Chapter 136: The Body
Chapter 136: The Body
Kaden’s POV
I stormed down the palace hallways, my hands shaking and my chest heaving with a chaotic mix of raw anger and deep shame.
I had lost control. Completely.
Seeing Kane leave her bedroom had snapped something vital inside me. I had called her worthless in the garden because the terror of losing her—the fear that her womb was permanently ruined and she would die—was eating me alive. But instead of protecting her, I had terrorized her. I had slammed her against the door, ripped her dress, and forced myself on her weak body. The image of her tear-stained face and her trembling lips flashed in my mind, burning me with a wave of pure guilt.
"Alpha King!" Logan’s voice barked again as I reached the heavy double doors leading to the palace courtyard.
"Where is she?" I growled, my voice rough and thick with the dark energy of my wolf.
"In the center of the courtyard, Alpha," Logan said, his face pale and grim. "The tracking teams just brought her back."
I pushed the doors open and stepped into the cold afternoon air. A crowd of guards stood in a tight circle, but they immediately parted the moment my heavy footsteps echoed against the stone pavers. They bowed their heads, sensing the aura rolling off my body.
In the middle of the courtyard lay a long, heavy black nylon bag. It was soaked, dripping dark ocean water onto the ground.
I stepped forward, my boots squelching against the wet ground. With a flick of my wrist, I signaled the guard nearest to the zipper. "Open it."
The guard quickly knelt and pulled the zipper down.
The cold, pale face of Lily the maid stared back up at the sky. Her eyes were wide open in frozen terror, her lips a sickening shade of blue. Her skin was bloated, covered in sand and seaweed.
"We found her body washed up near the rocky shore of the eastern ocean," Logan explained, stepping up beside me. "The water didn’t kill her, Alpha. Our pack healers checked her throat. She was strangled to death before being dumped into the deep water. It seems the person who hired her to poison Rebecca decided to silence her permanently so they wouldn’t get caught."
A monstrous growl ripped from my chest, vibrating so loudly that several guards stumbled backward in fear.
"Fools!" I roared, clenching my fists until my knuckles cracked. "They think they can play games in my territory? They think they can attack my property and just walk away?"
The fact that Lily was dead meant the trail had gone cold. The mastermind behind the poison—the person who had put Rebecca’s life at risk and nearly destroyed my future heirs—was still out there. They were walking freely, hiding in the shadows of my own pack, laughing at my frustration.
"Get this garbage out of my sight!" I spat, gesturing wildly at the body. I turned my burning eyes toward Logan. "And get me the Seer. Right now."
Logan quickly bowed his head. "Yes, Alpha King. I will bring her to your study immediately."
I didn’t wait for him to finish. I turned on my heel and marched back into the palace, my heavy steps slamming against the floors. I didn’t return to Rebecca’s wing. I couldn’t face her. Instead, I locked myself inside my private quarters.
Suddenly, the large space felt too small, suffocating me. I walked back and forth from one end to the other like a trapped animal, unable to stand still. My breathing came fast and rough. My wolf growled under my skin, but for once, even the beast was quiet beneath the crushing weight of my guilt.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her.
I saw Rebecca’s terrified eyes staring up at me. I saw the tears running down her cheeks. I saw her shaking hands clutching my heavy jacket, trying to cover the dark bruises I had just put on her bare skin.
My stomach twisted violently.
I had stood on battlefields covered in blood without blinking. I had killed traitors with my own hands. I had watched my worst enemies beg for mercy without feeling a single drop of pity. Yet, the memory of Rebecca crying because of me made my chest feel like someone had driven a sharp blade straight through my heart.
I slammed my fist into the solid stone wall.
BOOM!
The stone cracked under the heavy impact, pieces crashing onto the floor.
"Damn it!" I roared into the quiet room.
A burning heat flooded my veins. I wasn’t just mad at the hidden enemy lurking inside my pack anymore. I was disgusted with myself. I had failed to protect the one woman carrying my future heirs. Worse, I had become the very monster causing her pain.
My sharp claws slowly slid out from my fingertips, cutting deep into my own palms. Thick, dark blood dripped onto the marble floor, but I barely felt the sting. The physical pain was nothing compared to the agony in my chest.
"I will find you," I growled into the empty room, my voice dropping so low and deadly that it made my own wolf shiver. "I don’t care how long it takes. I don’t care how many people I have to break."
I stared at the blood on my hands, my eyes turning completely dark.
"Whoever poisoned Rebecca... will beg for death long before I allow them to die."
Hours passed, but the fire burning in my chest did not go out. The dark blood on the marble floor had already dried into a dull, ugly stain. I sat at my large desk, my head resting heavily in my hands, staring at nothing. The palace outside my doors was dead silent, but inside my mind, the storm was still screaming.
A sudden, sharp knock broke the silence.
"Enter," I growled, not moving an inch.
The heavy wooden door pushed open, and Logan stepped inside. But the moment I looked up and saw his face, my heart sank. He didn’t have the old Seer with him. He was completely alone, and his jaw was tight with nervous tension.
"Where is she, Logan?" I demanded, already losing my patience. "I told you to bring her to me immediately."
Logan swallowed hard, bowing his head. "I went to her house, Kaden. She wasn’t there. I spoke to her daughter. She told me her mother has left the physical world. She went on a sudden spiritual journey into the deep spirit world and has not returned yet."
I let out a harsh, bitter breath and leaned back in my chair.
A spiritual journey.
Any normal human would think it was an excuse, but as werewolves, we knew the truth. Seers traveled to the spirit realm from time to time to seek answers from the ancestors. They would leave their physical bodies behind like empty shells, completely locked away from the living world until their work was done.
The timing was a cruel joke. The maid was dead, the clues were gone, and now the only person who could look into the past and see the killer’s face was trapped in another dimension.
"Should I send out scouts to find another Seer from a neighboring pack, Alpha?" Logan offered quickly, trying to fix the problem. "There are several powerful mystics in the northern territories. We could force one to travel here by tomorrow morning."
"No," I barked, shaking my head as a dark wave of paranoia washed over me. "I don’t trust them."
The thought of letting an outside Seer into my palace right now made my skin crawl. This pack was compromised. The enemy was already sleeping under my roof, walking through my hallways. If I brought in a stranger, how could I know they weren’t paid by the same mastermind? How could I know they wouldn’t twist the truth to protect the killer?
No. The old Seer was the only one I trusted. She was the only one who had ever given me a completely accurate prophecy.
"We wait," I sighed, feeling frustrated. "We wait for her to return from the spirit world. Keep guards around her home. The very second her soul returns to her body, I want her brought straight to this room."
"Yes, Alpha King," Logan muttered, bowing his head before turning around and leaving the room, shutting the door softly behind him.