Chapter 81 Chapter 81
\- KEEGAN -
"So what's the emergency?" I asked Mason, shoving my hands into the pocket of my pants while I gazed around to see if there was any noticeable damage.
"There was an issue with the fountain and the new building construction, but I've been able to address the issue with the fountain. For the building, you'll need to meet with the constructors, but before then, I'd like to discuss with you about Vladimir." He said, glancing around to make sure there was no one around.
"Spit it out."
"While you were on your vacation, I had traced Vladimir down to the forest and after he waited for a while, Mr. Gray finally arrived."
"My father?" I asked for clarification and he nodded. " In this pack forest?"
"Yes."
The fact that he had stepped into my pack land made an explosion happen in my head. My fists clenched and I nodded for him to proceed.
"Then Vladimir told him that he has found her, the person Mr. Gray is looking for. He claimed that the person had a kind of special gift that was uh... how did he mention it... that was locked up. He said she has a locked up gift and it turns out the person is Jane."
"Jane? My Jane?" I dabbed an eyebrow.
"Yes... your Jane." He replied with his face puckered in confusion. I had forgotten that the pack members weren't used to hearing me call her name.
"What would Stefan want with her? Why'd Vladimir claim to Stefan that he has found her?" That made me feel uneasy. "Did they say anything about what they wanted her for?"
"I couldn't derive that information. He left and I also had to leave before they caught me spying on them." He sighed.
"I have to be extra careful and protect her now. I can't trust those monstrous men, especially now that it has to do with Jane. What if her life's in danger? We'll have to be extra careful and vigilant."
"Yes. Please address the issue with the building, I have to leave now. I have to prepare for the party with Crystal. It's tomorrow night and I haven't really prepared what we'll need and I need to prepare for it so she doesn't murder me."
"No problem. I also have to get ready for it." I was really looking forward to the party tomorrow night.
\- JANE -
"You look so good." Mae commented after Chloe was done with my makeup.
"You also look really great!" I replied honestly.
"Of course, you both look good, I did your makeup." Chloe, of course, wanted all the credit.
They were both in similar black dresses that hugged their curves really well and had a v-neckline that showed a bit of their cleavage. It was also long- sleeved and had a slit that ran up to their knees.
"When did the both of you plan matching outfits? Why wasn't I invited in your decision making?" I frowned playfully.
"Well... duh. Your dress is way better and of more quality. How'd you expect us to afford that?" Chloe rolled her eyes and started helping me out with my hair.
"I'd have still wanted to slay with the both of you." I knew my dress was more expensive because they had bought it for a couple of thousands of dollars in order to reach the limit Keegan had set. It was a wine mermaid dress that hugged my body perfectly well; its fabric was of great quality with diamond rhinestones on its waistline, hemline, and asymmetrical neckline. Judging from the way they glistened, the diamonds were obviously real ones and matched the silver earrings I was wearing.
"Wait. Chloe's attending the party. You'll be going alone? I thought it was strictly meant for couples." I only realized that.
"There's no strict rule against going alone. I think there's just a special section for couples to hang out in, because of course, the party is meant to involve activities that'll enhance the love and bond between mates, while singles can just watch for fun or to gain experience for the future or to discover their mate among the singles."
"Oh." I nodded at Chloe in understanding.
"Yes, Mae's right; however, I'm not going alone." She said. We both glanced at her with quirked eyebrows and she shrugged. "I'm going with Vladimir."
"Really?!" we both exclaimed with our mouths in agape.
I was staring at her through the reflection mirror as she did my hair and the nervousness was present in her eyes as she fidgeted.
"You didn't bother to let us know?" Mae frowned. "I was-" she suddenly stopped and glanced in front of her.
Chloe left my hair too to gaze at what Mae was staring at. I turned to look at what they were staring at and it turned out to be Keegan who had his hands folded across his chest and was leaning against the frame of the opened door.
"Jane, we'll talk to you later." Mae said and started walking away.
"Your hair is great now. Bye. See you at the party." She also left and caught up with Mae before they were out of my sight.
I stood and walked over to wear my silver heels, ignoring Keegan's fixed gaze on me. When I was done wearing my heels, I checked myself out in the mirror and I did look very great, so I started walking towards Keegan.
