​Kaden’s POV

​I sat on the edge of the bed, the dark wood of the frame creaking slightly under my weight. Hours turned into one another, the bright afternoon sun giving way to the deep, heavy shadows of evening. I didn’t move. I couldn’t. I just sat there in the suffocating silence of my room, watching Rebecca’s unconscious, pale face.

​It was past seven o’clock in the evening when a firm, familiar knock broke the silence.

​The door opened, and Logan, my Beta, walked in. He took one look at Rebecca lying limp on my bed, then glanced back at me, his eyebrows rising slightly. "Alpha, an emergency meeting needs your attention immediately."

​I didn’t take my eyes off her. "What is happening?"

​"Apparently, the Frost Pack and the Firestorm Pack are disrupting the peace again," Logan explained, stepping fully into the room. "The Alphas from both territories have traveled all this way. They are downstairs in the waiting room, demanding to see you."

​I let out a heavy, frustrated sigh. I was the Alpha King. As much as every instinct told me to stay locked in this room, I had a responsibility to the entire kingdom. I had no choice.

​Standing up, I turned a cold, warning glare onto my Beta. "You will sit here and watch her, Logan. If anything goes wrong, if she even flinches, you contact me through the mind-link immediately. Understood?"

​Logan furrowed his brow, looking between me and the bed with an expression of pure disbelief. He clearly didn’t expect me to pay this much attention or show this level of care to a broken prisoner.

​Honestly? I didn’t expect it either. Seriously, I know I have my pride. I am the ruthless Alpha King, a man who built his reputation on iron and blood. I am supposed to despise this girl for what she did to Helen. I should be treating her like the worthless slave she is, yet here I was, abandoning a royal border crisis just to ensure she was breathing properly. It was maddening, hypocritical, and completely out of character. But looking at her small, fragile form, the pride I usually wore like armor felt completely useless.

​Leaving Logan with my unspoken confusion, I turned on my heel and left the bedroom.

​I marched down the grand staircase to the royal waiting room. The moment I kicked the double doors open, the two visiting Alphas snapped to attention and bowed deeply, their hands over their chests.

​"Alpha King," the Alpha of the Frost Pack spoke up, his voice tense. "We apologize for disturbing you. We know you are still mourning your late mate..."

​"Get to the point," I interrupted coldly, walking past them to take my seat at the head of the long table. "Have a seat."

​The two men quickly took their places and immediately laid out their issues. I listened with a tight jaw as they argued back and forth. It was the same old story—a bitter dispute over a stretch of fertile hunting land right at the border between their territories.

​"Enough," I barked, cutting off the Firestorm Alpha mid-sentence. "Next weekend, I will personally come down and inspect the territory. I will see for myself exactly where the land falls. Until then, there will be no fighting, no border crossings, and no bloodshed. If either of your packs draws blood before I arrive, I will consider it an act of treason against the crown. Am I clear?"

​Both Alphas swallowed hard, nodding quickly. "Perfectly clear, Alpha King."

​Once they hurried out of the palace, I wasted no time. I practically sprinted back up the stairs, my heart hammering against my ribs with a strange panic.

​I burst into my master bedroom and met Logan sitting in the armchair, waiting for me. But my eyes bypassed him entirely and landed on the bed.

​Rebecca was shaking violently.

​"What is wrong with her?" I demanded, my voice rising as a wave of raw worry crashed over me. "Why didn’t you tell me through the link?"

​"I just noticed it a minute ago, Alpha," Logan said quickly, standing up. "I already called the healer back. She’s on her way."

​I rushed to the side of the bed. Rebecca’s eyes were tightly shut, but her jaw was locked, and her teeth were chattering against each other in a fast, shivering rhythm. Her skin was deathly pale, her whole body completely frozen to the touch.

​The door opened, and the healer rushed back in. She immediately checked Rebecca’s pulse and pressed a hand to her freezing forehead.

​"It is exactly what I was warning you about, Alpha," the healer said, turning to me with a desperate look. "She needs her wolf’s internal healing, and she needs immediate heat. Her body is shutting down."

​"No," I growled, my hands clenching into fists. "There has to be another way. I am not releasing her wolf."

​The healer sighed heavily, looking at Rebecca’s chattering teeth before looking back up at me. "Practically, there is another way, Alpha. But it is not nearly as effective as her own wolf."

​"Say it," I demanded, impatiently.

​"Skin-to-skin contact," the healer explained smoothly. "You, or anyone you choose, must strip naked. She must be stripped naked as well, and pulled tightly into their arms beneath a heavy blanket. That way, a stronger wolf’s natural body heat can seep directly into her skin and bones to thaw her out."

​Logan stepped forward, thinking practically. "Should I call a warrior from the guard?" 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

​"Get out," I snarled, my dark aura flaring so violently that Logan instantly took a step back.

​A warrior? To do what? To get naked with my breeder? To hold her bare body against theirs? The mere thought made a feral, murderous rage explode in my chest. Nobody was touching her. Nobody was seeing her like that.

​I looked at the healer, my voice tight. "I will do it."

​The healer swallowed hard, nodded understandingly, and left.