Enslaved By The Alpha
Chapter 106

~KANE~

She just said no to me. It's the first time, and it makes me feel miserable. A million thoughts were flowing through my mind. Did she already move on? Who the f**k was this Griffin, and why, out of everyone else, does she seem interested in him? Why does this feel like someone was constantly pulling at my heart? Why do I feel like my entire world was falling apart because she refused me once?

I've been pushing her away since the first day I met her, and she stood by my side each time. Now she doesn't want anything to do with me. Instead, she's dancing with a billionaire and attending parties he invited her to. It almost felt like I didn't know her anymore. It feels like she's changed overnight.

I don't think I've ever been this angry in my entire life. I want to rip the man's head out of his damn body.

I kept telling myself that I was here with Maya and needed to behave myself. I knew that I promised to treat her better from now on, and I managed to do that for more than a week, but now I wasn't sure how long it would last.

When I let Giselle's maid go, I did not think about having to let another man have what I had. Not once did I think another man would get to dance with her and make her laugh. Not once did I think he would get to touch her and hold her hand. Those are things I've loved doing, and I was foolish enough to believe I would always be the only one that she would let be that close to her. Seeing her smile was something I've always wanted to see. And he was making her smile so effortlessly. She was happy by his side, and she wasn't faking it; I knew when she was pleased, and she indeed was around the a*****e.

And she deserved that happiness. She deserved to smile after all the pain I've given her. So then why can't I be f*****g happy for her? Why do I have to act like a possessive moron?

And why the f**k is Gabriella encouraging her so much? Shouldn't she be on my side? Of course, she didn't know how I felt for the girl but still, she should have known not to meddle. Why did she have to introduce her to him? I'm sure she was the one responsible for it. Arthur wouldn't just decide to go into matchmaking. My sister had to be the evil mastermind behind this mess.

My jaw clenched as I approached her. She's luckily standing by herself. I didn't want to cause a scene; I've done that enough times in my life already. But if this kept on happening, if I had to continue seeing them together, I couldn't promise to behave myself for the rest of the night. I was already holding onto the last bit of self-control I had left.

"Why did you do it?" I growl.

Gabriella folds her arms and acts innocent, "do what?" she asks. "I'm not quite sure what you're referring to. And are you suddenly speaking to me now? I've been trying to communicate with you for over a week now, and you've been ignoring me. Why are you here asking stupid questions, Kane?"

My fists tightened at her tone. Was that any way to speak to me? Her brother?

"Why are you trying to set her up with Griffin?" I demand. "Why are you getting involved in her life? Why don't you let her decide who she wants to be with?"

She quirks a brow, "I don't see why this is a problem. She is single, and she's been through a lot. Shouldn't you be happy for her, Kane? You, more than anyone else, know all the troubles she's been faced with. Finally, a kind man has taken a liking to her and is planning on treating her well, the way she should have always been treated. I don't think I'm doing anything wrong by setting her up with him. She deserves someone like him. She deserves to be happy. She's a beautiful person inside and out."

I knew that she was right but damn it. I can't just let her go that easily. I wish that I could. Lord knows that I've f*****g tried. I've been trying since the first day I laid my eyes on her. Each time I failed miserably. This was the closest I'd gotten to letting her go and f**k me; it was so damn hard. So f*****g hard. It shouldn't be this hard, but it was.

And why was she so sure that Griffin was a nice guy? He looked like a flirt; I was convinced that he often did these kinds of things with girls to sweep them off their feet in order to get what he wanted from them. Only to leave them the next day and replace someone else to start his game all over again. That's the impression I got from him. And if he thinks for a second that he could do that to her and live to see another day, he had another thing coming his way.

"I'm trying to be f*****g happy," I say softly. "I am."

"I didn't quite hear that," she says, but the look in her eyes tells me that she did. Was she messing with me? Why the hell was she doing that? Was this payback because of my attitude towards her after replaceing out she was my sister?

I wasn't intentionally being rude to her; it was just hard for me to accept anyone in my life. It felt out of control, and things were changing way too quickly for me. I was trying to hold onto the little sanity that I had left, and she wasn't helping me by setting the girl up with a damn Fawn.

