Enslaved By The Alpha
Chapter 95

I don't know what I was expecting from Kane, but I definitely didn't expect him to be disappointed to see that the marks he left on me are covered. I don't think he expected me to model with them on my body either; as much as I would love to do that, we both knew it would only cause trouble. I'm not sure what I was getting myself involved in. I kept putting myself in the position to get hurt. And I couldn't stop it even though I knew it was dangerous for my heart.

I'm not sure what's happening between Kane and me. And I'm not sure what will happen to us in the future. I just know that I want to fight for this. But I didn't want to be someone that tried to take him away from his mate. But Maya wasn't the same as she was before. I wasn't even sure if she was the real Maya from how she acted. But what if she was the real Maya? What would that mean for us? Kane didn't seem to think that she was a fake. He didn't even think that she was under a spell-like Gabriella and me suspected. What if we were wrong? It would mean that I was doing to her what I wouldn't want to be done to me. But it's not something that I'm doing intentionally. Whenever I'm next to Kane, I have no control. He makes me want things that I know are wrong. And at times, it feels like I would die if I didn't get a chance to be near him. My feelings for him were too intense for me to ignore. I could never get enough of Kane. Never. I want him every second of every day.

And I don't just want Kane. I knew now that I no doubt loved him with every part of my heart. I loved Kane. I loved him so much. And I didn't want anyone else to have him but me. I wish I were stronger than this when it came to him. I wish I knew how to control myself. And from the way Maya acted around him, she didn't love him the way I did. She didn't want what was best for him. So then why shouldn't I fight for him? Why must I just sit back and let her have him? I can tell by just looking at her that she would make his life miserable. I didn't want that for him. If he didn't choose to be with me, I wouldn't want him to be with her either. Because being with her would only make him unhappy. And that's the last thing I wanted for him.

Part of me wondered if the right thing to do was walk away. I quickly got rid of that thought. I wasn't going anywhere. Not now and certainly not anytime soon. I had to replace out who this Maya was before I did anything drastic. I also had to prove that Kane was Gabriella's sister. He had to know the truth. I wanted him to know the truth. I wanted him to see that he had a family that loved him. I wanted him to know that he wasn't alone. We were all here for him, all he had to do was ask for help, and we would be there in a second. I don't think he even realizes that Gabriella has so much love in her heart for him. He doesn't know why she protected him in the past, but I knew the whole truth, and I couldn't wait for him to replace out. I think that Kane realizing he wasn't alone anymore would help fill the void in his heart. He doesn't show it, but I know he wishes he had a family. And he thinks he will never have that again since his impostor dad and sister are now dead.

While I couldn't wait for the truth to be out, I was still terrified of his reaction to replaceing out he had been lied to his whole life.

"I was thinking that we should take her home with us today," Gabriella says to Lucy, bringing my attention back to the people in front of me. "Her ankle is much better, and as you can see, she can now walk. There isn't any need for her to stay longer." As much as I wanted to stay close to Kane, I knew Gabriella was doing the right thing. For now, it would be better if we stayed away from each other just long enough for me to get the answers that I was seeking. If I were around him, I would never be able to get anything done. I would be too caught up in everything that includes him. And it seems that I was also tempting Kane in multiple ways. If we kept this up, we were bound to be caught by someone in this palace.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Lucy asks me. "You can stay here as long as you want. I've told you that you are now part of our family. We will always have a place for you here."

I can't help but smile at her, "I'm happy to be a part of your family. But I really would like to go home and rest with Gabriella."

She nods, "I understand. The doctor is still coming to see you today. So you can all stay here until he reaches. We can have a little fun in the meantime."

"Some fun?" Gabriella asks. "What did you have in mind?"

The way that Lucy says the word fun has gripped all of our attention. We're all waiting for her to elaborate on her words.

"It's something that Isabella suggested," She tells her. "It's supposed to be a straightforward game for the guys to win."

"So it's a challenge more for the guys?" Gabriella asks her. "I think I like the idea of that. Arthur could do with a good challenge."

The men don't look as excited as the girls, and I wonder what kind of game Lucy was referring to.

"Isabella was telling me that she saw people do this already. You blindfold the male, and then he has to replace his mate just by their scent. No touching, hugging, nothing. Of course, when he thinks he's found her, he can hug her and take off the blindfold." She teaches us how the game goes.

