Keenan had seen her slip around in the dark. Her footsteps were unnecessarily light as she sneaked around. He stood in the dark corner watching her until she made her way up the stairs.

His grip on her shoulder was tight, but Keenan didn’t have the mental capacity to care about her discomfort. He wanted an explanation for why she was creeping around.

"You expect me to believe that?" His voice was harsh as he yelled. He couldn’t dare trust her; it would be the most fatal mistake.

He didn’t know what plans Vilhelm had in store. He wouldn’t be surprised if she had stepped out to find some way to communicate with her father. They had all blindsided him multiple times; it would be an error on his part to put anything past her.

She winced as his fingers dug into her shoulder, but Keenan was determined to get to the bottom of this no matter what. No matter the method he had to use.

Her other hand lifted to rest on his grip on her shoulder, and she pulled at his thumb. Keenan’s blood rang in his head. He didn’t want her to touch him; he didn’t want her cold, soft hands anywhere near him.

He was nearly blinded with anger, but not compared to the anger he felt at being aware of everything about her. He was aware of how sweetly she smelled, like fresh honey. In this enclosed corner, that was all he could smell.

He could also see how pale her skin still looked in the dark, and how her blue eyes shimmered behind unshed tears.

The worst part was, as much as he didn’t want her to touch him, he didn’t miss how nice her cold fingers felt against his skin. It reminded him of how she had tricked him with her soft caress as she smeared wolfsbane all over his chest. He dug his fingers even deeper.

"The kitchen... dishes," she whimpered, almost as if it was too hard to speak.

"What?!" Keenan yelled, bringing his face closer to hers.

Her expression crumbled, and she looked on the verge of tears. "I-I took the d-dishes to the k-kitchen."

Keenan’s face darkened even more at her measly excuse. "No one asked you to do that!"

She had no reason to do that except she had ulterior motives. He couldn’t see her doing it out of the goodness of her heart. Keenan almost laughed at the thought. He knew exactly what was in her heart; he had the scar to show for it. Clearing the dishes—she could come up with a better lie.

"What were you—"

"Alpha," a voice cut through his anger.

Keenan leaned away from her but didn’t let go of her shoulder as he turned his head in the direction of the voice. "Asher," he whispered. "What are you doing here?"

Asher stepped out of the darkness, appearing on the first floor where they stood. His brows furrowed as he took in Keenan. Asher avoided the main building for personal reasons that Keenan didn’t pry into, so to see him at such an hour meant something was going on.

Asher glanced at Maya, whom Keenan held to the wall, but he didn’t hold her gaze, and his eyes easily passed as though he didn’t see her.

"I have terrible news," he said as he faced Keenan.

Keenan squinted his eyes. "What is it?" His tone was calmer as he braced himself for the worst.

"I was on patrol, and the guards you sent with the High Priestess just returned."

Keenan let go of Maya, who immediately fell to the floor clutching her shoulder. He didn’t spare her a glance and walked closer to Asher.

"Was she attacked? Is she okay?" He didn’t think Vilhelm would stoop low enough to attack a High Priestess, but he should know better than to put anything past him.

"Her carriage was attacked, and the..." he paused and glanced down at Maya, "...marriage certificate was stolen."

Keenan ground his jaw. If he was unsure whether Vilhelm had something to do with the attack, now he had all the confirmation he needed. He had done the wedding as quickly as possible to stop the High Alpha, but even that wasn’t enough.

"And the High Priestess?"

"She got to the castle without any injuries, though she had to complete the rest of the journey in her wolf form as the carriage was completely destroyed."

Keenan made fists but kept his hands down. "Any confirming clues? We know who did it, but do we have proof?"

Asher shook his head. "Not exactly. They injured one of the men who attacked, but they all got away. Our men were also injured, but it’s nothing to worry about. They will heal by themselves."

Keenan’s gaze darkened, and he looked down to where she was crouched on the ground holding her shoulder. Rage blurred his vision. Attacking the High Priestess was clearly part of their plan.

Keenan ground his jaw to calm himself. He doubted she would tell him anything, and with the fury he felt, he was likely to break her bones should she answer his questions wrongly.

"Leave!" Keenan commanded.

Maya was upright at his orders. Her expression was contorted in pain, and she moved forward, using the wall to guide her as she made her way to the stairs.

"You don’t think she has something to do with this, right?" Asher asked when she was out of earshot.

"It’s that sort of thinking that gets you tricked. Only a handful of people knew I was going to get a certificate. Not only did Vilhelm find out about the marriage certificate, but he also knew the High Priestess would be carrying it."

Asher frowned. He didn’t look completely convinced, but he didn’t dispute his Alpha’s words. "I suppose it’s a good thing, then, that the one the High Priestess carried was simply decoy. Did you suspect that something like this might happen?"

"No, but I wasn’t willing to take any chances. Not after she fainted in that elaborate manner."

"Why—" Asher started to ask but stopped himself.

"Why what?"

"Nothing, Alpha. I shall resume my patrols. Should anything happen, I’ll inform you."

Keenan nodded, his gaze still in the direction that Maya had rushed off in. He had intended to hand the certificate to the Alpha King himself. Their marriage certificate was sitting pretty in his chambers, locked and safe.

Keenan let out a laugh as he ran his fingers through his hair. Vilhelm’s petty tricks wouldn’t get her away from him. She was his legally and traditionally.