Keenan arrived just after Claude. The older Alpha was making his way to his seat when the doors opened and Keenan walked in. Maya sat stiffly in her seat as the rest of the table welcomed him.

Keenan simply nodded his head and walked to his seat without looking in her direction. She tried to pay attention, but her mind kept drifting to their encounter during the rain.

She sneaked a peek at him as the maids got ready to serve dinner. He didn’t meet her gaze; he paid more attention to the plates than to her. Maya couldn’t help but think it was weird. She was used to him sending glares her way, and now there was nothing.

"Is that chicken soup?" Alaina asked, disgusted, as Palmer served the meal.

Maya pulled out of her thoughts just in time to see Palmer side-eye Alaina as she kept dishing out dinner. Maya knew she wasn’t at fault here, but she couldn’t help but feel anxious.

"I can’t believe you’d serve something so disgusting to the Alpha," Alaina refused to let it go, even though Palmer paid her no mind.

The entire table turned its attention to her. Even Claude, who had been distracted while conversing with his beta, turned to look at her.

"What are you talking about?" Keenan asked. "Didn’t you cook this?"

"What? Why would I cook something so disgusting?"

Keenan squinted his eyes. "You said you did, last time."

"This is not the same chicken soup," she muttered and shot a glare at Maya.

Maya didn’t react; all she could see was the small smile on Palmer’s face as she stepped back.

"Are you saying there is something wrong with the chicken soup?" Claude asked, looking from the quiet maid to Alaina.

"Yes, very wrong. I can’t believe Agnes would serve this. You all can’t eat it."

"It smells fine," Keenan said with obvious exasperation and scooped some of the chicken soup.

"No," Alaina leaned forward and tried to stop the spoon from reaching his lips, but she was too slow.

Keenan’s deep frown eased, and his face softened. He raised a brow and looked down at the soup, staring intently at it.

"See," Alaina yelled. "It’s not good."

"Shut up, Alaina," Keenan replied and continued eating.

"Well, if your Alpha approves, I don’t see what could be wrong." Claude also tasted. "Whoa, I don’t see why you’re so against it," he said and smacked his lips.

"What?" Alaina frowned and picked up a spoon to taste hers.

For a moment, Maya and Palmer met eyes, and the young girl smirked. Maya nearly chuckled out loud as she remembered Palmer’s suggestion to give Alaina the salty soup.

"It’s good?" Alaina blurted with shock all over her face. She lifted her head and glared at Maya. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

She feared that Alaina might attack her for a moment, but Alaina only stared at her with intense malice.

"If you’ve confirmed that it’s good, will you stop making a ruckus?" Keenan scolded.

"I tasted it in the kitchen," Alaina pressed on. "It was bad. What did you do?" She looked at Maya as she asked.

"Perhaps it wasn’t ready then," Winnie offered.

Alaina gave her a look that said no one was speaking to her, and Winnie shrank once again.

"Yeah," Theo chimed in. "Agnes might have made corrections when she heard your complaints."

Alaina’s jaw hardened, but she relaxed into her chair and leaned into Theo. "Yes, you’re right," she whispered, accepting the easy way out.

However, as Alaina’s voice softened, Maya could not help but feel a shiver roll down her back. Something told her Alaina was not done.

The air around the table didn’t return to what it was before Alaina’s commotion, but Keenan didn’t seem to notice as he happily ate.

Maya found herself watching him more than she intended. She was sad that he didn’t look her way, but at least she could stare at him without the risk of getting caught.

"You’re not eating, Maya," Claude said.

She pulled her gaze from him and nodded. "I am," she mumbled. "I was—"

"Alpha Claude, the rain came out of nowhere, right?" Alaina suddenly interrupted. "I was trying to convince Alpha Keenan to go to the beach when it began to rain."

She smiled as she remembered running around in the rain. It hadn’t rained for a while, so it was nice to feel it on her skin.

Almost immediately, she felt Keenan’s eyes on her. She turned and their eyes briefly met. For a moment she was almost certain they had the same thought; she, drenched from the rain.

He turned away, wiped the corners of his lips with clear irritation in his expression, and stood up.

"Aren’t you forgetting something?" Claude asked as Keenan walked toward the door.

Keenan didn’t stop or glance back as he walked to the door. Maya didn’t like the nauseous feeling that crept all over her body, and her stomach threatened to expel the food she had eaten.

It was weird. He was leaving her be, and she was uncomfortable. Wasn’t this better than him aggressively pulling her with him? But it wasn’t. It really wasn’t.

"You’re leaving her," Claude pressed.

Keenan walked out the doors, loudly shutting them. He didn’t need to speak, his intention was clear.

The entire dining hall was quiet enough for one to hear a strand of fur fall, and before anyone could say anything, Alaina burst into exaggerated laughter. She laughed so hard that water pooled in her eyes while Maya felt nothing but shame.

She didn’t care that everyone was looking at her oddly; she just laughed until she couldn’t laugh anymore.

"Shall I escort you?" Claude suddenly asked as Maya finished her meal in awkward silence after Alaina’s long laughter.

Maya lifted her head, a mixture of shock and confusion filling her gaze. She wanted to accept his request, but at the same time, she knew he was not to be trusted. He was the reason Keenan was cold to her.

"Alpha Claude," Alaina called. "It is best to leave her be. She is nothing but a wolf in sheep’s clothing. All this is nothing but an act. She wants nothing more than to act like the victim in this situation. I am glad Alpha Keenan finally sees the truth!"