Chapter 259: Avoiding Me
Rebecca’s POV
I barely slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Kaden. His face inches from mine. His hand around my waist. His mouth against mine. The raw look in his eyes when he told me he liked me. And, Goddess help me, the way I’d kissed him back.
I groaned and rolled onto my stomach, burying my face into the pillow as though suffocating myself beneath it could erase the memories.
What the hell had I done? It wasn’t the potion anymore. That was the worst part. When Kaden kissed me the second time, the effects of that stupid drug had already worn off. My head had been clear. I had known exactly who he was, exactly who I was supposed to be, and exactly why kissing him was wrong. Yet I’d kissed him back. Not once. Not accidentally.
"Stop," I groaned into the pillow.
"Are you talking to yourself?"
I jerked upright. Stephanie stood beside my bed carrying a tray, staring at me with one eyebrow raised.
"How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to know you’ve apparently started arguing with your pillows."
I glared at her.
She placed the tray on the small table beside my bed. "Good morning to you too."
"There is nothing good about this morning."
"Why?"
I stared at her. Stephanie stared back. Her expression slowly changed. "Oh." Heat immediately climbed into my cheeks. Her eyes widened. "Something happened."
"Nothing happened."
"Rebecca."
"I’m not telling you anything."
"You don’t have to. Your face is doing a wonderful job."
I opened my mouth to argue, but something cold shifted against my chest as I moved. I froze. My hand slowly went to my neck. My fingers closed around the pendant resting beneath my shirt. The locket. My eyes widened. "Oh my Goddess."
"What?"
I yanked the chain from underneath my shirt. Stephanie’s teasing expression vanished immediately. We both stared at the locket.
"He didn’t take it back," I whispered.
Kaden had told me I could keep it until last night. But then Tanya’s potion happened. The healer came. Everything descended into chaos. Then Kaden confessed his feelings, we kissed, I panicked and ran out of his room. Neither of us had remembered the damn locket.
Stephanie practically launched herself onto the bed. "He forgot!"
"Keep your voice down!"
"He forgot!" she repeated in an excited whisper, grabbing my arm. "Rebecca, this is good. This is very, very good."
My heart began hammering. She was right. For the first time, there was no deadline hanging over my head. I didn’t have to return it immediately. Kaden might not even remember I still had it until much later. That gave us time. Time to figure out how to open it. Time to find the pin inside. Time to finally get this fucking choker off my neck.
A smile started pulling at my lips, but it didn’t last. Because having the locket didn’t mean I suddenly had all the time in the world.
I climbed out of bed.
She followed me with her eyes. "Did something happen between you and Alpha Kaden last night?"
My back went rigid. Fuck. "Why would you ask that?"
"Because you’re acting weird."
"I’m always weird."
"Not like this."
I grabbed some clothes and headed toward the bathroom.
"Rebecca."
"Drop it, Stephanie."
I shut the bathroom door before she could ask anything else. I leaned against it, closing my eyes. Immediately, Kaden’s face appeared again. I think I like you. Then my own voice. Stay away from me.
My chest tightened. That was what I wanted. Wasn’t it? Kaden needed to stay away from me. The healer had warned me that being around him was triggering his memories. His wolf already reacted strangely to me. And now Kaden had developed feelings for me while believing I was his brother’s pregnant woman. Nothing about this could end well. Distance was good. Distance was the best choice. So why did I feel so miserable?
By the time I came downstairs for breakfast, I’d forced myself into a much better mood. Or at least I’d tried. Kane wasn’t there. That wasn’t surprising anymore. But Kaden’s chair at the head of the dining table was empty too.
I stopped for half a second before taking a seat. "Where’s Alpha Kaden?" I asked one of the servants casually.
The maid bowed. "His Majesty requested breakfast in his study this morning."
"Oh."
I picked up my fork. That was all. Nothing strange about it. Kaden was the Alpha King. He probably had a mountain of work waiting for him every morning. He didn’t have to sit around eating breakfast with us. I took a bite of eggs. Then another. I absolutely did not look at his empty chair again. At least not more than four times.
