Chapter 303: Let’s Reject Each Other

AUTHOR’S NOTE!!

I Should have added this in the author’s note earlier, but you guys don’t read my author’s notes.

Don’t forget to add Book Two of this story to your library. It’s titled Offered to the Beastly Alpha. You’re going to love it, and you’ll get to see a lot more in Book Two, so make sure you add it to your library.

Also, we’re officially entering the second-to-last phase of this story, which means we have roughly 100 Chapters left before the story ends.

We’re getting closer to the end, guys!

Rebecca’s POV

​The answer silenced me for a moment.

​Kaden opened his eyes and looked up at me. "I knew the moment I told you the truth, you would leave me."

​"And I had every right to!"

​"I know!" His voice broke. "I know you did. That’s why I was scared."

​I shook my head in disbelief. "You kept me prisoner because you were scared I would leave?"

​He didn’t try to defend himself or make excuses. He simply nodded.

​"I was selfish, Rebecca. I was a fucking coward. I had already fallen in love with you. I knew you were innocent, and I knew I should have told you immediately, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen afterward. You would be free. You would walk away, and after everything I had done to you, I knew you would never have a reason to come back."

​His hand lifted toward me as though he wanted to touch me, but he stopped himself and slowly lowered it again.

​"I didn’t know how to stand in front of you and admit that I had been wrong about everything."

​"So you lied to me."

​Kaden’s jaw tightened. "I did."

​"And you kept me there even though you knew I was innocent."

​His eyes filled with shame. "I did."

​"Because you loved me?"

​Kaden’s face twisted with pain. "I know how terrible that sounds."

​"It doesn’t sound terrible, Kaden. It was terrible."

​"I know."

​I wiped angrily at my tears.

​"I was going to tell you on your birthday," he continued.

​I stared at him. "What?"

​"I had everything planned. On your birthday, I was going to tell you the truth. I was going to stand before the Council and clear your name. I was going to remove the choker and admit everything I had done to you. And after that, I was going to ask you to stay." His voice cracked. "Not order you. Not force you. Just ask you."

​My chest hurt.

​"I wanted you to stay because you chose me, Rebecca. I wanted to apologize for everything and give you the freedom I should never have taken from you in the first place."

​I looked away from him.

​"The attack happened," he whispered.

​I glanced back at him.

​"You disappeared, and I lost my fucking mind."

​His face broke again, and I remembered what Kane had told me. How Kaden had stopped eating and sleeping. How he had searched for me until he became dangerous to himself and everyone around him. How they had finally erased me from his memories because they believed it was the only way to save him.

​"I woke up, and you were gone from my mind," Kaden continued. "Then you came back into my life as Ruby, and I didn’t know who you were. But somehow, I fell in love with you again."

​A tear rolled down my cheek, and I wiped it away quickly.

​I heard him take a shaky breath before he spoke again.

​"I can’t change what happened. If I could go back, I would. I would go back to the night Helen died and listen to you. I would investigate everything before accusing you. I would never put that choker around your neck. I would never make you my prisoner. But I can’t go back."

​I looked down at him. "So what do you want from me?"

​"Forgiveness."

​A bitter smile touched my lips. "You came here expecting me to forgive you?"

​"No." His answer surprised me. Kaden shook his head slowly. "I came here hoping that maybe one day you could. You don’t have to forgive me tonight. You don’t have to trust me. You don’t even have to let me near you. But please, Rebecca, don’t disappear from my life again."

​My chest tightened.

​"I’ll do anything," he said desperately. "Anything you want. If you want me to stay away from you for a while, I’ll stay away. If you don’t want to return to my pack, I’ll never force you. If you want your mother’s guards around you every time I’m near you, I’ll accept it. If you want me to spend the rest of my life proving how sorry I am, I’ll do it. If you want to scream at me every day, I’ll stand there and listen. Whatever you want, Rebecca. Whatever it takes."

​Laura whimpered inside me. Mate...

​I ignored her.

​"I am so fucking sorry," Kaden whispered. "For Helen. For accusing you. For not believing you. For the torture. For keeping you prisoner. For hiding the truth when I finally learned you were innocent. For every time I made you feel like your life didn’t matter."

​I closed my eyes for a moment, holding back my tears.

​"I know I don’t deserve another chance," he continued. "But I’m asking for one anyway. Please."

​When I opened my eyes, he was still on his knees.

​"For us," he whispered, his eyes dropping briefly toward my stomach. "For our child."

​My expression hardened immediately. "No."

​Kaden looked back at me as I stepped away from him. "Don’t do that."

​"Rebecca, I didn’t mean..."

​"Don’t use my baby to ask me to forgive you."

​"I wasn’t trying to use the baby."

​"Then don’t bring my child into this."

​"Our child," he corrected softly.

​The words hit me harder than I expected. For one painful second, a picture entered my mind without permission. Kaden holding our baby. Me beside him. The three of us together. A family. A life we might have had if everything between us hadn’t been destroyed first.

​I hated that the thought hurt. I hated that some foolish part of me wanted it.

​"So because the Moon Goddess decided you’re my mate, I’m supposed to do what? Forget everything because there’s suddenly a bond between us?"

​Kaden swallowed hard. "I don’t expect anything from you, Rebecca. I only came to ask for a chance to make things right."

​Silence settled between us. The mate bond continued pulling at me. It was warm and powerful, almost begging me to move closer to him. Laura paced inside me, restless and confused, but my memories were louder.

​I looked at Kaden for a long moment. "You said you’ll give me anything I ask for?"

​"Yes."

​His eyes searched mine, and for the first time since we came into the garden, I saw real fear enter them. "Anything."

​I took a slow breath as Laura immediately became more restless. Rebecca...

​I ignored her.

​"This bond between us," I said slowly. "I don’t want it."

​Kaden went completely still. The little color left in his face disappeared. "Rebecca..."

​"No. You said you’d give me anything I wanted, and this is what I want."

​His eyes widened. "Anything but that."

​My chest tightened at the desperation in his voice, but I forced myself not to look away.

​Laura whimpered inside me, and I could feel the mate bond fighting against what I was about to do. Every part of my wolf wanted me to move toward him, but the woman in me remembered too much.

​I remembered the cell. The pain. The nights I had cried and begged for someone to believe me. I remembered how powerless Kaden had made me feel.

​A mate bond couldn’t erase any of that.

​I couldn’t be with a man who had put me through so much pain simply because the Moon Goddess had decided he belonged to me.

​"I don’t care what the Moon Goddess decided," I said, my voice trembling despite how hard I tried to keep it steady. "I won’t let a mate bond decide my future for me. Not after I finally got my freedom back. And I won’t willingly tie myself to the man who once made my life a living hell."

​Kaden shook his head slowly, almost as though refusing to believe the words coming from my mouth. "Rebecca, please don’t do this."

​Tears filled my eyes again, but I looked directly into his. "You asked what I wanted."

​His lips parted, but no words came out.

​I took another breath, forcing myself to say the words even as Laura cried inside me.

​"Let’s reject each other."