Breeder To The Brutal Alpha King

Chapter 97: Panicked

Rebecca’s POV

​The moment Kaden let go of my arms, I didn’t waste a single second. My hands shook so violently I could barely turn the lock, but I ripped the door open and fled his chambers, running down the dark corridor as fast as Stephanie’s legs could carry me.

My heart was hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird.

"I look forward to claiming every inch of this body tomorrow night."

His disgusting, dirty words echoed over and over in my head, making my stomach twist with pure nausea. I felt completely sick. I hated him. I hated his cruel green eyes, his cold face, and the power he held over everyone in this palace. He was a monster.

I rushed down the final flight of stairs, my breath coming in ragged, panicked gasps until I slipped back into the quiet room. I shut the heavy door behind me and collapsed against it, sliding down to the cold floor. I pulled my knees tightly to my chest, my body trembling all over as tears of frustration and terror finally spilled down my cheeks.

I looked across the room. There, lying under the white blankets, completely pale and frozen beneath the steady, robotic beep... beep... beep... of the breathing machine, was my actual body.

What am I going to do?

The panic inside me was so thick it felt like I was choking. Kaden’s threat was completely real. He didn’t care about Stephanie. To him, she was just a low-ranking maid, a piece of property he could use to satisfy his needs whenever he pleased. If I didn’t return to my own body by tomorrow night, he was going to force himself onto this innocent girl. He was going to use Stephanie’s physical flesh to punish me.

I couldn’t let that happen. Stephanie had done nothing wrong. She was the one who had been kind to me, and now her life and her body were on the line because of my soul-swapping ritual.

I pushed myself up from the floor with weak legs and walked slowly toward the bedside. I stared down at my own lifeless face. It felt so incredibly strange, looking at myself from the outside.

"Go back to that room. Sit by her bedside and talk to her. I believe she can hear you," Kaden’s cold voice echoed in my mind.

He had no idea how right he was. He thought a maid was going to beg a comatose prisoner to wake up. He had absolutely no clue that I was already right here, standing over my own flesh, trapped in the ultimate nightmare.

I reached out with Stephanie’s hand, my fingers trembling as I touched my own cold, pale arm.

"You have to wake up," I whispered to myself, my voice cracking with pure desperation. "Please, Rebecca... you have to wake up."

I closed my eyes tightly, focusing every single ounce of my mind, my spirit, and my energy on the body on the bed. I tried to pull myself out of Stephanie, tried to force my soul to slide back through the magical barrier and merge with my true skin. I pushed and pleaded with the universe, begging my heart to beat on its own.

Move. Wake up. Go back!

But nothing happened.

I opened my eyes, gasping for air, but I was still trapped behind Stephanie’s brown eyes. My true body remained completely dead to the world, entirely dependent on the clicking wires and the plastic tubes keeping it alive. It wasn’t ready. The magic wasn’t letting me back in yet.

Then A sudden, cold realization hit me, making my blood run completely freezing.

The ritual.

When I did the soul-swap, the magic was bound by a strict rule—it was set to last for exactly one full week. Until that week was completely finished, the spell could not be broken. No matter how much I pushed, no matter how hard I tried to force my way back, my soul was locked into Stephanie’s flesh until the time was up.

Shit.

"I am in trouble," I whispered, my voice breaking as the room started to spin. "Oh God, I am in so much trouble."

Panic flared up in my chest. Tomorrow night was only day two. There were still five whole days left before the magic would naturally release us. The timeline didn’t match up. Kaden’s deadline was going to hit before the spell could ever expire.

I paced around the small room like a caged animal, my sandal clicking rapidly against the floor. My hands clamped together, squeezing so hard my knuckles turned white. I fell to my knees right beside my hospital bed, burying my face in the mattress as I looked up toward the ceiling.

"Please, Moon Goddess," I begged, tears streaming down Stephanie’s cheeks. "Please, just swap us back now. I want to come back to life. Please!"

I gripped the bedsheets tightly, crying out into the quiet room. "Stephanie cannot be in this situation. She is innocent! I cannot let her get hurt or used because of my mistakes. Let me return back to my life... please, just let me go back."

I stared at my own pale face on the pillow, the machine keeping me alive with its endless, slow beeps.

"Even if my life is complete hell under his rule, it doesn’t matter," I choked out, a bitter sob tearing from my throat. "It is better that I suffer that hell myself than let an innocent girl’s body be tampered without her choice. She doesn’t deserve this punishment. I do."

But the air remained perfectly still. The Moon Goddess didn’t answer. The magical weight inside my chest didn’t move. I was still trapped.

I cried until my eyes burned, burying my face into the edge of the bed where my true body lay. The panic, the fear, and the helplessness became too much for my mind to handle. Sitting on the cold floor with my head resting against the bedsheets, my eyes grew heavy, and I slowly cried myself to sleep.

Only to find myself inside a dream.

The room disappeared. Instead, I was standing in a bright, completely peaceful field filled with soft white flowers. The air smelled sweet and calm, a massive change from the scary nightmare I had just left behind.

I looked around, feeling confused, my heart still beating fast from the fear of the real world. Then, a few feet away, I saw someone.

Helen.

She stood there looking as beautiful and gentle as the last time I saw her. She wore a stunning white dress, and a soft smile was on her lips.

The moment my eyes landed on her, a spark of desperate hope filled my chest. I didn’t wait. I ran across the grass, my steps fast and wild as I rushed straight toward her.

"Helen!" I cried out, my voice breaking as I reached her and grabbed her shoulders tightly. "Helen, please! You have to help me! You have to swap us back right now!"