Chapter 9-The Hurtful Words

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Chapter 9-The Hurtful Words

Sydney Carrington's POV

I stroked the paint brush against the canvas quickly and scoffed to myself. Painting was a way for me to release my emotions out. And right now, my emotions were in absolute turmoil.

Kingston cared about me?

Lies! I scoffed and stopped for a moment to wipe the paint off my cheeks. If he truly ever cared about me, he would've let me go back to Will and he would't have hurt me.

How could you claim to care about someone and you hurt them? I couldn't wrap my head around that sort of thinking. It was beyond ridiculous.

Yesterday when Kingston had showed me the art room he had given me, I was stunned and blown away. It was literally the dream room I would have when I was older and mated with Will.

And looking at the materials like the paint brushes and the blank canvases stacked up against the walls, I had to prevent my hands from reaching out to touch the items littering the room.

But then, reality crashed into me and suddenly, I knew why he had given me that room. It was obviously to ease the guilty conscience of hurting me.

By giving me something in return, he was obviously trying to ease the discomfort of hurting me and I became angry. Of course I demanded if he was trying to make himself feel better by giving me a room full of art supplies.

And when he had told me had cared for me, all accusations and hurtful words I wanted to say had disappeared. It seemed as if they were all stuck in my throat. Also, I was still mystified that he hadn't retaliated against me when I had accused him and rebelled against him.

But I had seen his eyes start to darken before he left. And I was thankful that he hadn't hurt me even though I was expecting it.

I sighed and stopped painting altogether and looked at the canvas in front of me. I was almost done and I hadn't realised that I was painting a full moon with a lone wolf howling against the dark and ominous background. Glancing around the art room that Kingston had given me, a pang had hit in my heart because I knew that my dreams weren't going to come true.

Now that I was twenty years of age, it wasn't unusual for females to be with child. I had dreamed of having a child who be beside me as I painted in my art room in a house that Will and I would share. But now, that dreams smashed into millions of tiny stars that would never come true.

Pushing my thoughts away, I decided to take a shower before making my way down to the kitchen where Cara and a few women were going to gather to have a tea party of sorts as a more casual way to welcome me into the pack.

I was rather looking forward to it. Having friends here would make this place a lot less like hell.

Once I was done showering, I left the bathroom to see a bouquet of flowers on my dresser. Feeling a sense of apprehension, I touched the silky petals gingerly and marvelled at the soft feeling and the lovely smell.

Without a doubt, I already knew it was Kingston who had placed them in my room. Looking at the beautiful roses, I sighed heavily. I didn't have the strength nor energy to even throw them out. This was probably another way to make Kingston feel less guilty about his treatment of me.

I decided to put the roses into my bathroom where I would hardly see it because now, I didn't have the heart to throw them out either. I loved flowers and now that I was here in Kingston's pack, I hardly ever seen one in his home.

Making my way down to the kitchen, I could see Cara chatting away to one of the other females before bursting into peals of laughter.

Now that Cara had shown me around previously, I was somewhat familiarised with Kingston's home. And if I wasn't forced to stay here, I would have thought it was a beautiful crafted home. But somehow, it lacked something that I simply couldn't figure out what.

"Sydney! Hurry! Try the cookies before they turn cold!"

Cara called out to me as she caught sight of me. I gave her a small smile as I entered the kitchen. Chorus of greetings with my new title sounded out and I tried not to cringe.

"Hi." I said quietly and beams were thrown my way. "Luna, Cara told me that you were from the American pack." One of the women spoke up and I nodded my head. "I hope that you'll feel at home here. Even though you're from a different continent and pack, you're one of us now."

A smile creeped onto my face at that. The rumours were wrong. People from the European pack weren't as hostile and unfriendly as many claimed. In fact, they were one of the nicest ones I knew off.

"Thank you." I said softly but with a happy and grateful smile on my face and the rest of the women smiled at me.

"I know Alpha Kingston may seem a little harsh but once you get to know him, he's a total softie." One of the women said with a wink and I glanced away quickly.

"I see." I murmured and Cara pressed a freshly baked cookie into my hand, "Try it!"

I couldn't help but laugh softly at that before biting into the baked biscuit. Immediately, warm chocolate bursts into my mouth and I couldn't help but moan softly as my taste buds were met with the rich chocolate.

A few of the women laughed and I could see that they were pleased that I liked it.

At this moment, the doorbell sounded and Cara immediately stood up to answer it leaving me alone with the four other women in the room. "How are you enjoying it here Luna? Alpha Kingston says you're still trying to adjust to the changes and whatnot." One of the women questioned and I forced a smile onto my face.

"Indeed. It's a wonderful pack. Everyone seems really nice and welcoming." Everyone except Kingston. I thought bitterly to myself and the women beamed from pride.

If only they knew what their Alpha was capable of-hurting his own chosen. Suddenly a high pitched laughter sounded out and I turned around to see Cara laughing awkwardly with an attractive younger male who walked into the kitchen together.

