Chapter 3
Chapter Three
After Kai left Sable’s shop, I fought really hard to stay on task. It wasn’t easy, because thoughts of the beta kept resurfacing, but I managed. Mostly.
I don’t really have any plans for myself until the end of the month, when the wedding shenanigans begin, but there’s a charity event just before Thanksgiving that the town hosts every year.
I’ve agreed to make ornaments for that event, so I’m trying to focus my time on making those until Stella returns.
I shoot her a quick text to check in on her, totally not using it as a distraction from any Kai-related thoughts trying to creep back into my head.
Plum: So how’s wedding planning going?
Stella: Well, my future mother-in-law has taken over almost every task, so I can’t complain. Especially because she consults Val and me before any decisions are made.
Plum: She sounds really nice, honestly. That’s kind of awesome.
Stella: Right? I feel bad for Val. The closest he’s getting to a father-in-law is Nick. He’s been shockingly agreeable to all of the requests made for the wedding, though. He hasn’t said no to anything except reindeer, and that was only because the farm doesn’t really have room to house them.
Plum: Reindeer? Stella, I love you, but that would have been truly unhinged.
Stella: That's exactly what Nick said. You two think so much alike…
Plum: You’ve said that many times. Thank you for reminding me I haven’t bothered him in over twelve hours. I’ll be sure to mention you while shamelessly shooting my shot.
Stella: Threatening me won’t change how compatible you and my big brother are.
Plum: Tell him. As you know, I’ve been flirting with him for years to no avail.
Stella: Fair. Anyway, as I was saying, I feel bad for Val because all he gets is Nick and my mother, but his family has been completely amazing.
Plum: Val is getting three amazing brothers-in-law. He’ll be just fine, I promise. And it sounds like his mom is more than enough to make up for whatever your mother lacks.
Stella’s mother still lives on the farm with her older brothers.
She’s got her own little mini house on the edge of the property.
Nick, Rhian, and Benson built it for her after their father died three years ago.
Ironically, I’ve seen more of her since his death than I did in the years I spent hanging out on the farm with Stella.
In a lot of ways she reminds me of my father, which is problematic, given that I’m not my father’s biggest fan.
I have a lot more empathy for Stella’s mom, though.
She was a victim too. It isn’t an excuse.
She still failed her children, but she was being abused for years.
That only stopped after Nick got big enough to fight back, and Stella was just a toddler back then.
Their relationship is strained; it’s something we bonded over. Our lives are so similar but still so different. My mom’s dead, and it left my father a shell of himself. Her father is dead, and her mother is just barely starting to come out of her shell.
But the one thing she’s never been able to do is repair the broken bonds with her children, and sometimes, I don’t even think she tries to.
Stella: Valentina messages me every day, several times a day. She calls me no less than once a week. Just to chat, Plum. It was so bizarre the first time!
Plum: I remember. You called me right after.
Sobbing. She was fucking sobbing the first time Val’s mother called her just to check on her. Something her own mother doesn’t do.
Stella: And Valente! He fucking texts me pictures of random stuff he thinks I’ll like.
Sometimes it’s what he calls the ‘girl dad gift’ because I’m going to be the daughter he never had…
And sometimes it’s just stuff he saw that made him think of me, either because he thinks I’ll like it too or just cuz it made him smile…
Plum: That's intense. Do you want me to call you? You sound like you’re spiraling…
She does that occasionally, and I don’t want her to get too worked up. Sometimes I can talk her down.
I fiddle with the seat belt hanging unclipped at my side while staring at my apartment building through my car's windscreen.
It looks like it's gotten a lot colder outside since earlier.
Between that, and the stupid amount of stairs awaiting me, I check my phone for Stella's reply, hoping for an excuse to put it off a little longer. There are a lot of stairs, and it’s been a long day.
Stella: Can’t. I’m at work. Technically I’m hiding in the bathroom.
Plum: Okay. Call if you change your mind.
Plum: Now listen to me. You’re a great girl, a wonderful, loving, caring, kind person. These people are just excited that their son found such a fucking amazing omega to bond with. Yes, in comparison, they make your mom look like…well, shitty.
Plum: Comparison is the thief of joy. Shove it aside.
Enjoy their affections. Allow them to shower you with their love, and know in your heart you deserve it.
Val, your fiancé, the man that loves you, is a smart alpha.
He’s bonding with you, not your family. But you have a pretty great family, don’t you think? So many people love you, Stella.
Plum: Let them.
Stella: This is why I love you. Now shut up because I’m crying, and I can only hide in here for so long before someone comes looking. I’ll call you later. Love you.
Plum: Love you more.
I stuff my phone in my purse and huff. I really don’t want to climb all the stairs up to my apartment, but I have to. I’m hungry, and all I want to do is curl up on my couch with a glass of eggnog and watch Elf.
I’m on autopilot as I make my way up the stairs.
A familiar scent hits me like a baseball bat to the nose. I jerk to a stop in the hallway leading to my apartment and blink. I blink again. No. Fucking. Way.
