Chapter 124: The Examination
Chapter 124: The Examination
Rebecca’s POV
"—and then he just lost it," I said, my voice dropping as I pulled my knees tightly against my chest. "He screamed at me to get out of his sight, and I just ran. I didn’t even look back."
I sighed heavily, staring down at the small wooden table in front of me as I finished recounting the entire night to Stephanie. She listened quietly, her hands moving with a practiced, soothing rhythm as she parted my hair, gently applying oil and braiding it into neat, tight rows.
"That was all that happened," I muttered, the painful memory of the look in Kaden’s eyes making my chest tighten all over again. "Everything was so perfect for a second, Steph. He actually laughed. A real, genuine laugh. And then it was like a switch flipped inside him. It’s been two days since that night, and I haven’t even set my eyes on him."
Stephanie smoothed down a stray strand of my hair, her expression thoughtful. "Two whole days?"
"Two whole days," I repeated, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. "He completely vanished. And that’s not even the worst part. He completely stopped my training sessions. He even put a strict order out to the guards, stopping me from entering the combat grounds entirely. I’m basically confined to this wing again."
I chewed on my lower lip, feeling a mix of rejection and confusion. One minute he was worshipping my body in the shower and letting me wear his clothes, and the next, he was treating me like an infectious disease he couldn’t bear to look at.
Stephanie finished the last braid and patted my shoulder gently. She stepped around the table, sitting down on the wooden stool directly across from me. She leaned in, studying my face for a long, quiet moment.
"Rebecca, this may sound strange..." Stephanie began, her voice incredibly soft. "But I think the Alpha King is in love with you."
I froze. A sudden, violent tremor shot through my veins, and my heart gave a frantic, traitorous flutter against my ribs. But reality rushed back just as quickly, and I forced a loud scoff, rolling my eyes at her.
"In love with me? Stephanie, have you lost your mind?" I demanded, shaking my head. "He hates me. He reminds me every chance he gets that I’m just a slave. A breeder."
"Think about it," Stephanie pressed, completely ignoring my skepticism. "A man who hates you doesn’t take you out for a stroll in his private gardens at seven in the evening. He doesn’t give you his shirt to wear, and he definitely doesn’t sit in the dirt to play games with you. You cracked his shell, Rebecca. I think he is feeling incredibly guilty for feeling that way about you, especially with what you are accused of. That’s exactly why he is staying away from you. His wolf is fighting his mind."
I stared at her, the room suddenly feeling very small. My mouth went dry as her words began to sink into the cracks of my broken heart. I looked at her, my voice barely a whisper. "Really?"
Before Stephanie could speak, a loud, sharp knock rattled the wooden door. Without waiting for a response, a guard pushed it open, his expression completely blank.
"Rebecca," he stated coldly, his eyes not even meeting mine. "The Alpha King has requested your presence in the grand throne room immediately. Move it."
My stomach did a nervous flip. Stephanie gave my hand a quick, encouraging squeeze as I stood up, smoothing down my simple tunic. After two days of total silence, he was finally calling for me. I was so scared.
"I’m coming," I whispered, stepping past the guard.
My heart hammered against my ribs the entire walk through the grand, winding stone corridors. I had no idea whether I was walking toward another punishment... or something far worse.
When the massive oak doors of the grand throne room were pulled open, the sheer scale of the space made me freeze.
The throne room wasn’t empty. Kaden was sitting high upon his dark, carved stone throne at the center of the raised dais, looking every bit the ruthless Alpha King in a dark leather jacket. His broad shoulders were squared and his jaw was set in a hard, impenetrable line. Flanking the steps of the dais were three high-ranking pack elders, their graying hair and stern faces making the atmosphere feel incredibly heavy. Next to them stood Dr. Thomas, the pack’s primary physician, holding a medical clipboard.
Kaden’s piercing green eyes flicked to me the moment I entered the vast room. For a second, a dark, turbulent wave of emotion crossed his face—the same intense conflict I had seen under the willow tree—before it vanished.
