Chapter 282: Got It
Rebecca’s POV
I didn’t waste another second.
The moment I was certain Kaden wasn’t coming back through that door, I jumped out of bed. My legs were still slightly weak from everything we had just done, but I ignored the tremor in my muscles and hurried across the room toward the wooden vanity rack.
My heart hammered harder with every step. Ten minutes. That was all I had.
I reached the rack and grabbed the bunch of keys with trembling fingers. They jingled loudly in the quiet room, and I froze instantly, my eyes flying toward the closed double doors.
Silence.
”Come on,” I whispered to myself, my voice barely a breath.
I searched through the heavy brass keys quickly until I found what I was looking for: the tiny silver opening pin. My breath caught in my throat. I pulled it free from the ring and immediately reached for the chain around my neck. Helen’s locket slipped into my palm as I removed it and held it up beneath the dim light.
For days, this little piece of jewelry had stood between me and my freedom. My hands shook so badly that I missed the tiny opening on the side the first time.
”Fuck.”
I steadied my hand with a sharp breath and tried again. The pin slid perfectly into the hidden hole.
Click.
The locket sprang open, and I stopped breathing.
Inside the tiny chamber sat a minute, silver key—the exact tool designed to unlock the suffocating choker around my neck.
My blood ran cold. For several seconds, I simply stared at it resting in the palm of my hand. After everything—after the Council, after the false accusations, after being trapped inside this damn thing for so long, after losing access to my wolf and living every day knowing my freedom depended on something I couldn’t reach—I finally had it.
”Oh my Goddess,” I whispered. My eyes burned as I carefully pulled the tiny choker key from its hiding place. My freedom was actually sitting in my palm.
Then, something else caught my attention. Tucked into the other side of the locket was a small, perfectly cut photograph.
It was Kaden and Helen on their wedding day. Kaden looked younger in the picture, dressed formally with Helen beside him in her wedding gown. He was looking down at her with a gentle, unguarded smile I had never seen on his face before, his arms wrapped securely around her waist while she beamed up at him.
A strange heaviness settled inside my chest, sending a sharp, painful pang straight through me. For a moment, I forgot about the ticking clock. I stared at Helen’s face.
This had belonged to her. Her necklace. Her photograph. Her husband. And somehow, I had become tangled in every part of the life she’d left behind.
I swallowed hard, forcing the sudden lump in my throat down. “I’m sorry,” I whispered into the quiet room, though I wasn’t even sure what exactly I was apologizing for anymore.
I closed the locket and hurriedly put the chain back around my neck. Then, I slid the silver opening pin back into its groove on the keychain, carefully arranging the heavy keys on the wooden hook so nothing looked disturbed. I stepped backward and examined the rack. Everything looked normal.
My fingers closed tightly around the tiny choker key. For one wild second, I wanted to use it immediately. I wanted to shove it into the lock around my neck and finally hear that horrible piece of metal hit the floor.
But I couldn’t. Not here.
The second this silver restraint fell from my neck, my wolf would no longer be suppressed. My real scent would return, and the mate bond would come crashing back with full force. Kaden’s wolf had already recognized our baby while the choker was still on me; if I removed it while inside his private suite, there would be no hiding anything. He would know everything instantly, and every chance I had of escaping would vanish in a heartbeat.
I rushed back toward the bed, found my jeans on the floor, and slipped the tiny key deep into the small coin pocket.
I climbed back onto the mattress and pulled the heavy blanket up to my chin. My chest rose and fell rapidly. I had it. I actually fucking had it. A breathless laugh almost escaped me, but I clamped my hand over my mouth to smother it.
For weeks, freedom had felt like some distant thing I kept chasing without ever getting closer. Now, the only thing separating me from it was leaving this pack house safely.
That was the next problem. I couldn’t simply walk through the front gates. Kaden had guards everywhere, and once the choker came off, there was no pretending to be Ruby anymore. I needed Kane. And Logan. We needed a solid plan to navigate past the perimeter before I removed it. I touched the tiny key through the denim of my jeans just to reassure myself it was really there. Tonight. I needed to speak with them tonight.