He wasn't saying a word, just acting like the dumb grumpy man he had been acting like since we returned.
I intentionally stopped in front of him, hoping he was going to at least say something. It just felt like a staring contest because he still didn't utter a word and at that point, I lost it.
"What is your problem?!" my snapping startled him as he widened his eyes. "Though we ended the fake relationship, you don't have to ignore me and act like I don't exist to you. We're going to the party as a couple and you're doing nothing but acting so arrogant, grouchy, and like I'm non-existent. What is wrong with you?
"What happened to when you said you were going to always compliment me no matter what the pack members said?" Why was I sounding so desperate for his attention? I knew that I deeply wanted his attention again, but I didn't have to make it that obvious.
His stern face transformed to a smirk for the first time since we returned. He held the small of my waist and pulled me closer to him. "How can I possibly not compliment you? Next time, try to hide how much you miss my compliments."
I glared at him and hit his shoulder with a small smile crawling up my lips that he had least had a welcoming expression.
"You look like a damn goodness or like a big piece of steak I want to swallow at once." The darkness in his eyes appeared again and this time, I appreciated it.
He lowered his head and just when he was I shut my eyes, expecting to feel his lips on mine, Mrs. Bea's voice made him quickly pull away, scratching his neck.
"Uh... omega, yeah, help me grab the ... uh..." he stopped stuttering and glanced at Mrs. Bea with Scarlett behind her.
They were both gazing at me in skepticism while Scarlett's gaze was accompanied by a frown. "What do you want?" he frowned and regained his composure.
"I just wanted to let you know that the bus will be ready soon, but before then, the omega has a few things to attend to." Mrs. Bea explained. "We're going with a private car, not the bus, and she's obviously fully dressed to attend to anything. I can't go to the party if my date has stains on her dress. Assign someone else to do it."
"Of course, I will." She bowed her head to hide the frown that formed on her face and took her leave. "And do you still need anything aside that?" he asked Scarlett
"I didn't come with Mrs. Sherlock. I only wanted to go with you to the party. I'm going alone, so to avoid feeling bored, I'd like to be with you for a while."
He glanced at me and I tried to hide my disagreement with that. Why would she want to tag along with us? I internally scoffed. Her desperation to be with him was starting to piss me off.
"Sure, you can tag along if she doesn't have a problem with it."
"Of course, I don't have a problem with you tagging along." I lied behind the fake smile I put on.
We arrived at the party. It was a very large hall with so many people around, about hundreds of people, which was understandable because a lot of people from so many packs were present or were still arriving. I noticed the section for people that were single while the couples had special tables at another section, I turned to Scarlett with a grin. "Since you're alone, you can join them there."
She glared at me and Keegan glanced at the section then at Scarlett. "Oh, yeah. I bet you'll meet so many people so you won't be so bored." He added.
"I can see you're both trying to get rid of me at all cost." She hid her pain behind her fake smile as well. "Sure," he admitted nonchalantly.
She let out a bitter chuckle and nodded before taking her leave.
"Jane," he held my hand. How I loved the feeling of his touch. "Once again, you look really gorgeous. Don't let other men's compliments get into your head." He said and though his face was still emotionless, his voice expressed the joke, so I rolled my eyes at him.
He led us to one of the tables that had red tablecloths and red scented candles and flowers on them. The utensils were arranged on the table professionally- everything about the arrangement gave off rich-men vibes.
"This is beautiful." I commented and had my seat while he sat beside me. There was a very wide circle between the tables where the announcer stood and started making his welcoming speech.
A few minutes had passed before the other pack members arrived in a group, I assumed it was because they had used the general bus. They all separated to either take their seats in this section or the other singles section of the hall. Suddenly, Kate started walking towards us. She was wearing a long black floor-sweeping dress that made her seem like royalty.
"Luna? You're here?" Keegan wondered "It's supposed to be for couples."
"So what? It's a well known party among werewolves, so many other people will definitely come here for either being couples or for one thing or the other. I'm here to meet someone." She added, not a second did her facial expression become any happier. Was this woman's life really so dark that she never smiled?
