Enslaved By The Alpha
Chapter 91

~MAYA~

I want to shout that Kane was the one that left it there, but I know better than to do that. I can see see the tension in his body. The last thing I want to do is cause a scene for him. Admitting that he was the one that left the bruise on my lip while kissing me would cause an uproar. And I was sure that I wouldn't be able to stop Maya's family from attacking him. That's something I would never intentionally do to Kane. I never wanted to see him in any danger because of me. He's done too much for me to let anyone hurt him because of something I've said.

We're both looking at each other, and Gabriella squeezes my hand to remind me we have company. I'm grateful that she is here to point me in the right direction because apparently, I was too stupid to know when to stop.

I look around me and realize that everyone is still waiting for an answer. What did I tell them? I think it is evident that something had bitten down on my lip from how the wound looked and felt. I had to go with a story that went along with that. "I bit down on it when I fell; the pain was too much for me." I lie. I don't know if they believe me, but when no one says anything, I assume that they do. Gabriella and Arthur are the only ones that look a bit skeptical. That was expected since I'd already told them of everything that had happened between Kane and me in the past. And I didn't regret telling them. It felt good having someone to talk to. People that didn't judge me and who wanted what was best for me. It helped that Gabriella also cared a great deal for Kane. I knew that I could trust her because of it.

Why did Kane's kisses always make me forget that this world existed? Whenever he kissed me, I forgot about everything else. I stopped caring about doing what was right; all I wanted was for him to keep kissing me. It's something I could never get tired of. If I had a chance, I'd let him kiss me every second of every day.

Kane is still looking at me, and the hunger in his eyes makes my knees feel weak. Is he possibly thinking about the kiss like I am? I couldn't get it out of my mind. I wanted everyone but him to leave the room so that we could continue where we had left things between us. His eyes narrow a little, and he shifts restlessly against the wall. It's a good thing that I was already on a bed, or I would have fallen straight on my a*s with the intensity of his gaze.

Why wasn't he looking away from me? Wasn't he worried that someone would see the way he stared? And that's exactly what he's been doing, openly staring at me, like he wanted to devour me whole. I had to clench my thighs together as I tried not to squirm beneath his gaze.

Why does he do this? Why does he always look at me that way? He wasn't helping the situation any more than I was. I was beginning to think that we were both screwed. It didn't seem like we had any control when it came to each other. I always thought that it was just me that felt this way, but after the way, Kane acted in the forest, it was confirmed that I wasn't the only one that felt these strong emotions between us. He also felt them, and they controlled him just like they did me. What was this thing between us that made us want to risk everything whenever we were alone together? But it wasn't just when we were alone; even now, when we're surrounded, I want to risk everything to be near him.

I heard a soft cry from the center of the room that caught all of our attention. I realized who the sound had come from, and immediately I tensed.

Maya. What was she up to? She looks like she'd just seen a ghost, or at least she's pretending to have seen one.

She suddenly sways on her feet, and Kane snaps his gaze away from me towards her. It's the first time he's looked away from me, and of course, it would be because of her. When he realizes what is happening, he rushes to her side, preventing her from falling. When he picks her up in his arms, I'm shocked to see the victory smile on her face. I'm not sure if anyone else saw it, but I'm stunned and speechless. Did she pretend to faint so that Kane would catch her? Was she so upset that the attention was on me right now? I knew that she was pathetic at times, but this was borderline crazy. She was beginning to make me think that she had lost her damn mind. I had to have mistaken her smile, right? There is no way that she pretended so that the attention would be taken away from me. But I kept seeing her smile in the back of my mind, and I just knew that this was intentional.

She suddenly sways on her feet, and Kane snaps his gaze away from me towards her. It's the first time he's looked away from me, and of course, it would be because of her. When he realizes what is happening, he rushes to her side, preventing her from falling. When he picks her up in his arms, I'm shocked to see the victory smile on her face. I'm not sure if anyone else saw it, but I'm stunned and speechless. Did she pretend to faint so that Kane would catch her? Was she so upset that the attention was on me right now? I knew that she was pathetic at times, but this was borderline crazy. She was beginning to make me think that she had lost her damn mind. I had to have mistaken her smile, right? There is no way that she pretended so that the attention would be taken away from me. But I kept seeing her smile in the back of my mind, and I just knew that this was intentional.

I couldn't believe the nerve of this girl. Everyone were now rushing to her side to make sure that she was okay. And that's what she wanted to happen all along. She was upset that everyone was concerned about me. Since she returned, most of the attention was on her, and she clearly hated that, for once, people were tending to me.

