Chapter 296: The Truth

Kaden’s POV

​"These are the three countries my trackers have narrowed it down to: Nigeria, Ghana, and Botswana." I stared at the map spread across my desk as I held the phone to my ear. "Divide your men into three groups—one group goes to each country. I want every supernatural territory checked. Packs, covens, hybrid settlements, everything. Speak to every Alpha you need to speak to."

​"Yes, Alpha King," the head tracker replied.

​"And don’t fucking come back to me with nothing. She is somewhere in one of those countries. Find her."

​The door to my study opened before the man could respond. I looked up, ready to tear into whoever had entered without knocking, but the words died in my throat.

​Logan walked in first. Kane followed him, and behind them was a woman I immediately recognized as a witch.

​My eyes narrowed. Something wasn’t right.

​Neither Kane nor Logan looked at me properly. Kane’s jaw was tight, and Logan looked like he was walking toward his own execution. The witch remained several steps behind them, holding a small black pouch in both hands.

​"I’ll call you back," I said into the phone before ending the call and placing it on my desk. "What happened?"

​Neither of them answered.

​My chest immediately tightened as I looked at the witch again. "Did she get a vision? Is it about Ruby?"

​"No," Kane replied.

​"Then why is she here?"

​Kane exchanged a look with Logan, and that was enough to make me stand.

​"What the fuck is going on?"

​"Kaden," Kane said carefully, "can you sit down? We have something we need to tell you."

​My blood went cold. "No. Don’t fucking tell me something happened to Ruby."

​"No," Logan said quickly. "Ruby is fine."

​My eyes snapped toward him. "You know she’s fine?"

​Logan froze.

​The room went silent.

​I stared at him. "How do you know that?"

​"Kaden, please," Logan said. "Sit down."

​"I said no." I walked around the desk. "You three walked into my study looking like someone fucking died, and now you’re asking me to sit down. I’m not sitting anywhere. Tell me what the hell is going on."

​Logan glanced at Kane. Kane gave him a small nod.

​"I’ll go first," Logan said.

​I folded my arms across my chest. "Then fucking talk."

​Logan inhaled deeply. "Ruby isn’t an assassin."

​I stared at him. "What?"

​"The story she told you in that video about being sent here to kill you was a lie," Logan continued. "She was never sent to assassinate you. There was no group waiting for her to complete some mission against you."

​My brows pulled together. "Then why the fuck did she tell me that?"

​"Because she wanted you to stop searching for her."

​I stared at him for a few seconds before turning toward Kane. "What does that have to do with either of you?"

​Kane’s jaw tightened.

​Logan answered before he could. "We helped her escape."

​The room went completely silent.

​I looked at Logan, then at Kane. "You did what?"

​"We helped Ruby leave your territory," Logan said.

​My hands slowly curled into fists. "Both of you?"

​Kane finally spoke. "Yes."

​Rage rushed through me so quickly that my wolf surged beneath my skin. "You fucking knew where she was going?"

​"We knew she was leaving," Logan replied carefully.

​I crossed the distance between us and grabbed the front of his shirt. "You stood beside me while I searched for her!" I spat in rage. "You watched me tear the fucking world apart looking for her! You knew she had left willingly, and you lied to my face!"

​My claws began pushing from my fingertips as my wolf fought for control. "Why?"

​Logan looked directly into my eyes. "Because Rebecca needed to get away from you."

​I froze.

​Rebecca.

​Something strange moved through my head at the sound of the name. My grip on Logan’s shirt loosened slightly.

​"Who the fuck is Rebecca?"

​Logan swallowed. "Ruby."

​I stared at him.

​"Ruby’s real name is Rebecca."

​"Ruby isn’t her real name?"

​"No, Kaden. You don’t understand." Logan’s expression became serious. "Rebecca isn’t just her real name. You knew Rebecca before you ever knew her as Ruby."

​A strange pressure began building behind my eyes. "What are you talking about?"

​Logan glanced briefly at the witch before looking back at me. "You don’t remember Rebecca because we erased every memory you had of her."

​The room became completely silent.

​For several seconds, I simply stared at him.

​Then I laughed. "You did what?"

​"We erased Rebecca from your memories."

​I slowly released Logan’s shirt and stepped back. "Choose your next words very fucking carefully."

​Logan straightened his shirt but didn’t move away. "Rebecca was in your life before Ruby appeared. You knew her. You knew exactly who she was."

​"I would fucking remember her."

​"You can’t."

​My eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"

​"You can’t remember her because those memories were removed."

