Chapter 126: Things
"Ah, well, I—I got distracted. I was helping—at the workshop, Winnie said I could."
Keenan let his hand fall to his leg after he wiped the stain off her cheek. He didn’t know why he did that. He was angry before she stepped in—he still was—but as soon as she walked in, all he thought about was how nicely she smelled.
He had ignored her on purpose. It was only two nights since they had arrived in Verlassen, and Vilhelm had already put his plans into motion. To think he let himself get distracted.
He glanced at the desk, staring hard at the letter. He didn’t know the contents but he was certain this was the onset of unpleasant things to follow.
He had not planned to speak until he felt calm enough. Actually, that wasn’t true—he wanted to keep her uneasy. He wanted her to slip up. But then she called him and he reacted. And all it took was one look at her face, and his hand itched to touch her.
The clay stain was an excuse—he knew that. It was harder to lie to himself about that. He, however, didn’t expect her to react as she did. Her face was red and her hand remained on her cheek long after his hand pulled away.
"You have a letter," he stated. He shouldn’t let himself get distracted.
Her hands fell from her face and her eyes widened a little. "A letter?"
It was impressive how shocked she looked. It was no fault of his that he kept getting fooled but he should be used to it by now. Yet he wasn’t.
"Yes."
"From the High Alpha?" She softly asked.
Her expression shifted from shock to worry, but it didn’t seem as though she was worried about the letter. Or was she? Should he have read it?
"Yes," he replied coldly.
"What does it say?" She queried.
She was still standing close to him, so he could smell her as clearly as he could see her. He didn’t like how all his senses were acutely aware of her presence and reacted to her.
She glanced away from his face to the table. He narrowed his eyes as he tried to guess what her expression said as her eyes found the envelope.
Was she gauging if he had found something he shouldn’t? He hadn’t read it yet. He didn’t particularly plan to open it himself, but now he was wondering if he should have.
He easily picked it up, his gaze never leaving hers, and he handed the letter to her. "Here."
She grabbed it with both hands and the space between her brows creased. Keenan’s palm formed a fist as he pulled his hand back after giving her the letter.
Why was his first thought to smooth her brow? He should be thinking about what was in the letter. He needed to know what she was wary of, not be bothered by the state of her brow.
She slowly swallowed—he watched her throat move as she carefully broke the seal. She was tense; her shoulders were stiff as she studied the letter. She pulled the page from the envelope, and her brow creased even more.
"Dearest Daughter,
Finally, I can write to you. Forgive me for letting you suffer in such terrible conditions for so long. Sacrificing yourself for your father—that’s exactly the person you are, Maya.
I bring you things to make your current terrible condition slightly favorable. It’s the least I can do for now. I hope you’ll bear with your father for just a little longer. I promise to get you out of there as soon as I can.
Do write to me as soon as you get this. Despite what the Alpha might make it seem, I will have my way and save you from him.
Your Father,
Vilhelm."
Maya’s grip was tight on the letter as she lifted her head to look at him. She was surprised she was able to read out every word with a steady voice.
His expression gave nothing away, while her heart felt like it was beating ten times more than usual. She was scared—she knew Father well enough to know there was a threat in his words.
However, she was unsure who it was directed to. No, that wasn’t it. She was quite sure it was directed at both of them. He knew she hadn’t chosen Keenan for him—not with the history between them. He was warning her.
"Do you want to write a letter back now?" Keenan asked.
His words were emotionless as he asked and she noticed he had not looked away from her, as if he was looking for something.
Was he still suspicious? Did he think this was part of some evil plan she had? He wasn’t saying anything about the obvious threat of getting her out here. The High Alpha had left that message on purpose; he knew Keenan was going to read the letter.
"No," she said.
"Why not?" He asked.
Maya shivered. His voice sounded drab, but she could tell he was furious. Who wouldn’t be, considering the contents of the letter?
She squeezed the letter tighter. "I don’t want to send one yet."
"Do you want privacy?" He wasn’t letting it go.
"No, that’s not it. I don’t need privacy and the terms of the agreement are to pass all letters through you."
"Was that why you read it out loud? So I wouldn’t be suspicious?"
He wasn’t wrong but the way he phrased it sounded as though she was trying to deceive him. Her lips formed a thin line. Was she really making no headway with him?
"I wanted to keep my end of the agreement," she mumbled, stretching out the letter toward him.
He scoffed. "Keep it. Step out. The things to make your terrible condition favorable arrived along with the letter."
"Things?" Her brows furrowed again, and her hand still hung in the air in an attempt to give him back the letter.
"Yes, things," he replied and turned his whole body away from her, facing the table. "Go."
His tone didn’t hide his displeasure this time, and she could almost imagine what the High Alpha could have done. There was no limit to what he could do, and from Keenan’s reaction, she feared it was something absolutely terrible.
"I am sorry, Alpha Keenan, but I do not understand what you’re talking about," she mumbled, hoping he would explain what he meant.
He didn’t respond and just picked up the quill and began writing. She crushed the edges of the paper and pulled her hand to her side. She had no choice but to exit the room.
She shut the door and rested her back on the closed door. What else had the High Alpha done? He looked very angry.
She looked at the letter again, folded it and placed it back in the envelope. Was it the contents of the letter?
It was a cause for concern—the High Alpha had practically threatened both of them. However, she doubted Keenan saw it in that manner.
If he still thought she was in cahoots with Father, he must think she was trying to get him to let his guard down so Father could execute his grand plan.
She was doing everything in her power to show how trustworthy she was but things kept getting out of hand. Also, what were the "things" he kept alluding to?
"Lady Maya."
Maya pushed herself from the door as she heard a voice that shouldn’t be in Verlassen. She jerked her head up to see her personal maid walking toward her.
"Margaret?!" She yelled out with bulging eyes.
"Yes," Margaret replied, smiling as she walked toward her.
"What are you doing here?"
Margaret bowed in front of her before slowly lifting her smiling face to Maya. "The High Alpha sent me. Oh, Lady Maya. I’ve missed you so much. You’ve lost so much weight." The maid cried as she leaned closer and peered at Maya’s face.
"Father sent you," she mumbled.
He had mentioned this, but she didn’t expect him to go through with it. Was this what Keenan was referring to?
"Yes," she replied, still smiling. "Do you not approve?"
"No," Maya shook her head. "I am very happy to see you, but you must be needed in the mansion."
Margaret was one of the longest-working servants, despite being only a few years older than Maya. Even though she was her personal servant, her role wasn’t limited to just taking care of her—rather, Margaret assisted her in running the house.
She must have taken over after Maya left, which concerned Maya. The maid had more important things to do than to be sent to Verlassen for her. Father could have sent any other servant.
"You have nothing to worry about, Lady Maya. I am not needed in the mansion. My place is right next to you. The servants and the house are very fine without me."
"You didn’t have to come," she replied. "I am fine, really."
"If I didn’t know better, I’d say your Ladyship doesn’t want me here."