I forced myself to lie back against the soft pillows. Relax. Kaden couldn’t come back and find me looking like I’d just robbed him. I slowed my breathing, trying to arrange myself exactly as I’d been when he left.
Several minutes later, the heavy double doors unlocked.
Kaden stepped back into the suite, closing the doors behind him. He looked across the dark room, his dark eyes instantly finding mine as a warm smile spread across his face.
”You didn’t sleep,” he noted, his voice low and smooth. “Good girl.”
I rolled my eyes, hoping he couldn’t hear how violently my heart was beating against my ribs. “You told me not to.”
”And you actually listened. I’m impressed.”
He crossed the room, unbuttoning his shirt and shedding the clothes he’d hurriedly put on until he stood completely bare before me. He walked back to the bed and climbed over the mattress, settling his broad frame beneath the blanket beside me.
”Sorry for keeping you waiting,” he murmured softly.
”It’s fine.”
He leaned down and captured my lips in a kiss. I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders and kissed him back.
But the moment our lips touched, something inside me cracked. This could be the last time. The thought came without warning. If everything went according to plan, I would be gone soon. No more waking up in this mansion. No more arguing with him. No more secretly watching him across breakfast tables. No more hearing him call me baby. No more Kaden.
My fingers tightened around him as I pulled him down against me, kissing him with a desperate, heavy intensity, pouring every unspoken emotion, every shred of gratitude, and every drop of quiet grief into the touch, knowing deep in my soul that this was the absolute last time I would ever feel his mouth on mine.
Kaden noticed the change instantly. The rhythm of his kiss slowed, his hand pausing on my waist before he pulled back just a few inches. His dark eyes searched my face, a deep line appearing between his brows.
”What?” I blinked, forcing my voice to stay steady. “What?”
”Something is different,” he said quietly, his voice laced with confusion.
My stomach dropped, but I forced a small laugh. “You’re complaining now?”
”Ruby.” The lighthearted amusement completely disappeared from his face. He studied me for another second before his thumb brushed across my cheek. “You’re kissing me like you’re saying goodbye. What happened while I was away?”
My blood went cold. For a horrible moment, neither of us spoke.
”Nothing,” I whispered softly, forcing a small, reassuring smile to my lips. “Nothing happened, Kaden.”
”Don’t lie to me.”
”I’m not.”
His dark eyes narrowed, waiting for a real answer.
I needed something believable—something big enough to explain my intense emotions without making him suspicious. Then it came to me. I lowered my gaze, taking a quiet breath before looking back up at him.
”I’m going to break up with Kane.”
Kaden went completely still, his posture instantly stiffening over mine. “What?”
”I’m ending things with him,” I said, making my voice sound as steady and convincing as possible.
His eyes widened slightly, surprise replacing every trace of suspicion. “Ruby…”
”I’ve made my decision.” I pulled the blanket tighter around myself. “I can’t keep pretending everything between Kane and me is fine when it isn’t. He’s disappearing. He won’t tell me where he’s going. And whatever is happening between us…” I gestured between Kaden and me. “I can’t keep doing both.”
Kaden stared down at me, the tension in his jaw loosening as he processed my words. “When Kane comes back, I’m going to ask him to take me out for dinner,” I continued. “Somewhere away from here. Somewhere private. And I’ll end it properly.”
Kaden’s expression softened completely. He sat up a little and reached for my hand. “You’re sure?”
”Yes,” I murmured, curling my fingers around his.
Kaden brought my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles, a soft, genuine smile appearing on his face, entirely unaware that the dinner proposal was nothing more than my ticket out of his territory forever.
Dinner would get Kane and me past the guards and out of the pack house without raising a single alarm. Once we were outside the territory, Kane could help me disappear. Then I would pull the tiny key from my jeans pocket, the choker would finally come off, Ruby would disappear, and Rebecca would be free.
As I looked at the happiness slowly entering his eyes, my chest tightened painfully with a brutal, burning guilt. Kaden thought I was finally choosing him. He had no idea I was preparing to leave him forever.