Claimed by the Vengeful Alpha

Chapter 86: Possibility

Claude walked behind while Keenan and Eleanor walked side by side. She kept talking while Keenan politely replied. Claude kept to his pace, never walking by her side, nor did he try to join the conversation.

He didn’t care about the mundane conversation. He was more concerned about why the Alpha King wanted to see them as soon as they arrived.

Princess Eleanor led them further into the castle and toward the Alpha King’s privy chamber. Her personal maids walked closely behind them, but when they arrived at the Alpha King’s privy chambers, they didn’t go inside with them.

The room was much smaller than the throne room and was only used for private conversations. Alpha King Vaughn Olsten sat alone on a high chair, not a servant or guard in sight, though they were standing guard outside the room.

"Father," Eleanor spoke as Keenan and Claude bowed. "I have brought them."

"Thank you, Ellie," Vaughn said with a smile.

She returned his smile and stepped to the back but didn’t leave. Vaughn didn’t send her away; rather, he turned his attention to the men.

"Claude, Keenan, welcome to my humble abode."

Claude snickered and stepped forward. "The pleasure is all ours."

"How’s your marriage life, Alpha Keenan?" Vaughn asked, his eyes looking to his daughter before returning to Keenan.

"Wonderful," he said through clenched teeth.

"Well, I am glad you got exactly who you wanted," Vaughn replied.

Claude couldn’t exactly tell if the Alpha King was being sarcastic or not, but if he knew anything about the old man, he was sure that was sarcasm.

"Thank you, Your Eminence. I wouldn’t have been able to do so without your help."

"You’re welcome. It is a shame that you didn’t pick my Ellie here—"

"Father!" She yelled from the back of the room. "Stop saying crazy things."

"My apologies, my darling daughter. I only wanted to mention that Keenan would make a fine Alpha King."

"You flatter me, Your Eminence, but Princess Eleanor deserves someone of much better bloodline."

"Hardly. But there is no use crying over spilled milk. I wish you a happy marriage."

"Thank you, Your Eminence."

Vaughn waved his hand, and Keenan understood he had been dismissed. "Eleanor, would you be kind enough to show Keenan his room?"

"Of course, Father," she said but shot a glare at Claude.

He shivered at her stare. He mostly avoided her and accepted all her jabs. Eleanor was not a woman he could go against. His charms didn’t work, and she had a deep hatred for him that being fated mates hadn’t changed.

She had rejected him as soon as they discovered the bond. He had equally done the same, freeing her from it. She didn’t grow affectionate, nor was she grateful—rather, she seemed to hate him more.

The door shut, and he turned his attention to the Alpha King. With her out of the room, he could finally relax. He knew the Alpha King wanted to have a word with him, and Keenan was simply a cover. After all, his investigation in Verlassen had all been on his orders. freewёbnoνel.com

"She really doesn’t like you," Vaughn said with a chuckle as the doors shut.

Claude looked at their ruler in disbelief. "Laughing at my misery, Your Eminence?"

"Well, you don’t look very miserable," he smirked, but within a second, his expression turned serious. "What do you have?"

Claude ran his hand through his hair. He hadn’t caught a break since his father was murdered by orders of the Mad Witch two decades ago, and he had to take on his father’s mantle from the early age of fifteen.

The Alpha King had used him to his heart’s content, and even now, when the war was finally over and their kingdom had peace for the first time in two decades, Alpha King Vaughn was still relentless.

"There is a possibility," he said with a sigh.

Vaughn nearly jumped out of his seat. His expression crumbled, and slight fear flickered in his eyes. Claude was taken aback; he had never seen the Alpha King like this.

"It’s only a possibility, Your Eminence. There is a very high chance I could be wrong."

"A possibility is more than enough. To think I would have overlooked this. Why didn’t I believe it?" He shook his head and calmed himself. When he was composed, he spoke again. "Tell me, Claude, why you think there is a possibility."

"The emerald necklace around Alpha Keenan’s neck. She was the one who gave it to him. She said she appeared in the orphanage with it, and I have every reason to believe it has magical properties."

He had seen it multiple times. Keenan survived injuries he normally shouldn’t have. Alaina’s description of what Maya did to him confirmed it. No wolf had ever survived direct application of wolfsbane to an open wound. Simply touching it was dangerous enough.

He wasn’t sure the necklace had healing properties. Keenan’s healing wasn’t accelerated; it was something different. Something that kept him from dying.

---

"Don’t listen to Father," Eleanor said as they walked side by side. "He is just getting too worried that I am still unmarried."

"I didn’t take it to heart," he simply said.

He was not unaware of the Alpha King’s wish for him to marry Princess Eleanor. He was sure that was the reason he had been given a chance to marry anyone he wanted.

However, they weren’t even close friends. He couldn’t see them married, and he was sure she felt the same way. Her friendliness toward him felt more like an act than anything else.

"This is your room, I believe," she said and stopped in front of a set of doors.

Keenan wasn’t even shocked that she knew his exact room; she might have even picked it out. She was efficient and ran the castle with an iron fist.

She was the Alpha King’s only child, and her mother had died right after the war began. The circumstances of her death were unknown.

"Thank you, Princess Eleanor. Shall I walk you to your room?"

"No need for that," she said and stepped back. "My maids are enough."

Keenan pushed open the doors, and his already foul mood soured as he picked up a familiar scent. He didn’t have to see her to know she was in this room, right now.

He had done his best to keep her away from his thoughts, even as everyone wouldn’t shut up about his marriage—and here she was in his room.

"Will you join us for dinner?" Eleanor asked.

Keenan’s grip on the doors was hard enough to snap off the knobs. "Of course," he forced out a smile as he turned his gaze toward her while the doors were partially open.

"Wonderful. A servant will be with you shortly." She was still smiling when she turned and walked away with her maids."