Rebecca’s POV
The next morning, I barely touched my food. I had spent most of the night awake, listening for footsteps outside my door and checking the tiny silver key hidden beneath my pillow every few minutes as though it might somehow disappear.
By sunrise, my nerves were completely shot. The choker around my neck had started humming more often too. Sometimes it would remain quiet for several minutes, then suddenly vibrate against my skin for no reason I could understand. Every time it happened, panic shot through me. Kaden’s wolf had already felt the baby, and I couldn’t afford another close call.
I was sitting on the edge of my bed when the door finally opened and Kane slipped inside, shutting and locking the door quietly behind him. He looked like he hadn’t slept a wink either, but the sharp determination in his dark eyes told me everything I needed to know.
I stood up immediately. "Well?"
"Good morning to you too," Kane said, rubbing both hands over his tired face. "Sit down."
"No. Tell me."
He stared at me for a second before sighing. "Fine. I finished setting up the arrangements. You are going to Botswana."
"Botswana?" I repeated, processing the name. The word sounded strange in my head. Far away. Very far away. Exactly what I needed.
"Yes. It is a quiet territory in Africa, well hidden from the major Council routes," Kane explained, stepping closer. "The pack there is led by Alpha Darius. He owes me a massive favor from years ago. He is a good man, honorable, and he won’t ask questions. He certainly won’t report your presence to Kaden."
My chest loosened slightly. "Does he know who I am?"
"No. He only knows I’m sending a pregnant woman who needs protection and privacy, and that there are political reasons why her location cannot be shared."
A wave of profound relief washed over me. "What about documents? Money?"
"I have everything covered," Kane said smoothly. "Fake identification, new passage documents, and enough untraceable cash to keep you comfortable for a long time. There will also be money waiting for you in Botswana under the new identity. Darius will arrange a small, private house outside his main pack settlement, guarded from a distance."
"I don’t want guards."
"You are pregnant and hiding from the Alpha King. You’re getting guards," Kane countered firmly. "They won’t follow you around. You probably won’t even see them unless something happens."
"When do we leave?" I asked, my fingers brushing against my neck. "Right now?"
"No," Kane shook his head sharply. "Tomorrow evening."
My relief evaporated into instant panic. "What? Why the hell do I have to wait another entire day?"
"Because disappearing in the middle of the morning would look suspicious. If you suddenly demand that we leave right now, Kaden will know something is wrong immediately and lock every border before you’ve made it twenty miles."
I hated that he was right. I swallowed my frustration, curling my hands into fists.
"Tomorrow evening," Kane instructed. "We leave exactly like you told Kaden we would. Dinner. A private vehicle will be waiting outside the eastern district. Once we’re away from the main territory, we’ll change cars. From there, a private charter flight will take you straight out of the continent under a different identity—new name, new date of birth. Nothing connected to Rebecca or Ruby."
"I’m not putting you through a public airport with cameras everywhere," he added with a slight twitch of his mouth. "And you can choose the name later. I told them not to finalize the first name yet."
Despite everything, a tiny laugh escaped me. "How generous."
"I thought you’d complain if I picked one."
"You know me well."
"Unfortunately," he muttered. Then his tone shifted, becoming dead serious as he pointed toward my neck. "There’s one more thing. Listen to me very carefully, Rebecca. Do not touch that key, and do not remove this choker until I tell you you’re completely outside Kaden’s territory."
"I know."
"I’m serious. The second that band comes off, your true wolf scent and the mate bond will hit the air like a flare. Kaden could feel it immediately."
My stomach tightened. "He already felt the baby."
"Exactly," Kane’s expression hardened. "So no matter how uncomfortable it gets today, you keep it on."
My fingers touched the cold metal. It hummed faintly beneath them. "Fine."
"Good," Kane said softly, stepping back toward the door. "Keep your head down today. Play along. Tomorrow evening, you walk out of this pack house with me for dinner."
I nodded. "Thank you."
Around noon, a knock came at my door. Stephanie gave me a knowing look as I went to answer it, whispering, "Your last full day."
My chest tightened, but I didn’t respond. I opened the door to find Kaden standing in the hallway, dressed casually in a dark sweater and jeans. The dangerous Alpha King aura was completely gone, replaced by a soft, warm expression that made my chest ache.
"Morning, Ruby," he said gently, stepping into the room. He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to my cheek. "You look exhausted. Did you sleep at all?"
"Not really," I lied smoothly. "Just had a lot on my mind."
"I figured," Kaden smiled, taking my hand in his. "Come on. Spend the day with me."