He didn’t come to lunch either. This time, I didn’t ask. I simply sat down, stabbed a piece of chicken harder than necessary before forcing it into my mouth. Kaden was avoiding me. Of course he was. I’d specifically told him to. I should have been relieved that, for once in his stubborn life, the man had actually listened. Instead, irritation had been building inside me since breakfast.
By late afternoon, I couldn’t stand being trapped inside my bedroom anymore. Stephanie and I went downstairs, deciding to walk through the rear garden. We had barely crossed the long hallway leading toward the courtyard when I saw Kaden. He was coming from the opposite direction with two warriors behind him, a folder tucked beneath one arm.
My steps slowed before I could stop them. His gaze lifted. Our eyes met. For one brief second, Kaden stopped too. His face gave nothing away, but I saw his jaw tighten. I expected him to continue toward us. Instead, he turned toward one of the warriors, said something quietly, and took the corridor on his left. Away from me.
I stood there, watching him disappear. Stephanie kept walking for several steps before realizing I wasn’t beside her anymore.
"Rebecca?"
I didn’t answer. My chest tightened. I hated this silent treatment. And I hated myself even more for hating it. This is what you wanted. Yes. This was exactly what I wanted. So why the hell does it hurt?
"Rebecca?"
I blinked and looked at Stephanie.
"What?"
She glanced toward the empty corridor Kaden had disappeared down before looking back at me. Understanding slowly crossed her face.
"Don’t."
"I didn’t say anything."
"Your face did."
She gave me a look but thankfully kept whatever she was thinking to herself.
I forced myself to continue toward the garden. Forget Kaden. I had more important things to worry about. My hand went instinctively to the locket beneath my shirt. Freedom. That was what mattered. Not Kaden. Not his confession. Not his kisses. Not the fact that he couldn’t even stand to walk down the same hallway as me anymore.
Back in my room, Stephanie groaned dramatically and dropped backward onto my bed. We’d been examining the locket again for nearly twenty minutes. The tiny pinhole remained exactly where we’d found it, mocking me. I had tried hairpins. A sewing needle. One of Stephanie’s tiny metal clasps. Nothing worked. Whatever opened the locket had to be specifically designed for it.
"We have the locket," Stephanie complained. "We can hear the pin inside it. The thing that opens your choker is literally sitting right there, and we can’t fucking reach it."
"Thank you for reminding me."
"I’m just saying."
I snatched the locket off the table and shook it beside my ear. Click. Click. My jaw tightened. So fucking close.
"Maybe we should break it," Stephanie suggested again.
"No."
"Rebecca—"
"I have to return it eventually."
"And if the pin gets your choker off, we can leave immediately."
"And Kaden will know I lied."
Stephanie fell silent. I looked down at the locket. The thought of destroying it bothered me for another reason too, although I refused to admit that aloud. It belonged to Helen. Whatever I thought about Kaden, whatever he’d done to me, I’d seen the way he’d spoken about this necklace. It was one of the few things he had left of his first mate. I couldn’t destroy it. There had to be another way.
A knock suddenly sounded at the door. Stephanie and I exchanged alarmed looks. I quickly shoved the locket beneath my shirt.
"Who is it?"
"Me."
Logan.
Stephanie rushed over and opened the door. Logan slipped inside immediately, checking both directions down the hallway before closing and locking it behind himself. He looked exhausted. But there was something else in his expression. Something that made me sit straighter.
"Please tell me you have good news."
Logan looked at Stephanie, then at me. His gaze dropped briefly toward my chest, where the shape of the locket was faintly visible beneath my shirt. "I’ve got some news."
I shot to my feet. "What?"
Stephanie practically jumped beside me. "You found the key?"
Logan nodded. My heart exploded.
"Where is it?"
His expression darkened. And instantly, my excitement died.
"Beta Logan."
He let out a slow breath. "I know where Kaden keeps the key."
I stepped closer. "Where?"
Logan hesitated for a moment before finally answering. "That’s the problem."
My stomach dropped. "Why?"
His eyes locked onto mine. "Because getting it is going to require you to get close to Kaden again."