Free Web NovelChapter 39: Stolen DeadBody
Kaden’s POV
I reached the servants’ quarters where I had ordered her body to be kept. I didn’t even turn the handle. I threw my weight against the heavy wood, bursting into the room.
The hinges groaned. The door bounced violently against the wall.
I froze on the threshold, my breath catching in my throat.
The bed was stripped. The sheets were twisted and empty. The cold air in the room held nothing but a rapidly fading hint of her scent.
She wasn’t there.
"What the fuck..." The words died in my throat, choked out by a sudden, suffocating wave of fear.
Heavy, rushing footsteps echoed in the hallway behind me. I spun around, my claws instinctively extending as my wolf roared in fury.
Logan stepped into the doorway, his chest heaving, his eyes darting from me to the empty bed. His face drained of color instantly. "Alpha Kaden, what—"
Before he could finish the sentence, I crossed the distance between us like a shadow. I lunged forward, grabbing Logan by his collar, crushing the thick shirt in my fists as I slammed him hard against the doorframe.
"Where is she?!" I roared, the pure force of my Alpha command vibrating through the entire hallway. "Where the fuck is she, Logan?!"
Logan gasped, his hands flying up to grip my wrists, but he didn’t fight back. He knew better than to cross me when my aura was flared this dangerously.
"Kaden, I swear to you, I have no idea!" he choked out, his eyes wide with genuine panic. "I didn’t touch her! No one was supposed to enter this wing!"
I stared deep into his eyes, looking for any flicker of a lie, any sign of betrayal. There was nothing. Only raw confusion and fear.
I let go of him abruptly, shoving him back. My mind was spinning out of control, a dark, chaotic storm ripping through my chest. freewebnoveℓ.com
"Lock down the mansion," I ordered, my voice vibrating through the walls. "Nobody leaves. Nobody enters. If a single wolf tries to cross the perimeter, kill them."
Logan straightened his jacket, nodding frantically. "Consider it done."
I turned my fierce glare toward Kane, who was standing right behind him, looking entirely worried. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
For a moment, my anger, and fear were replaced by absolute confusion. Why the fuck was my brother acting this worried and concerned over her? How long had he even known her? Barely two days.
You’re probably thinking the same thing I was. It didn’t make any goddamn sense. Why did he look like his entire world had just ended over a girl he had just met?
"I’m going to the CCTV room," I growled out.
I didn’t wait for his response. I took off, tearing through the pack house like a beast hunting its prey.
As I raced down the staircases and through the long, dark hallways, a frustrating, agonizing rage burned inside me. I couldn’t explain why the fuck I was feeling this way.
It’s just her dead body, I told myself, my teeth grinding together. She was just a prisoner. A heartless murderer. She’s dead. I shouldn’t care.
But fuck it. I cared.
Call me crazy, call me a hypocrite, but the thought of someone else touching her, taking her, or desecrating what was left of her made a vicious, possessive madness claw at my throat. Something was deeply, horribly wrong with me.
I need my fucking head checked, I thought bitterly, tearing around the final corner toward the security wing. I’m losing my goddamn mind over a corpse.
I threw open the security door. The room was dark, illuminated only by the cold, blue glow of dozens of monitors lining the wall.
The security operator jumped out of his chair, the metal screeching against the floor as he immediately bowed his head in terror. "Alpha King! I—"
"Get out of the chair," I ordered, my voice cutting through the air like a blade.
He scrambled backward without a second thought. I stepped up to the main console, my fingers slamming onto the desk as I leaned over his shoulder.
"Check the footage," I commanded, the raw dominance in my tone making the operator’s hands shake as he reached for the keyboard. "Now. Rewind the records for the hallway outside the servants’ quarters. The exact hall Rebecca’s room is on."
"Y-yes, Alpha," the operator stammered, his fingers flying across the keys.
The monitors flickered, the time stamps on the screens rapidly rolling backward. Minutes turned into hours. The blue light washed over my face, reflecting the cold, deadly promise in my eyes.
I watched the screen intently, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped animal. Someone had dared to steal from the Alpha King. And when I found them, I was going to tear them apart limb from limb.
Suddenly, the screen blurred before snapping into a clear, steady playback of the hallway.
"Stop there," I snapped.
On the screen, the empty corridor came into view. I noticed immediately that no guards were standing at Rebecca’s door. I mean, think about it—why would a guard guard a dead body? Especially down in the servants’ quarters. It seemed completely useless at the time. Now, it felt like the biggest mistake I had ever fucking made.
Then, the shadows on the screen shifted.
Two figures crept into the frame. Both of them were completely covered, wearing heavy cloaks that hid their faces. But from their movements, the physical differences were obvious—one clearly had the smaller, slender shape of a lady, and the other was a tall, heavily built man.
My chest tightened as I watched them slickly slip into her room.
A heavy, suffocating silence filled the security room. Minutes ticked by on the time stamp. I didn’t even breathe.
Then, they came back out.
My jaw clenched so hard I thought my teeth would shatter. There she was. Slung over the masked man’s shoulder was the limp, lifeless body of Rebecca.
Rage, pure and blinding, flooded my veins. "Move the camera," I ordered. "Follow them."
The operator’s fingers flew across the panel, shifting the feed to the external cameras. He tracked them past the back door. The camera angle shifted, and we saw them passing quickly through the pitch-black rear courtyard.
And then, a moment later, they reached the outer perimeter wall.
The masked man didn’t hesitate. He climbed a tall ladder with the body of Rebecca securely strapped to his back, while the woman quickly followed right behind him, disappearing over the wall into the dark woods.
The feed went dead cold.
I slowly turned around, my eyes locking onto Kane, who was staring at the monitor with a pale, horrified expression. We both just stood there, the same burning question tearing through our minds.
Why the fuck would anyone steal Rebecca’s dead body? Why would they risk breaking into the Alpha King’s mansion just to take a corpse?
Something wasn’t right. None of this added up. If she was just a dead murderer, she was useless to everyone. Unless... she wasn’t actually dead.
The thought hit me like a physical blow, sending a jolt of raw adrenaline straight to my heart.
I threw my head back and let out a loud, thunderous roar that shook the very foundations of the security room.
"WARRIORS!!" I yelled, my Alpha command echoing through the mansion. "TO ME!!"
