Chapter 168: Preventing himself
Rebecca’s POV
"Alpha Kane..." I whispered, my voice barely a breath in the quiet room. "You can’t. You can’t love me."
"Do you think I wanted this?" he asked, a bitter, hopeless laugh escaping his lips. He took another step, closing the tiny distance between us until I could feel the heat radiating from his body. "Do you think I ever wanted to fall for my own brother’s prisoner? For the woman he refuses to let go of? Every day I watch you, Rebecca. I see how strong you are, how you carry your pain like a shield. I wanted to be the one who showed you life wasn’t all pain. I wanted to be the one who saved you from him. I wanted to make him realize he loves you."
He reached out, his hand hovering near my face, hesitating before his fingers gently brushed against my cheek. His touch was warm, so different from Kaden’s cold, demanding grip.
"But I was a fool," he murmured, his thumb wiping away a stray tear that had escaped my eye. "I was playing a game, and now I’m the one who’s trapped. Because if Kaden removes that collar... if the bond snaps into place... his wolf will claim you, and he will never let you go. And the worst part is, you won’t have a choice. The bond will pull you to him."
My stomach sickened at the thought. The mate bond. A sacred, unbreakable force that would compel me to love the man who had tortured me.
"I won’t let it," I choked out, pulling back from his touch, though there was nowhere left to go as the bed pressed against the backs of my knees. "I hate him, Kane. I will never love him. I don’t care if fate itself says we belong together. He is a monster!"
"You don’t understand the power of a second-chance mate bond, Rebecca," Kane said, his eyes darkening with a mixture of pity and terror. "It is stronger than hatred. It is stronger than memory. When that silver comes off, Kaden will realize what you are to him. His guilt will turn into an obsession to make you his. And your wolf... your wolf will crave his touch, no matter how much your human mind screams against it."
He sighed. "I’ve seen wolves fight a second-chance bond before," Kane whispered. "They swear they’ll never accept it... but once it awakens, everything changes."
He stepped closer again, his hands coming down to rest on my shoulders. He didn’t squeeze, but the weight of his grip felt like anchor chains holding me in place.
"So tell me what to do," Kane pleaded, his voice cracking as he stared into my eyes. "Tell me to keep the collar on you. Tell me to help you run away to where Kaden can never find you. Tell me... tell me you feel something for me, Rebecca. Give me a reason to fight my own brother for you."
I looked at him, my heart hammering violently against my ribs. I looked into his eyes, so full of genuine emotion, and then my gaze flicked to the table where the wildflowers lay.
He was offering me an escape. He was offering me love.
But as I looked at Kane, all I could feel was a suffocating wave of fear. If what he said was true... if Kaden was my second-chance mate... then my entire life was already a trap, and the silver collar around my neck was the only thing keeping the predator from realizing I was his prey.
Before I could find the words to answer him, sudden, heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway, followed by a sharp, demanding knock on the wood.
"Rebecca," Kaden’s dark, angry voice barked from the other side. "I know Kane is in there. Open the door."
I froze.
Kane didn’t move. He didn’t even flinch. He just kept his eyes locked on mine, staring at me with a desperate, quiet intensity.
Bam! Bam!
The door shook under Kaden’s heavy fist. "Open the door right now, or I will break it down!"
I knew he would. I knew Kaden didn’t make empty threats. Desperate to stop him from destroying the room, I rushed past Kane, unlocked the deadbolt, and pulled the door open.
Kaden barged in instantly, his powerful, intimidating frame filling the room. The sharp scent of mint and rain washed over me, cold and suffocating.
His eyes scanned the room, landing immediately on Kane. Then, his gaze flicked down to the table, taking in the scattered wildflowers, before snapping right back to his twin brother.
"Kane, what is the meaning of this?" Kaden demanded, his voice dangerously low as he stepped fully into the room. "What are you doing in my woman’s room?"
Before Kane could even answer, Kaden lunged forward, grabbing Kane tightly by his collar.
Kane didn’t back down. He glared right back into his brother’s eyes, his face hardening. "You have no right to call her your woman, Kaden," Kane spat. "Push me once more, and I will spit out the truth right here, and we can both bear the consequences."
My brows furrowed in panic. The truth. What truth?
The threat seemed to hit Kaden hard. He went completely still, his eyes narrowing as he stared at his twin. Whatever unspoken message passed between them, it worked. Slowly, reluctantly, Kaden let go of Kane’s collar.
Without another word, Kane turned on his heel and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him, leaving me completely alone with Kaden.
Our gazes locked.
I looked at him, my heart pounding in my throat. I couldn’t stop my mind from racing. Was Kane’s suspicion right? Was this man standing before me really my second-chance mate?
No. The Moon Goddess couldn’t be that cruel.
First, she gave me Brandon—a man who saw me as nothing and tried to kill me. And now, Alpha Kaden? A man who had dragged me through hell, starved me, and broken me?
No... she couldn’t be that cruel to me.
Kaden took a step closer to me.
"I believe Kane has confessed his feelings for you," Kaden said, watching my face closely.
I didn’t respond. I just stood there, my chest rising and falling rapidly as I tried to keep my breathing under control.
"He must have told you he feels that you two are mates," Kaden added, his voice dropping into a dark, low growl that vibrated in the small room.
I glared at him. He was so ignorant. He still thought Kane and I were mates.
Suddenly, like lightning, Kaden moved.
Before I could even blink, he closed the distance between us. His large hands locked onto my waist, gripping me tightly and pulling me flush against his hard chest. The heat of his body invaded my space, and the suffocating scent of mint and rain wrapped around me like a cage.
"Don’t believe him," Kaden hissed, his grip tightening as he stared down into my eyes. "You are not his mate."
I stared back at him, my heart hammering violently against my ribs, but I forced my voice to remain steady.
"And what makes you think so, Alpha Kaden?"
He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. For a split second, a flash of pure, raw vulnerability crossed his handsome features.
"Because I feel it," he whispered, his grip on my waist almost painful.
"Then prove it. Take off the choker," I challenged, my voice dripping with defiance as I looked up at him. "Take it off, and let’s see."
His jaw clenched, his eyes turning cold.
"Never," he spat.
Fool.
He was such a fool. He thought he was preventing Kane from confirming if I was his mate, not knowing that he was actually preventing himself from discovering the truth.
A strange mix of happiness and deep sadness washed over me. I was happy that he might never get to know that we were second-chance mates—if Kane’s theory was even true. I never wanted this monster to claim me. I never wanted to be forced to love him.
But at the same time, a painful ache bloomed in my chest. My wolf. I missed her so much. The silver band around my neck kept her locked away in a dark, quiet corner of my mind, and I felt so incredibly empty without her.
I looked straight into Kaden’s dark eyes, letting my anger show.
"One day, you will take off this choker," I said, my voice quiet but sharp. "Once I am proven innocent."
Kaden’s eyes suddenly widened with a flash of fear and panic. His hold on my waist faltered for a second, his confident facade cracking right before my eyes.
He stared at me, swallowing hard.
"Rebecca..." Kaden spoke, his voice trembling in a way I had never heard before. "I have something to tell you."
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