"How are you so sure he will keep her happy?" I ask her. "He looks like he's a damn player. Who invites a girl to their private island after just one meeting? It seems like he's accustomed to using his money to get girls to fall for him. If he hurts her, I won't forgive you for trying to set them up. You're right. She deserves to be happy. And I would kill anyone that f*****g hurt her. Do you understand me? He will be dead if he breaks her innocent heart."

"Do you see a better option around Kane?" she asks me. "Do you have someone in mind that would care for her more than Griffin would? If you have any suggestions, I would be glad to tell her about them. Maybe you haven't noticed, but she's been depressed recently. I watched her cry for an entire week over someone, and I think you know who that person is. She's finally letting herself go, finally letting herself live a little. If you don't know someone that could make her smile again, I suggest you let Griffin have her. That will be best for everyone."

Why does it seem like she's purposefully messing with me? It looks likes she's trying to get under my skin, and it's f*****g working. Was Gabriella always this sly? What else did she have up her sleeve? For once, I could see why we were siblings. We both had it in us to be this damn tricky.

She knows what happened between us in the past. She knows everything. So why was she doing this? I felt like I was missing something important. I felt like she was up to something, but I didn't know why. Why would she meddle so much?

"I thought you said you wanted me to be happy. I thought you said as my sister-"

She doesn't let me finish my sentence.

"I'm confused. What is setting up Griffin with her have to do with your happiness? Isn't your happiness with Maya? I feel confused, Kane. Is there something that you'd like to say? As your sister, I would be happy to listen to every word. All you have to do is tell me and I'll be happy to help."

I take a step toward her, "why are you doing this, Gabriella?" I demand. "What is your ulterior motive here?"

"I'm your sister Kane." She says. "You may not see it now, but eventually, you will realize that I did this for your good. Maybe after this, you will realize that you have a generous sister that looks after you."

"Looks after me?" I ask. "I think we both have different definitions of that."

She smiles, "I guess we will have to wait and see. Won't we?"

-MAYA-

"I have exciting news!" Gabriella whispers to me. "You won't believe who just had a long conversation with me."

"Who?" I asked her even though I already had an idea.

"Kane!" she hissed. "He was so pissed that I hooked you up with Griffin. Our plan is working better than I expected it to. I don't think I've ever seen him this mad before. He was so angry that he couldn't even ignore me. I told you he's been missing you this entire week, but he couldn't keep it in when he saw you with Griffin. He had a lot to say to me, and it felt so good to listen to him talk and not have to force him to have a conversation with me. I didn't think there would be anything in this world that would get Kane to have a proper conversation with me, but I was wrong. You are the link to that. Through you, I got Kane to open up to me. Not in the best way, but it's a good start, and it shows that if we try hard enough, we can get him. We can get my brother to show his real emotions and finally be the person he was meant to be from the start."

I didn't think her plan would work so quickly. Kane already seemed bothered by my actions, and while I knew it would happen, I didn't think it would happen so soon.

I take a look at the view around us. It was a breathtaking one.

We'd just boarded the yacht. Griffin was standing next to me, with Gabriella next to us.

Kane was beside Maya, but he wasn't looking at her. He was looking directly at me. Today was the first day I'd ever turn him down. It was the first day I didn't give him what he wanted.

I allow myself to look at him just for a few seconds. It's long enough for me to see how miserable he is by all of this. Would this be enough to make Kane realize that I was his mate? Why was it so hard for him to see the obvious? Why did I know it before he could? I turn towards Griffin next and pretend to be interested in what he's saying. He and Arthur are having a conversation about some business deal. Arthur was going to start his own business, using everything he'd learned from his family. It would be challenging, but with help from the Fawns, I think it would be possible.

This was a massive opportunity for Gabriella and Arthur.

"He's still looking this way," Griffin says to me suddenly. "I think it's time we did something that pushes him more towards you."

"What else can we do?" I ask him.

We've already danced together, I've laughed at his jokes, I ignored Kane. While it was all working, it still wasn't doing enough to get him to confess his feelings for me.

He takes my hand and pulls me towards the front of the yacht with him. His brothers are there as well. Atticus is included, and he isn't next to Autumn. Instead, he's standing by Anya.

