My Convicted Wife is My Mate (Bella and Kane) novel Chapter 42

chapter 36
JAYDEN’S POV

While working for my Alpha, I had cleaned up more than one mess before.

Some in the boardroom, where I made sure our businesses stayed spotless and profitable. Others had been darker - the kind that required silence, fire, and sometimes blood.

I’ve burned bodies before. But never, not once, had I been called to clean up a scene because of a woman.

Least of all a woman like Bella Jameson.

I’d heard plenty about her.

She was the murderer of the Alpha’s fiancée. She was a woman with more shadows than friends. Yet when I saw her tonight - soaked, shaking, her hair tangled and eyes wide - I found myself… curious.

She wasn’t what I expected.

She looked fragile, yes, but not in a pathetic way. There was something in her eyes. She looked scared and strong at the same time. She had defiance in her eyes even though she was at the verge of dying. She looked like someone who had seen hell and back.

The sight of her like that caught me off guard. She wasn’t screaming. She wasn’t begging. She just stood there, trying to catch her breath while Derek was being restrained by my men.

I should have focused on the task, but I couldn’t help wondering what Kane saw in her. My Alpha has bedded women far more beautiful.

He dealt with rich socialites, actresses and princesses. Bella, compared to them, looked plain. She was too thin. Her clothes were torn. Her face was too pale. Still, there was something about her.

I turned my attention back to the chaos.

Gina’s eyes were glowing with anger. Her wolf was practically at the surface. Damien stood beside her, looking calm, too calm. I knew that look. He was assessing, calculating. But Kane… my Alpha stood at a distance. He watched everything in a corner where nobody could see him.

His expression was unreadable as usual. His eyes were dark. He didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. He simply nodded once at mebefore turning and walking toward the Emerald dining room. The doors closed behind him.

That was my cue.

I straightened and turned toward Gina and Damien.

Gina was still angry.

“Bella is really lucky,” she spat. “That idiot Derek, he couldn’t be less ostentatious if he tried! He had to disturb Alpha Stonewood of all people!”

Damien shrugged slightly. His eyes were fixed on the door I had escorted Bella through.

“She seems to have that effect on people,” he said quietly.

Gina turned on him. “Excuse me?” she hissed, placing a hand on his face to force his attention back to her. “Don’t tell me you’re feeling sorry for her now.”

I watched, silent, keeping my face neutral. It was amusing, in a way, watching a woman like Gina try to control a man like Damien. They both had no idea that the Alpha they were trying to impress, “Stonewood,” was actually Kane himself. They had no idea the man they looked down on was the very man they both feared and sought favor from.

“May I suggest we join Alpha Stonewood for dinner?” Gina said suddenly, holding Damien’s. “He won’t mind us joining him. I’m sure of it. After all, he invited us. Didn’t he?”

Damien opened his mouth but didn’t answer. His hesitation told me enough. He didn’t want to cross her, but he also didn’t want to make a fool of himself in front of my Alpha.

I decided to end this before they embarrassed themselves further.

“That won’t be necessary,” I said, stepping closer. My tone was calm but sharp enough to silence the air around us. Gina turned toward me, clearly annoyed that I’d interrupted.

“What do you mean?” she demanded.

I tilted my head slightly, studying him. “Do you have a death wish, Derek?”

He blinked in confusion.

“You disturbed my Alpha,” I said slowly. “You nearly killed a woman under his protection. You made a spectacle out of it in his presence.” I leaned forward just enough for him to feel my breath. “If I were you, I’d start praying. Because the only reason you’re still breathing is because he hasn’t decided what to do with you yet.”

For the first time, I saw fear in his eyes. His wolf stirred under his skin, restless, sensing danger.

I let the silence stretch before speaking again. “Take him to the holding suite. Keep him there until I get further instructions from Alpha Stonewood.”

“Yes, Beta,” the guards said, dragging Derek away.

As they pulled him out of sight, I stood there for a long moment. The air in the corridor still buzzed with tension. I knew Kane’s temper better than anyone. It was cold and deadly when crossed. Derek had no idea how close he’d come to ending his own life tonight.

Kane was only here as a coincidence. He came here to have dinner and to meet with some important investors. had no idea Bella would be here.

What might have happened if Kane hadn’t been there? If Bella had been alone in that room with Derek a minute longer?

I didn’t want to think about it.

I adjusted my jacket and straightened my tie.

“Clean up the area,” I told one of the guards. “And make sure no trace of this scene remains. The Alpha doesn’t like disorder.”

As the men moved to obey, I sighed. I was good at this - the cleaning up, the command, the control. But for the first time in a long while, I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that this situation - this woman - would bring more trouble than I’d ever handled before.

And somehow, I already knew Kane wouldn’t walk away from it.

Not this time.