Chapter 39 All Up To You
Kristen's POV
Seeing Calhoun regenerated emotions that I wanted to keep buried deep within me. Had I known he would be here on this yacht, I would've turned down Ben's invitation.
It's been one month since the Rejection and just when I was trying to get over everything, I saw him again.
Calhoun still has the audacity to hold my gaze as if we still share the mate bond.
I avoided Mom because of him, upon feeling betrayed and guilty at the same time.
Holding onto the yacht railings, I sigh as the yacht starts leaving the seaport. There's no going back now, mom has already seen me. If I told them I wanted to return by a small boat, people would think low of me. So I just have to stay here, watch Calhoun and my mom together.
Old feelings never die, if they eventually did it shows that you never loved the person who you claimed to love.
Calhoun looks good, the light green shirt and tight-fitted white trousers he's wearing make him look younger than his age. And the memory of our two in the cottage is still so fresh in my head. It's almost as if it happened yesterday.
Calhoun took care of me and treated me even better than my mom did. Skip the sex part.
It was all short-lived when the news about Mom being in a vegetative state reached him.
The yacht is far away from the seaport now, and I can't tell if it's this crazy fate from the moon goddess, wanting us to cross paths for the second time because I vowed never to meet with him again.
"Is that not the guy Kristen hooked up with at the club?"
"I've been thinking the same, I heard he's Alpha of the Greyhound pack."
"And he's married to Kristen's mom."
My friends pause gossiping just to collectively gasp.
"I wonder how Kristen felt when she attended her mom's marriage? It'd be so bad if Natalie finds out Kristen fucked her husband."
"Now I get why Kristen looked a mess when she came back, a lot probably happened."
"Guys!" My yell makes them flinch.
I hold my eyes tightly in their sockets for a brief second, trying to calm myself down because having them do this is just exasperation to the bone.
"Just stop okay? My stepfather isn't that man, they just bear an uncanny resemblance," I lie, hoping they'll believe me and just drop the whole talk with Calhoun and me hooking up.
"Don't lie, Kristen. His Beta was with him at the club that night.." Sapphire jabs her fist at my head, pushing it aside.
"What's his name again?" Maddy questions.
"Bruce," Sapphire provides.
"And boy, Bruce has been staring at you as if you'll cause a disaster," Maddy concludes with a squint.
"I can't do this with you two right now," rolling my eyes in their sockets, I walk away from both of them.
I love them for being my best friends but I'm in denial right now because they gossip a lot. One of them might blurt it out around Mom without even knowing it, so I need to deny everything at this point.
But for the fact that they recognize Bruce just ruins everything.
Calhoun, mom, Ben's parents, and a few other Alphas with their families are seated at the large table that is piled with all kinds of dishes, including seafood.
I can see how everyone is trying to impress Calhoun, he's the Alpha of Alphas after all. But he seems completely uninterested, even smacking Bruce's hand away when Bruce tries feeding him.
Mom doesn't even seem close to him, she has her head buried deep in her phone, just throwing in a 'Yeah, sure, okay,' into the chatter. She laughs and smiles with everyone else at the table except Calhoun. I haven't seen them touch each other or even stare at themselves. They look like strangers forced to sit next to each other.
Did something happen between them?
Sliding my shades down, I look away before Calhoun can catch my gaze.
"Hey," Ben shows up beside me and pulls me into a one-arm hug.
"How come you never told me you're Alpha Calhoun's Stepdaughter?" "Well, you just found out now."
Calhoun's POV
You rejected her, remember? Why so pained upon seeing her with a younger and more free-spirited person? My subconscious
taunts me.
Seeing Kristen and Ben don't settle well with me. It's like Deja Vu because she acted this exact way with Ivan, Alpha Landon's son. Smiling as she talks to him, even letting him hold her hand.
It's upsetting, I can't think of anything else except her. But it seems as though she's moved on with this boy.
"My son Ben will be Alpha in two months, right after his graduation. He wants to marry before that happens and I think it's a good thing he has eyes for your stepdaughter, Calhoun," says Alpha Gregory.
Like a knife, jealousy slices deep through my chest.
"Why, it'd be wonderful to have them as the young Alpha and Luna of the Green Valley pack," Natalie adds.
"True, they're perfect for each other," Layla smiles and clicks her wine glass with Natalie who's seated opposite her.
"Can't wait to see you as a step-grandfather, Alpha Calhoun," Bruce raises his wine glass in the air for a toast.
Laughter floats in the air for a few seconds, and I can't hide how upset I am. I'm sure it's clearly evident on my face because Bruce quickly stops laughing.
Pushing my chair backward, I rise to my feet.
"I'd like to be excused," I say.
"I'm coming with you," Bruce quickly stands up.
"No, you stay here," the way I glare at him makes him sit back down.
Kristen's POV
Why is Calhoun heading this way?
My heart swells in my chest because I don't want him anywhere near me.
"Can we leave here?" I tip my head up to Ben.
"Sure," the corner of his mouth tilts in a smirk and he takes my hand.
"Ben," someone calls his name before we even make the move to leave.
It's Calhoun.
I bite down on my bottom lip in fear, because what is he doing here?
"I need to speak with Kristen," Calhoun's eyes are already boring holes into Ben. They're almost the same height with Calhoun towering him with just an inch.
"Okay," still securing my hand, Ben shrugs.
"Alone," Calhoun literally growls at him.
"Sure, sure. Alpha Calhoun, I'm not doing anything inappropriate with Kristen if that's your concern as her stepfather." Stupid Ben who has no clue of what transpired between me and Calhoun releases my hand.
My stomach churns as he leaves me alone with this man I've been trying to avoid.
"Kristen.." Calhoun dares call my name as if there's some sort of familiarity between us.
"What do you want?"
"To talk to you,"
Folding my arms across my chest, I raise my chin defiantly in the air as I stare at him down my nose, "You're already at it."
Calhoun's blue eyes soften as he gulps. His mouth parts, but he doesn't say anything. It seems as though he's trying to find the right words to use in me.
"Look, I'm really fucking so sorry for what I did," he confesses at last.
"I..."
"I see no point in you apologizing," I interrupt him when he attempts to continue, "You did that right thing as a husband and stepfather."
"Shit, don't call me that," he hardens his jaw.
"But that's what you are to me, stepfather. You married my mom, the two of you should be making babies by now, don't you think?" I deliberately do this to irk him. He has no right to stand here and talk to me, after making me fall for him and then rejecting me before sending me off.
Calhoun lets out so muted cursed words, balling his hands.
"Do you know how hard it was for me to reject you, Kristen?" He
"Do I look like I care? You ought to be happy you're with Mom now, with me out of the way," I turn my back to him so he
wouldn't see the emotions on my face. He doesn't need to know how it hurts to speak this way.
"Kristen, listen to me," Calhoun implores when my feet start moving, carrying me away from him.
"Kristen..." he calls out to me, but my stubbornness doesn't let me stay, even though my heart wants to listen to everything he has to say.
"DON'T WALK AWAY FROM ME, KRISTEN!" Calhoun's yell stops me dead in my tracks.
Worse, heads have turned in our direction. Everyone is staring at us right now. My friends, including mom.
Shit, shit, shit.
This is not good.
What the fuck is wrong with Calhoun? Can he not control himself around all these people?
Shame clouds me.
Lowering my head to the floor, I dash toward the restroom area.