I raised my eyebrows at Cara who seemed flustered just by walking and talking to the male beside her. "Sydney! This is Adam." She let out another nervous laugh and I couldn't help but smirk.

"Luna, it is very nice to meet you." Adam greeted and I guessed he was about twenty to twenty-two years of age. I smiled at him. "Hello and likewise." I replied softly and Adam went to one of the women and handed her a parcel before leaving. However, I did notice that he had given one lopsided yet charming grin to Cara before leaving.

"Who is he?" I questioned curiously and knowingly with a smirk on my face. Cara scowled at me, obviously knowing the topic I was heading into.

"He's just a uh...friend." She offered lamely and I snickered under my breath. The women laughed as well before leaving as some had chores to do and some had to fetch their children from school seeing that it was a weekday.

Once all the women had left, we stayed in a comfortable silence and I could sense that she wanted to ask me something. And I turned towards Cara and smiled gently. "I know you want to say something. You can ask me. We're friends aren't we?"

Cara nodded and gave me a hesitant smile, "Sydney, I saw the bruises."

Immediately, my smile faded and I looked away, "Oh."

"I know Brendon did that to you. And I'm so sorry, but he has...issues with his wolf. I mean his wolf is the reason why he has the tarnished reputation he has today. His wolf is the uh, darker part of him."

I knew Alpha Kingston didn't have a lily white reputation, in fact, his was probably bloodied but hearing this from Cara did sort of make sense. Every time he had hurt me or threatened me, his eyes had turned pitch black. That meant that his wolf was in control and thus, that also meant he had no control whatsoever.

But still, I wasn't going to let it go. Ever. I remained silent and Cara sighed and was about to continue when a voice called out.

"Cara."

Immediately, Cara's mouth snapped shut and she shot me a guilty expression before leaving. At once, an awkward silence ensued and I could feel his intense gaze on me. All I wanted was to run up the stairs to avoid him but he had me cornered in the kitchen.

Another moment that felt like an eternity passed and Kingston spoke, "Did you receive the flowers in your room?"

My gaze remained glued to the floor as I answered, "Yes."

"Did you like them?"

At this, my gaze flew to his to see his grey-silver eyes looking at me. "Yes. They were beautiful."

Looking at Kingston's face, I could see a hint of relief in those blank eyes of his. Suddenly, without thinking, I blurted out, "Did you mean it?"

Once those words passed through my lips, I wanted to take them back. Why on earth was I initiating a conversation with him now? What next? Were we going to exchange baking recipes?

Kingston continued staring at me as he rumbled out. "Did I mean what?"

"Do you really care for me?"

He steps closer to me and I could almost sense how much he wanted to be near me. My heart started beating from how close he was getting and involuntarily, I tensed.

Seeing me stiffen, he stopped and reaches out slowly instead. His fingers capture a ringlet of my hair and push it behind my ear. "I do."

I inhaled sharply as my eyes continue to look into his and he asks, "Do you?" I froze, obviously knowing what he was referring to. What could I even say? Should I immediately answer him or feign ignorance. Obviously, I chose the latter.

"What do you mean?" I asked quietly, my gaze now fixated on the tiled flooring of the kitchen.

My hands clenched tightly onto the hem of my shirt as I avoided looking into his intense sturdy gaze. I could feel him still touching my hair, as if he was savouring the feel of it against his fingers.

This time, he stepped closer to me until he was directly in front of me, without the island counters in between us. "Do you feel the same way?"

I didn't even know what to say to this and I just gaped at him stunned. I was speechless. I mean, he couldn't really expect me to say that I cared for him could he?

He was a monster and I resented him. Just by looking at his handsome face reminded me of all I had lost. He had taken me away from everything I loved and treasured and he wanted me to even like him? No. No way in hell.

Looking up at him, I sent him a look full of resentment, "I don't care about you."

Kingston simply looked at me for a long moment with my expression of resentment still etched onto my face. "I see." Was all he finally said before caressing my left cheek tenderly before turning on his heel and left.

I watched his retreating back and the wolf howled as if I had done or said something I shouldn't. And the strangest thing was that it seemed as if I regretted my harsh words to Kingston. Guilt slammed into the pit of my stomach and I exhaled heavily as my body was finally able to relax.

Because what I saw in his grey-silver eyes was a sliver of hope. Hope for what? Me to like him? I had no idea and I didn't want my thoughts to even head into that direction.

Why I felt regret for the words I had said that obviously hurt him, I had no idea. And I didn't want to know.

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A/N: Hello! Yes! I updated early! Wooo! Anyway, I hoped that you guys will like this chapter and vote and comment on it! So do let me know what you think! And I can't believe it but there is more than a 100 comments in the previous chapter! WOOOO! I am still so amazed ahahaha.  Also, I'm already expecting the JB comments you guys are gonna leave behind due to the reference above. Lmao. Anyway, once again, please vote and comment! And thanks so much for reading! <3