Novel Full Chapter 143: Excuse To See Her
Chapter 143: Excuse To See Her
Kaden’s POV
I filled the crystal glass right up to the brim with amber whiskey and slammed the burning liquid down my throat. Before the heat could even settle in my chest, I flung the glass across the room. It hit the stone wall with a loud smash, shattering into a thousand tiny pieces.
I let out a low groan, gripping the edge of my desk as my eyes slid closed. It hadn’t even been forty-eight hours since she left, and I was already going completely insane.
Memories of Rebecca kept invading my mind. Her face. Her lips. Her scent. Her smile. Every little thing about her haunted me.
Now, her soft, sweet scent was completely gone from the palace, leaving the halls cold, empty, and dead.
"I will deal with her," I growled into the empty office, my claws digging deep into the expensive wood of my desk. "The moment those thirty days are over and she comes back, she will pay for this. She will regret leaving."
But even as the harsh words left my lips, a painful ache twisted deep inside my chest. I sighed, running a heavy hand over my face as I began to pace the floor like a caged beast. I was restless. I couldn’t sit still, I couldn’t sleep, and I couldn’t think straight.
God, I missed her.
I didn’t want to admit it. She was a slave. She killed my mate and unborn child; I was supposed to hate her. But what I felt now was the exact opposite.
Suddenly, the doors opened, and Logan, my Beta, walked into the study. He stopped in his tracks, his eyes looking at the scattered bottles and the broken glass covering the floor.
"Kaden, you need to stop drinking so much," Logan said, his voice cautious but firm. "You are acting like a heartbroken man."
My head snapped up, my eyes flashing dark with rage. "Say the fuck what you want to say and get out, Logan!"
Logan didn’t flinch. He just sighed and stepped closer. "Alpha, Kelvin still hasn’t been able to get the missing CCTV footage from the night of the murder. He is pleading for more time."
"More time?!" I roared, slamming my fist onto the desk. "My pregnant mate was murdered in his pack! In the library of his own packhouse! And he can’t find me the footage? Logan, something is fishy. Someone is hiding something."
Logan nodded slowly, looking down for a moment before he lifted his eyes back to mine. "Alpha... I know I shouldn’t say this. But have you really asked Rebecca what happened that night? Just... heard her side of the story? I know all the evidence points right at her, Kaden. But let’s hear what she has to say."
I froze, the words knocking the breath right out of my lungs. I gave a tight nod, unable to speak.
Logan was right. For the first time in my life, I couldn’t understand myself. Usually, I was always logical when dealing with cases like this. But in this case, I hadn’t asked her a single question. Blinded by the unbearable pain of losing my family, I had lashed out without thinking. I had thrown Rebecca in chains without a trial.
And now that the initial shock was over, a cold wave of panic rushed through my veins. I was finding it hard to ask her about that night. Why? Because I was terrified. What if Rebecca was actually innocent? What if her statement sounded true, and I had spent weeks torturing an innocent girl?
My chest tightened painfully. I needed to see her. I needed to know she was alright. I needed to be near her, even if only for a few minutes. But I couldn’t just storm Kane’s territory without a good reason. I needed a real, valid reason to go there.
"Get me Stephanie," I ordered, my voice dropping into a low command.
Logan nodded and quickly left the room. I reached for another bottle, taking a long swig while Logan’s words kept replaying over and over in my head.
A few minutes later, the door opened again. Stephanie walked into the study, her head bowed low as she stopped before my desk.
"You knew about Rebecca’s plan to leave me, didn’t you?" I growled, stepping around the desk to loom over her.
Stephanie gave a small nod, her body tense. She knew there was no use in lying to an Alpha.
"And yet you did not tell me!" I shouted, the sound echoing off the stone walls. "You helped her betray me!"
Stephanie kept her head down, refusing to say a word. I glared at her, my claws itching to tear something apart. The old me—the brutal Alpha King—would have ordered her to be beheaded or thrown into the deepest dungeons the second Rebecca left the driveway.
But for some strange reason, I couldn’t do it.
I knew how much Rebecca loved Stephanie. If I hurt a single hair on this girl’s head, Rebecca would never forgive me. She would hate me forever. I shouldn’t care about a slave’s forgiveness, right? But right now, the thought of her hating me more than she already did didn’t sit well with me.
"I will deal with you later," I snapped, turning my back on her. Then, a thought crossed my mind. "Did Rebecca go with her medications?"
Stephanie swallowed hard. "No, sir. She left them behind."
A sudden idea flashed through my mind, followed immediately by a wave of relief. "Go get me her medications. Her body is still weak from the poison, and she still needs her treatment."
"Yes, Alpha," Stephanie nodded quickly, turning on her heel to hurry out of the room.
I stood by the window, watching the morning sun climb slowly above the forest. For the first time in two days, the suffocating weight in my chest lifted just a little bit.
I had my reason now. I had a valid reason to pay Rebecca a visit.
I walked over to the mirror hanging on the wall of the bathroom.
The man staring back at me barely looked like the Alpha King.
Dark circles shadowed my eyes. My beard had grown rough, and my clothes were wrinkled from two sleepless nights.
Rebecca had never seen me looking like this.
With an irritated growl, I splashed cold water over my face and changed into a fresh black shirt. I wasn’t going there looking like a broken man.
When I returned from the bathroom, the bottles were neatly arranged on my desk. Stephanie was already gone. She hadn’t dared wait for me.
I walked over to the table and picked up the bottles. As I slipped the bottles into my jacket, I repeated the words I would tell Kane.
"Rebecca forgot her medication."
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
I wasn’t going there because I wanted to see her.
I was going because she needed treatment.
That was the only explanation anyone would hear.