Everyone except Gabriella and Arthur. They were both looking at me. I guess they were the only ones that saw what I had just seen. But that was expected. We could see straight through her act. At least I wasn't the only one. I had those two by my side, and they were the best. They stuck by me through it all. And they knew everything about me. Everything except that kiss that happened in the woods. I'm not sure if they would be happy to learn about it, but I didn't want to keep any secrets from Gabriella. She was too kind to me for me to lie to her about anything. Whenever we were alone, I would get the chance to tell her what happened between Kane and me.

"I can't believe her," Gabriella whispers to me as she looks at Maya. "Did she fake it to get attention? That's just unbelievable of her. I didn't think she was that crazy for attention."

Arthur looks at them, ensuring that no one can hear our conversation.

"Something is off about her," he says to us. "I can feel it. We need to get someone to keep an eye on her. I think it will be in the best interest of everyone if we keep this to ourselves until we figure out what's wrong with her. I don't think anyone else here might agree with our observations. Because from what I can see, we are the only ones who knew that she just faked that faint."

"He's right," Gabriella says. "I didn't know her before, not like the rest of them, but I know this isn't right. She's not herself. That can't possibly be the Maya I've heard them talk about multiple times before. It's not normal for someone like her to pretend to faint just to get some attention." I agreed with them both.

I did believe that something was off. I don't think that Kane would ever fall in love with someone like her. She had changed for the worse. And I don't believe that someone could change that much. The witch must have done something horrible to Maya. I don't know what she did, but we had to find out soon before she caused more trouble for everyone. So far, she hadn't done anything to attack any of us directly, but I wouldn't put it past her. Every time I looked her way, I got these unusual chills. It's like my body is trying to tell me something about the girl. I don't know what it is, but it wasn't anything good.

It was weird that the witch had left her in the abandoned castle for us to find. Why hadn't she taken her with her? She'd hidden Maya from everyone for so long just for her to be found alive?

It just didn't add up at all. We were missing something. I don't think Kane or anyone realized that finding Maya was just too easy. A witch would never make it that easy for her to be found. I don't know why I didn't think about it before. It's only because of Maya's weird behavior that this thought is now crossing my mind. Something was wrong with her.

And if there was something off about her, if the witch had done something to make her act differently, it only meant that Kane was in line to get hurt again. And I would not stand back and let her hurt him.

We had to find a way to figure out what went wrong, and we had to do it without anyone suspecting anything. That wouldn't be easy. We would have to find a witch that we could trust. I would think that only a witch would be able to tell if a spell is on her or not. Kane and everyone else is still around Maya, ensuring that she is okay. I can see the worry on their faces, and it annoys me. It annoys me because I know that she'd just pretended. How could she make all these kind people so worked up over nothing? They think that something is wrong with her and she's totally fine.

"It's not time for you to worry about anything right now," Gabriella warns me. "You need to rest. And we aren't going to be able to move forward until you have completely healed and can walk."

It was true. I wouldn't be able to help anyone like this. I had to take the time to heal. While I wanted to get to the bottom of everything and help Kane, as well as everyone else that loved Maya, I wouldn't be able to do it in this condition.

"We should get her to another room," Austin says as he checks her temperature with the back of his hand. James is also next to her, moving the hair from her face and asking her how she is feeling. All the while, Kane is still holding her close to his chest. It hurts because just a few hours ago, I was the one he was holding onto. I was the one he was worried over. I'd felt like the luckiest girl alive to know that he cared so much for me. Now I had to watch him react the same way to another woman.

Why did I do this to myself? Whenever I saw them together, I was never able to look away. Even now, I'm staring at how he takes care of her. Kane had this gentle nature about him. But that delicate nature only came out for certain people in his life. If he didn't care for you, he treated you differently. He was only gentle towards a select few, and once you were a part of that list, it made you feel on top of the world.

Kane walks out of the room with Maya still in his arms; he doesn't look at me as he leaves. She knew what she was doing, and she seemed good at it. She knew that Kane wouldn't be able to focus on anything else as long as she wasn't well. And that's why she had pretended to faint. What else would she do to get him to commit to her fully? If they were as connected as she wants everyone to think, why does she have to try so hard to get Kane to pay attention to her?

"Don't pay any attention to them," Gabriella whispers. "I think you've been through enough already. Take this time to rest."

I sigh, "I will."

Even though I spoke those words, I knew it wasn't true. I will never be able to stop thinking about them. At least not Kane. He will always be on my mind. Even if I try to push him out, somehow, he will find a way to remind me that he was there, locked in my memories and my heart.