Rebecca’s POV

​I sat frozen on top of the giant horse, my hands shaking so much I could barely hold the heavy gun Kaden had forced into my hand.

​Down in the dirt, Kaden didn’t even change into his wolf. He fought completely in his human form, but he moved with a raw, brutal power that I could not look away from. He was a beast. He blocked sharp claws with his bare arms and threw punches that cracked against the heads of the giant black wolves, his strength shaking the ground.

​A loud snap echoed through the woods as Kaden broke the neck of the first wolf. Blood sprayed across the green moss. He let out a loud roar, his eyes glowing a bright, scary gold as he fought the next two. He was winning with a deadly skill that showed exactly why everyone feared the Alpha King.

​But as I watched him kill, my eyes slowly looked down at the heavy metal gun resting in my hands. A strange, dark thought entered my mind.

​This is it. This is my chance.

​This was my chance to end my life. To finally be at peace. I wanted to go to a place where I could just lay down to rest, free from the walls of the palace, free from the pain, and free from the constant fear.

​I looked down at the gun, and all the dark days came rushing back to my mind. I remembered the dungeon cell, the mean words from the other maids, and the long, painful nights. I thought about how much my body ached, and how I was looked at as just a prize animal meant to make a baby, not a real person with a heart.

​And if I have a baby, what kind of life would that poor child have in this cruel palace? The torture that child will go through would be too much to bear. People will mock that child every single day, whispering about how their mother was just a slave and a breeder.

​He or she might grow up in a world full of hate, and the worst part is, he or she might end up hating me for bringing them into this nightmare. I could not let my unborn baby suffer that kind of pain. I could not let them grow up unloved and despised by the entire pack.

​I didn’t even know what had come over me. Things were finally starting to get better—Stephanie was free and back by my side—but deep down, I was so afraid. I knew how this world worked. A king like Kaden would never let a slave be truly happy.

​I feared the worst was still coming for me, that more pain was waiting around the corner, and I did not have the strength to fight it anymore. I was just so tired of running, so tired of crying myself to sleep, and so tired of waiting for the next bad thing to happen to me. Taking my own life felt like the only way to finally win against him. It was the only choice that belonged entirely to me.

​With shaky fingers, I lifted the heavy gun. My arms shook under the weight, but I forced the cold metal barrel up, pressing the tip of it right against my chest.

​Down below, Kaden had already killed three of the wolves. There was only one left. He was just about to kill the last rogue when he suddenly stopped, as if he felt something change in the air.

​His head snapped up, and his golden eyes locked directly on me. The second he saw where the gun was pointed, his eyes grew wide with pure, frozen horror.

My finger trembled violently against the trigger.

​A single, hot tear rolled down my cheek. I looked at him one last time, let out a shaky breath, and pulled the trigger.

​BANG!

​"NO!"

​Kaden’s roar shook the entire forest, but it was too late. A sharp, burning pain ripped through my chest as the bullet hit me. The force of the blast knocked the air straight out of my lungs, and the world around me began to spin into darkness.

​Down below, Kaden went completely wild. With one brutal move, he snapped the neck of the last wolf, dropping the beast instantly. Before my body could even slide off the side of the horse, he was already there. He lunged forward with impossible speed, catching me in his large arms just as I fell.

​He pulled me tight against his chest and sank down onto the forest floor. He sat on the dirt, his huge hands shaking violently as he pressed them hard against my bleeding chest. The terrifying Alpha King looked completely lost, his eyes wide with a fear I had never seen in him before.

​"What have you done?" he whispered, his voice cracking as the red blood stained his fingers. "Rebecca, what have you done?!"

​I looked up at him, my vision blurring, and a small, bitter smile touched my lips. "You should be happy, Alpha King," I whispered, struggling to speak. "A life for a life..."

​"No! No!" Kaden screamed, his face twisting in pure agony as he squeezed me tighter. "You can’t die on me! I command you, Rebecca, you cannot leave! Stay awake!"

​A hot, awful taste filled my mouth, and I choked out a gush of blood. With the very last bit of my strength, I lifted my shaking, blood-stained hand and placed it gently against his cheek. My eyes felt so heavy, pulling me down into a deep, dark sleep.

​At this exact moment, I knew I was supposed to hate him. I was supposed to curse his name for everything he had done to me. But looking at the raw tears in his golden eyes, the anger in my heart completely melted away.

Somehow, the monster I feared most was the one holding me like I mattered.

​With my final, dying breath, I looked into his eyes and spoke the truth. "Kaden... I forgive you."

​My hand slipped from his face, hitting the dirt, and my eyes closed completely.

​As my mind drifted away into the cold, quiet darkness, the sounds of the world began to fade out. But just before everything went completely silent, a broken, desperate voice echoed from far away, pulling at my soul.

​"No, Rebecca! You can’t leave me... I won’t lose you!"