Claimed by the Vengeful Alpha

Chapter 108: Getting Better

Winnie kept true to her word and ate alongside Maya while helping her with breakfast. Conversations didn’t flow as much with both of them eating, but Winnie kept a cheery expression the entire time.

She couldn’t help thinking that Winnie had changed from the last time she saw her before leaving for the capital. She was glad the young woman didn’t look as sad as she normally would.

While eating, something else snagged at her thoughts. Winnie didn’t seem uncomfortable while in their Alpha’s room, but Maya was slightly worried. She didn’t want Winnie to get into any trouble with Keenan.

She wanted to heal quickly so she wouldn’t have to rely on Winnie to eat. Her hand didn’t feel as bad as last night, but she would be lying to herself if she tried to use it. Just merely lifting it hurt a lot.

Winnie stacked the dirty dishes on one another after they finished eating. After she was done with that, she turned to look at Maya with a serious expression. Maya adjusted in the bed, wondering what was wrong.

"I won’t be able to come by during lunch, but I’ll be here for dinner," Winnie softly explained.

"No, that’s fine," Maya lied. "My hand is healing—"

Winnie narrowed her eyes at her; it was clear she didn’t believe her words. "It will be best if you didn’t put any strain on it. I’ll think of something."

Maya shook her head. "No, that’s fine. You’ve done more than I could ask for."

"Are you worried for me again?" She asked with a frown.

"I don’t want you to get into any trouble."

Winnie sighed loudly. The longer she spent with Maya, the more she couldn’t comprehend it. She should be used to people risking themselves for her. Yet, the smallest acts worried her.

"You have no reason to worry about me, as you can see nothing has happened despite your worries. I am more worried about you, and I have every reason to be. Alaina deeply dislikes you. I can see that she clearly goes out of her way to be cruel, and it has nothing to do with Alpha Keenan as much as she likes to put up the act..." she paused and shook her head. "I am fine, Maya. I promise. Right now, concentrate on getting better and don’t even think about me. Do you think you can do that?"

Maya started to shake her head, but Winnie’s stern expression stopped her, and she nodded her head. "Okay."

Winnie didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t press. Rather, she changed the subject. "Perhaps when you’re all healed up, you can come with me to the workshop."

"Workshop?"

Despite her concern, she couldn’t help the slight excitement in her voice. She had never left the main house. She wanted to see the town, the orphanage, and the beach.

"Yes," she replied. "I make pottery. I am pretty good at it. We sell it locally and across the kingdom."

"Wait," she paused, staring intensely at Winnie. "You’re serious?"

"Of course. We’ve sent out the old batch, and I’m starting a new set from scratch. You can watch and mess around in the clay if you’d like."

"I can’t mess up your work," she replied as she tried to keep her excitement under wraps.

"You’re not messing up my work," Winnie scrunched her lips together, then sighed. "I am offering, okay?"

Maya nodded. "I’d love that, but I really don’t want to ruin your work."

"Don’t worry, we want all the messy hands we can get," Winnie said with a grin.

"We?"

Winnie nodded. "Don’t worry, I’ll give a proper explanation later." She stood up, picking up the dirty dishes on the tray with her.

Maya nodded, trying not to look too eager. Winnie was already sticking her neck out for her. Offering to take her around might get her into trouble.

"You’re worrying about unnecessary things again," Winnie said with a sigh as she walked toward the door. "Try not to think too much. I’ll see you during dinner."

"Thank you, Winnie."

The young woman turned back to look at Maya with a smile before she slipped out of the door and shut it, leaving Maya alone.

As soon as Winnie left, Maya felt a heavy weight settle on her shoulders, and she tried to shake it off. Now that she was alone, it was easy to dwell on the parts that weren’t going well.

She glanced at her bandaged arm. Winnie had chosen a short-sleeved dress so it wouldn’t cover her wounded arm more than it needed to.

She carefully applied pressure and winced each time. She couldn’t help feeling useless. If she had her wolf, she wouldn’t have to trouble anyone. The accident wouldn’t even have happened.

She palmed her face as she forced herself not to dwell on the awful things. She had woken up with Keenan by her side. That was more progress than they had made since she arrived. It was worth being happy about, and she was, but at the same time, her inadequacies were glaring.

Morning passed too slowly, and as much as she loved being in Keenan’s room, surrounded by things that belonged to him and his scent, it was also easy to be reminded of the things that weren’t.

A soft knock pulled her from her short nap. She frowned as she woke up. She didn’t even realize when she had fallen asleep.

She rubbed her eyes as she carefully moved herself to a sitting position. At least that didn’t hurt to do, but she had to be careful about the back of her head.

It didn’t hurt continuously as her arm did, but if she rested wrong on the back of her head, she felt a sharp, sore pain.

After knocking thrice, the door opened and Palmer walked in with her lunch. The maid’s light brown hair could be seen under her mobcap, and she looked at Maya with a serious expression.

"Palmer," Maya called. "It’s time for lunch already."

Palmer nodded as she walked closer and placed the tray next to the bed. "How’s your hand?" She asked.

"It’s just fine, Palmer. Thank you, and thank Agnes for the lovely meal," she replied with a small smile.

Palmer nodded as she stared down at the bed, then she turned away and slowly walked toward the exit. "If you need anything, let me know," she said and glanced back.

Maya shook her head. "This is more than enough, Palmer. Thanks, really."

Palmer narrowed her eyes as she looked at the tray and at Maya’s injured hand. She looked torn for a moment, then sighed loudly and exited the room.

Maya watched her leave before she turned her attention to the food. She still couldn’t use her right hand as freely, so eating would be slower than normal.

She adjusted herself so she sat on the edge of the bed with her legs sticking out, and the table was next to her legs. It was a hassle to eat with her left hand as her right could barely move around. By the time she was done eating, she didn’t want to move an inch, and she lay on the bed exhausted.

She was glad Winnie had never let her decline her help. If she had to eat like this three times a day, she might end up only eating once a day.

After a moment, she pulled herself to a sitting position just as she heard another knock, and Palmer returned to take the dishes.

"You were able to eat by yourself," she commented as she picked up the tray.

Maya nodded with a smile, refusing to state just how hard it was. "The food was delicious," she replied.

"Hmm," Palmer replied and walked toward the door. She paused awkwardly for a moment before she exited the room.

Maya watched her leave, but she didn’t want to return to the bed. Keenan was still not back, not like that would make any difference but she was tired of lying down.

Besides, she hadn’t been in her room since she arrived last night. She wanted to make sure the dresses that Winnie gave her were safe.

Perhaps it was just an excuse, but she couldn’t ignore her restlessness any longer. Moving around might help. She sighed loudly as she pushed herself to her feet.

She grabbed her bandaged hand to give it some support, wondering how long she would have to have it on. It wasn’t broken, but the injury she had clearly wasn’t a surface wound.

Maya walked toward the door, and just as her hand turned the handle, the side door opened and Keenan appeared. He looked toward her direction immediately, as if he was aware she was there.

Her heart stopped at his presence, but even though she was shocked to see him, it didn’t stop her from thinking he was right next door the entire time.

"Where are you going?" He asked with a suspicious look in his eyes.