Chapter 330: How is Kaden

Rebecca’s POV

​Kane let out a long sigh, running a heavy hand over his face before leaning back against the bench.

​"He did nothing."

​My brows pulled together, my eyes widening in complete shock. "What?"

​"Kaden did nothing to us."

​I stared at him, certain I had heard him wrong. Of all the answers I had expected, that wasn’t even somewhere on the list.

​"He did nothing?"

​Kane nodded slowly. "Logan and I apologized. He just stared at us and said he would deal with us later, but he never did." His gaze moved away toward the garden. "Logan is still his Beta. They work together, but things aren’t the same between them anymore. Their friendship isn’t as solid as it used to be. As for me, we barely talk. When we do, it feels like I’m talking to a total stranger... but I know my brother. He’ll come around eventually."

​There was a subtle, deep sadness in his voice at the last part.

​I sat back, genuinely stunned. I had spent quite some time imagining what Kaden might have done when he discovered that his own brother and Beta had helped erase his memories and hide me from him. I had imagined so many horrible, brutal things Kaden might do to them after discovering their betrayal, but hearing that he had simply spared them was something I never saw coming.

​"That’s good news," I said quietly.

​Silence settled between us again, the wind rustling the leaves gently above our heads as I looked out across the garden.

​Then, Kane turned to look at me, his gaze shifting. "What about you and Kaden?"

​My shoulders stiffened immediately. I knew where the conversation was going and cut him off before he could even form the rest of the sentence. "Kane, nothing has changed."

​He turned toward me, staring at me, but he didn’t say anything.

​"When I’m completely healed and my body can handle it, I’m going through with the rejection," I said, looking him straight in the eye to keep my voice firm and clear. "Too much has happened between us. The fact that the Moon Goddess decided we’re mates doesn’t erase any of it. A mate bond cannot just erase everything he did to me."

​Kane was quiet for a moment, not arguing with me nor defending his brother. He simply gave a slow, understanding nod. "Okay."

​I was grateful he didn’t push. A few heavy seconds passed before he spoke again, looking at me carefully.

​"Do you want to know what’s been happening with Kaden these past two weeks?"

​"No."

​The answer came out of my mouth so fast that Kane barely finished the question.

​"Okay."

​And just like that, he dropped it. I immediately looked away, staring down at my slippers.

​Truthfully, a few days after Kaden left Stone Pack, one of Mother’s seers had helped me block the emotional part of our mate bond. Because Kaden had never marked me, she said it was much easier for the magic to place a temporary wall between us. I could no longer feel his grief, his anger, his pain, or anything else through our connection. For two weeks, there had been complete silence. It was the quiet refuge my soul desperately needed to survive losing my baby.

​So why had Kane asked me that?

​I tried to ignore the question, but it refused to leave my mind. Was something wrong with Kaden? Was he okay? Had he returned to his normal routine and moved on with his life already?

​I felt a sharp wave of irritation toward myself, my forehead creasing as I stared at the flowers in front of me.

​Unable to fight the urge, I turned back toward Kane. "Is he okay?"

​Kane slowly turned toward me, a subtle expression crossing his features.

​I immediately frowned at him. "Don’t look at me like that. I’m just asking."

​"I didn’t say anything," Kane replied calmly.

​Any faint trace of amusement on Kane’s face vanished instantly. His expression became deadly serious. "No, Rebecca. He’s not okay."

​An uncomfortable, heavy uneasiness settled in my stomach. "What do you mean?"

​Kane shifted on the bench, leaning his elbows on his knees as he looked down at his hands before answering. "Logan told me what he’s been doing since he went home."

​I waited, my chest tightening.

​"Every morning for the past two weeks, Kaden orders his guards to flog him," Kane said softly.

​I stared at Kane, convinced I had heard him wrong. "What?"

​"He takes off his shirt and orders the pack guards to whip his bare back," Kane explained, his voice thick with worry.

​For a few seconds, I genuinely didn’t know what to say. I searched Kane’s face for any sign that I had misunderstood him, but there was none.

​"The first time he demanded it, the guards outright refused," Kane continued. "They couldn’t bring themselves to raise a whip against their own Alpha King. So Kaden used an Alpha command and forced them to obey."

​My frown deepened. "He forced them? Why on earth would he do something like that?"

​"Because he blames himself for what happened to the baby," Kane said, looking directly at me. "In Kaden’s mind, if he had controlled his jealousy and walked away from Callum, there would have been no fight. You wouldn’t have rushed downstairs, and you wouldn’t have fallen. He believes he killed your baby."

​I looked away immediately, my blood running cold.

​The peaceful garden suddenly felt suffocatingly quiet. Kane didn’t need to explain that part to me. I knew exactly what Kaden blamed himself for. If he hadn’t fought Callum, I wouldn’t have rushed downstairs. If I hadn’t rushed downstairs, I might not have fallen.

​"The healers try to treat him afterward," Kane said quietly. "Kaden refuses to let them touch him."

​My head turned sharply back toward him. "He doesn’t let them heal him?"

​"No."

