Chapter 115: Just His Breeder
Chapter 115: Just His Breeder
Rebecca’s POV
"Well," I murmured, staring at the closed door, a sharp, calculating glint returning to my eyes. "There is only one way to find out."
I turned back to Stephanie, a plan rapidly forming in my mind. "We should continue acting. I’ll tell you everything that happened while I was in your body, and we will both act like there was never any soul swap to begin with. If he really knew about the exchange, our behavior would completely confuse him. It’ll drive him crazy until he finally gets frustrated and confesses the truth himself."
Stephanie shifted uncomfortably on the mattress, chewing her lower lip. "Becca... that sounds incredibly risky. If Alpha Kaden catches on, his wrath is not something you want to trigger."
I let out a soft, dry chuckle. "I know it’s risky. But after everything he’s put me through? I just want to play with him a little. I want to see how far the great, untouchable Alpha will go when he’s trapped in his own web of lies."
Stephanie stared at me for a beat before a matching smirk spread across her face. "Alright, fine. I’m in." She patted my leg gently, her expression softening into genuine concern. "But enough about the scheme for a second. How do you actually feel? You’ve been unconscious for so long. Let me go to the kitchen and make you a real meal."
A rush of warmth flooded my chest. "Thank you, Steph. I’d really appreciate that."
The moment the door clicked shut behind her, leaving me in the heavy silence of the room, I decided I was done playing the fragile patient. I slowly swung my legs over the edge of the bed. Gritting my teeth against the sudden wave of dizziness, I reached up and firmly pulled off the monitors and IV strings connected to my skin.
I managed to stand, forcing my shaky legs to carry me across the cold floor and into the adjacent bathroom. The hot shower was exactly what I needed to wash away the lingering numbness of the coma. Once dried, I rummaged through the small wardrobe in the corner, finding a simple, plain cotton dress. I slipped it on, ran a hand through my tangled chocolate hair, and walked back out to sit comfortably on the bed.
A short while later, Stephanie returned, balancing a large tray piled high with delicious, steaming food. The rich aroma immediately made my stomach growl. She sat down beside me, and for a few minutes, the heavy tension of the palace completely vanished as we ate together.
But then, Stephanie paused, leaning in close as she began murmuring quietly. "Becca... rumors are already spreading like wildfire among the omegas in the kitchen. They’re whispering that Alpha Kaden kissed me last night. Is... is that true?"
I swallowed a bite of food, a faint blush creeping up my neck despite how hard I tried not to let it. "Yes. He kissed you... well, he kissed your body while I was the one inside it."
Stephanie frowned instantly, shaking her head with a look of pure disgust. "Yuck! Gross." She shuddered, making me laugh, before her face turned dead serious again. "But seriously, trust me, Becca. That just proves it. He knew it was you."
"We don’t know that for sure yet," I replied, setting my fork down. "Not until it is completely proven."
We spent the next hour talking and gisting, catching up on everything she had missed, until Stephanie reluctantly had to leave to take care of a massive pile of laundry.
The moment I was alone again, the room began closing in around me. I had spent too long trapped in a bed to remain inside another minute. Bored and restless, I decided to take a walk outside.
The moment I stepped past the threshold, I flinched. Two hulking guards were stationed directly outside my door.
As I walked past, they immediately stepped into line behind me. I paused, furrowing my brow as I glared over my shoulder. "What do you think you’re doing?"
"Alpha’s orders, miss," the guard on the left replied rigidly. "We are to follow you wherever you go."
I frowned deeply, turning back around and continuing down the corridor.
Seriously... can someone explain this to me? Why is a ruthless tyrant acting so ridiculously overprotective of a common breeder? If I’m nothing more than a prisoner paying for a crime, shouldn’t I be chained in a dungeon instead of recovering in a luxurious medical suite with personal guards following my every step?
But even as I tried to brush it off, his deeply calm voice echoed in my ears, sending a shiver straight down my spine.
"You are fucking more than that, Rebecca..."
What was he trying to tell me? And why did those words refuse to leave my head?
