CHAPTER 55

Maxine P.O.V

"I told you not to help me earlier." My voice was sharp as I opened the door to our room, stepping inside without waiting for him to respond. The adrenaline from the Annual Hunt was still coursing through my veins, but it wasn't just the hunt that had me on edge-it was *him*. Again.

"You behave like a child, Maxine. Are we not a team?" Alph followed close on his heels, his tone soft yet firm.

I spun around to him, anger busting inside me. "No, we are not a team if you keep babying me. You keep rescuing me, and that is just not right. I did not come here to be rescued every five minutes by you. I came here to learn. To grow.”

His brows furrowed, the confident air around him tightening. "I know you're strong, but it was just a little help. Don't make a big deal out of it."

I slapped my forehead in disbelief. "*A little help?* You stepped in again when I didn't ask you to. It's like you don't trust me to handle things on my own.

He stared at me, his silence slicing through t