My Convicted Wife is My Mate (Bella and Kane) novel Chapter 16

chapter 15
KANE’S POV

Her body went limp in my arms. For one terrifying second, I thought she was gone.

Bella’s head tilted back, her eyes rolled into her skull, and her pulse slowed. I tightened my hold on her waist, keeping her from collapsing to the floor. My heart pounded louder than it should have. I didn’t like that feeling - panic. I wasn’t supposed to feel that way.

Her breathing was shallow. Her body was shaking a bit. I tilted her chin up, brushing the strands of hair from her face.

There were bruises on her face. I noticed the deep, red marks spreading across her cheek. One look was enough to tell me what happened.

My wolf got furious.

Jalen stepped forward from behind me. His expression was dark.

“Alpha, it’s done,” he said quietly. “The order was given. Henry’s contract is terminated. Every deal his company had is canceled.”

I nodded. My voice was low when I said, “Break the hand of the man who touched her.”

“Understood.”

I want to break every single bone in that bastard’s body.

“We should get her home before she wakes up” Jalen said.

I kept my eyes on her face. The way her lashes trembled… the way her skin looked bruised and pale all at once… It made my chest ache with something I didn’t want to name.

“She’s breathing too fast,” I muttered. “I think she was drugged”

Jalen nodded “Victims of this sort of violence usually are”

In that moment, my blood boiled with anger. My wolf was basically shaking its cage, begging to be let out.

“Then change of plans,” I said darkly. “Kill him.”

Jaden hesitated. He wasn’t afraid. I knew that expression too well. He was just thinking. “It can be done, but it’ll be quick. No one will see it. No one will remember him. It’ll be over in a second.”

I looked at Bella again. She looked too small. Too fragile.

Jaden went on carefully, “But destroying him in front of the world… taking everything he values… that would hurt more. He’ll wish for death long before it comes.”

I thought about it. He was right. Being blacklisted and fired would be worse for him.

“You’re right. Let him rot in his own humiliation.” I said.

Jaden smirked. That’s why he was my Beta. He knew how I thought.

I lifted Bella into my arms. She was lighter than I expected. Her scent – Jasmine- filled my senses. I carried her down the pathway.

When we reached the car, Ja;en opened the door and I slid into the back seat with her still in my arms. Her head fell against my chest.

“Drive,” I said.

Jaden started the engine and we sped through the night.

Her breathing was heavy and uneven. Her body twitched occasionally like she was having a nightmare. I rested her head on my lap and brushed my thumb along her jaw. Her skin was burning.

“Alpha,” Jaden asked quietly from the front seat, looking at us through the mirror. “Do you think she needs a hospital?”

I considered it. “No. The drug isn’t fatal. But she’s human now. She’s fragile. Arrange for a physician to meet us at the cabin.”

“Understood.”

“The last thing you remember?” His voice was calm

“The hotel,” I whispered. The word alone made me flinch.

Memories hit me. I remembered everything – Kathy’s manipulation, Henry’s hand on my body, the sting of his slap, the wine forced down my throat, Kathy’s cold eyes.

I swallowed hard. Kathy….she helped him. She held me down for him to hurt me.

I felt sick. I didn’t consider her my sister anymore. She was cruel. I had always known that but tonight, she showed me a whole new vicious side of her.

I wondered if she ever even had my mother’s photo album in the first place.

“How did I get here?’ I asked him

“I saw you coming out of the building. You could barely stand. So I brought you back.”

I frowned, still confused. “But… I never told you where I was going. How did you know where I was?”

“You didn’t. But when you answered the phone earlier, I saw the text message. The address was on it.”

He reached for a glass on the nightstand and handed it to me. “Drink. It’ll help.”

I hesitated, then took it. I drank the water, letting it calm me.

For a long moment, neither of us spoke. I remembered everything that happened in that room. the feeling of Henry’s hands on me made my skin crawl. It made me want to throw up. My sister held me down.

What if I hadn’t been rescued? What would they have done to me? The thought of it alone brought tears to my eyes.

I remembered running then the feel of Kane’s hard body against mine.

After a moment, I looked up at him and tried to smile weakly. “I didn’t do anything strange when I was drunk, did I?”