The door across the hall from mine is wide open, and some guy is pushing a couch inside.
“Oh, god. No…” I whisper as I take a cautious step forward. “Please be wrong.” This can’t be happening, but the closer I get, the stronger his scent is, and the more I want to run for the fucking hills.
“You motherfucker,” I growl as I step into the doorway, spotting none other than Kai-fucking-Berrywill standing in the center of the apartment. His head snaps up when he hears my voice, and he grins like he can’t see or feel my furious glare.
If I could have just one superpower, at this moment I know exactly what I’d want it to be. Laser eye beams. I would also settle for starting fires with my mind so I could set all of his shit on fire.
“Plumshine! Are you here to throw me a welcome party in my new apartment?” Kai asks with a smile so bright I wonder if I’ll go blind just looking at it.
At no point since this man made his reappearance known have I thought that our encounters were a coincidence. This isn’t an exception. He’s planned all of it.
I just don’t understand why. Why now? What’s changed in the last five years?
“I’ll be honest, I’d rather burn the building down than throw you a party,” I inform him in the most neutral tone I can manage. I’m rubbish at hiding the anger and violence simmering below the surface, but there’s no way I’m letting him see just how fired up I am right now if I can help it.
He might’ve fooled someone else with his last lame excuse back at the shop.
Kai can claim he was there for Sable or that he just happened to attend the most popular Halloween party in town last night.
However, right now, there’s no explanation other than that he moved here, right across the hall—right across from me—on purpose.
He may want to act like he just happened to move into the neighboring apartment that’s been vacant for the last two years, but we both know this isn’t a coincidence.
Sable recently called me diabolical and devious. Clearly she knows nothing, because this? This is truly fucking diabolical.
“Not my first choice, but if it gets me your attention, I’ll take it,” he replies with a grin before lifting his phone to his ear, murmuring too low for me to hear what he’s saying.
Oh, so he’s not even bothering with the pretense this time?
“Fuck you,” I growl over my shoulder while stomping across the hall to my door. The second I’m safely inside, I slam it shut, clicking all three locks like that can undo the fact that Kai is my new neighbor.
This has to be Hell. At some point I died, and this is The Bad Place. I’m being punished for all eternity for something I did during my short twenty-three years.
I love my apartment. I pay for it with the money I make selling my glass creations.
It’s the first thing I’ve ever had that I could say, ‘This is mine.’ I earned it, and considering how fucking hard it can be for a single omega to get her own place, I’m even more proud.
In one fucking night, Kai has ruined it.
Just the sight of him—no, the scent of him—was enough to make me want to move out. I contemplate the idea for a few seconds before brushing it off. I think if I do try moving, he’ll just follow me. Bee said he’s got money now. That he bought her a house…
“He’s doin’ good. Be better if he were still with you, but when do men ever listen to their mothers, hmm?
Once it’s too late, that's when,” Bee grumbles, huffing an exasperated sigh.
“He’ll be back soon, if you didn’t know,” she adds, glancing at me, sending me a worried look I don’t miss despite how hard I’m trying not to let her words get to me.
“I heard. He’s the best man for Stella's wedding. He and her fiancé hit it off, I guess,” I say in as bland a tone as I can.
If Sable even thinks I’m in pain, she’ll rush to comfort me, and I can’t take that right now.
I knew Kai was going to be the best man.
It’s something I’ve had plenty of time to think about.
“Yep. How you feelin’ about that?” Bee asks, and I shrug.
“It’s not my wedding. I’m just a bridesmaid. I’m sure he’ll head back to the big city he loves so much once it's over.” My voice is a little higher-pitched than normal, even though I’m aiming for nonchalant. Of course, I don’t care. Of course I’m over him. I mean, it’s been five damn years already.
“Mm,” Bee grunts, giving a noncommittal shrug. “He bought me a new house. Damn thing’s a new build. None of that small-town charm I raised him to appreciate. Thinks I need fancy stuff.” She chuckles, looking over to Sable now. “Betas,” she scoffs, and we all smirk.
“Imagine having Bee for a mother-in-law.” Sable snorts, and I jerk my head her way, shooting her a glare.
“I did, once,” I snark with a sassy look, and she sucks her lips between her teeth, eyes bulging as she tries not to laugh too hard. I shake my head, judging her.
“Ope,” she winces, wrinkling her nose at me and making a face that says, ‘Uh-oh, I’m in trouble.’
“Bitch,” I grumble with a smile, looking away from her so I don’t crack and start laughing too.
I wish Bee had clarified what she meant by ‘soon.’ I thought she’d meant a few weeks, not a damn day.
Was that really only yesterday evening? Fuck.
Kai is more determined than I ever would have believed possible.
He’s not going to simply go away or accept that I’m not interested in welcoming him back with open arms, just so he can leave me again.
I’m going to need to scare him off, or irritate him off, anyway.
A fake alpha boyfriend might just be the only thing to do it.
It’ll help keep him at a distance at least, providing a wall of alpha muscle for me to hide behind.
Damn it, I’m going to need to convince Benson to lie for me a little longer.