Why the hell would he do that right after they got married?

"I want to introduce you to my date for the night," Griffin says to them. "You don't need to know her name. That's only for me to know."

He winks at me. He knows that I cannot remember my name but pretends that he's keeping it from them. I shook my head at him but still smiled.

His brothers reach forward and shake my hand once more. They know this isn't the first time they've seen me. They also already know that I can't remember my name. Which means that they know he was lying to them earlier. "We met her already," Damon informs him.

"Really?" Griffin asks. "Interesting. Then you already know how awesome she is."

Dante and Atticus give each other a knowing look. It seems like Griffin's acting didn't convince them. They knew him well enough to know that he was up to something.

"What trouble are you trying to get yourself into now?" Atticus asks him. "Just know we have enough problems on our own and don't have the time to help you if you mess things up."

So he was accustomed to making trouble for himself? I wouldn't be surprised. However, he had an unusual charm that would quickly get him out of difficult situations.

Griffin laughs, "are you trying to embarrass me in front of her?" he asks them.

"They don't know what they're talking about. Just ignore them." He tells me with a wink.

"Where is Autumn?" I ask intentionally. I wanted them to realize how wrong it was that she wasn't the one here with Atticus.

"Yes," Griffin says. "Where is my sister-in-law? Why isn't she here spending time with her new family? Especially her new husband."

Atticus stiffens and takes a sip of the drink in his hand, "I'll go get her."

Griffin grins as we watch him leave. Anya doesn't look happy with us.

"I think we just got a certain someone angry," he whispers in my ear.

It did seem like we were angering the wrong person. This entire thing was to get to Kane, no one else.

Griffin takes my hand once more and guides me through the crowd. Everywhere people are greeting him, and he nods and smiles at them. He doesn't try to stop and talk. He doesn't stop pulling me along until we are alone, away from the crowds.

"Why are we here?" I ask him, suddenly anxious.

"Relax, don't get worried," he tells me. "I saw Kane following us. I wanted to use this opportunity to our advantage."

"What exactly do you plan on doing?" I ask him. We were running out of options.

"I don't want you to panic, but I'm going to pretend to kiss you." He informs me.

I gape at him in horror. Pretend to kiss me? Was he looking for a death wish? He doesn't know Kane as I did.

I wanted to make him angry enough to confess his feelings for me, but I didn't want him so pissed that he tried to murder Griffin tonight!

"That's not such a good idea," I warn him. "Kane is very dangerous when he gets angry. You've been so nice to me, and the last thing I want to do is get you in trouble."

"I'm a Fawn," he tells me. "Trouble is always following us. Especially me. My brothers weren't lying earlier. Despite what they said, if I'm in trouble, they will come to my rescue. I'm the last person you have to be concerned about."

But what would happen to Kane if he messed with a Fawn? We were on a ship surrounded by them. This would turn out bad for everyone if I let this continue.

"Show time," Griffin says, surprising me.

My eyes widen when he leans into me; he doesn't even make it near my lips as Kane grabs him by his neck and shoves him behind me.

It was happening. Crap! I had to stop it before it got worse and someone got really hurt.

"Kane!" I shout. "Let him go!"

Kane ignores me, tightening his hold on Griffin, who, in turn, continues to grin at him. How can he still smile under these conditions?

I grab his shoulders, trying to pull his hands off him, but even that doesn't work.

"Kane!" I say louder this time. I'm grateful that there is music on this yacht. Otherwise, people would have heard me shouting his name and known something was up. That's the last thing I wanted to happen right now.

"How dare you put your f*****g hands on her," Kane roars. "You're looking to be ruined tonight, boy!"

"He didn't put his hands on me without my permission!" I shout, but my words have managed to anger him even more. I'm terrified of what he was going to do. I had to do something quickly. Anything.

I push between them and wrap my arms around Kane before he can try and harm Griffin. His body immediately freezes under my touch, and he finally looks down at me; I think he can finally see me clearly for the first time since he witnessed Griffin pretending to kiss me earlier; I'm trembling as I try to calm him in the only way I can think of right now, "please let him go." I beg. "Please, Kane."