Enslaved By The Alpha
Chapter 83

~MAYA~

"I have a surprise for you!" Gabriella tells me as she walks into the room.

"And that is?" I ask, curious.

"A dress!" She says with excitement as she drops the short, blue dress on the bed for me.

I've never gotten anything this beautiful to wear before. At least not since I became Giselle's maid and had no memory of the past.

"Is there a special occasion?" I ask her. "Are you and Arthur planning something to celebrate your relationship?"

"Actually," she says, looking guilty all of a sudden. "It's kind of a bribe. I know that you probably don't want to be around Maya right now. But they are hosting a small party for her return. It's nothing big, at least that's what they told me. I believe the bigger celebration is in a week. This one is only for close family and friends. Lucy said that she asked Maya and Kane if it was okay for you to be there, and they agreed that it's best to put everything that happened behind them."

I replace that hard to believe. Maya always glared at me as though she hated me. I didn't think this was a simple dislike; she seemed like she couldn't stand my face.

And did Kane also agree to this? Even he looked like he didn't want to be around me after the way he'd spoken to me the last time I saw him.

"Are you sure they agreed to this?" I ask her. "Maybe Lucy just said they did to get me to come in hopes that I wouldn't feel horrible over what had happened. I know how kind-hearted Lucy is; I'm sure she's worried over what had happened between us." "Lucy is indeed kind hearted, but I can assure you that she isn't a liar. If she said they agreed to have you at the party, I believe her, and you should also." She answers me. "It will give us a chance to examine Maya some more properly. We need to replace out if her attitude has improved or if she's still acting out of her character."

That was a good idea. Kane may have spoken rough to me and hurt me, but that didn't mean that I would automatically stop caring for him. I couldn't switch my feelings off like a light bulb. This was something I had to live with for the rest of my life. And I didn't blame him for the way he reacted either. At first, I was mad, but I finally understood that he couldn't control his emotions. It was his first instinct to protect his mate.

"What are you wearing to the party?" I ask Gabriella.

She smiles, "I thought that we could match. I got a blue dress as well. It's just a long one with a slit on the left side."

I loved the idea of the both of us matching to the party. Gabriella felt like a sister to me, and we barely even knew each other.

"I think that is a great idea!"

She grins, "get ready quickly. I'll help with your hair and makeup."

"Why does it look like you've been waiting months to do someone's hair and makeup?" I tease her.

She laughs, "well, aren't I lucky to have you here with me now!"

Arthur walks in just then and looks at us, "we need to leave in an hour, and you girls aren't ready. We are going to be late."

"You sound like our dad!" Gabriella mumbles.

"I don't think your dad will do this," Arthur says as he pulls her in for a deep kiss.

Gabriella melts in his arms, and I pretend to cover my eyes, "I think you need to get a room!"

She laughs and hurries him out of the room. "Let's get ready before he starts complaining that we made him reach late to the party."

I laugh and do as she says. It takes us exactly an hour to get the dress on and get our hair and makeup done.

"You look stunning!" Gabriella tells me after I give a little swirl for her. "I love how the dress fits. It's like it was made just for you."

"Can we take a moment to appreciate how good you look?" I ask her. She looked beautiful, and from the way Arthur stared at her with longing, I wasn't the only one to think that.

I wish that Kane would look at me like that at least once in my life.

Ugh.

Why was I thinking about him again? I promised myself that I would try to keep my distance from him and Maya tonight for my own mental health. However, how could I do that when my heart did a little jump at just the thought of getting to see him again tonight. I hate to admit it, but I was looking forward to seeing him. I missed not having him close to me. It felt like we were too far from each other. It was bothering me more than I wanted it to. As much as I tried to fight it, I wasn't winning the battle.

It doesn't take us long to reach the palace, and my heart is pounding against my chest as we step out of the vehicle.

"Don't be nervous," Gabriella tells me. "I'll be by your side during the entire night. And don't let Maya's attitude get to you either. If it doesn't bother Kane, why should we let it bother us?"

But it did bother Kane. He wasn't willing to admit it because he felt like he deserved it. I knew this much about him. He loved to blame himself for everything.

The first thing I notice when we step inside is that the hall is filled with a lot more people than I was expecting. Wasn't this just supposed to be for family and friends? How many friends did they have? I would assume they probably had as many friends as they did enemies. And I learned that this group had a lot of enemies. "There they are," Gabriella whispers to me. It was a warning to prepare myself.

The moment my eyes fell on Kane, everything else in the room disappeared. All I could see was him. I could hear the loud pounding of my heart, threatening to burst free. Of course, it would react this way to seeing him after missing him constantly since I left here. This wasn't good. I thought I could try and avoid him, but I was clearly wrong. How could I avoid someone that was in the spotlight?

This was about to be a long night.