My Convicted Wife is My Mate (Bella and Kane) novel Chapter 43

chapter 37
JAYDEN’S POV

“Hank,” I said quietly.

The security room was dark. Derek knelt in front of the pond. He was shaking and dripping wet.

“Had any closed-circuit footage been erased?” I asked.

“Yes, Beta,” Hank answered, standing at attention beside me.

“Had the cameras been disengaged?”

“Yes, Beta.”

I nodded once. “Last question… did you watch the footage?”

“Yes, sir. We saw everything.”

Good. “Then whatever you did just now… do it again.”

The tension in the room spiked. My men knew what that meant. Derek realized it a second later.

“What-what are you doing?!” he shouted, struggling against their grip. His hair was dripping. His face went pale immediately. “You can’t-”

“Quiet,” I said. “You’ve made enough noise for one night.”

Hank and the others seized his arms. Two more wolves grabbed his shoulders and forced him down. His knees hit the floor. The next sound was the splash of water as they shoved his face under.

He fought. Hard. I’d give him that much. His body struggled. His legs kicked. His muscles flexed under the pressure of two trained wolves. But he was outnumbered. His growls turned to muffled gurgles. The water rippled with his struggle.

I watched calmly, arms folded behind my back. This was what happened when arrogance met power it couldn’t comprehend.

After several seconds, I raised my chin. “Bring him up.”

They pulled him out of the water. He gasped, coughing, choking on air. His hair was plastered to his forehead. His voice broke as he tried to speak, “You- you’re insane-”

“Careful,” I interrupted smoothly, stepping closer. “Do you really think it’s wise to disturb Alpha Stonewood’s evening again? You know how he feels about noise.”

The sound of his own name made Derek freeze. Even drenched and trembling, he still tried to glare at me. “You…you can’t just.”

“Enough,” I said, and flicked my wrist.

“Again,” I ordered.

They shoved his head down once more. The splash echoed louder this time. The water darkened with the dirt from his boots and his blood where he’d bitten his lip. He fought until his body started jerking, the first signs of panic before unconsciousness. I lifted a hand, and they dragged him up again. He choked, coughing up water.

This continued over and over. Drown. Gasp. Drown again. Each time he surfaced, his pride died a little more. His voice faded to hoarse rasping. His body shook with exhaustion.

Good. Now he knew how it felt.

Finally, when he was too weak to fight, I crouched beside him.

“Now,” I said quietly, “you’ll think twice before raising a hand against a woman under Alpha Stonewood’s protection.”

He blinked at me, too breathless to respond.

“Take him away,” I commanded “Keep him under watch until further notice.”

As they dragged Derek’s limp form across the wet floor, I looked down at the pond.

The reflection that stared back at me was cold and unflinching.

Kane had trusted me to make statements on his behalf and this one would echo for a long time.

BELLA’S POV

By the time I got back to the hospital, I was still shivering.

My clothes were damp, sticking to my skin. I tried to compose myself before stepping through the staff door, but Jasmine spotted me immediately.

“My goodness, girl, why are you drenched?” she exclaimed, rushing over. “Did you fall into the river or something?”

I wasn’t being cruel. I was just honest. My past didn’t let go easily.

No matter how much I tried to move forward, it was always there, waiting to catch up.

I was an ex-convict, a former healer who had lost her license, a wolf stripped of her other half. Someone like Justin didn’t belong in that story.

“Thanks for understanding, Jasmine,” I said, forcing a smile.

She looked at me sadly. “Bella, you can’t live like this forever. You don’t really want to be alone until you die, do you?”

I hesitated. The question hit harder than I expected. She would never understand that I didn’t have a choice. I wasn’t just a woman with a criminal record. I was a wolf without a wolf, cut off from both worlds. I couldn’t blend in with humans, and the packs treated me like a ghost.

So yes. Maybe loneliness was my only peace.

But as I left the hospital, her words echoed in my mind.

Outside, the night air was cold. I pulled my coat tighter around me and started the long walk home.

Suddenly, a handsome face flashed in my mind. Dark eyes. Calm voice. The man who had saved me.

Kane.

He was the only person who had seen me as more than the sum of my mistakes.

“I appreciate you, Jasmine,” I whispered under my breath, even though she was long gone.

The streets were quiet except for the distant sound of traffic. My hair dripped water onto my collar. I glanced back once, half expecting to see someone watching me, but there was no one there. Only shadows.

I took a deep breath and started walking faster.

But even as I moved, a chill ran down my spine , not from the cold, but from something else. A warning.

An instinct I couldn’t shake.

Something told me… that night wasn’t over yet.