Chapter 6

Calla’s POV 

“You!” I open my mouth to cuss at him because in truth, that’s what he deserves. 

Being away so long, he must think I’m still the same Calla he had known; the same innocent, weak idiot. 

Well, he’s wrong. I’m not the same Calla who had put up with his incessant teasings and subtle innuendos. 

For years, I’d had to deal with the fact that I slept with him by accident and not once did he make it easy.

“You have no right to kiss me like that.” I wipe my mouth with my arm, trying to erase the taste of his kiss. 

“You must have lost the remaining few brain cells in that head of yours, but let me remind you that I belong to your brother. The next time you try to cross the line between us, you’ll have him to contend with.”

Brynne laughs. He’s laughing at me and the sound annoys me more than anything else.

“Oh Calla, wake up and smell the roses,” he wipes invisible tears from his eyes. 

“My brother doesn’t give a rat’s ass about you.”

I flush when I hear that because the truth of the matter is that he’s right. 

Blade doesn’t care about me and he never has but then, I don’t need the likes of Brynne telling it to my face.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I square my shoulders, raising my chin in what I hope is a condescending way. 

“You know nothing about my relationship with the Alpha king. I suggest you mind your business and stay away from me while you’re here.”

“That’s going to be hard for me to do freckles, seeing as how I’ve moved back here for good.”

“You’re back for good.” I inhale a sharp breath and let it out slowly. 

“Sure, I won’t try to tell you how to act in your own home but what I can tell you is how to act around me. I’ll say it again, stay away from me.”

“What about Adele?” he steps forward, challenging me with his direct gaze. 

“Am I banned from speaking to her as well?”

I gasp. Without warning, my head conjures images from that first night with Brynne. 

I had thought he was Blade and as a result of my misconception, I had surrendered myself to him and because of that act, I’ll always be unsure about who Adele’s real father is. 

Not unless I carry out a paternity test. 

But carrying out a test would mean admiring I had made a mistake. It would mean facing the heat of the pack’s judgement. 

I don’t think I can.

“Don’t say her name,” I warned him. I don’t think I’ve ever sounded as serious as I do at this moment. 

Brynne grins, looking downright pleased with the fact that he’s gotten under my skin. 

“Fine. I’ll stay away from her. I’ll stay away from both of you. But that doesn’t mean my brother will come to you. I don’t think he ever will. For fuck’s sake Calla, do you even know what’s happening tonight?”

“Tonight… What's happening tonight?” 

Even as I ask, I already dread the answer. Somehow, I can tell that whatever it is, it’s going to break me. 

My throat constricts as I wait for Brynne to put me out of my misery.

But because he’s nothing more than a self-serving asshole, he reconsiders telling me. 

“On second thought, I think I’m going to keep it to myself. I don’t want mine to be the mouth you hear it from.”

“You’re a jerk,” I spit out. And then, I walk away from him. 

In my bedroom, I call my father. 

Ever since I became the Alpha king’s official breeder, he’s taken to treating me with a level of respect that I’d never gotten while I lived at home. 

“Calla… daughter… how are you doing?” he inquired about my well-being. 

“Hello father… I’m alright.”

“I’m glad to hear that. And my granddaughter? How is that little ray of sunshine doing?”

“Adele’s fine.” I clear my throat. 

“Listen dad, I’m calling with regards to the construction of the pack school. Blade says you’re yet to send in your quota.”

“Oh. He discussed that with you? Does this mean you’re both getting close?”

What? Why would he even ask me that?

“That’s not what this is about,” I bristle, sounding edgier than I did a minute ago. 

“He’s worried that the construction would be delayed further if you don’t pay up.”

“As usual, your husband is over reacting.” He snorts. 

“Tell him I’ll write him a check tomorrow.”

“He’s not my husband,” I say through gritted teeth. 

“When are you going to stop referring to him as something he’s not? I’m his breeder. That was the arrangement when you sent me here all those years ago.”

“And yet, I hear rumors about his devotion to you,” he adds stubbornly. 

“If he didn’t have plans for you, don’t you think he would have taken a Luna by now?”

“Blade doesn’t wish to marry,” I tell him.

“Plans can change dear daughter,” he sounds sage.

 “You’re always going to be in his life as the mother of his heirs. Who says you have to remain a breeder forever. Things change. Feelings grow. Breeders can become Luna.”

“That’s enough,” I wince, clutching the bridge of my nose. “Bye father. Enjoy the rest of your day.” 

With that, I hang up.

I don’t wish to return downstairs on the off chance I run into Brynne a second time, and so I remain in my room, lying on my bed and staring up at the ceiling. 

I must have fallen asleep because the next time I wake up, it’s dark outside my window. I also notice that my phone is ringing.

It seems to have been ringing for a while. 

I check the caller. It’s my sister. I’ve got a few missed calls from her. I’ve also got missed calls from numbers I don’t recognize.

“Hello?” I sound groggy. “Bianca? What’s up?”

“Where the hell did you keep your phone?! Why didn’t you pick up earlier?!” 

She speaks in a rush, sounding panicked. 

That sobers me up. “Is everything okay?”

“Does this mean you haven’t seen the tabloids yet?” She heaves.

“Why? What’s in the tabloids?” My heart’s already racing with anxiety. 

“It’s Blade… he’s engaged.”