Chapter 56: His Breeder
KADEN’S POV
I stood in the center of the private bathroom, the glass door shut tight as hot water slammed down onto my shoulders. Closing my eyes, I leaned my head against the cold tile wall, letting the stream wash away the sweat, the slickness, and the heavy scent of our rough sex.
"God," I muttered, running a hand down my wet face. "What the hell is wrong with me?"
My mind was a chaotic mess. At first, when the intense, crazy need to possess her started, I completely convinced myself it was because of my growing pup. I thought my wolf was just reacting to my bloodline inside her. But now? The healer’s words were burned into my brain. Her womb was empty. There was no pup.
Yet, the raw possessiveness hadn’t faded at all. If anything, it felt even stronger now, burning deep in my chest like a brand.
My mind flashed back to Kane’s words. Kane had claimed that Rebecca was his mate.
I shook my head violently under the spray, a low, vicious growl echoing off the bathroom walls. Never, I snarled inside my head. She is mine.
She was mine for life. She was my breeder, the female chosen to carry my unborn children.
Days ago, I made the firm decision never to marry again. Since the day I lost Helen, my true mate, I saw absolutely no need to give my heart to another woman. Helen had been my entire world. I loved her with a fierce, consuming devotion that nearly tore me apart when she was ripped from my arms.
The agonizing pain of that loss was something I swore I would never feel again. I would never let another female close enough to break me. Besides, I could never love any woman the way I loved Helen. True love like that only happens once, and it died with her.
I didn’t need a wife. I didn’t need romance. All I needed were children to secure my throne, and that was exactly where Rebecca came in. She was my breeder. Nothing more. She was a tool to give me the heirs I needed, a submissive hole to take my frustration and my seed until she pays for what she took from me.
I should have felt pure disgust at the thought of tying my noble bloodline to her. I should have hated her. But as the water pooled around my feet, I realized I didn’t feel disgusted at all.
"I need to get my head checked," I growled to myself, gripping the edge of the shower fixture. "Something isn’t right."
I shut off the water, grabbed a towel to quickly dry myself, and walked naked back into the bedroom. My plan was simple: call the guards, have them drag her back to the dungeons or her old room, and let her think about the one-month deadline I had just set.
But the moment I stepped onto the rug, my feet froze.
Rebecca was still on the bed, sleeping heavily. She was completely naked, her small body curled up into a tight, defensive ball in the middle of the dark, ruined sheets. She looked totally exhausted, her breathing shallow and broken.
I frowned, raising my hand to open my mind-link. I was about to order a maid or a guard to come pull her out of my sight, but as my fingers touched my temple, I felt the need not to... The link died before I could even speak a word.
I let out a sharp breath, trying to justify the sudden change of heart to myself. My pup might be forming inside her right now, I reasoned darkly, staring at her pale skin. I need to be gentle with the vessel.
Walking slowly to the side of the bed, I reached down, grabbed the heavy blanket, and pulled it up over her shivering shoulders. As I adjusted the cloth, my eyes caught the corner of her face. Tears had soaked through her long lashes, leaving wet tracks down her cheeks.
Was she seriously crying in her sleep?
A sudden, unfamiliar ache squeezed tight around my heart. It caught me completely off guard, making me step back away from the bed as if I had been burned. I didn’t like the feeling. I didn’t understand it.
Impatiently, I pulled on a pair of dark sweatpants and walked over to my desk across the room. I poured myself a heavy glass of liquor, sinking into the leather chair as I kept my dark eyes fixed entirely on her sleeping form.
A sharp knock broke the silence of the room.
"Enter," I commanded, my voice dropping back into its usual cold tone.
Logan, my Beta, walked in, but stopped dead in his tracks the moment he took in the state of the room. His eyes swept over the shattered nightstand, the broken glass from the vase, the clothes thrown across the floor, and finally, the shape of Rebecca hidden under the blankets on my bed.
Before he could even process what he was looking at, a wave of pure, territorial anger exploded in my veins. That strange possessiveness flared, and my eyes snapped to black.
"Look at her one more time, and I will pluck your eyes straight out of your skull," I snarled, the threat rolling out of me in a deadly rumble.
Logan instantly dropped his head, baring his neck in total submission. "I apologize, Alpha King. I didn’t mean to disrespect." He cleared his throat quickly, keeping his gaze glued strictly to the floor. "You asked for the report on Rebecca’s past life back in her old pack. I just sent the complete file to your inbox."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "What did you find, Logan?" I demanded.
Logan swallowed hard, still refusing to look up from the floor. "Alpha... I think you should see it for yourself."
A cold spike of curiosity pierced through my anger. I glared at him for a beat longer before gesturing sharply toward the door.
"Get out then," I snapped.
"Yes, Alpha," Logan murmured. He bowed quickly and backed out of the bedroom, closing the heavy mahogany door softly behind him.
The moment the door clicked shut behind Logan, I instantly switched on my tablet, my eyes narrowing as the screen lit up.
