Breeder To The Brutal Alpha King

Kaden’s POV

​I stared at her, the brutal reality freezing the blood in my veins. This was Stephanie. The real Stephanie. The soul swap had reversed, and the fierce woman I was losing my mind over was no longer behind those eyes.

​Before I could even process the sudden wave of panic crashing over me, a hysterical scream echoed from down the grand staircase, tearing through the quiet corridors of the mansion.

​”Alpha Kaden! Rebecca is awake!”

​The words hit me like a physical blow.

​Without a single second thought, I bolted. I didn’t say a word to Stephanie. I threw open my bedroom doors and ran, my bare feet pounding furiously against the cold stone floors as I practically flew down the stairs toward the secure medical wing. My chest heaved, my mind spinning into a chaotic blur. She’s back. She’s finally awake.

​I threw the heavy doors of the medical room open, the frame slamming against the wall with a loud bang.

​And there she lay.

​Rebecca. The stubborn woman who was supposed to be nothing more than my captive—the breeder meant to carry my legacy—finally back in her original flesh. She was sitting up against the white pillows, her chocolate hair falling over her shoulders, her eyes wide and alert. The sight of her nearly brought me to my knees. A wild, overwhelming urge surged through my entire being—I wanted to cross the room in a single stride, wrap my arms around her tightly, and hold her just to ensure she was actually alive.

​But I forced my feet to freeze right where I stood.

​The doctors and pack omegas were already crowding around her bed, checking the monitors and shining small lights into her eyes.

​”Rebecca, can you hear me?” the head physician asked, adjusting an IV line. ”What is the last thing you remember?”

​Rebecca shifted uncomfortably, her brow furrowing as she looked at the medical staff. ”I... I remember everything,” she replied, her voice slightly raspy but carrying that same inner strength. ”I remember the woods... and everything after.”

​The doctors nodded quickly, scribbling notes on their charts, completely unaware of the silent storm raging inside me.

​Slowly, Rebecca’s fierce gaze drifted away from the physicians, moving across the room until her eyes locked directly onto mine.

​Every single protective instinct I had been harboring all night fought to break through, but I slammed the iron gates of my restraint down. I couldn’t let her see my weakness. She was my prisoner, a woman captured for a purpose, and I had already let myself fall far too deep into this dangerous obsession without admitting it to myself. Shifting into tenderness now would destroy the control I had over her and this pack.

​I forced my expression to harden into an unreadable, cold mask. I crossed my arms over my chest, stepping closer to the foot of the bed, towering over her like a tyrant.

​”So,” I murmured, my voice cutting through the clinical hum of the room, completely devoid of any warmth. ”So you finally decide to join the land of the living.”

​The moment the harsh words left my mouth, Rebecca’s expression tightened. A flash of familiar pain and bitter disappointment crossed her features, and she instantly looked away, refusing to meet my eyes anymore.

​Inside my mind, a sharp pain shot through my wolf. Seeing the light instantly die in her eyes, replaced by that cold, familiar armor, cut through my chest. God, what is this feeling? It felt like a real wound, a deep ache that made it hard to breathe. I had spent the whole night driving myself crazy over her soul, begging for her to come back to me. Yet the second she did, I became the exact monster she feared.

​What was happening to me? Why did her looking away make me feel like I was the one trapped in a cell?

​”Everyone out,” I ordered, my voice cutting through the room.

​The doctors and maids didn’t dare wait. They dropped their things, bowed in a rush, and practically ran past me, shutting the heavy door behind them.

​I turned my full attention back to her. Rebecca didn’t look up. Her fingers tightly gripped the medical sheet, her knuckles clenched as she braced herself.

​”I know you’ll punish me for what I did,” she whispered bitterly, her voice shaking but still carrying that stubborn edge that always drove me mad. ”For shooting myself. For trying to escape our arrangement. Go ahead. Do whatever you’re going to do. Lock me back in the dungeon. Tell your guards to torture me. I know how this works.”

​She kept talking, her words spilling out, going through every terrible thing she expected from her cruel captor. She had absolutely no idea. She had no clue that having her back in this body wasn’t just a relief—it was everything to me. She had no idea that while she was asleep, I was losing my mind at the thought of a world without her fierce spirit.

​Before I could even find my voice to speak, the heavy door burst open.

​Stephanie rushed into the room, crying and breathless, completely forgetting about the rules as she threw herself toward the bed.

​”Rebecca!” Stephanie cried out.

​”Stephanie!”

​In an instant, the two girls threw their arms around each other in a tight hug. Rebecca held onto the maid like a lifeline, her shoulders finally dropping as she buried her face into Stephanie’s shoulder.

​”Thank God you’re back,” Stephanie sobbed, squeezing her tightly. ”Thank God you woke up. I was so scared, Rebecca... I thought you were gone forever.”

​As they held each other, the room felt completely heavy. Slowly, while still holding Stephanie against her chest, Rebecca’s chin lifted.

​She looked past Stephanie’s shoulder and locked her eyes right onto mine.

​It wasn’t an angry stare. It was a painful look—as if she were expecting me to instantly look at Stephanie. She was waiting to see if my eyes would light up for the maid, or if I would show even a tiny bit of the love she had seen me give when she was trapped in Stephanie’s skin. She was monitoring me, looking for proof that I truly cared about the servant instead of her, the breeder.

​I stood there like a statue, keeping my arms crossed. My green eyes stayed completely blank as I stared back at her, refusing to give her the answer she was looking for.

Suddenly, Stephanie pulled away from the hug. She wiped her nose with the back of her hand and stood up from the medical bed.

​Rebecca watched her closely, her eyes widening slightly as Stephanie turned and walked straight up to me. The timid, submissive maid from my bedroom was completely gone. Instead, a strange, eager look took over her face.

​She stopped just inches away from me. My brow furrowed, my muscles instantly locking up as her scent hit my nose—the scent that belonged to this body, but no longer carried the soul I craved.

​Then, Stephanie smiled.

​It was a wide, desperate smile that made my stomach twist. She reached out, her fingers catching the edge of my bare arm.

”I accept your offer, Alpha Kaden,” Stephanie said, smiling through her tears. ”From today onward.... I would love to be your woman.”