Hay Creek

Chapter 22.

I stared at Kai, unsure of what to say. He had never mentioned his grandfather before, and now I was curious. What did he mean by "horrible"? Horrible could mean so many things—had his grandfather hurt people? What exactly had he done? I blinked, trying to make sense of it, and sat down beside him. Kai shook his head, eyes fixed on his palms. I sighed, glancing up at the ceiling, then turned back to him.

"You don't have to tell me everything, just—"

"No, I should," Kai interrupted. "You have the right to know all about me. It's just... I'm not the type to easily open up. My full name is Kaiden Daryun Larson. I should have told you from the start, especially when things got serious between us. My grandfather's name was Kaiden Tetsuya Larson. My parents barely gave me a different middle name. My dad didn't have a good relationship with his father because of how he treated him. I saw firsthand how it affected him, and now I have the same strained bond with my father. It's never been perfect, even when he was Alpha.

"I still don't understand why they gave me that name. When I asked, all my father said was, 'It's my father's name.' And my mother said the same thing. That's not an explanation—it's an excuse. I never had a good relationship with my grandfather, and frankly, he didn't care that I existed. I hate him—for what he did to my father, to others who suffered because of him, and some who still do." Kai turned to look at me, his eyes glowing a bright silver. "I despise that I share his name. And because I have no connection to that man, I don't want to be called Kaiden."

"Did your parents call you by your full name?" I asked gently.

Kai nodded. "They did, but that was before I learned about all the terrible things my grandfather had done."

"What about your friends?"

"Some of them, sure. But friends usually use nicknames, so it didn't come up much. Even now, it doesn't feel like it belongs to me."

I hesitated. "But... don't you think you could change what that name represents? It was your grandfather who made it a bad name, not you. You're doing good things, Kai. You could make it stand for something different."

Kai frowned, sitting up straighter. "As far as I'm concerned, that name can stay buried with him."

I opened my mouth to say something, but he cut me off. "You would've found out sooner or later, but that doesn't mean I want you to use it."

I fell silent. It was clear there was nothing I could say to change his feelings. Though it was his name—his given name—he made me feel like it never truly belonged to him.

Deciding to let it go, I told him I was tired. Not long after, we got ready for bed and let the day come to an end.

The next morning, a loud knock on the door startled me awake. My eyes fluttered open, and I let out a big yawn. Whoever it was knocked again, more urgently this time, and I scrambled to get to the door. I didn't even check the time, but I figured it couldn't be too early. When I opened the door, I was greeted by Shay's beaming smile.

"Good morning! Did I wake you up?"

Really?! Did she even need to ask? "No, of course not," I lied, offering a weak smile.

"Great!" she cheered. "We're going for a run, and Alpha Gabriel is joining us. You two should come!"

I hadn't expected that, but I was intrigued to see Gabriel in his wolf form. "Yeah, we'll come," I replied.

"Awesome! It's going to be fun!" Shay practically skipped down the hallway. I closed the door and turned to Kai, who was blinking sleepily at me. I couldn't help but smile.

Once we were ready, we headed downstairs and greeted everyone. Gabriel was deep in conversation with one of his elder wolves but waved us over when he saw us.