Chapter 126: The Blood Test
Chapter 126: The Blood Test
Kaden’s POV
The moment she ran out, the fake anger keeping me upright completely vanished. My legs felt heavy, like lead. I stumbled backward and collapsed onto the leather couch, burying my face in my hands. I held my head tightly, my fingers digging into my scalp as if I could physically stop the chaotic thoughts screaming inside my mind.
What the hell was wrong with me?
It was supposed to be so easy. The plan in my head had been simple from the very start: send for her, use her body, get it over with, and send her back to her room.
But the moment I actually climbed onto that bed, everything changed.
The second my hand touched her bare hip, a wave of something terrifyingly soft crashed over me. Looking down at her fragile, naked body shivering against the sheets, the brutal desire to just take her completely died. Instead, a rush of gentle, lovely things filled my mind. I didn’t want to just force myself on her to prove a point. I wanted to turn her over. I wanted to stroke her hair, look into her blue eyes, and kiss away her fears. I didn’t want to just fuck her.
I wanted to make love to her.
The thought alone made me sick to my stomach with guilt. I squeezed my eyes shut, a bitter, angry curse escaping my lips.
"Damn it!" I growled into the empty room.
I was in big shit. Deep, dangerous shit.
A master does not make love to his slave. And more than that, a king does not feel tenderness for the woman who killed his mate. Rebecca killed my Helen. Every time I looked at her, I was supposed to see a murderer. I was supposed to feel nothing but cold, burning hatred.
I have to hate her, I told myself, gripping my hair tighter. I have to.
When I first brought her to this palace, my goal was crystal clear. It was a perfect, ruthless plan: make her carry my heir to secure my bloodline, and the very moment the child was born, throw her to the executioner to satisfy the pack’s demand for blood. She was supposed to die.
But right now? Looking at the empty bed that still smelled like her, I didn’t know anymore. The thought of executing her sent a sharp, agonizing pang straight through my chest. The lines I had drawn in stone were completely blurring.
I waited for the growl of my wolf. Usually, in moments of extreme anger or confusion, he would speak up. He would demand control or push his own instincts onto me. But tonight, my wolf was completely, terrifyingly silent. He didn’t offer any guidance. He didn’t roar in anger. He just sat in the dark corners of my mind, watching me struggle, leaving me entirely alone to face the realization that I was losing control of my own heart.
To drown out the silence of my wolf and the suffocating guilt in my chest, I reached for another cigar, lighting it with shaking hands. I grabbed a fresh bottle of whiskey, pulling the cork out with my teeth and drinking straight from the bottle. I smoked one cigar after another, the thick gray smoke filling the room as I drank myself into a complete stupor. I wanted to numb the pain. I wanted to forget the look of terror in Rebecca’s eyes. By the time the sky outside turned a pale, freezing gray, the alcohol finally dragged me under into a heavy, dreamless sleep.
The next morning, a sharp, urgent voice cut through my pounding headache.
"Alpha King. Kaden, wake up."
I groaned loudly, pulling a pillow over my face as a brutal hangover throbbed behind my eyes. I blinked them open, squinting against the morning light to see Logan, my Beta, standing rigidly at the foot of my bed.
"Go away, Logan," I muttered, my voice raspy and dry from the tobacco and whiskey.
"Alpha, there is a serious issue," Logan stated, his tone completely flat and urgent. He didn’t flinch. He looked entirely serious.
I rubbed my face, forcing myself to sit up despite the pounding in my skull. As the Alpha King, I was used to putting my own needs aside. No matter how broken I felt, the pack always came first. "What is it?" I demanded.
"You have to come over to your breeder’s room immediately," Logan said. "The doctor is there."
My heart instantly gave a frantic, terrifying race against my ribs. Was something wrong with Rebecca? Was it her health? Had she done something to herself after the way I treated her last night?
"What’s wrong with her?" I snapped, panic suddenly washing away the last remnants of my sleep.
"The doctor has refused to say a word to me," Logan replied, shaking his head. "He insists that you have to be there to hear it yourself."
I didn’t even bother putting on a shirt or a tunic. I just threw on a dark robe, slid into a pair of slippers, and stormed out of my suite. My heavy footsteps echoed loudly through the corridors as I practically sprinted toward Rebecca’s wing, my chest tightening with every second that passed.
When I burst through the doors of her room, the tense atmosphere hit me immediately. Rebecca was sitting on the edge of her bed, looking completely scared, confused, and small. For a moment, a wave of pure relief washed over me just seeing that she was physically fine.
But that relief vanished the instant I looked at Dr. Thomas. He stood near the window, holding a vial of blood and his medical clipboard, looking visibly angry.
The moment I entered, the doctor quickly bowed his head.
"What the hell is happening here?" I demanded, my deep voice booming through the room as I glared at him.
Dr. Thomas swallowed hard, stepping forward. "Alpha King... the blood test I ran on Rebecca came back positive."
I frowned deeply, my eyes narrowing. "A blood test? I never asked you to run a blood test on her. I only commanded you to perform a physical examination yesterday."
Seeing the deep confusion and rising anger on my face, the doctor quickly cleared his throat to explain. "Alpha King, I didn’t want to say anything in front of the pack elders yesterday, but during the examination, I noticed signs that didn’t match a healthy reproductive cycle. So, early this morning, I came back to the breeder’s room. I demanded a sample of her blood, using your name. I told her you wanted a genotype test."
My jaw clenched. He had lied using my authority. "Go on," I growled.
"I took her blood, but it wasn’t a genotype test I performed," Dr. Thomas continued, his voice dropping as he looked directly into my eyes. "I ran a specific screening for chemical contraceptives. I checked for synthetic hormones. And the results came back completely positive."
From the bed, Rebecca gasped. "What?" she whispered, her eyes wide with shock.
The doctor didn’t look at her. He kept his eyes fixed on me, delivering the final, crushing blow.
"Alpha King, your breeder has been secretly taking strong birth control pills. She has been actively preventing herself from conceiving your heir. And because of the strength and high dosage of what she has been taking, she may have serious trouble getting pregnant because of them. She has compromised her fertility."