Kaden’s POV

​Without giving me a single chance to reply, he turned on his heel and walked away with long, rigid strides, leaving the courtyard through the palace doors.

​I stood there, my breath coming in ragged pants, my mind spinning from his threat. A trial. A council hearing over a slave. He was willing to risk a civil war in the pack just for her.

​I forced myself to look away from the doors and turned my attention back down to the ground. Rebecca was still lying there, completely limp, her pale face flushed from the heat and her oversized clothes dusty from the stone.

​Stepping forward, I knelt down beside her. My hands, which had just been ready to strangle my own twin brother, became incredibly gentle as I slid one arm beneath her knees and the other behind her back. I lifted her up against my chest, her head falling heavily against my shoulder. She felt so light, so fragile, and her skin was burning against mine.

​"Get the healer to my room," I ordered the guards, my voice tight and flat as I turned and carried her back inside the palace, ignoring the dumbfounded stares of the guards.

​I strode through the grand corridors of the palace, my chest heaving as I carried her limp body in my arms. Every staff member we passed stared at us with wide, dumbfounded eyes, completely shocked to see their ruthless Alpha King carrying a bloody, unconscious prisoner. I ignored them all, my grip tightening around her fragile form as I kicked open the heavy oak doors to my master bedroom.

​I marched straight to the bed and laid her down on the mattress. The dark sheets were already changed.

​I stood over her, my eyes locking instantly onto the heavy silver choker wrapped tightly around her neck. My mind replayed Kane’s defiant words over and over, making my blood boil. Could she really be his mate? Is that why he’s pushing so hard?

​Before my thoughts could drive me completely mad, a soft knock echoed through the room. The door opened, and the elderly royal healer stepped inside, carrying her bag of medical herbs and potions. She bowed quickly to me, but the moment her eyes landed on Rebecca’s flushed face and dusty clothes, her expression turned deeply serious.

​She hurried over to the bedside, kneeling down to press her fingers against Rebecca’s burning forehead. She checked her pulse, lifted her eyelids, and ran a scanning hand over her forehead. I stood at the foot of the bed with my arms crossed, watching every single movement like a predator protecting its territory.

​"Well?" I demanded, my voice cutting through the quiet room. "What is wrong with her?"

​The healer sighed softly, pulling the blanket over Rebecca’s shivering, oversized clothes. She turned to face me, her eyes filled with a heavy gravity. "Alpha, she did not just faint from the heat. Her body collapsed out of severe physical exhaustion, combined with extreme emotional and mental trauma. She is carrying a burden far too heavy for a wolf her size to bear."

​A sharp pang of guilt stabbed directly into my human heart, but I quickly masked it, hardening my expression into a cold stare. "Then heal her," I snapped.

​"I have already applied a cooling salve and channeled what healing energy I could into her system," the healer replied calmly, packing her things back into her bag. "Your breeder is strong in her own special way. She will be awake soon. But..." The healer paused, looking down at the floor, hesitating. "Alpha, if I may, can I suggest something?"

​I braced myself, my jaw clenching as a dark instinct warned me about what was coming. I already knew I wasn’t going to like whatever words were about to leave her mouth. "Go on," I growled.

​The healer took a brave step closer, looking directly into my cold eyes. "As I said, she is completely drained emotionally and mentally. That is a sickness of the soul, Alpha—something my herbs and potions cannot cure. If you want her to recover quickly, I would strongly advise you to take that magical choker off her neck. Even if it is just for a single day. Without the silver suppressing her, her inner wolf will finally awaken, and her own wolf can heal her mind from the inside out."

​"Never!" I roared.

​The sound of my voice boomed through the master suite like a clap of thunder. The healer flinched backward, her face turning pale as my dark aura flared with absolute fury.

​"It was Kane, wasn’t it?" I snarled, stepping toward her menacingly, my eyes flashing with a dangerous light. "My brother put you up to this! He told you to come in here and trick me into removing that choker!"

​The healer looked completely taken aback. A wave of genuine surprise and confusion washed over her wrinkled face, and she shook her head wildly, holding her hands up in defense. "No, Alpha! I swear by the Moon Goddess, no one told me to say this. Lord Kane has not spoken a single word to me. I am speaking strictly as a healer who cares for the health of your future pup’s vessel. If her mind breaks, her body will fail to carry your seed."

​I didn’t want to hear it. The mention of the choker and Kane in the same hour was driving me to the brink of insanity. I couldn’t risk losing her, and I couldn’t risk my brother being right.

​"Get out," I whispered, the quietness of my voice far more terrifying than my previous shout.

​The healer didn’t dare argue. She grabbed her bag, bowed hastily, and practically sprinted out of the master bedroom, shutting the heavy doors quickly behind her.

​Once the click of the lock echoed through the room, the suffocating silence returned. I turned back to the bed, my eyes tracking the slow, uneven rise and fall of Rebecca’s chest. I walked over and sat heavily on the edge of the mattress, staring down at the silver band.

"No."

​I shook my head.

​"I will never remove it. Let the world burn."