"Step forward, Rebecca," Kaden commanded from his throne, his deep voice carrying across the echoing, open space, entirely devoid of the warmth from our garden stroll.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and walked forward, stopping a few feet away from the base of the steps. I kept my eyes lowered, remembering Stephanie’s words, but the coldness radiating from him made my chest ache.
"Elders," Kaden spoke, his voice loud, clear, and deliberately empty as it boomed off the high stone walls. He gestured toward me with a dismissive wave of his hand. "This is the slave. My breeder. You all wanted to see her. This is her."
The cold, blunt words hit me like a physical blow. My breath caught in my throat, and I felt a hot sting of tears pricking the backs of my eyes. He was doing this on purpose. It was as though he needed the elders to see me as nothing more than his breeder.
At his command, the three elders turned their heads in unison. I felt my skin crawl as their raw, judging gazes raked over me from head to toe in the middle of the grand room. They looked at me with pure disgust and suspicion, staring at the woman they believed had murdered their late Luna. I gripped the hem of my tunic tightly, feeling completely stripped of my dignity under their heavy, hostile stares. Kaden just sat high on his throne, letting them inspect me like an object.
Once the elders finished their silent, glaring judgment, Kaden finally broke the silence, shifting his gaze down to the physician.
"Dr. Thomas," Kaden continued, "perform the physical evaluation. The elders need confirmation that she is in peak condition to conceive and carry my heir. Check her vitals, her cycle alignment, and her physical strength."
"Right away, Alpha King," Dr. Thomas nodded, stepping forward with his medical kit.
I stood completely still, my heart racing as the doctor reached out to check my pulse, then began pressing firmly along my jawline and neck to check my glands. It felt entirely humiliating. I was being inspected like livestock right in front of the man who had held me so tenderly in the shower. I looked up, my blue eyes begging Kaden to look at me from his throne, to stop this. But he kept his gaze fixed straight ahead, his expression entirely cold.
"Hold still, girl," Dr. Thomas muttered a bit impatiently. He grabbed my forearm, twisting it slightly to inspect the faint bruising left over from my previous combat training. He gripped the sensitive skin too tightly, causing a sharp jolt of pain to shoot up my arm.
I let out a small, involuntary gasp, flinching away from his touch.
Instantly, the heavy, suffocating aura of a dominant Alpha exploded into the throne room, rattling the very pillars of the chamber.
"Watch your hands, Thomas," Kaden growled.
The sound was so low, so fiercely protective, that the entire throne room went dead silent. The three pack elders blinked in surprise, and Dr. Thomas immediately dropped his hands, backing away a step with wide eyes.
I looked up, startled. Kaden hadn’t moved an inch from his seat, but his hands were clenched into tight, knuckled fists against the stone armrests of his throne. His jaw was working furiously, and his green eyes were practically burning as he glared down at the doctor.
Kaden cleared his throat, forcing his posture to relax against the throne, though the rigid tension in his shoulders gave him away.
"She is to carry the future heir of this pack. I won’t tolerate careless handling." Kaden added coldly, his voice tight as he tried to cover up his outburst. "Handle her with care. I won’t have my breeder damaged before she fulfills her purpose."
The doctor quickly nodded, his hands trembling slightly as he finished writing down his notes. "Of... of course, Alpha King. Her vitals are stable. She is perfectly healthy and ready."
"Good. You are dismissed. All of you," Kaden barked, waving his hand to the elders and the doctor.
They quickly bowed and scurried out of the throne room, leaving the two of us completely alone in the massive space. The silence stretched between us, heavy and thick with an unspoken, agonizing tension.
Kaden finally turned his face toward me from his throne, and our eyes locked.
"Go back to your room, Rebecca," he muttered quietly, turning his face away from me as he looked toward the high stained-glass windows. "Tonight, I want you in my room."