Chapter 245: How To Steal It
Rebecca’s POV
"Are you sure?"
I turned away from the window and looked at Stephine.
"Yes." I touched the silver choker around my neck. "I think the pin that opens this thing is inside that locket. It has to be."
Stephine frowned. "But you didn’t actually see him open it."
"No, but you should have felt what happened to this thing when he pulled the locket out of his shirt." I tapped the metal around my throat. "It went crazy, Stephine. It has never reacted that strongly before."
She sat down beside me on the bed. "So what are you going to do?"
I sighed and began pacing. "I need to tell Kane first. Then he can speak to Logan."
"Why Logan?"
"Because Logan knows Kaden better than anyone else in this house. If that locket has been around for years, Logan might know where Kaden usually keeps it."
Stephine slowly nodded, but I stopped pacing as another realization hit me.
"But there’s something that doesn’t make sense," I muttered.
"What?"
"That night I went into Kaden’s bedroom, the choker didn’t react."
Stephine’s brows pulled together. Exactly. I had gone inside his room. I had stood near his bed, walked around the space, and even gotten close enough to his wardrobe. Nothing. The choker had remained completely cold.
"If the locket is important to him," I continued, "why wasn’t it in his room?"
"Maybe he keeps it in a safe."
"The choker would still have reacted if the safe was in his bedroom."
Stephine thought about that for a moment. "Unless whatever the safe is made of blocks the connection."
I paused. That was possible. Or... "He keeps it somewhere else."
"Where?"
"I don’t know."
Stephine gave me a long look. "Rebecca, all his clothes, jewelry, watches, and personal belongings should be in his suite. Where else would an Alpha keep something his late mate gave him?"
"I don’t know, Stephine. That’s the problem."
We both fell silent. I rubbed my forehead as the growing frustration began to settle in. The closer I got to the damn pin, the more complicated everything became. For weeks, I had imagined finding some tiny silver key sitting conveniently inside a drawer. I would take it, remove the choker, and disappear. Instead, the one thing that could give me my freedom was apparently hidden inside a sentimental piece of jewelry belonging to the Alpha King—a piece of jewelry given to him by his dead mate.
Wonderful.
"I’ll steal it."
Stephine’s head snapped toward me. "What?"
"I’ll steal the locket."
Her mouth fell open. "From Kaden?"
"Yes."
"The Alpha King?"
"Yes, Stephine. I’m aware of who he is."
She stared at me like I had announced my intention to jump off the palace roof. "And how exactly are you planning to steal a necklace from around his neck?"
"I don’t know."
She blinked.
I sighed. "I haven’t figured that part out yet."
"Rebecca—"
"But I will."
"Do you hear yourself?"
"What other choice do I have?" I demanded, turning to face her. "I’m not going to stay trapped in this choker forever because I’m afraid to steal a necklace."
Stephine lowered her voice, stepping closer. "And what happens when he notices it’s gone?"
My confidence slipped slightly. I hadn’t thought that far ahead. "I’ll deal with that after I get it."
"That is a terrible plan."
"Do you have a better one?"
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
"Exactly."
Stephine groaned and dropped backward onto my bed. "We’re going to die."
Despite how nervous I was, I almost laughed. "We’re not going to die."
"You’re planning to steal the Alpha King’s first-anniversary gift from his dead mate."
When she put it like that... I grimaced. "Okay. Maybe don’t say it like that."
"How else am I supposed to say it?"
I sat beside her and touched the choker again. "I’ll tell Kane when he gets back. Maybe he and Logan can think of something better."
"And if they can’t?"
My fingers tightened around the cool metal. "Then I’ll find a way myself."
Because I was too close now. For the first time since this nightmare began, I knew exactly where my freedom was. I wasn’t stopping. Not now.
By evening, Kane still hadn’t returned. I asked one of the guards casually if Alpha Kane had entered the territory, but apparently no one had seen him since morning. Great. Normally, I wouldn’t have cared, but today, I actually needed him.
I spent most of the evening in my bedroom, going over every possible way I could get my hands on Kaden’s locket. I could wait until he took it off, but where? If he didn’t keep it in his bedroom, I needed to figure out where he stored it. Maybe his study? No, Beta Logan had already searched there. Maybe there was another private room somewhere in the packhouse, or perhaps Stephine was right and he kept it inside some kind of enchanted safe that blocked the choker’s connection.
I groaned and dropped my head against the pillow. "This is impossible."
"You said that about getting into his bedroom too," Stephine reminded me from across the room.