​"But if he’s doing it every day..." My breath caught in my throat as the terrifying reality hit me. Yesterday’s wounds would still be raw and open when the whip came down again the next morning.

​A cold feeling moved through me.

​Kane confirmed my thoughts with a solemn nod. "According to Logan, his back is severely wounded and infected now. Logan has tried to stop him. The healers have begged him. Even the guards have fallen on their knees crying, begging him not to make them do it anymore. Kaden refuses to listen to anyone."

​I sat there, completely frozen, trying to process the absolute insanity of what I was hearing. Fourteen days. My mind tried to picture what his bare back must look like after fourteen days of being flogged without healing, and I immediately pushed the terrible image away.

​"And after each flogging," Kane continued, "he goes back inside the mansion and locks himself inside one particular room."

​Something about the way his voice quieted made me look at him. "What room?"

​Kane hesitated for a second, his eyes softening with deep pity. "The nursery."

​I frowned, confusion clouding my mind. "What nursery?"

​His eyes moved to mine, and something in his expression changed. "You don’t know?"

​My brow furrowed. "Know what?"

​Kane was silent for a moment before explaining gently. "Before the miscarriage, Kaden had secretly prepared a nursery for your baby in his pack house."

​My breath caught. I couldn’t speak. My throat felt completely dry. A suffocating lump formed in my throat, cutting off my air.

​"After being flogged every morning, he refuses medical treatment and goes straight into that nursery," Kane continued. "He locks the door and stays in there for hours, sometimes for almost the entire day."

​My fingers curled slowly into my dress.

​Kane looked at me as he went on. "The next morning, he comes out and orders the guards to flog him all over again. He’s been doing this every single day."

​I looked away, staring blankly at the stone path, pressing my lips tightly together. I didn’t want to feel sorry for Kaden. I especially didn’t want this conversation to become another reason for everyone to expect me to forget everything he had done and run back into his arms.

​Kane seemed to read the internal struggle in my expression, his tone softening to reassure me. "Rebecca, I am not telling you this to change your mind or because I expect you to forgive him. Whatever happens between you and Kaden is entirely your decision to make. You asked about him, so I’m telling you the truth."

​I slowly nodded, swallowing hard.

​Kane looked at his watch, then up at the sky before turning his attention back to me. "I should get going," he said softly, breaking the quiet, heavy air between us. "I have to head back before nightfall."

​I nodded, using the wooden edge of the bench to push myself to my feet. Kane stood up beside me, towering over me just like his twin always did, though his posture carried none of Kaden’s sharp tension.

​"Please take care of yourself, Rebecca," he murmured, his gaze resting gently on my face. "I mean it."

​"Thank you, Alpha Kane," I whispered, keeping my voice steady. "For everything."

​He gave me one last supportive nod, turned, and walked back down the stone pathway toward his waiting car. I stood there, watching the black sedan pull away and disappear beyond the heavy iron gates.

​Once the estate was quiet again, I sank back down onto the bench.

​The garden was peaceful, filled with the scent of blooming flowers and the gentle rustle of leaves, but my mind was a chaotic storm. Everything Kane had told me kept echoing in my head. Fourteen days of flogging. Infected wounds.

​Laura was silent deep inside me, but through our shared connection, I could feel her restless worry humming under my skin. She wasn’t howling for her mate, but she was deeply uneasy. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

​Was it partly Kaden’s fault that I fell? Yes. His uncontrollable rage and jealousy had started that fight with Callum. But if I was being brutally honest with myself, it was my fault too. I had rushed blindly down those stairs without watching my step. We were both to blame for the tragedy, but watching him bleed himself to death out of pure guilt wasn’t going to bring our child back.

​I couldn’t let him keep destroying himself. I had to put a stop to this madness.

​And more than that, I knew in my heart that it was finally time. The waiting was over. It was time for the rejection to happen so we could both cut this agonizing bond once and for all.

​I closed my eyes, took a long, steadying breath, and reached into the dark recesses of my mind. I focused on the faint, blocked thread of our mate bond, bypassing the seer’s barrier just enough to reach his mind across the distance.

​I opened the mind link.

​Alpha Kaden.

​Silence stretched for a few seconds. I wondered if he was too out of it to hear me, or if he thought he was imagining things. Then, his voice rasped through the link, heavy, raw, and trembling with disbelief.

​Rebecca?

​My throat closed up, and I swallowed hard. Just hearing his voice again sent a sharp, painful ache straight through my chest. It sounded broken, stripped of all its usual authority.

​I forced myself to remain cold and grounded, refusing to let him hear my weakness.

​I would like us to meet, I said firmly through the link. When will you be free to come here?

​He hesitated. I could feel the faint tremor of his hesitation through the connection, as if he were afraid this was a dream he might wake up from.

​I will be there by tomorrow noon, he replied, his voice barely a murmur.

​Okay, I said flatly.

​Without giving him a chance to say anything else, I severed the mind link immediately, shutting down the connection and closing the wall back up.

​I sucked in a deep breath of the cool afternoon air and slowly let it out, trying to calm the nervous feeling growing inside me.

​"You’re doing the right thing, Rebecca," I whispered to myself. "You are."