Breeder To The Brutal Alpha King

​Rebecca’s POV

​I opened my mouth to refuse him. I really did.

​Every sensible part of me was screaming that swimming alone with Kaden was a terrible idea. I had already spent too much time around him today. First the walk, then seeing Kane at the café, and now this? I should go upstairs. I should lock my door. I should stay as far away from this man as possible.

​But looking into his eyes, I knew it was useless. Pushing him away too hard right now would only make him more suspicious. He thought I was a heartbroken woman spiraling in grief, and an Alpha like Kaden wasn’t going to let me hide away in the dark.

​”Okay,” I murmured softly, giving him a quiet nod. ”Fine. We can swim.”

​A rare, warm smile immediately spread across Kaden’s face.

​I froze. Damn. My heart did a sudden, traitorous flip in my chest. Why did he have to look so charming when he smiled?

​I was so used to seeing his hard expression, his cold eyes, and that permanent frown that made everyone around him terrified to breathe too loudly. But when he smiled like this, something changed completely. He looked younger. Lighter. Almost... normal.

​”Follow me, then,” he said, turning toward the glass doors that led to the indoor heated pool.

​I followed behind him, mentally cursing myself the entire way.

​By the time we reached the pool area, night had fully fallen outside. The large glass walls surrounding the room reflected the soft golden lights overhead, while the water shimmered beneath them in a soft, underwater blue glow. The air smelled of clean water and warm steam.

​Kaden walked toward one of the lounge chairs and casually peeled off his athletic jacket. Then his shirt followed.

​My steps slowed. Oh, Goddess.

​His broad back came into view first, covered in dark tattoos that stretched over his shoulders and down his arms. When he turned around, my eyes immediately dropped to his chest. Hard muscles. More tattoos. Tight abs, and the sharp lines of his body cut in the dim lighting—that familiar body I knew far too well.

​He pushed his sweatpants down next, leaving himself in nothing but black boxers.

​And I stared. Actually stared.

​Kaden raised an eyebrow, his mouth twitching slightly. ”What?”

​”Nothing,” I squeaked out quickly.

​”You were staring.”

​”I was not.”

​”You were.”

​Heat rushed into my cheeks. Get a grip on yourself, Rebecca, I scolded myself silently, pressing a hand against my racing heart before glaring at him. ”Are we swimming, or are you going to stand there arguing with me?”

​He chuckled—actually chuckled.

​Before I could recover from the sound, Kaden turned toward the deep end, took two quick steps, and dived straight into the water with smooth, effortless grace.

​SPLASH!

​Water flew everywhere.

​I jumped back. ”Alpha Kaden!”

​He disappeared beneath the surface, sinking deep into the blue glow. For several seconds, there was nothing but rippling water. Then his head broke through the surface near the middle of the pool. He pushed his damp hair back from his forehead and looked directly at me.

​”Your turn.”

​I swallowed hard. Right. My turn.

​Trying not to think too much about the half-naked man watching me, I reached for the zipper of my tracksuit jacket and pulled it down. I removed it slowly, then stripped off my pants, leaving myself in just my simple cotton bra and underwear.

​By the time I was standing there, I suddenly became painfully aware of how quiet the room was. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Kaden staring. His playful expression disappeared for half a second. His eyes moved over my body, widening slightly, before he abruptly snapped his head away, clearing his throat loudly.

​I almost laughed. To him, staring at his brother’s woman like that was some terrible sin. Meanwhile, the child he believed belonged to Kane was actually his. And the woman he was desperately trying not to look at had already been in his arms more times than either of us could count. The whole situation was ridiculous.

​”You planning on standing there all night?” Kaden called, still deliberately looking elsewhere.

​”I’m coming.”

​Unlike him, I wasn’t diving in. I walked down the shallow tiled steps, carefully lowering one foot into the water. The initial cool shock gave way to soothing warmth as the water climbed over my ankles, my knees, and my waist, until I finally pushed away from the steps and let myself sink in up to my shoulders.

