun seems like a stranger right now. He's standing right in front of me, his eyes laced with contempt and his jaw clenching and unclenching momentarily. His hands are shaking, he looks sick, impatient, and wants to get over with this as quickly as possible.
I can feel the energy around him, it's frightful. Dark.
This is not the caring man whom I spent two nights with. He's a totally different person now, his gaze not even peering away from mine as if I am a workload he is in dire need of getting rid of.
Anger hits me like a punch. Calhoun has no right to react this way when he's at fault too.
"Let the rejection begin," says the first elder whose name I cannot recall. His hand tightly secures a gavel he's waiting to slam against the desk in front of him.
"I, Alpha Calhoun of the Greyhound pack.." he pauses to catch his breath, looks away for a split second. When he drags his eyes back to mine, they seem different. More like he wore a mask earlier on and let it slip off so I can recognize his real emotions. Regret, yearning, and desperation are
all in one. From the stiffness in his body, I can tell he's having a hard time. But it doesn't subside the rage within me.
Calhoun has gone pale, I can tell it's a bit hard for him to continue.
Is he starting to feel remorseful over the way he had me brought here?
He shuts his eyes tightly in their sockets, before pushing them open once more.
And I can't recognize him anymore. He's slipped the mask back on. Tightened it this time so it won't fall off.
"I, Alpha Calhoun of the Greyhound pack, reject you, Kristen Laurent as my mate," his tone is firm when he concludes. But he's balling his fingers into tight hard fists that veins are beginning to bulge out in his hands.
"I accept your rejection," I try as much as I can to make sure my voice isn't shaky.
Why does it feel like I have been hurt and betrayed by this man?
When the first elder hits the gavel on the desk to confirm it, the connection and everything else wears out. Except for my feelings for him.
I can feel the tension radiating from Calhoun. He's avoiding my gaze right now. Feels too ashamed to even look at me.
Quickly, he turns away from me and takes his leave.
At last, he rejected me.
There are so many things he shouldn't have done with me. A lot of things he should not have let slip off his lips so easily. The way he couldn't control himself. It could have all been prevented had he shown up here the first time.
It will be hard to get over him even as I have been given what I wanted so badly.
It still feels like I've lost something.
My mother's husband has taken a part of me with him.
The tears which I fought earlier are uncontrollable right now. They rain down my cheeks without my permit. The more I wipe them with the back of my palm, the more they just fall out.
My heart feels like it's getting torn apart as sobs threaten to tear out of my throat.
I gulp them down. Greyhound elders are casting pitiful glances in my way. I can't embarrass myself worse than I already have.
A painful sound comes from my throat as I am trying to suppress my convulsive gasps.
Quickly, I put my hand on my mouth tightly, to press it down.
When I am dropped off at the estate, my stuff is already waiting outside, standing next to my car.
Rejected, cast out. Being blamed for moms near-drowning.
Of course, the guilt will eat me up for a long time, but I need to stay far away from these people to get a grip on myself. I was going to leave anyway, I never planned to spend the night here. But returning and seeing my box outside hurts. I won't lie.
Swallowing my shame, I grab my box, put it in the car boot.
After taking one last look at the mansion standing tall in front of me, I hop into the car and drive out at speed. Increasing the gear ratio to my satisfaction.
It's evening when I reach my apartment. My face is already puffy because, throughout the drive, I cried so hard that I have no idea a person could cry as much as I did.
This dull pain spreading through my chest never withered away, instead, it transferred through every of my insides. My jaw hurts because I've been grinding my teeth for a long time now.
I am still fully clothed when I hop into the bathtub and turn the water on.
It's best this way. To get soaked from the crown of my head to the sole of my feet, feel small, ugly, and like the worst person to ever exist.
Things wouldn't have been this horrible on my part if I hadn't approached Calhoun that night at the club. Fine, we would've met as mates but it wouldn't have been hard to reject me.
Why did the moon goddess make him my mate when she's aware things will be rocky until someone had to end it all?
Calhoun has seen every part of me, used me to his satisfaction, and at last, rejected me.
He will make things right with Mom to work out their marriage, while I'll stay here, like the little piece of shit who betrayed her mom and slept with her stepfather.
Calhoun's POV
It's for the best. I keep reminding myself.
But why does it feel like I've made the biggest mistake in my whole thirty-one years on earth?
Rejecting Kristen to make peace reign.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath before recalling the occurrence at the council hall.
How Kristen accepted my rejection with tearful red eyes.
I had to be selfish, wrapped up in my own guilt, scared to have someone die because of me, and then I let go of what I should've held on to.
I wish she is right here, I want to hold her in my arms, wipe off her tears and take back my rejection. But it's already too late. We aren't mates anymore. The ties that bind us had been set loose.
Hurting women has never been my thing since I am a very straightforward person, but I can't help feeling like an insensitive bastard right now. I've hurt both mother and daughter.
Neglected my own wife when she needed me the most, let my yearnings and desires to be with my mate envelope me, when I should've been by her side, stick to my vows.
I would've felt less shitty if I regret leaving her for Kristen, but I don't. The two nights I spent with her were the best of my entire life, except for the part where I had to rescue her from Jack the Rogue. It's something eight months with Natalie cannot even measure up to.
As a man, snapping out of my fantasies and seeping into reality was the right thing. I couldn't let Natalie die because of me. To be honest, she did nothing wrong to deserve any of this.
But it took everything in me to reject Kristen and break off our connection as mates.
Standing in front of the balcony and watching her leave must be one of the hardest decisions I have ever made in life. It was one thing to reject her and another to let her go. Hurt and in tears.
I am clouded in relief and regret right now.
Relief because it's a good thing she's gone, after all the commotion and everything. I should focus on my pack and my Luna right now.
And regret, since I know I'll have a hard time forgetting about her.
The mate whom I fell with, whom I wanted to keep but had to let go since the woman I married attempted death, all because there was a change in my attitude towards her.
It's dark when I make my way over to her room.
The place is empty, smells exactly like her.
Sheet covers are ruffled from her touch.
My throat works as I lay my hands on it.
Kristen was here four hours ago, she was seated right on this bed with her knees drawn up to her chest as she let Bruce brutalize
her with his words.
And now, she's gone.