Chapter 254: The Coffee
Rebecca’s POV
For the past hour, Stephanie and I just sat in silence, staring at each other in total confusion. What sort of ridiculous joke was the Moon Goddess playing on me? I had finally gotten my hands on the locket that held the key to my freedom, and now that locket needed a key of its own.
What the hell were we supposed to do?
A sudden knock at the bedroom door made us both jump. Stephanie scrambled up to open it, revealing Beta Logan standing in the hallway. He slipped inside quickly and shut the door behind him, locking it before turning back to us with a grave look.
"Have you gotten the key?" he asked in a low whisper.
Without a word, I held out my hand, showing him the locket resting in my palm. "Beta Logan, this locket needs a pin-like key to open. Do you know where it could be?"
Logan stepped closer, staring down at the tiny hole in the metal casing. He let out a long, heavy sigh. "I have no idea. But if it exists, it’s definitely inside Kaden’s vault—a place I don’t have access to."
I panicked. "Then what am I going to do? Alpha Kaden only gave me until midnight."
"I’ll figure something out," Logan muttered, but the tension in his jaw told me he had absolutely no idea how.
Stephanie stepped forward, gesturing frantically at the pendant. "Why don’t we just destroy it? Break it open, take the pin inside, and run away!"
Logan shook his head immediately. "You can’t leave this mansion, Stephanie. Kaden’s eyes are on both of you. And before Rebecca can leave with Kane, she has to return that locket. So what will you tell him when he asks why you destroyed his dead mate’s most prized possession?"
Stephanie swallowed hard, her mouth snapping shut. She had no answer for that.
"I will think of something, Rebecca," Logan said, turning back to me with a worried look. "But I can’t promise you much. Kaden is not a fool, and he’s watching everything." He glanced around the room, frowning slightly. "Where is Kane?"
"He’s out," I answered softly.
Logan sighed again, the weight of the situation hanging heavy in the air. "Alright. Just stay put."
Without another word, he unlocked the door, slipped out into the corridor, and vanished.
I stood by the window for a few minutes after Logan left, running my thumb over the seamless locket. Indecision was killing me, but sitting here waiting for midnight was worse.
"I need to speak to Kaden," I said, turning back to Stephanie. "I need to find a way to ask him how this thing opens without drawing any suspicion."
She frowned at the locket. "And what exactly are you going to ask him? ’Hello, Kaden, thank you for lending me your dead mate’s anniversary gift. By the way, could you also tell me how to break into it?’"
I glared at her.
"What?" She threw up her hands. "I’m just saying."
"I’m not going to ask him directly. I’ll make it look like curiosity." I touched the pendant lightly. "He already believes the locket is helping bring back my memories. I can use that."
Stephanie looked at me with wide, worried eyes. "Be careful, Rebecca. If he senses even a hint of what you’re trying to do..."
"I know," I murmured, sliding the chain back over my neck.
I stepped out into the corridor and saw two of Kaden’s guards were stationed near the end of the corridor. Both looked at me as I approached, and I tried not to think about how many people in this mansion knew exactly who I was while pretending I was Ruby.
"Where is Alpha Kaden?" I asked.
One of the guards gestured toward the opposite wing. "His study, Lady Ruby."
"Thank you."
I made my way down the hallway, my heart pounding against my ribs with every step.
This was ridiculous. I had faced death more times than I cared to remember, yet asking one man how to open a piece of jewelry suddenly felt like the most dangerous mission of my life.
When I reached the door, I took a breath and knocked.
"Come in, Ruby."
I froze.
How the hell did he know it was me?
Slowly, I pushed the door open.
Kaden was sitting behind his wide mahogany desk, surrounded by stacks of pack documents. The moment I stepped over the threshold, his gaze snapped directly to me. He wasn’t surprised to see me.
His eyes immediately dropped to my throat, resting on the locket hanging against my chest. "Is there a problem?"
"Everything is fine," I lied softly, taking a few tentative steps into the room. "I just..."
A knock interrupted me.
Kaden glanced toward the door. "Come in."
A young maid entered carrying a tray. On it sat a glass pot of steaming black coffee, a cup, and a small plate of pastries.
As the rich, dark aroma filled the air, a sudden, overwhelming urge hit me. My mouth literally watered. It was the strangest thing—an intense, unpredictable craving that made me stare at the glass like I hadn’t tasted food in days.
Kaden noticed the way my eyes locked onto the tray. "You want it?"
"No," I lied quickly, trying to pull myself together. "It’s fine."
"Have it," he said, gesturing toward the desk as the maid set down the tray and bowed out. "I understand. Pregnancy cravings are unpredictable."
I walked toward his desk and picked up the cup. The smell seemed even stronger now. I took a small sip.
It was sweeter than I expected, with some strange spice beneath the coffee that I couldn’t identify.
Still, it tasted ridiculously good.
I took another sip.
Then another.
By the time I lowered the cup, I’d drunk nearly half.
"Thank you."
"Sit," Kaden offered, watching me quietly. "Have you remembered anything yet?"
I shook my head, keeping my expression carefully neutral. "No. Just... the same old blurry memories."
"You will soon," he assured.
I took a quiet breath, steering the conversation toward the reason I had walked into his study in the first place. "When I was holding it earlier... I shook the locket. I realized there are things inside it."
Kaden tilted his head slightly. "Yeah. There are."
"Can I see what’s inside?" I asked, trying to sound purely curious. "Maybe... maybe whatever is in there might spark a memory for me."
Kaden looked down at his desk for a brief second before meeting my eyes again. "It’s personal, Ruby. Things between me and Helen."
"Oh..." I murmured, lowering my gaze. "I understand."
I opened my mouth to say something else, but the words suddenly caught in my throat.
A strange, prickling sensation flushed through my veins. A sudden wave of intense heat bloomed deep in my chest, radiating outward toward my skin until my collar felt suffocatingly tight. My heart began to race—not with fear, but with a sudden, overwhelming spike in my body temperature.
Kaden noticed the shift in me almost immediately. "Something wrong?"
"No," I lied quickly, forcing a faint smile.
But then another wave hit me. It was hotter this time, starting deep in my stomach and spreading rapidly through my chest, neck, and face until my skin suddenly felt several degrees too warm. I tugged lightly at the high collar of my dress, trying to breathe through the sudden flush. Why was it so suffocating in here?
"Is your study always this warm?" I asked, my voice sounding a little breathless even to my own ears.
Kaden frowned, leaning back slightly in his chair. "It’s not warm."
"It is."
"No, it isn’t, Ruby."
I stared at him, irritation flaring through the haze in my head.
Hoping to cool my throat, I reached for the glass again and took another long gulp. Almost instantly, a fresh surge of heat rolled through my body like liquid fire.
I lowered the cup slowly to the desk, my hand trembling slightly. Something wasn’t right. My heartbeat had started accelerating—not with the sharp panic of pain, but with a fast, heavy rhythm that thudded straight through my veins. My skin suddenly felt hyper-aware, as though every tiny brush of fabric against my body was turned up to an unbearable sensitivity.
I swallowed hard, my vision blurring around the edges. "Kaden..."
He was already on his feet before the word even fully left my mouth. "What?"
"I feel strange."