Chapter 68 Faking His Death (II)
Kristen's POV
Calhoun faked his own death after he survived the black bane poison. He hid away from his pack and everyone to make them truly believe he died. The pack doctors had a dead body in place of him and people mourned him for days, when in fact he's alive, plotting something for his enemies.
People are gathering at the graveyard for the funeral and I can see people in tears already, mostly his grandmother who completely looks a shadow of herself. If only she knows he's alive and he's planning a huge thing.
I haven't seen Calhoun in a week, though. The last we saw ourselves was at the pack hospital, so I am eager to see him today, wondering what exactly he has up his sleeves.
Mom is here with her friends. She's still the Luna of the Greyhound pack and people are already tagging her as a widow.
I can't even hold her gaze upon remembering how Calhoun pushed her away from his body and came to me. Having flashbacks about this makes my stomach churn because it's rather unsettling.
An Alpha leaving his wife for her daughter.
Blowing out a low breath, I fumble with my hands, hoping things will get over quickly so I will get to be with Calhoun.
I look away to see my friends making their way toward me, both wearing the same sad and pitiful expression.
They're holding out their hands to me and when I complete the hug, they stroke my back, murmuring words like;
"We're so sorry you lost him,"
"He was a good man."
I fake a sad face as I nod. They're unaware that Calhoun is actually alive because they left before the whole death thing happened. Afterward, they heard the rumor that the Greyhound Alpha died by poisoning.
"Kristen.." Someone calls out to me.
It's Ben. He's here.
He leaves his father and younger and takes long strides to catch up with me.
"Are you okay?" Ben puts his hand on my shoulder when he asks me this. The worry in his eyes shows that he's genuinely concerned about me.
I nod after gulping.
Ben surprises me by pulling me into a quick embrace. And my throat tightens with emotions that I cannot even describe because he's so caring.
Perhaps he thinks we can be together upon believing Calhoun is truly dead and will be buried today.
I feel so bad for him because his hopes will be shattered once he comes to know about the truth.
When I pull away from the hug, he pushes a strand of hair behind my ear and smiles at me.
Oh, he deserves better.
I look around in search of Calhoun upon assuming I might see him from a distance and suddenly my eyes land on this strange- looking person with fake beard.
Cold immersion surges through me and stirs up goosebumps in my every single pore.
It's Calhoun.
He's here in a disguise, even went to the extent of putting on contact lenses so no one will recognize him. But I do.
We're mated to each other after all.
Relief cascades through me when he holds my gaze.
The need to loosen myself is great because I was never free with him until the incident last week.
A dull pain spreads through my chest when he turns his back to me, after holding my gaze for a brief second.
I want to hold his hand and tell him so many things.
Seeing him here just makes me realize that I love him more than I ever thought.
Quietly, I look away from Calhoun so that my staring doesn't get obvious or people might suspect a thing, mostly my friends who are here with me.
Once the funeral starts, I ensure I am maintaining enough distance from my mother because I can't afford to stand next to her. Her negative energy is powerful enough to choke me.
Still, I admire the fact that she's acting like a true widow. Blowing her nose loudly into a hankie from time to time, while people wait for the coffin to be brought.
A limousine arrives and four men alight from it, before pulling out the coffin and raising it up for the short walk towards the graveyard.
Over five hundred people are gathered here for Calhoun's funeral, unbeknownst it's not even real.
It's unsettling how Calhoun is here too, and no one is aware that it's him.
They don't know it's another man's dead body that they're about to lower six feet down and cover with mud.
The person who still manages to amuse me is Bruce. Calhoun's beta.
His hair is disarrayed because he's running his hands through them. The dark circles around his eyes are fake because he borrowed a black eye shadow from me and dabbed it around his eyelids. His hand is securing a vodka bottle but it's not even vodka inside. It's water. He wants people to think he's been drinking himself to death, over Calhoun's death. He's a real actor, with the way he's staggering and people are trying to steady him on his feet.
My eyes meet Calhoun's for the second time. Obviously, his eyes have been on me for a long time. He's standing right behind two elderly couples and the expression on his face is readless.
At last, they lower the coffin into the grave and Mom wails harder.
She's doing this for Calhoun, creating the impression that she's truly mourning him. She still loves him, even though he wasn't good to her because of me.
A part of me feels bad but the other wants Calhoun all alone to myself. I can't live in regret anymore.
When they start putting mud on the coffin, someone laces their fingers with mine.
It's Ben, he's at my side once more. Trying to lend me the comfort that I don't even need.
My heart is already breaking for him because Calhoun faking his death just created false hopes for him.