Chapter 211: The Key
Kane’s POV
"What happened to her?" I roared, scooping Rebecca’s limp, freezing body straight up into my arms.
The maid who had been freed alongside her flinched, trembling as she scrambled to her feet. "We... we don’t know, Alpha! She was fine, but along the journey, she just became so weak! Her eyes turned completely white!"
Panic hit me. I didn’t wait for another word. I turned on my heel and bolted through the thick forest, my boots pounding against the damp earth as I cradled Rebecca tight against my chest.
Her skin felt like ice, and her breath was weak. Her last words kept playing over and over in my head like a loud scream.
I’m dying... please... save my baby.
My heart beat fast against my ribs. Rebecca was pregnant?
I stared down at her pale, lifeless face. She knew. She knew she was carrying a child, and she had kept it a secret from everyone. Kaden didn’t know. I was certain of it—my brother had no idea. No wonder she had looked so sick and pale on the day of the attack.
"Shit... shit, shit!" I cursed under my breath, my lungs burning as I pushed my legs to run faster. "This is bad. This is so damn bad!"
We broke through the tree line, emerging into the clearing where our convoy of black SUVs was parked with their engines idling.
My warriors rushed forward to open the rear door. I slid into the back seat, holding Rebecca across my lap.
"Drive! Fast!" I shouted at the driver.
The car took off quickly onto the main road. I looked down at Rebecca, and I panicked again. Her skin was not cold anymore—it was burning hot with a high fever.
I couldn’t take her back to my packhouse. Kaden was still there recovering, and if he saw her... if he found out... everything we were trying to cover up would explode.
I quickly mind-linked my pack’s head healer, Elder Maeve. Maeve! Are you at your home?
Yes, Alpha, her voice echoed back in my mind, sounding confused. I am at my cottage. Is something wrong?
Stay right there. I am coming to you now with an emergency, I ordered. Have your medical supplies ready!
I cut the link and barked at the driver, "Change route. Drive to the head healer’s cottage! Right now!"
The driver nodded sharply, stepping hard on the gas.
I stared down at Rebecca’s feverish face, my hands trembling as I brushed a strand of hair off her forehead. I felt so worried... She’s pregnant. Shit... this wasn’t the plan. None of this was supposed to happen.
Minutes felt like hours, but finally, the SUV screeched to a halt in front of Maeve’s quiet cottage at the edge of the territory. I threw the door open, lifted Rebecca into my arms, and rushed inside.
Elder Maeve was already waiting near the door. The moment she saw Rebecca, her eyes widened. "Bring her in! Lay her down right here!"
I carefully laid Rebecca down on the soft rug in the center of the room. Maeve immediately dropped to her knees beside her, placing her hands over Rebecca’s chest and abdomen. Soft, golden magic flared from Maeve’s palms as she closed her eyes, chanting a low, ancient healing spell.
I stood over them, pacing back and forth, pressing my hands against my face as the quiet chanting filled the room.
After what felt like an eternity, Maeve let out a deep, exhausted sigh. The golden light faded from her hands, and she looked up at me, wiping sweat from her forehead.
"I have managed to stop the immediate danger, Alpha," Maeve said softly. "Her life is stable for now."
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. "Thank Goddess."
"But there is a major problem," Maeve added, her face turning deeply serious as she pointed toward Rebecca’s neck. "This choker. It carries heavy dark magic meant to suppress her wolf and strength. That magic is reacting terribly with her pregnancy. It is what made her collapse, and it is endangering the life of her child. We have to take it off immediately."
My breath hitched. "Can’t you break it?"
"No," Maeve shook her head firmly. "Forcing it off with magic will trigger a dark backfire that will kill both her and the baby. We need the physical key."
I nodded, my jaw clenching. I pulled out my phone, dialed my head guard’s direct line at the packhouse, and waited impatiently for him to pick up.
"Alpha?" the guard answered.
"Find Beta Logan," I said in a harsh, low whisper. "Hand him the phone immediately. Do it quietly. Make sure Kaden doesn’t hear or notice anything."
A few seconds of tense silence passed before Logan’s steady voice came through the speaker. "Kane? What’s going on? Is the trade done?"
"Logan, we have a massive problem," I whispered, stepping into the corner of the room. "Rebecca is pregnant."
The line went completely dead. Logan didn’t utter a single sound for several terrifying seconds.
"She almost died," I continued, my voice shaking with stress. "She is at my head healer’s cottage right now. Maeve managed to save her life, but the magic choker Kaden put on her is poisoning the baby. It has to come off right now. Logan... tell me you know where Kaden hid the key."
Again, Logan stayed completely silent. I could practically hear his mind spinning out of control on the other end of the line.
"Logan! Speak to me!" I pressed.
"No..." Logan finally answered, his voice tight and strained. "I don’t know where he put it. But give me a minute... let me check on something."
"Hurry up," I gritted out. "Be fast."
Logan hung up the phone.
I slowly walked back over to Rebecca, looking down at her peaceful, sleeping face. I let out a heavy, miserable sigh and rubbed my throbbing forehead.
"Goddess..." I muttered to the quiet room. "What have we done?"