ALPHA BIKER WHO CLAIMED HIS BROTHER'S MATE

22

MAYA’S POV:

“I’m not in the mood for your shenanigans, Maya,” Rafe said, his voice dropping into that low, rough tone that usually made my heart skip. Tonight, it just made me want to scream, but I couldn’t because we were in public. “We need to find a seat. I’m tired, and we have people to meet. Actual business to conduct.”

“Fine,” I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest.

I followed him silently as we navigated through the sea of laughter and fake smiles until he spotted a small round table with four seats near the edge of the ballroom. I thought we would finally have some peace and quiet.

But as soon as we sat down, I saw the flash of a red dress in my peripheral vision. Jane was already gliding toward us, her eyes locked on Rafe with a cocky smile. I attempted to stand up, but Rafe leaned in, his hand catching mine under the table. His grip was a warning, and it instantly kept me rooted.

“It’s nothing,” he hissed, his eyes intense. “She might have information on Rourke. Her father’s been doing some business, and Rourke is among his partners. Just… bear with it, Maya. Please. I won’t bother you about events like this again.”

“Of course,” I replied, my voice dripping with honey-coated venom. “I’m very good at bearing things, aren’t I?”

“I’m serious,” he muttered, his jaw tightening.

Jane arrived at the table, her smile reaching full bloom. “Are these seats taken? Do you have partners coming?”

“Not at all,” I said, giving her a look that could have curdled milk.

“Thank you!” she chirped, instantly sliding into the chair to Rafe’s right.

I was on his left, trapped between the man who had held me all night and the woman who wanted him back. We sat in a triangle of tension that was waiting for the right moment to explode. I tried to focus on the people in the ballroom, but I noticed Rafe shift in his chair.

She was touching him, but I could not prove it.

A moment later, a man from a neighboring table approached, hovering over the fourth empty chair. I breathed in relief at the company.

“Excuse me, is this seat taken?” he asked.

“No,” Jane said quickly in a sharp voice. “But the table is closed. Private conversation, and we cannot afford a fourth man. Three is already a crowd.”

My eyes found her as she said this, but she looked at Rafe and grinned. I shot him an angry look too.

The man looked taken aback, but he just shrugged. “Not to worry. I just needed the chair for my own table.” He grabbed the back of the seat and hauled it away.

Now there were only three of us.

The silence that followed became worse. Rafe kept shifting in his chair as she made small talk with him. I stared at the centerpiece, a floral arrangement that looked as dead as my patience. If he wasted any more seconds without shunning her, I was sure to f*****g explode.

No, this was not because I was in love with him or anything like that. He was my date, and it was f*****g common courtesy to behave around me. He could have left me at home, and the night would have been a memorable one, but here I was, playing the third wheel.

Rafe cleared his throat, the sound echoing between the three of us.

“I’m going to get us some actual drinks,” he said, standing up abruptly. “Stay put, and I will be back.”

My face remained blank because I wasn’t in the mood for games or laughter.

The moment his back was turned, the air at the table changed. The girly act Jane had been putting on vanished, replaced by a very cold and uneasy look. She reached for her clutch, clicking it open and shut with a rhythmic snap, which was enough to get my attention.

She cleared her throat, finally turning those predatory eyes toward me.

“So, Maya… what have you been into lately?”

I opened my mouth to give a dry, non-committal answer, but she didn’t even give me the chance to breathe.

“I mean,” she continued, her voice dropping to a cruel, conversational whisper, “after you were caught cheating on your husband. It must be hard to find a hobby when you’re the pack’s favorite scandal.”

My blood went cold. My face soured, the muscles in my jaw locking so tight it hurt. I wanted to reach across the table and wipe that smirk off her face with a punch, but she wasn’t done.

“You know, you made a massive mistake leaving Jalen,” she leaned in, her perfume clogging my senses again. “Because Rafe? He’s not the happily-ever-after type. He will never marry you, Maya. He won’t even keep you, even if he tried. He loves to f**k around; it’s in his nature. And believe me, one p***y would never be enough for a man like him—even if it is gold-plated.”

My throat went bone-dry, the bitter aftertaste of the spiked lemonade returning tenfold. I wanted to stand up. I wanted to scream, to flip the table, to grab her by that perfectly styled hair and show her exactly how unrefined a woman pushed to the edge could be. But my body remained rooted to the spot, paralyzed by the ugly audacity of her words.

She sat there looking at me like I was a stain she was waiting for the rain to wash away. I gripped the edge of the table until my hands hurt.

“Then why did he make love to me last night?” I lied, trying to get back at her.

Jane’s face didn’t even falter. Not a flicker of shock, not a trace of jealousy. She just let out a slow, pitying exhale that felt like a slap.

“Because he is f*****g using you, Maya,” she whispered, leaning in so close I could see the cold vacuum in her eyes. “You’re a weapon. You’re the ultimate insult to Jalen. Do you really think a man like Rafe wants a disgraced Alpha’s wife for anything more than a trophy of war? Once he overthrows Jalen and deals with Rourke, you will be f*****g old news. He’ll toss you back to the gutter where he found you.”

The air in the ballroom suddenly felt like it was being sucked out of the room. I looked at her, and for a terrifying second, I saw the logic in her cruelty. I was a pawn. I had always been a pawn. I knew he wanted to use me, but he made it look like we were teammates. His actions recently hadn’t shown that.

In that exact moment, Rafe returned with a tray of three glasses in his hands, looking completely oblivious to the venom that had just been poured into my ear. He placed the drinks on the table with a soft clink, his eyes flicking toward me.

“Here,” he said, his voice deep and steady. “I got—”

I didn’t let him finish. I couldn’t even look at him. If I looked at him, I’d either burst into tears or try to kill him, and I wasn’t sure which would be worse.

I stood up so abruptly my chair screeched against the floor.

“Maya? Where are you—”

“I need air,” I choked out, not waiting for his hand to reach for mine.