​A long, shuddering sigh of relief escaped me. God, that felt good. The warm water immediately eased the lingering ache in my tired legs.

​Kaden finally looked at me again, his expression softening. ”Better?”

​I nodded. ”Much better.”

​”See?” A smug smile touched his mouth. ”I was right.”

​”Don’t get too proud of yourself.”

​”Too late.”

​I rolled my eyes. Kaden grinned before suddenly tipping himself backward, dipping his head entirely beneath the surface. A second later, he popped back up, shaking his head like an oversized dog and sending droplets flying everywhere.

​”Alpha Kaden! You’re splashing me!”

​”We’re in a pool, Ruby.”

​”That doesn’t mean—”

​He splashed me again. My mouth dropped open as he smiled innocently.

​Oh. So that was how he wanted to behave.

​I slapped both hands against the surface, sending a wave of water straight into his face. Kaden went completely still. I covered my mouth, fighting a laugh as he slowly wiped the water from his eyes.

​”Did you just splash me?” he asked, his eyebrow rising.

​”No. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

​A dangerous little smile spread across his face, and for one second, I genuinely considered swimming away. But then he laughed—not a small chuckle, but a real, low, deep laugh that echoed off the high tiled ceiling.

​I stared at him. I had almost forgotten what that sounded like.

​”Try putting your head under,” he told me, his voice rich and relaxed. ”It clears your mind.”

​I hesitated, then took a deep breath and plunged my head beneath the surface. The quiet rumble of the water surrounded me, washing away the lingering noise of my panicked thoughts. When I broke through the surface, gasping for air and wiping my wet hair away, Kaden was watching me softly.

​”How was it?” he asked.

​”Great,” I admitted, smiling despite how hard I didn’t want to.

​”Good. Then let’s play a game,” Kaden said, paddling a little closer to my side of the pool, his eyes bright with mischief. ”We both go under at the same time. First one to come up for air loses.”

​I raised an eyebrow. ”That isn’t fair. You’re an Alpha—you can probably hold your breath for half an hour.”

​He laughed. ”Excuses already? Unless you’re scared of losing.”

​”Of you?” I scoffed. ”Never.”

​”Fine. On three. One... two... three!”

​We both submerged into the blue water. I squeezed my eyes shut and held my breath tight. Five seconds passed. Ten. Fifteen. My lungs began to burn, but I forced myself to stay down longer. I wasn’t losing this quickly. Another few seconds passed before my body betrayed me, and I shot upward, bursting through the surface with a loud gasp.

​Kaden was already floating comfortably several feet away, leaning his head back against the edge of the pool with a triumphant smirk. He hadn’t even looked slightly exhausted.

​”You lost,” he said, looking ridiculously pleased with himself. ”That was terrible. You lasted what? Twenty seconds?”

​”Shut up,” I said, rolling my eyes dramatically and splashing water toward him again. ”Cheater. You have bigger lungs, and you’re stronger than me.”

​”How is that cheating?”

​”It is when you’re competing against a pregnant woman.”

​Kaden stared at me for a second before bursting into another warm laugh, and this time, I couldn’t stop myself—I laughed too.

​For several moments, we simply stood there in the water, smiling at each other.

​Then, something inside my chest tightened. My smile slowly faded as I stared at him.

​He was being so playful, so relaxed, so completely different from the cold, harsh, and rigid king I had known for so long. The Kaden I remembered carried the weight of being Alpha King everywhere he went, as though relaxing for even a second would make his entire kingdom fall apart.

​But this Kaden? He teased me. He splashed me. He laughed.

​I leaned my back against the side of the pool, watching him in quiet realization. Maybe this was the part of him Helen knew. The real Kaden, unburdened by pain, tragedy, and heavy responsibility before grief hardened him.

​Kaden noticed my sudden silence, his own smile fading slightly. ”What?”

​”Nothing,” I shook my head quickly, keeping my eyes on him.

​And for the first time, a bitter thought crept into my mind. Maybe the cruelest part of all this wasn’t that Kaden had forgotten me.

Maybe it was that, somehow, forgetting me had made him happy again.