Chapter 141: A Monster

A monster!

His words echoed in every corner of her head. Maya tried her best not to think about it but she was failing. He thought she was a monster. Keenan didn’t use that word lightly.

"Offend? That’s what you call it?"

She winced at his statement. Why did everything she did seem to anger him anew? She was trying to make amends in her own small, pathetic way. She was hoping to close some of the gap between them. It was still too large.

Maya wanted to shrink, beg the ground to open and swallow her so she could hide away once more. But she couldn’t afford to do that now.

She had spent all that time hiding and nothing had changed. Rather, she had done things she regretted—things she would never be rid of and the scars were forever carved to remind her.

Hiding didn’t do her any good. What was she scared of? That he would hate her? He already did. She had already done the worst there was. The only thing left was to face the consequences of her actions.

"No," she replied. It took effort for her voice to appear steady.

She was scared but if she couldn’t even do this, how would she face him tomorrow when she had to tell him that the person who had hurt him had been Penelope the entire time?

"Then what would you call it?" He closed the locket in his hand, squeezing tightly.

"I am not sure what you want me to say," she mumbled. "Perhaps you’re right. I am hoping you’d see me less like a monster."

"Ha," he leaned back. The locket made a soft clank on the dress as he dropped it and ran his fingers through his hair. "You’ve got some nerve! I suppose living all your life in luxury would do that to you."

He sat upright again, pulling his hand away from his face as his green eyes entrapped her blue ones. "I won’t. Don’t waste your time. You’ll never be more than the object of my vengeance. Your acts of servitude mean absolutely nothing, nor will they change anything."

It was impressive, she thought to herself, how she stood in front of him with tear-filled eyes and not a single tear escaped. She was scared to blink; she did want the tears to run.

He didn’t care for her tragedies—he had made that clear. Her tears were bound to annoy him further. So she held them in, even as she screamed internally.

He stood up, and she instinctively took a step back. "No more of this," he added.

Why did she think anything was different? Was it because he complimented her? Did she grow more confident because of Winnie? Was it because he stood up for her against Alaina? Had she been too forward when she spoke about the locket?

"No," she replied.

Her eyes were as wide as his. She couldn’t believe what she was saying. Her thoughts didn’t match her actions. Her mind was filled with doubts and she was certain this would never get better. However, wouldn’t it be pathetic to give up now?

She always did as she was told and the first time she didn’t—when she spoke against the High Alpha and told him not to send Keenan to war—Keenan found the Alpha King’s favor and became an Alpha.

Then she went against the High Alpha’s wishes and married him. Now she was here, with him. She had thought she would never see him again, that he would die in war hating her. But here he was right in front of her.

Perhaps not doing what she was told was the thing to do. She should do what she wanted—that seemed to have fewer consequences than the former.

"No?" He asked with dark eyes.

Maya nodded and adjusted her robe. It didn’t need adjusting; she just needed to keep her hands occupied right now.

"You said it changed nothing, right? Then it doesn’t matter what I do, Alpha Keenan."

His expression hardened. "I’ll still think you’re nothing more than a monster."

She shrugged. Her shoulders felt heavier than normal. "I’ll take it," she replied and stepped forward. "If you ask me, I’ll say you’re being really nice to this monster," she grinned. "Aren’t you supposed to be taking your revenge? Isn’t my servitude part—Eek!"

She clamped her mouth shut to stop herself from screaming as Keenan reached back and grabbed her hair, pulling as far as it could go.

Her chin was tilted upward and he leaned down until his face was right above hers. Her heart was thumping loudly against her chest. Perhaps she was confused by the influx of emotions because she seemed to be mixing fear with excitement.

His scent filled her nostrils and she had been so distracted by doing things right that she didn’t notice he smelled different—more intense. Was he aroused?

Wait a minute? She was supposed to be scared for her life, but why did it feel like he wanted to take her here and now? His pupils were dilated as he leaned over her face. His jaw was tight but his nostrils were flared.

His grip on her hair tightened and Maya winced at the sharp pain in her scalp. What was happening? She could feel him pressed against her stomach.

"You sure talk a lot about my revenge when you can barely handle pain, Lady Maya."

She drew in a sharp breath to try to contain herself. The way he called her title was both condescending and appealing.

"Cat’s got your tongue?" He asked as he tangled his fingers further in her hair.

Maya felt a tear drip down one eye. Her scalp really did burn and even though she was trying her best not to show she was in pain, she couldn’t actually erase the pain.

"No," she smiled at him. "I can’t feel a thing."

"Ha," he said.

His gaze faltered for a moment, and his mouth parted as his eyes scanned her face. She didn’t know why she did it. She didn’t even have the chance to rethink her decision. She pulled her head from his grip and kissed him.