Free Web NovelChapter 96: Have You Instead
Kaden’s POV
A soft, hesitant knock rattled the heavy wooden door of my chambers.
"Come in," I ordered. My voice was flat and cold, hiding all the anger burning inside me.
The door pushed open slowly, and Stephanie—or, should I say, Rebecca—stepped into the room. She kept her head bowed, her hands tightly clasped in front of her apron, but I could see the slight tremor in her shoulders. She was terrified. She thought she was in trouble for talking back to me in the room.
She had no idea I knew exactly who she really was.
I didn’t speak immediately. I just stood by the edge of the bed, my arms crossed over my chest, letting the heavy, suffocating silence fill the room. I let my green eyes scan her—or rather, the body she was currently stealing. My wolf clawed at my chest again, instantly recognizing the soul trapped behind those brown eyes, but I locked him down behind a wall of pure ice.
"Alpha King," she whispered, her voice trembling slightly as she kept her gaze on the floor. "The head maid said you summoned me."
"I did," I said, taking a slow, deliberate step toward her. I forced a dark, careless smirk onto my face, masking the fast beating of my heart. "Lock the door behind you, Stephanie."
I saw her flinch. For a split second, a flash of pure defiance—Rebecca’s trademark defiance—flickered in her eyes before she quickly masked it. She turned around with stiff movements and clicked the lock into place. When she turned back to face me, she swallowed hard.
"Come closer," I ordered.
She took a few hesitant steps, stopping a safe distance away. The air in the room grew thick and heavy with tension.
"You were very bold down there, telling me how to handle my slave," I murmured. I paced around her like a predator circling its prey. "It made me realize something. Rebecca has been in that coma for days now. And frankly... I am getting tired of waiting."
Stephanie’s breath hitched. "Waiting, Alpha King?"
"I am a man, Stephanie. And I am a King," I leaned in close, smelling the sharp scent of her fear. "My patience has run out. I have needs,My breeder is completely unconscious and useless to me on that bed. Since she has refused to wake up and face her duties... I’ve decided I want you instead."
Pure panic exploded across her face. Rebecca—inside Stephanie’s body—stiffened so hard she looked like she might faint. Her brown eyes widened in horror. I could practically hear her mind spinning.
If I touched her now, I wouldn’t be touching Rebecca; I would be touching Stephanie’s physical flesh.
"B-But..." she stuttered, her voice rising as she begged and took a panicked step backward. "Your breeder... Rebecca is still alive! She is just sleeping! You cannot do this!"
"I can do whatever I please in my own palace," I scoffed bitterly, stepping right into her. "She brought this on herself by hiding in that coma. Why should I care about a murderer? Let me have you tonight."
"No!" she gasped, her hands pressing against her chest as if she were trying to hold her shifting soul inside her skin.
"Undress," I commanded in a voice that left no room for argument. I pointed a single finger toward my bed. "Undress right now, and climb onto my bed."
She completely panicked. I could see the wild fear in her eyes as her breath came in short, sharp gasps. She knew that if I took her right now, I would be taking Stephanie’s body while her own soul was trapped inside it. There was no way she would allow that to happen. She would never let another innocent girl’s body be used because of her.
"Alpha King, you are forcing me!" she cried out, her voice trembling as she took another desperate step back until her spine hit the locked door.
"I am not forcing you," I said coldly, walking slowly toward her until I was standing right over her. I leaned down, my face just inches from hers. "Do you forget how things work around here, Stephanie? You servants are supposed to follow every single command. Let me remind you, you were supposed to be killed for your crime, but you only stayed alive because Rebecca begged me with her own body to save your life. And now that she is asleep and no longer here to pay your debt, you have to pay me with your body instead."
She shook her head violently, her eyes filling with tears.
"Who knows?" I let out a dark, cruel chuckle, forcing myself to look as heartless as possible. "Maybe you will make a good breeder for me. If she won’t wake up, you can take her place."
"Rebecca," I thought inside my mind, a hard sneer forming deep in my chest. "It is either you come back to your own body right now, or I will torment you until you break."
Stephanie—or rather, Rebecca inside her—began to plead, her hands trembling against my chest as she tried to push me away. "Please, Alpha King... please don’t do this. I beg you."
Seeing the horror in her eyes, I decided to slow down. I had pushed her right to the edge; now I needed to give her the space to make her choice and crawl back into her own skin. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
I stepped back a little, letting out a rough, annoyed sigh. "Fine," I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest. "I will give you a choice. You have until tomorrow night. And don’t even think about running away from this palace, because my guards will hunt you down before you can even cross the border."
She swallowed hard, her chest heaving as she listened to my words.
"It is very simple," I continued, keeping my face as hard as I could. "Either Rebecca wakes up and performs her duties to me by tomorrow night, or you will take her place in my bed permanently. So, go back to that room. Sit by her bedside and talk to her. I believe she can hear you. Tell her she needs to come back to me, or else you will be the one paying for her sins."
Before she could answer, I stepped forward again. I grabbed her firmly by the arms, pulling her close to my chest. I forced my eyes to drop down, staring directly at her breasts.
Even though this maid had nice curves, I felt absolutely nothing. My body was completely numb to her. My wolf didn’t want this physical body at all—he was only reacting to the hidden soul inside. But I had to act. I had to make the threat real so she would believe me.
"I look forward to claiming every inch of this body tomorrow night," I said, forcing a dirty, low smirk onto my face to make her skin crawl. I let go of her arms roughly, turning my back to her. "Now get out of my sight."
