Breeder To The Brutal Alpha King

Chapter 175: The Rumors

Rebecca’s POV

​"What do you mean?" I asked, my heart skipping a beat at the serious look on Stephanie’s face. "What did you find out?"

​Stephanie dropped her voice until it was barely a whisper, glancing nervously toward the heavy bedroom door. "It’s a rumor spreading among the maids back at the Full Moon packhouse."

​I frowned, leaning forward slightly. "A rumor? Go on, tell me. What is it?"

​Stephanie was silent for a long moment, swallowing hard before she finally spoke. "Queen Helen had a personal maid. Someone who was very close to her, who saw everything."

​"Yes..." I said, my brow furrowing. "So? What about her?"

​Stephanie quickly checked the door one more time to make completely sure no one was standing in the hallway listening to us. Then, she leaned in closer to me. "That personal maid told her closest friend a secret. She said that Queen Helen was cheating on Alpha Kaden when she was alive."

​My jaw dropped, and I instantly shook my head in disbelief. "No. That’s a lie. It has to be just a stupid rumor. Helen couldn’t have done something like that."

​"I don’t know much about Queen Helen myself," Stephanie said quickly, trying to explain. "I only served in the kitchen, so I was never close to her. But from what I saw, she was always really nice. She and Alpha Kaden seemed to be so much in love and completely happy together. Everyone in the pack thought they were perfect."

​Stephanie sighed, shaking her head in confusion. "But Rebecca, think about it. The person who started this rumor is her own personal maid. Why would she want to ruin her late mistress’s name like that unless she actually saw something? She has no reason to make up a lie that dangerous. If she wanted to gossip, she could have talked about anyone else. Why target Helen?"

​We both fell completely silent. The heavy air in the room felt even tighter now as I tried to process the information. A dead Queen who might have had a dark secret.

​"Did the rumor say who the man was?" I asked quietly, my voice barely audible. "Did she name the person Helen was with?"

​Stephanie shook her head slowly. "No. The maid didn’t say a name."

​I frowned, my mind immediately trying to find a flaw in the gossip. "But Stephanie, if Helen really cheated on Kaden, wouldn’t he have felt it? She carried his mark. An Alpha as powerful as Kaden would have noticed a tear in the bond, or his wolf would have sensed another man’s scent on his mate."

​"Normally, yes," Stephanie whispered back, leaning even closer. "But remember, Rebecca... Helen was human. She didn’t have a wolf. The mate bond doesn’t work the same way when a werewolf marks a human. Kaden couldn’t track her emotions, and there was no supernatural link to snap or alert him to a betrayal. If she was careful about washing away another male’s scent, Kaden would have been completely blind to it."

​We were both dead silent. A chilling thought suddenly crawled down my spine, making me freeze completely under the blanket. If Alpha Kaden ever found out that the woman he treasured, the Queen he mourned so deeply, had betrayed him... it would completely destroy him.

​For a brief, strange moment, I actually felt a pang of pity for him. To be cheated on by the one person you trusted above all else was a brutal kind of pain. Alpha Kaden might be a ruthless tyrant and a monster to me, but there was no denying that he had loved Helen with everything he had. That was the one thing everyone knew for sure. If this rumor was true, I couldn’t help but wonder why on earth she would do such a thing to him. What could possibly drive her into another man’s arms?

​Breaking the heavy silence, Stephanie let out a breath and spoke up. "I’ll go get you some breakfast. You should go shower."

​I gave her a tight nod. As she slipped out of the room, I finally slid out from under the duvet. My feet hit the cold floor, and I walked over to the full-length mirror, bracing myself. I looked at my reflection, and my breath hitched. My naked body was covered in marks—bruises, love bites, and faint scratches from where his hands had gripped me. Damn him. He really was a beast when his control snapped.

​Shaking the thoughts of last night from my head, I quickly turned away and went into the bathroom. I let the hot water wash over me, trying to scrub away the lingering scent of sex and Kaden’s intoxicating musk.

​By the time I finished, Stephanie had returned with a tray of food. We ate together, and she ended up staying in my room with me all day, helping me hide from the reality waiting outside that door. But the peaceful bubble couldn’t last forever.

​As evening approached, Stephanie walked back into the room holding a large shopping bag.

​"Alpha Kaden sent this," she said, her voice cautious. "He said you should wear it and meet him downstairs."

​I immediately frowned, my chest tightening. "I don’t want to go."

​Stephanie gave me a look of pure pity. "Well, you don’t really have a choice, babe."

​She reached into the bag and pulled out the gown, and honestly, it left me completely breathless. It was a deep, blood-red gown that looked incredibly expensive. When I finally slipped it on and turned to the mirror, I could barely recognize myself. I looked like a princess. The fabric hugged every curve of my body before ending just above my knees, leaving my legs exposed. It was completely strapless, and when I turned around, the back cut down into a deep, elegant V.

​But even with a dress this beautiful, I still looked like a slave.

​My eyes drifted up to my neck. There, completely ruining the elegance of the gown, was the heavy silver collar. It sat against my throat like a permanent choke chain. No matter how expensive the dress was, no matter how much I shone, everyone at whatever event we were going to would know exactly what I was. Property. A slave.

​I swallowed hard, forcing the lump of humiliation down my throat.

​"We need to do your makeup to match," Stephanie said gently. I didn’t have the energy to argue, so I just sat down and let her work. She applied a flawless layer of makeup, did my hair in loose, elegant waves that cascaded over my bare shoulders, and finally helped me slide into the matching silver heels that came in the bag.

​Standing up, I took one last breath, staring at the stunning, beautiful woman in the mirror, and prepared myself to face the beast downstairs.