Oops… I Went Into Heat and My Alpha Daddies Claimed Me

Keisha’s POV

The blade was already coming down when something slammed into the assassin from the side so hard that both of them went crashing away from me.

I stumbled backward, my hand instinctively moving over my stomach as I tried to understand what had just happened.

Dane had come out of nowhere. One second I had been staring at the weapon above me, convinced there was no time left to escape, and the next he was between me and the attacker, driving her away from me with enough force to send her several feet across the ground. "Keisha, get back!"

I didn’t need to be told twice. I moved toward the entrance, my legs shaking so badly that I nearly tripped over the packages scattered across the ground.

Dane didn’t look back at me again. His entire attention was on the masked woman who had just tried to kill me.

She recovered quickly and attacked him.

Dane blocked the first strike with his arm and immediately caught her wrist, twisting it hard enough to force the blade from her hand.

She kicked him in the stomach and broke free, but Dane recovered before she could reach the weapon. He grabbed her by the shoulder and threw her against the side of the vehicle parked nearby.

"You came after her?" he demanded. "You actually walked into this estate thinking you were going to put your hands on her?"

The woman didn’t answer. She lunged for him again, and Dane met her halfway.

Their bodies collided, and the fight moved away from me. I stood frozen near the entrance, watching Dane drive the attacker backward. She was fast, much faster than I expected, and she kept trying to get around him, but Dane wouldn’t allow her anywhere near me.

Then I heard footsteps behind me. "Keisha!"

I turned and Callum was running toward me.

The moment he reached me, his hands went straight to my shoulders. "Are you hurt?"

I shook my head, but I couldn’t make my voice work.

He looked over me carefully, checking my arms, my stomach and my face as though he needed physical proof that I was standing in front of him unharmed.

"Look at me," he said, lowering his voice when he saw the panic in my eyes. "Did she touch you? Did she hurt you anywhere?"

"No." I quickly shook my head.

"Don’t move from here. I’ll be right back." He was already sprinting to Dane.

Dane suddenly shouted from behind us. "Callum!"

The assassin had broken away from him and was running toward the side of the mansion.

Dane sprinted after her. "You aren’t going anywhere!"

She tried to change direction, but Dane reached her before she could. He grabbed her from behind, swung her around and kicked her legs out from under her. She hit the ground hard, and before she could get back up, Dane dropped beside her and ripped the mask from her face.

I stared. "No."

I knew her. She was one of the kitchen maids. The same woman Callum had questioned. The same woman who had denied knowing anything about the Heat Accelerant. The same woman who had supposedly looked frightened and innocent when she had explained how she had supposedly found the syringe on the floor.

My stomach dropped. "That’s her."

Callum’s expression hardened. "I knew it. You lying bastard."

Dane looked down at the woman with disbelief as she tried to catch her breath, unable to go anywhere. "I knew there was something about you."

The maid glared at him from the ground. There was no trace of the frightened woman Callum had described.

Her eyes were filled with pure hatred, and the fury on her face was almost frightening. "You ruined everything," she spat.

Callum crouched in front of her. "No. You ruined your whole life when you decided to attack her."

She laughed bitterly. "You think you’ve won?"

Callum didn’t falter. "I know I’ve won when you’re lying on the ground in front of me."

"Don’t be so sure."

Callum’s gaze hardened. "Who sent you?"

She said nothing.

He continued. "Who gave you the order to drug Keisha?"

Her jaw tightened as he asked another question. "Who is behind this?"

The maid stared at him with a strange smile. "You’re asking the wrong questions."

Callum’s expression changed. "Then help me ask the right ones."

Before she could answer, another voice came from the mansion.

"What happened?"

Nadia came rushing outside and she stopped the moment she saw everyone gathered near the entrance. "Keisha!" She ran toward me. "Are you okay? Did she hurt you?"

"I’m fine."

Nadia grabbed my arms and looked me over herself. "You scared me. I heard shouting and then I saw the guards on the ground. What happened?"

I couldn’t answer immediately, her eyes shifted past me and she froze. "Wait." She stared at the woman kneeling on the ground. "Isn’t that one of our maids?"

Nobody answered for a moment and Nadia’s eyes widened. "Why is one of our maids on the ground with a weapon?"

Callum looked at her. "She attacked Keisha."

Nadia’s face went pale. "She tried to kill her?"

"Yes."

Nadia immediately moved closer to me again. "Are you sure you’re okay?"

"I’m okay."

She looked back at the maid, clearly struggling to understand what she was seeing. "But she works here. I’ve seen her every day."

Dane’s voice was grim. "Apparently that was the point."

Callum turned back to the maid. "You have one chance to make this easier for yourself. Tell me who sent you."

She remained silent.

"Was it Orin?" Callum asked, then he paused when she didn’t react. Osric?"

Her eyes flickered and Callum noticed. "So he knows about this."

"No." The answer came too quickly and Callum’s eyes narrowed.

"You just gave yourself away." He muttered.

She laughed. "You don’t know anything." She looked at him, then at me. For one brief second, something passed across her face. — fear.

Then she moved and Callum reacted immediately. "Stop!"

But it was too late. She raised her hand toward her own neck.

I didn’t understand what she was doing until Callum suddenly stepped in front of me and covered my eyes. "No, Keisha. Don’t look."

His other arm pulled me tightly against him as I heard movement.

What did she just do?

Dane immediately turned Nadia away too. "Don’t look, Nadia. Just keep your eyes closed."

There was a terrible sound like wet flesh and my body went rigid. "What happened?"

Callum held me tighter. "Don’t look."

"Callum—"

"Please." His voice had changed and I had never heard him sound like that.

Oh.

I could hear him giving orders over my head. "Get her out of here. Now. Nobody touches anything until the guards secure the area."

Dane spoke quietly to Nadia, keeping her turned away. "It’s okay. Don’t look back."

I swallowed hard. "Did she..."

Callum’s hand remained over my eyes. "Yes."

I didn’t need him to finish before I clutched his shirt. "Why would she do that?"

He didn’t answer immediately. When he finally spoke, his voice was low. "Because whoever sent her made sure she believed dying was better than talking."

Callum kept me against him until the guards had removed the woman from the area. I heard footsteps, orders and movement around us, but he didn’t let me see any of it.

When he finally lowered his hand, I opened my eyes. The woman was gone. Only stains remained on the ground.

I stared at them and Nadia stood beside Dane, pale and silent.

Callum looked between us. "Both of you are going inside."

Neither of us argued as he placed his hand against my back and guided me toward the mansion while Dane did the same for Nadia.

"Becca!" Callum called the moment we entered.

She rushed toward us. "Yes, Alpha?"

"Prepare tea for both of them. Something warm. Stay with them and don’t leave them alone until I return."

Becca immediately nodded. "I will."

Callum looked at Nadia first and gently kissed her forehead. "You’re safe. Stay inside."

Then he turned to me. His fingers brushed my cheek before he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. "I’m coming back."

I looked into his eyes. "Where are you going?"

"To find more answers, Keisha. Just stay here and get some rest if you have to." He gave me one last look before walking away.

I watched him disappear through the doorway. Even after he was gone, I couldn’t stop thinking about the woman outside.

She had been standing in our kitchen days ago. She had served meals. She had looked harmless.

And when she failed to kill me, she had chosen to die rather than tell us who had sent her.

How desperate were the real perpetrators?