"I can easily replace you in a room full of people with my eyes closed," Austin says in a dry tone. "I don't need this game to prove that."

Lucy grins, "let's see if we can put your words to the test then! Unless you're scared that you're going to lose."

"I agree with Austin on this one," Hunter says. "We can all easily replace our mates with our eyes closed. Their scent will be the strongest out of everyone else's. This game doesn't prove as a challenge to us."

Isabella sighs, "can we just play the game? I think it will be fun. We have nothing else to do."

Arthur pulls Gabriella by his side and takes a big whiff of her scent. She hits his hand and pushes him away, "that's cheating!"

He laughs, "do you think I truly needed to do that to win? After all the things we did last-"

Gabriella's cheeks turn red, "Shut up, Arthur!"

James chuckles as he tries to do the same with Eden, but she pushes him away in time.

"Girls, get the blindfolds ready. And let's have some fun! Let's see which of our mates needs to spend the night out of their rooms!" Lucy teases.

"I'm guessing I don't have to participate since I don't have a mate." I point out as I make an attempt to leave them to the game.

"Oh no, you don't," Isabella says as she brings me right back. "Even though you don't have a mate. You can help us confuse the guys."

I guess it means that I'm staying for this even though I know I'm not going to serve a purpose. Maya is unusually quiet during the entire conversation. I couldn't read her mind, but it didn't look like she wanted to play the game. She doesn't try to back out as I did, however. Instead, she joins Isabella as they try to replace the blindfolds.

A few minutes later, they return with them in their hands. Each woman calls their mates and places the blindfolds over their eyes, getting ready to start the game.

"Can any of you see anything?" Lucy asks. "And answer honestly, we don't want any cheaters. And as you've pointed out already, there is no point in trying to cheat since it's a straightforward game."

Arthur grins, "nothing here. But I can already smell my woman. We told you this game would be a breeze for us."

Hunter nods, "this game only makes me want her more."

Isabella laughs, "okay, since all of you can't see, I guess it's safe to start the game now."

Lucy nods, "remember, girls. We can't make a sound when the game starts. We can't make this any easier for them."

"Who should start the game first?" Eden asks as she looks at the guys.

"Let's have them go in order," Lucy says. "Austin first since he claims he can replace me in a room filled with people with his eyes closed very easily. Then James, Hunter, Arthur, and lastly Kane."

"Just let us know when it's time to start," Austin says.

"START!" EDEN shouts.

The girls try to move around a bit to distract and confuse Austin. I hold in a laugh as he practically follows Lucy everywhere that she goes. She's trying to make it hard for him, but he is right; he can replace her quickly even with his eyes closed. "I know you're moving around," Austin growls.

Lucy laughs when he jumps forward and grabs her waist, pulling him towards her. He doesn't even remove the blindfold as he leans down and kisses her.

"Shouldn't you have taken off your blindfold first before you kissed me?" she teases him.

He pulls it off finally and quirks a brow, "why would I? I was sure that it was you."

She rolls her eyes, "I won't make it this easy for you the next time we play this game."

He groans, "why does there have to be a next time?"

James goes next, and just like Austin, he replaces Eden very quickly amongst the rest of us. She doesn't try to move around as Lucy did, making it much easier for him.

"Hunter, your turn!" Lucy informs him.

Isabella tries to hide behind Lucy, trying to make it harder for him. It's hard for all of us to keep our laughter in.

He smirks; I think he knows what Isabella is trying to do.

He makes it look like he's about to grab Lucy, but in a quick second, he pulls Isabella out from behind her and removes his blindfold.

Isabella pouts, "that's unfair. You should have had it harder."

Hunter shakes his head, "I thought you would be happy that I won? Should I have pretended to lose to make you happier?"

Isabella tries to act annoyed, but she can't hide her happiness that he'd found her without any problems.

It was Arthur's turn now. He and Kane are the only ones left in blindfolds now. The other men can now sit back and watch as everything unfolds. They seemed relieved that their time was over. That was understandable since they didn't want to play, to begin with. The only reason they chose to do it was to make their mates happy. From what I've learned from these men, they lived to make their mates happy. And I don't blame them; they have some of the most precious women I've ever met before in my life. Arthur moves around, pretending to be lost, but we can see the smile on his face. He's purposefully annoying Gabriella, and it's working.

