Chapter 162: Maya Would Never

The main entrance hall was empty when she got to the top of the stairs—not a single soul in sight. It was dark too, and the smell of blood filled the air.

She rushed down the stairs, finding the bloodstained spot in the darkness. It trickled around and seemed to be from the entrance, but it pooled more in the spot where she stood.

She remembered Theo had said Maya was bleeding. She bent down and touched the blood; it was still wet, hadn’t even congealed yet.

Maya was here mere moments ago. Where was she?

She frowned as a familiar scent drifted through her nose. The Alpha was here, and Alaina too. She sniffed the air. There was another scent she recognized. A maid? She wasn’t quite sure.

She would be able to pick up the scent better if she were in her wolf form, but she still had to figure out where Maya was taken.

Is she still here? Her room, perhaps?

She looked back to where she came from. She doubted it. If Alaina had something to do with this, she would have pressed that Maya be punished. She had seen it enough times.

She was really worried about the letter. Theo had seemed very convinced about it. The letter threw her off. Only Alpha Keenan could read, and Alaina was even worse. She was much too stubborn to learn.

Voices prickled her ears, and she looked toward the door. People were coming. Were they returning from the beach? That wouldn’t happen except if Alpha Keenan gave the orders.

She walked toward the door, opened it, and at the foot of the stairs was Palmer leading the rest of the maids while holding a lamp and some of the utensils used during the bonfire.

"Winnie," the maid cried as she saw her.

"Palmer," she called back and rushed down the stairs.

Palmer dropped the items in her hands—except the lamp—not caring if they broke as she rushed up the stairs.

She wrapped an arm around her. "You’re fine," she cried. "I heard you wolf cry."

The rest of the servants were drawing closer, calling her name and whispering. "It was so loud. Were you attacked?"

"Are you okay?"

"Is that blood?" Another yelled.

"Blood?" Palmer called and pulled away. "Are you bleeding?" Her eyes widened in horror as she realized the extent of the blood stain.

"No, I am fine. This is Asher’s blood. He was the one injured."

"Oh no. Is he fine?"

"Yeah," she lied. Asher was not a topic she wanted to discuss. "I am in a hurry, Palmer. Did you see Maya? She was on the beach, right?"

"Yes, but then she left. We don’t know when, and even the Alpha was looking for her before we heard your scream."

"She was gone before then?" Winnie’s frown deepened. "Have you seen her now?"

Palmer shook her head. She looked around at the rest of the servants and they all also shook their heads.

"What about Alpha Keenan or Alaina?"

"I didn’t see Alaina, but Alpha Keenan came to tell us everything was fine and that we could go back home. He is behind, speaking to Agnes and the wolves that returned."

"Thank you, Palmer," she said and rushed down the stairs.

"Do you need me to go with you?" Palmer called after her.

But Winnie could no longer hear her as she sped down the rest of the stairs and toward the direction the staff had just come from.

She passed a few houses as she walked, and people returning from the beach tried to speak to her, but Winnie paid them no mind as she rushed forward.

When she got close enough to them, she would hear them gasp as they saw the blood on her clothes.

"I am uninjured," she ended up yelling a few times as she rushed past them. "Goodnight."

Thankfully, she didn’t have to run too far and traumatize too many children before she saw Alpha Keenan. He was standing in a semicircle, addressing the wolves that had returned, and Agnes stood next to him.

One of the wolves had shifted, and he was speaking to Alpha Keenan with a scarf tied around his waist.

"We stopped chasing them when they entered the High Alpha’s territory. They didn’t stop running. We did manage to injure one of them, but we couldn’t seem to corner them as they never attacked and just tried to get away as fast as they could."

"You did very well coming back. We don’t know how many of them are lurking. It is best to hold our ground here than enter his territory," Keenan replied.

She couldn’t see his expression as he spoke, just his back. Some of the wolves noticed her as she approached but they weren’t surprised. They had already seen her with the injured Asher.

"Are we under attack then?" Agnes asked.

"I don’t know."

"Can he do that?" The man with the scarf around his waist asked.

"No. But because we didn’t catch anyone, we can’t say for sure that he attacked us. For now, I’ll keep an eye out. Get some rest, and tomorrow we can discuss further. Thank you all."

"Is anyone hurt?" Agnes yelled.

The wolves shook their heads as they dispersed. The man with the scarf shifted and nodded to Alpha Keenan before he set off. He glanced at Winnie longer than the rest before he walked past.

"Winnie," Keenan called and turned around.

"Winnie!" Agnes yelled and turned in the same direction as Keenan, searching for her in the darkness.

She walked closer to them. "Alpha Keenan, Agnes."

"Alpha told me you weren’t attacked, but you’re covered in blood," she commented as Winnie stepped closer where she could see her better.

She lifted her dress slightly. "This is Asher’s blood."

Agnes gasped. "This much? Is he alive?"

"What did the physician say?" Keenan asked.

"He is alive right now, but he has lost a lot of blood. His heart is still beating but slowly. Master Richard didn’t say anything. All we can do now is wait and hope."

Alpha Keenan’s jaw tightened, and he looked toward the direction of the main house.

"Why was he attacked? He was the only one attacked. What’s the High Alph—"

"He wasn’t the only one attacked," Winnie cut in. "Alpha Keenan, where is she?"

Keenan returned his attention to Winnie. He didn’t have to ask to know who she was talking about.

He understood that they were close, but he didn’t expect it to remain the same even after her mate was attacked because of her.

"I don’t know," he said and started to walk past her, but she blocked him.

"Alpha Keenan, she is hurt. I know you think she is a part of this, but I promise you, she isn’t. Maya would never!"