I cleared my mind and stepped out into the cold air of the pack gardens. The vibrant colors of the blooming roses and lilies did little to ease the chaos in my chest. Walking over to a quiet, secluded patch of green, I sat down directly on the soft grass, drawing my knees up to my chest.
I stared silently at the flowers, wondering what kind of future awaited me. More suffering? More heartbreak? Or was fate finally preparing to show me even the smallest piece of happiness?
Slowly, my fingers drifted upward, tracing the cold edge of the silver metal choker locked tightly around my neck. A familiar pain formed in my throat. I missed my wolf. I missed her voice... her strength... the comforting presence that had always been a part of me.
Suddenly, Helen’s cryptic words from the void echoed vividly in my mind. She had told me I had to make Kaden take off this choker. But a bitter laugh bubbled up in my chest. I knew he wouldn’t. This collar represented his ultimate control. It was the physical proof that I was nothing but a slave to him.
The faint rustle of gravel breaking under heavy footsteps cut through the silence.
I stiffened, turning my head around. My heart skipped a violent beat.
Alpha Kaden was walking slowly down the stone path toward me, his hands casually tucked into the pockets of his dark trousers. Even against my will, I couldn’t deny how striking he looked. Sunlight caught the sharp angles of his face, making his vivid green eyes seem almost unnaturally bright.
Without breaking stride, he gave a curt nod to the two guards behind me. "Leave us," he commanded, his voice a low, authoritative rumble.
The guards didn’t hesitate. They bowed deeply and retreated out of the garden, leaving a suffocating silence in their wake. Kaden took a few final steps forward, coming to a halt directly beside where I sat on the grass, towering over me like a shadow I could never escape.
I kept my eyes locked on him, refusing to let him see how much his presence had shaken me. He stood there for a long moment, just staring down at me, his expression hardened back into that unreadable cold mask he always wore.
"You shouldn’t be out of bed," Kaden said, frowning. The irritation in his tone was clear, but beneath it, I could catch a faint, hidden trace of tension.
I didn’t move. I kept my knees pulled tightly to my chest, deliberately keeping my hand resting right over the silver choker on my neck. "The medical room felt too much like a cell. Besides, I didn’t think a common breeder needed your permission just to breathe fresh air, Alpha Kaden."
His green eyes flared with instant annoyance at the word breeder, his jaw clenching so hard a small muscle ticked. He took a sharp step closer, his shadow completely covering me.
There it was again. That same reaction.
Why was a heartless tyrant so bothered by a word he had been the first to use against me? If I truly meant nothing to him beyond being a prisoner paying for a crime, why was he searching for me in the gardens instead of leaving me forgotten in a dungeon? Why the guards? Why the constant concern?
Something wasn’t adding up.
"You’re being stubborn," he muttered, leaning down slightly, his gaze dropping to my fingers resting on the metal collar. "You just woke up from a coma. Your body is still weak."
"My body is fine," I replied, tilting my chin up to meet his intense stare. It was time to test Stephanie’s theory. Time to start the act.
I forced a faint, innocent smile onto my lips, letting my voice soften as I looked up at him. "Actually, Alpha... Stephanie told me how worried you were when she was kidnapped. She told me everything. She said you spent the whole night in your bedroom confessing your true feelings to her... and that you two are finally going to be together."
I watched him like a hawk, waiting for his reaction.
Kaden froze completely. The color practically drained from his face, and for a split second, a look of pure frustration slammed into his features. The heavy silence in the garden became suffocating as his breathing turned shallow, his green eyes drilling holes into mine.
He exhaled sharply as though trying to control himself.
Before I could even blink, his hands shot forward. He seized me firmly by the arms and yanked me up to my feet, forcing my body flush against his hard chest. His grip was tight, and his eyes flashed with a chaotic, desperate rage as he stared fiercely down into my face.
"Stop playing games with me," he growled, his voice shaking with raw emotion as his breath fanned across my lips. "It was you... you were the one in Stephanie’s body."