"Kaden, don’t you have pack business?"
"I canceled my non-urgent meetings for today," he said, pulling me toward the door. "I want to steal you away before everything changes. When is your dinner date with Kane to end things?"
"Tomorrow evening," I replied, keeping my voice steady.
"Tomorrow, then," Kaden murmured, a quiet satisfaction settling in his eyes. "After tomorrow, everything changes. I want to spend these final hours of uncertainty with you."
Every step I took beside him down the grand staircase felt heavy, like walking through deep mud. This is the last time, a voice echoed in my head. This is the last time I will walk these halls. The last time I will feel his hand holding mine.
He brought me to a private sunroom overlooking the pack’s vast gardens, where a quiet lunch had been set up on a small round table. Sunlight poured through the glass windows, warming the afternoon air.
"I wanted us to eat somewhere quiet," Kaden said, pulling out the chair right beside his instead of across the table. "No guards standing around, no advisers whispering in my ear."
"Bossy," I murmured, sitting down.
"Sit," he grinned, looking ridiculously pleased with himself.
For the next thirty minutes, we ate quietly together. Kaden asked whether I’d slept, whether the medicine was helping, and whether the baby had given me any trouble. They were ordinary questions, but every one of them hurt because I knew this could be the last normal meal we ever shared.
At one point, he stole a strawberry from my bowl.
"That was mine."
"There are more."
"Thief."
He laughed, and the sound made something inside my chest ache.
After lunch, he took me into the garden. We walked hand in hand until we reached an old oak tree near the edge of the grounds.
"Kane and I used to hide up there when we were children," he said. "Especially when our father wanted to lecture us."
I smiled. "Which one of you caused more trouble?"
"Kane."
"Liar."
His laugh faded into a soft smile as he looked at me.
"After tomorrow, let’s go somewhere."
My stomach tightened. "You really meant the vacation?"
"Of course."
"What if I picked somewhere ridiculously far away?"
"I’d take you."
"Some tiny village where nobody knows you’re the Alpha King?"
His face softened. "I’d probably love that. You name it, and we will board a private jet. Just you, me, and the baby."
This is the last time, my mind screamed at me. He is planning a future that will never exist.
The guilt hit me like a physical blow. Kaden was a monster for what he had done to Rebecca—for stripping her wolf, putting this choker on her neck, and throwing her in a dark cell. But this Kaden, sitting across from me with genuine love in his eyes, was completely unaware of the horror he had caused. He was opening his heart to a shadow, promising the world to a woman who was actively plotting her escape.
I stared down at our joined hands, feeling tears suddenly pricking at the back of my eyes.
"Ruby?" Kaden’s tone shifted instantly, filled with deep concern. He stood up and knelt right beside me, cupping my face with both of his large, warm hands. "What’s wrong? Why do you look so sad?"
I quickly blinked back the moisture in my eyes, forcing a shaky, nervous smile onto my face.
"I’m just... nervous, Kaden," I lied, my voice trembling slightly. "About tomorrow night. Breaking up with Kane. It just feels like a very big step, and I’m wondering whether I’m doing the right thing."
Kaden became quiet. For one terrible second, I thought he’d be angry. Instead, his eyes searched my face with intense affection.
"You don’t have to choose me because things with Kane are bad," he said softly. "I mean it. If you end things with Kane tomorrow, do it because you’re done with Kane. Not because I’m waiting. I want you, but I don’t want you waking up one day feeling like I pressured you into changing your whole life."
Who was this man? Why couldn’t he have been this person before everything between us was destroyed?
I squeezed his hand slightly. "I know."
We remained outside until the sun began dropping lower in the sky, talking about quiet things, before Kaden finally walked me back toward the mansion.
At the bottom of the grand staircase, he stopped and turned toward me. He stepped closer and pressed a slow, tender kiss directly to my forehead, holding it there for several quiet seconds while his thumbs brushed gently over my cheekbones.
I closed my eyes. For one second, I allowed myself to simply stand there. No lies. No plan. No key hidden in my room. Just Kaden.
When I opened my eyes, he was looking at me with absolute certainty.
"You’re going to be okay," he whispered against my skin. "And when tomorrow night is done, come find me."
My throat tightened. "I will."
Another lie.
Kaden brushed his thumb across my cheek and smiled. "Don’t be scared, baby. I promise you, being with me will be the best decision you will ever make."
My heart broke a little. Because as I looked into his hopeful eyes, I knew something he didn’t.
I had already made my decision. And it wasn’t him.
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