Free Web NovelChapter 69: Revenge Aside
Keenan marched back into the study room with a tight jaw, his palms made tight fists beside his body as he walked towards his desk.
He swept his hand across the table, sending the papers flying all over the room. Some landed on the shelves, but most spread across the floor. Ink spilled over the ground, staining some papers but he didn’t bat an eyelid.
He wanted to punch something—anything. He desperately wanted to take out his anger on her, but her act threw him off. He knew it was nothing more than an act, but why was he so easily affected?
Being in her presence muddled his thoughts. He knew he could do whatever he wanted, but why did he feel like his actions were falling right into her plans?
Was this their plan for stealing the fake documents? To claim that the marriage was fake? He could have told her they had the wrong documents, but he didn’t want to reveal his hand, especially after hearing something like this.
The lack of documentation didn’t mean their marriage was void. A High Priestess of the Moon Goddess had presided over the wedding. The document was only needed because he wanted her tied to him in whatever way he could get his hands on.
He winced as he recalled how she looked pinned under him. He would be lying if he said he hadn’t thought of it, and tonight, he had come particularly close.
Keenan walked toward the exit. He needed some air. He found it annoying that despite how he felt, he couldn’t stop thinking about her beneath him.
The study room was not nearly enough, knowing she was in the other room made him mad. Perhaps, he would have her tossed to the cellar.
He pulled open the door louder than he needed to and marched out of his study. He didn’t hear a sound from his room as he walked past and headed for the stairs.
"Can’t sleep?" A voice asked as he reached the top of the stairs.
Keenan ground his jaw; he had been too distracted to notice. He turned around to see Claude resting against the wall. He had on a loose robe tied around his waist.
He narrowed his eyes at the half-naked Alpha and instinctively looked down the path to where Maya lay. "What are you doing here?" Keenan asked with a glare.
Claude was the worst person to run into. He could barely control his emotions at this state. The last thing he wanted was to be easily provoked by the Alpha. He would be the only one with regrets.
"Surely, I am not a prisoner confined to my room?" Claude mocked as he stepped forward. The moonlight shone on him, highlighting his curls.
He started down the stairs, ignoring Claude. He doubted he could take the Alpha’s taunting right now without reacting. He needed to sleep. He could feel the lack of it biting at the back of his head.
"Leaving a pretty woman alone in your bed while you roam doesn’t seem like something a sane man would do. Perhaps I should lend you a hand? One night is all I—"
"One more word, Alpha Claude," Keenan muttered as he snapped the railing. The loud sound echoed in the space. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Claude froze slightly. In the glow of the moonlight, Keenan’s eyes flickered from wolf to normal. He knew a lot about Keenan’s involuntary shifting, and it had been particularly bad when he joined the war.
However, he knew there had been improvement, and now it was limited to him shifting while asleep. Claude was almost certain this was common knowledge, so from the very beginning, he knew there was no way Keenan would share the same room as the High Alpha’s daughter, let alone sleep in the same bed with her. freewēbnoveℓ.com
Revenge aside, sleeping next to his tormentor while exhibiting the very scars of that torment was not the sort of thing Keenan would do.
Claude sighed and folded his arms. "You’ve always been chaste," he said after a moment. "Boring," he added while letting out a yawn. "You don’t want her, yet you won’t give her to me."
Before Keenan could respond, Claude turned away and headed up the stairs to the second floor. He left the younger Alpha standing there, looking up at him.
Keenan didn’t like it; he could clearly feel that even in his cluster of emotions. He would like nothing better than to kick Claude out of his territory.
He turned away, knowing he couldn’t fight against it. The lack of sleep, Maya, and now this. He would be lucky if he made it out of the building in time.
He walked toward the side exit. It was easier to let himself out that way. He still held the piece of wood he had ripped out of the railing in his hands. He could feel the sharp wood digging into his palm, but Keenan could barely register the pain.
The temple appeared in his vision as soon as he stepped out the door, and he shifted. His paws hit the earth and the uneven gravel. Shreds of what was left of his clothes scattered around him.
He should have taken them off, but he had hoped he would be able to stop himself from shifting. He was an Alpha with his own territory, yet he still bore marks of what was done to him—much like the scar on his chest.
Keenan felt the necklace bounce around his neck as he walked into the temple. At this hour, it would be empty. Perhaps the Moon Goddess would hear his prayer tonight.
He shut the door with his back paw and walked further into the temple. He stood at the foot of the altar and stared up at the moon through the glass window.
He fell asleep on the floor of the temple. Keenan wasn’t sure what he dreamed about. Sleeping in his wolf form made it harder to interpret. But when he woke up just before dawn, he was back in his human form on the cold floor of the temple.
