Chapter 55

Claire’s POV

My eyelids fluttered close against the sudden wealth of sensations that flooded through my being.

This was the last thing I wanted to happen. This was exactly why I had wanted to flee the room the second I walked in through those doors.

“Kelvin,” I whispered.

“Look at me, Claire,” he ordered, using his free hand to tilt my chin.

“Just let me go,” I murmured, knowing that I wasn't going to be able to hold on to common sense for much longer if I so much as looked into his eyes.

“Do you think I do not want to?” he replied and gave a harsh laugh.

“But for the life of me, I do not seem to have the power to do that.”

“I should even have you locked up in the dungeons until I'm certain that your sudden transformation from an Omega to an Alpha is not some part of a nefarious plan cooked up by Gavin.”

“Just about two weeks ago, some part of this Pack was attacked and my Beta and I were nearly killed by men who I strongly suspect were of Gavin’s Pack.”

His fingers tightened around my chin. “Tell me you know nothing about this. What did he promise you to make you decide to work with him and try to kill me?”

The accusations were enough to force me to open my eyes.

I ignored the overwhelming heat that coursed through me when I looked into his eyes.

“For an Alpha, you are quite dumb,” I said, causing his eyes to darken rather dangerously.

Warning bells rang in my head but I chose to ignore it.

“How could I have planned an attack with Gavin on the Pack when I work day and night, locked up here in the Castle?”

“Who knows?” He murmured. “You’ve proven that you are quite capable of doing things that are seemingly impossible.”

“You are just being ridiculous, and I’m not going to stand here and try to defend myself because you’ve already chosen in your heart to see me as the enemy.”

His lips curled into a cruel smile. “Well, we are going to know very soon whether you are or not.”

Angrily, I pulled away from his grasp and his eyes betrayed his shock at my sudden display of strength.

“You are looking in the wrong direction here. Perhaps, you should focus more on your wife. I overheard her the other day speaking to Gavin.”

His eyes narrowed. “Don’t you dare try to accuse the Luna of anything relating to treason. Just because she is mean to you doesn’t mean you should attempt to make her the culprit.”

I pushed aside the feeling of disappointment that threatened to overwhelm me.

What had I been expecting? He couldn’t possibly take my side. He was always going to be on the side of the Luna.

Deciding not to say anything more about it, I said, “Fine then. You should go back to your lunch though. Or would you prefer to eat something else?

Wrong question.

His eyes darkened to the deepest shade of green as they travelled down the length of my body.

An involuntary shiver trickled down my spine and I could feel my nipples harden in desire at the heat in his gaze.

I crossed my arms over my chest to prevent him from seeing the treachery of my body.

“If that would be all, Your Majesty,” I murmured before dipping into a curtsy and turning to leave.

“I’ve told you not to call me that again,” he snapped.

“Your Luna isn’t going to appreciate a slave calling her Alpha by his first name. I think you should try to understand that.”

He didn’t say anything else and I thought that it was my cue to leave.

I was wrong.

“You are not to set foot outside this room until I’m done eating,” he said.

Rolling my eyes, I turned to face him. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

A muscle in his jaw clenched in anger but he didn’t try to correct me again.

Then unexpectedly, his lips curled into a smile.” I even think it’s best if I get to keep an eye on you every time. You know what they say about keeping your enemies closer.”

Now, that was going to be a problem. I didn’t need the extra monitoring, especially now that Aunt Lora and I were working on getting revenge.

“Don’t you have anything else better to do than monitor and torment a poor slave?”

His smile widened as he lowered himself onto the bed and reached for the silverware.

“You are no poor slave, Claire. Besides, if you are as innocent as you claim you are, then you should have no problem with that.”

“I didn’t say I had a problem with it,” I replied. “I just don’t want your duties to suffer neglect just because you have chosen to focus on me.”

He chewed thoughtfully for a while and after he swallowed said, “I think you are the only girl who doesn’t want the attention of a ruling Alpha. Now, speaking about Alphas, why did Dimitri single you out the other day?”

I stiffened in my seat at the unexpected question. Of course, he noticed and his eyes sparkled with interest.

“How am I supposed to know?” I replied. “Perhaps, I have this thing inside of me that always makes Alphas want to punish me.”

“Don’t speak to me like I’m a simpleton, Claire. Tell me why the Alpha of the Ravenwood Pack singled you out. That wasn’t his first visit to this Pack. In all the times he had visited, never had he for once been rude to a servant. So tell me the truth.”

“Fine then,” I said, reasoning that telling him the truth wouldn’t hurt.

“We were once mates. For a very short period though. He rejected me the minute I told him I was not a virgin.”

Alpha Kelvin’s eyes widened in surprise. “That’s something.”

He was silent for a couple of seconds before he added, “You know, I was going to ask what it was with you and Alphas but then I realized that it might be because you are an Alpha yourself.”

“How brilliant!” I muttered under my breath in sarcasm.

He glowered at me. “You think you are smart, huh?” Just because you are an Alpha now doesn’t mean that you can speak to me as you fit.”

I couldn’t help it. My lips curled into a smile which only made him more irritated.

“But just a couple of minutes ago you wanted me to refer to you by your first name. That’s something slaves are not supposed to do at all. If you can give me permission to call you by your first name, then you shouldn’t have a problem with me speaking freely with you, don’t you think?”

He gazed at me in silence for a few seconds before he replied.

“I think it’s high time we tamed that smart mouth of yours.”

“And just how do you intend to do that?” I queried without meaning to but there was no way I could unsay the words.

The Alpha grinned. “Oh, you are going to love it when I do it. Just you wait.”