"Okay, it's your choice, I don't care where you go." He shrugged dismissively.
He took his gaze from her and she continued heading to wherever she was going. Their relationship was the most awkward mother to son relationship I knew.
After a while, Mae and Casper walked into the hall. Mae's red heels and jewelry matched Casper's red tuxedo and I thought they looked really cute together. I waved at them but I guess they didn't see me because they had their seats on a table quite far from ours.
Ouch. "How long will this be for?" I asked Keegan.
"I don't think I remember." When his thumb circled around my palm, only then did I realize he was still holding me.
We had casual conversations while he still maintained his Alpha aura.
All of a sudden, he started squeezing my hand really hard. I thought he was going to stop but he didn't stop, only increasing the pain. Did he want to break my bones? I tried to pull my hand from his grip but it was too tight.
"Keegan, you're hurting me." I informed him with a frown.
He glanced at me; his eyes were widened with horror. "I'm so sorry. He apologized and let go of me. The dread in his amber eyes kicked alive worry in me.
"Are you okay?" "That's Stefan, my father." "Really? Where?" I glanced at who he was looking for and saw a muscular man that looked like he was middle aged but looked young to be Keegan and Vladimir's dad. His hair was neatly brushed to beautify the mixture of gray and brown color on one head. He was speaking with someone and had a very innocent smile that didn't make him look like the annoying monster I pictured him to look like.
I glanced at Keegan and he was kind of sweaty. "Are you sure you're fine?"
"Definitely not!" he snapped with a frown." Memories of his terrible treatments are ringing in my head just by seeing him and they're making me feel traumatized and kind of ... scared." He admitted and I noticed his chest was rising and falling a bit faster than normal.
He was the Alpha of Dark Stone pack. It was going to be very humiliating for him if people figured out that he was panicking because he saw his father, it was going to have a terrible effect on his rigidity and was definitely going to make Stefan think he still had control over him.
I held his shoulders to calm him down but it didn't seem like it was working. "Please Keegan, be calm." I held his face and turned his gaze to me. "Look into my eyes," I said and he nodded, maintaining eye contact. "You're the strongest Alpha, and he's just an old man you don't want to have anything to do with. You're more superior than him and didn't deserve what he did to you in the past. Don't let those get into your head." I said in the most motivating tone I possessed. He nodded and let out a deep breath." Should we head outside to get your thoughts off him?
"No, there's no need for that. I feel way better now. He's definitely not worth my anxiousness. He's nothing but an unfortunate asshole that didn't believe in me but was proven wrong. Thank you, Jane. I don't know what I'd have done if you weren't with me." He leaned closer; it was obvious that he wanted to either hug or kiss me, so I pulled back, staring at the hundreds of people around us.
"We're in public." I reminded him. "Now return to that grumpy Alpha you've been acting like. Where's your annoying cold face?" I scoffed and he chuckled.
"You're just so..." he paused, "...everything." A millisecond smile appeared on his face. "How am I supposed to believe that?"
"You-"
Vladimir suddenly walked up to us with Chloe beside him, interrupting Keegan's word.
"Hey Jane." He greeted me and Keegan's frown returned.
"Hi." I waved with a small smile then grinned at Chloe. Great thing was that there were two empty chairs beside us so I pulled her to sit beside me while Vladimir sat beside her.
My attention drifted to Chloe. She and I chattered for the next few minutes till the music started.
Suddenly, Stefan started heading in our direction. I stopped speaking to Chloe mid-sentence and turned did Stefan have to come to us now? Seriously old man?
"Hi boys." Stefan smiled. to Keegan. Keegan's face hardened even more. Why
"Hey Dad." Vladimir greeted him, returning his smile.
"Good evening, elder Stefan." Chloe bowed her head. I had forgotten that he was her previous Alpha.
"Keegan, it's been such a long time since we last met. Won't you bother to say hello?" he said with a lopsided smile. "Or are you still holding a grudge against your own father? Who is this?" He was referring to me. "Your girlfriend? So you can have a girlfriend?" He said it like he was joking, but I could tell he meant it.
"Jane, let's dance."
"So she's Jane? Isn't she the same person that rejected you?" could this man just shut the hell up?