Claimed by the Vengeful Alpha

Chapter 83: Puzzle

Claude shut the door of the carriage and poked his head out of the window. "Shouldn’t we be leaving now, Alpha Keenan? At this rate, we will be late."

"Alpha," Hilbert called as he stepped closer, his face creased with concern. "Do you intend to ride in the carriage the whole way?"

Maya could see his frown as she sat next to Claude. The carriage was quite small, with only one seat; she was nearly pressed up against Claude. The carriage was clear for speed, not comfort. It was enough for two people, but no more.

"I don’t see why not," Claude replied and casually shrugged his shoulders.

Hilbert narrowed his eyes at his Alpha. Maya had never seen the huge man look in that manner before, and if she didn’t have an invisible hand around her neck, she might have smiled.

"Alpha Claude," Hilbert brought his voice to a whisper and leaned closer. "You hate carri—"

"Don’t you have a task assigned to you?" Claude asked loudly as he glared at his beta.

"Indeed, I do, Alpha. I shall get to it," Hilbert replied and hurried off but not before sending another worried glance at his Alpha.

Claude watched Hilbert run off and scoffed. He turned his gaze away and immediately locked eyes with Keenan, who had climbed onto his horse and was approaching the carriage.

He smirked and slowly withdrew into the carriage, watching Keenan the whole time before he pulled hard on the curtains to keep them hidden.

"You don’t like carriages?" Maya asked. She wasn’t particularly curious but she had overheard Hilbert and wanted to confirm.

"Well, for you," he announced loudly, knowing Keenan could hear, "anything. It would be cruel of me to leave you by yourself."

"Get ready," Keenan’s loud voice echoed in the carriage.

Maya visibly winced at his voice. She could clearly recall his glare and she tried to pretend it didn’t matter but there was no way to ignore the way her throat tightened.

"Let’s go!" He added.

Hooves hit the ground with enough force to shake the carriage. The horses neighed and immediately took off. The carriage shook, and Claude immediately protected her from hitting the hard wood.

"Are you injured?" His voice was worried, caring. He steadied her carefully and took his hand away once he was certain she was fine.

Maya wondered which part of it was an act—or was it such an act that even he believed it to be true?

"No, thank you. You don’t have to do this, Alpha Claude. You hate carriages." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

"My dislike should be of no concern to you. If you don’t want me in the carriage, you can say so."

She turned to look at him, and his bright eyes stared right at her unabashedly. She blinked at the intensity of it but didn’t look away. Perhaps because her heart already belonged to someone else, his charms fell flat.

Even in the small space, she was more aware of how Keenan would react to them being together than anything, and perhaps that was what drove her answer. "No," she whispered. "You can stay."

Claude smirked, his eyes glinting as though he had found something. "Why Keenan?" He questioned.

Maya shrugged and leaned back. She almost shook her head. Of course, Claude would take her acceptance of his presence as an open invitation.

Claude didn’t give up. He leaned back alongside her and turned his head in her direction. "You both have bad blood, and he hates you."

"Do you plan to make me miserable the entire ride? Is that why you asked to stay?" She asked and shot him a glare.

He smirked again. For some reason, everything she did was entertaining to him. She didn’t know if she should hate it.

"Well, you’re not exactly easy to fool. You know I have ulterior motives for being here."

Maya frowned. She was unaffected, yes, but it was easy to be impressed. He had a way of making it seem as though his cards were on the table when it was the opposite.

His choice of words also threw her off. They were too perfect by having the right amount of imperfections. However, not knowing what he wanted from her threw her for a loop.

She didn’t think there was any reason why he should have this much interest in her. Yet, he always appeared eager.

"Why?" She questioned instead.

"Well," his face fell. "I should let the cat out of the bag. Telling you I’d like you to be my mate wouldn’t work, would it?"

Maya gave him an unimpressed look. She didn’t believe that, not even for a second. Perhaps because she knew enough. He had found his fated mate but was rejected on counts of being promiscuous.

His fated mate was the Princess, Eleanor Olsten. She had rejected him in secret; it wasn’t widespread, but Father knew, and she had been privy to this information because of that.

Father had been particularly pleased, as he disliked Alpha Claude and was grateful he wouldn’t be marrying the princess.

"No, it won’t, Alpha Claude. I do know you found your fated mate. If you wanted to marry anyone, it would have been her."

Claude grinned, showing his perfect white teeth, and moved closer, his shoulder nearly grazing hers. "Did you know the whole time?"

"Of course."

"Are you sure you won’t take my offer, Lady Maya? I really do want you, even now—more than ever."

His eyes scanned her face with intensity, and she knew there was truth to his words. However, his interest in her meant absolutely nothing.

"No, Alpha Claude."

"Cold," he said, but he was smiling. "Despite what Keenan would like to believe, I think you suit him."

Maya blinked at his words and immediately looked away. She was worried that if she kept looking, he would see how much his words meant to her.

"Why would you say that?" She whispered. "You know what I did." He had blatantly asked her about the scar on Keenan’s chest. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

"You asked what my interest is. Well, let’s just say I am trying to piece a certain puzzle together. I have enough reasons to believe you’re not the High Alpha’s real daughter and that you’re Keenan’s dead—"