She stands still, waiting for him to come to her, but also signals Lucy to go next to her. When Arthur finally attempts to grab her, she jumps to the side, and he mistakenly holds Lucy instead. "You lose!" Gabriella teases him.

He removes the blindfold and growls as he lets Lucy go, "you cheated. You were right there."

She laughs, "I'll like to see you try and prove it, Arthur. You're the only one who missed his mate." She teases.

She's laughing, but Arthur clearly looks annoyed.

"Kane!" Lucy shouts. "You're the last one. Girls, let's assemble; we can't make it easy for him since he's the last one here. Let's make it difficult so he can join Arthur on the loser's side."

I want to laugh at Arthur's expression when she practically calls him a loser. Even though they cheated, it was fun to see at least one of them had lost. We needed a win on our team. After all, the girls wanted to play the game to begin with.

I didn't want to see Kane choose Maya. Just like everyone else, he would be able to easily replace her amongst the rest of us. For some reason, he looks hesitant. Like he isn't sure, and he's the first to look that worried. It bothers me. He doesn't look like he's enjoying the game; he seems to dislike it more than everyone here did.

He walks toward Maya, but I'm surprised when he passes her straight. I think all of us are stunned. The girls, the men, and every one of us is in complete shock when he keeps walking. At one point, I thought he was going for Gabriella since she was standing right next to me, but he also passed her straight.

I'm shocked to my core when his hands reach out and grip my waist in a tight hold. I gasp when he pulls me towards him and removes his blindfold. There is an awkward silence when he opens his eyes and sees me standing in front of him instead of Maya. I don't think either one of us knows what to say at this point. I love being this close to him, but not like this, not with everyone looking at us. And not when Kane has to feel uncomfortable because, unlike everyone else, he couldn't sense his mate. I don't know how much this would affect him. Everyone knows that a male can feel his mate easily; it shouldn't have been hard for him.

Kane slowly lets go of me, and he looks like he doesn't believe what he'd just done. I don't think anyone here believes that he just grabbed me instead of Maya, his actual mate. And he didn't hesitate; he passed her without a second thought. "It's okay!" Lucy tries to lighten the mood. "The dress I lent her belongs to Maya. I think that's why Kane got confused."

Gabriella fake laughs, trying to lighten the mood. "Lucy, did you intentionally try to make Kane lose by giving her something that had Maya's scent on it?"

"That's good." Isabella adds, "it gives our team an extra point."

Kane goes to stand beside Maya, and things look extra awkward between them.

"So, is this considered a tie?" Lucy asks the men with a smile.

"A tie?" Austin asks. "It's three against two. That is not a tie in my book."

"Let's not forget that they cheated me as well," Arthur grumbles.

"Stop being such a sore loser!" Gabriella exclaims though she's grinning from ear to ear, knowing exactly that they did cheat to get that point.

I'm still in shock from Kane choosing me when he had his blindfold on. I need a moment to catch myself. I can't stay here while everyone is still having fun.

What made him think that I was Maya? His mate?

I needed some time to recover, and so I excused myself, lying that I wasn't feeling the best. They looked concerned and even offered to go with me, but I told them I would be fine. Thankfully, they didn't try to persuade me anymore and let me go.

As soon as I got to the room, I didn't even get to the bed when I heard footsteps coming closer. I'm surprised when someone shuts the door behind me. I spun around to replace Kane locking it.

What was he doing? Why would he lock the door with just the two of us inside? Did he not realize that he couldn't do this? Not after last night, not after what just happened in the garden. And definitely not after the way my heart beat with excitement of having the two of us alone in a room together.

"What are you doing?" I ask him after replaceing my breath.

It's the last thing that I'm expecting him to do after everything that happened last night. I thought Kane would be trying to put as much distance between us as possible. He doesn't answer me.

He takes long strides toward me, and I can barely breathe when he grabs my neck and pulls me close to him.

I gasp when he buries his nose against the base of my throat and inhales my scent, "I can't stop thinking about you. I think I'm going insane. Why do you smell more like Maya than Maya does? Who are you really? Why can't my heart stop beating for you?" My lips part in surprise; how does he expect me to answer those questions? How should I know why I smell like his mate?

And how does he expect me to breathe when he says things like that to me? How does he expect me not to fall for him when he tells me that his heart can't stop beating for me? How?