"And look how well that went."
Her lips twitched. I threw a pillow at her, which she caught easily.
"I almost kissed him, Stephine. That was not a successful mission."
"Well... you did get into the room."
"And discovered absolutely nothing."
"Not absolutely nothing."
I narrowed my eyes at her while she smiled innocently. "Shut up."
A quiet laugh escaped her as she stood and headed toward the door. "I’m going downstairs. Do you want anything?"
"No."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
She left, and I rolled onto my back to stare at the ceiling. The room became painfully quiet, and my thoughts immediately returned to the locket.
I needed to see it again. One reaction wasn’t enough. What if I was wrong? What if the choker had reacted to something else Kaden was carrying—his watch, something in his jacket, or some object from his council meeting? I couldn’t risk stealing Helen’s locket only to discover the pin wasn’t even inside it.
No. I needed proof.
Nearly twenty minutes passed before my bedroom door suddenly opened again and Stephine hurried inside.
"Rebecca."
I sat up, something in her expression immediately catching my attention. "What?"
"I just passed the courtyard."
"And?"
"Kaden is there."
My stomach tightened. Stephine closed the door behind herself and came closer.
"He’s training with some of the warriors."
"Okay..."
"He’s still wearing it."
I froze. "The locket?"
She nodded. "I saw the black chain around his neck. He’s taken off his shirt to train, so the pendant is completely visible."
My heartbeat immediately picked up. This was my chance.
I climbed off the bed, but Stephine grabbed my arm. "Where are you going?"
"To the courtyard."
Her eyes widened. "Rebecca."
"I need to know."
"You already know."
"No, I suspect." I grabbed a light cardigan from the chair and pulled it around myself. "I need to be absolutely certain that it’s the locket making the choker react."
"And how are you going to explain standing around watching Kaden train?"
I stopped. Good question. "I’ll think of something."
"That sentence is beginning to terrify me."
"Relax."
"Every time you tell me to relax, something terrible happens."
I ignored her and headed for the door.
"Rebecca." I looked back to see Stephine’s expression had become dead serious. "Don’t get too close to him."
My hand tightened around the door handle. I knew she wasn’t talking only about the locket. "I won’t."
The lie came easily, and I stepped out into the hallway.
The evening air was cool when I walked out into the courtyard. I could hear the warriors before I saw them—grunts, boots scraping against dirt, and the heavy thud of bodies hitting training mats.
Then I saw him.
Kaden stood in the center of the training ring, shirtless, wearing nothing but dark training pants and boots. Sweat glistened across his broad chest beneath the courtyard lights. And resting directly against his skin was the black locket.
My steps slowed. There it was.
Kaden turned sharply, blocking a warrior’s punch before driving his shoulder into the man’s chest and sending him stumbling backward. I barely noticed the fight; my attention was fixed entirely on the pendant bouncing lightly against his chest with every movement.
Nothing yet.
I moved closer. One step. Two. Three.
Hmmm.
I stopped, my breath catching in my throat. The choker had started humming.
Oh, Goddess.
I took another cautious step toward the training ring.
HMMMM.
Stronger. My hand rose slowly toward my neck. It was the locket. It had to be.
Kaden suddenly caught the warrior’s wrist and twisted him onto the mat. "Again," he ordered as the warrior scrambled upright.
Kaden stepped backward—closer to me. The instant he did, the choker burned hot against my throat. I sucked in a sharp breath.
Kaden’s head snapped toward me, and our eyes met. His expression changed immediately. "Ruby?"
Several warriors turned to look. Damn it.
Kaden said something quietly to the man beside him before stepping out of the ring and walking straight toward me. With every step he took, the humming grew stronger, my pulse racing in tandem. I wasn’t imagining it. The locket was definitely connected to the pin.
Kaden stopped directly in front of me, breathing slightly harder from his workout. "What are you doing out here?"
"I..." My eyes betrayed me, dropping down to the black pendant resting against his chest.
Kaden followed my gaze before looking back up at me, his eyebrow slowly rising. "You’re staring at my necklace again."
"I am not."
"Ruby."
My face heated, and his mouth twitched. "You’ve been very interested in this thing all day."
He reached up and caught the locket between two fingers. The second he lifted—HMMMM.
The choker practically buzzed against my throat, making my eyes widen. There was no doubt anymore. The pin was inside that locket.
Now I only had one problem. I stared at Kaden’s fingers curled protectively around Helen’s anniversary gift.
How the hell was I going to get it away from him?