​I looked toward the witch. She hadn’t moved. My gaze returned to Logan. "Why?" I demanded. "Why the fuck would you erase a woman from my memory?"

​Logan’s face tightened. "Because you were losing your mind."

​I stared at him. "What?"

​"Rebecca was kidnapped."

​Something inside my chest jerked violently.

​Logan continued before I could interrupt him. "It happened when Kane’s pack was attacked. There was an explosion, rogues got inside the territory, and Rebecca was taken."

​I looked at Kane. His face was hard, but I saw the guilt in his eyes.

​"You were away when it happened," Kane said. "The moment you found out she was missing, you came back."

​"And?"

​"And you lost control," Logan answered.

​I frowned. "What the fuck does that mean?"

​"Exactly what I said. You lost control of yourself. You couldn’t eat. You couldn’t sleep. You wouldn’t listen to anyone. You had everyone searching for her, but the people who took her were protected by a concealment spell. We couldn’t find their camp."

​A strange pressure began building behind my eyes.

​"You became worse every hour she was gone," Logan continued. "Your wolf was taking over. You attacked guards. You attacked me. The seers had to use magic to subdue you because we couldn’t control you anymore."

​I stared at him. "Bullshit."

​"It’s not bullshit, Kaden," Kane said. "I watched it happen."

​"Why would I lose my fucking mind over her?"

​Neither of them answered immediately.

​That silence made my stomach twist.

​Logan finally spoke. "Because whatever you felt for Rebecca had become stronger than your hatred for her. You didn’t understand it then, but losing her was destroying you."

​My wolf shifted restlessly inside me.

​"We thought you were going to die," Kane said quietly. "Maybe not physically at first, but your mind was breaking. The head seer warned us that if it continued, there might be nothing left of you to save."

​I looked from him to Logan. "So you erased her?"

​"We didn’t see another way," Logan replied. "You couldn’t calm down while you remembered she existed. Even keeping you unconscious wasn’t a permanent solution. So we found a witch who could remove your memories of one person."

My eyes slowly moved toward the woman standing behind them. "Her?"

​"Yes," Logan answered.

​The witch finally stepped forward. "The ritual removed your memories connected to Rebecca, Alpha King. They were transferred into an Anchor Gem. They weren’t destroyed."

​My jaw clenched. "And my wolf allowed it?"

​"Your wolf fought us," she said. "Violently. He didn’t want to let her go. We had to suppress him for the ritual to work."

​My wolf suddenly growled inside me, and I pressed a hand against my chest. "So all of you decided you had the right to go inside my fucking head and take someone out of it?"

​"We were trying to save you," Kane said.

​I turned on him. "You don’t get to decide what I fucking remember!"

​"I know!" Kane snapped back. "You think I don’t know that? You think I haven’t questioned that decision every fucking day since? But you weren’t yourself, Kaden. You were going to destroy yourself looking for her."

​My breathing grew heavier as I looked from Kane to Logan. I didn’t know what pissed me off more: the fact that they had gone into my mind and taken something from me, or the fact that these were the two men I trusted more than anyone in this fucking world.

​Logan spoke again, quieter this time. "We believed removing Rebecca from your memories would end it. We thought if you couldn’t remember her, you couldn’t suffer because of her."

​I laughed bitterly. "And then she came back into my fucking house."

​Neither of them spoke, and my laughter slowly disappeared.

​I looked between them. "You kept everything away from me?"

​Logan lowered his eyes.

​Something inside me snapped.

​"You fucking betrayed me!" I spat, stepping toward him. "You, Logan? Fucking you?"

​He didn’t defend himself.

​That somehow made it worse.

​I had trusted Logan with my life. There were things I wouldn’t trust another person in this kingdom to do that I would hand to Logan without a second thought. If he told me something was handled, I believed him. If he told me someone could be trusted, I trusted them.

​And all this time, he had been keeping something this fucking huge from me.

​I turned toward Kane, but the anger became mixed with something else as everything started sinking in.

​Rebecca.

​Ruby.

​They were the same woman.

​Every moment with Ruby suddenly felt different. Every strange look she had given me. Every time she pulled away from me. Every time she looked like she wanted to cry when I touched her. Every question she had asked about my memories.

​So I fucking knew her.

​But who had she been to me?

​And what the hell had I done to make her so desperate to get away from me?

"Then tell me everything," I growled. "From the very fucking beginning. I want to know who Rebecca was to me. I want to know what I did to her. I want to know why she came back as Ruby."