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ERICA'S POV:-

I gasped as I felt someone scooping me up in their arms. I turned my face and found myself in Alpha Kaden's arms. He scooped me up in his arms and carried me bridal style. I didn't say a single word. He carried me out of the dungeons. "Where is your room?" He asked me in a low tone without looking at me. I was too shocked to see him there, I couldn't respond to him at all.

"Second floor, first door. That's her room." Sister Cierra replied to him in a low tone. He nodded his head and carried me towards the room. I was breathing heavily as I was expecting for the worse again from him. That was all he had been doing since that night.

He stepped into the room and locked the door. He took me straight towards the bed and laid me down gently. Then he laid down on the bed beside me. He was lying a little away from me. "I have no right to say that I did everything wrong with you. Please forgive me. An apology can never fix everything I have done. But I would be happy if you let me explain myself for once. Not for me. For both of our wolves. Everything I have done, none of you are supposed to be punished because of me." He whispered softly while staring at the ceiling of my room. I was staring at him. I could smell how guilty he was at that moment.

He turned around as he didn't hear my response. I gasped loudly as he grabbed a lock of my hair and brought it close to his nose. I closed my eyes as he sniffed on my hair. When I opened my eyes again, I found him staring at my face. He pushed that lock of my hair behind my ear. "I am not going to say anything to justify myself. Whatever I did to you was completely selfish and reckless. There is nothing I can say or do that can heal the wounds I have given you. Without knowing the fact that you were actually the one who took the wounds that were supposed to be on my sister's body." He whispered softly while staring into my eyes.

I actually couldn't believe my ears. He was actually accepting the fact that he did wrong. I gulped hard as I leaned even closer. I held my breath as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to his chest. "I can never imagine how you coped up with that monster. I can't imagine the life you lived. I can never imagine how much you had suffered while you were in here. And without asking anything, I punished you. I am so sorry, Erica." He apologised to me in a low tone as he started rubbing his hand on my back. I wanted to resist him. But I was just too tired to do anything at all.

I rested my head on his chest and let his warmth comfort me. I closed my eyes as I heard his heartbeat again. I remembered his heartbeat again. It was as soothing as it was when we first met. "I just don't get it. Why didn't you tell me anything before? Why didn't you tell me what actually happened to my sister? You should have told me everything. What made you keep it all a secret?" He asked me after a while. I gulped hard as I was not really ready to tell him why I hid everything from him. How could I ever tell him that his sister died because of me. When he didn't get any response, he pinched my chin lightly and guided my gaze towards his.

I could feel his gaze on my face but I didn't dare to look into his eyes. My eyes teared up as I couldn't bear his questioning look on me. Without wasting a single moment, he pulled me back to his chest and wrapped his arms around me tightly. "How could I ever tell you that I was the reason she died. The reason I had borne all that pain was to make sure that she would make it out alive. But she didn't, she died. And I couldn't do anything at all." I replied to him in a low tone. I told him everything honestly. I didn't even want him to know all that. It was Samia who thought that I was torturing him by not telling him anything about his sister.

I didn't want to hurt anyone at all. That was the reason I told him everything. "But that was not your fault, Erica. You did more than you could handle to help my sister. You were the princess of this kingdom. But you stayed in that cell with my sister. You slept on the dirty ground. You ate shitty food. You even took all the pain so you can protect my sister. It was my sister who couldn't bear to see you in pain. That's why she killed herself. It was not your fault." He whispered softly in my ear while rubbing his hand on my back to calm me down.

I buried my face in his chest and started crying again. I remembered how helpless I felt at that moment when I saw her cutting her wrists. Then she hugged me again. Because she knew that no one ever hugged me at all. "But I was supposed to get her out. If I would not have been born as a helpless and weak human, I would have helped her out. If I was not sick that day, I knew I would have done it. I tried to stop her. But I was too weak." I added in a low tone while crying hard. I knew I had been blaming myself for her death. After all, Monty did everything because he knew I cared about her.

"Hey hey!!! Shhh… it's okay. Wherever she is, I know she is in a good place. You did more than you could. It was not your fault. The people who tried to hurt her. The monsters who drove her to commit suicide, they were all punished. And I am glad they were all punished. You are innocent. I am the one who should be apologising to you." He whispered softly in my ear. I pulled my head out and looked at him. He was staring at my face as I was staring into his eyes. He pinched my chin again and leaned in. I closed my eyes as I felt his warm lips on my forehead. His lips lingered on my forehead for a good minute.

He pulled away from me and looked into my eyes again. "I am not angry at you. I am just angry at my fate. I was born with…" I started in a low tone. Tears were stinging my eyes again. But I couldn't continue my words anymore. My lips were suddenly sealed with his lips. He pulled away after a few seconds. A mischievous smirk on his face.

"There is nothing wrong with your fate. I am the most foolish man on this planet. I was always complaining about not getting a mate. While my mate was standing in front of me all this long, staring at my face. I was just too cowardly to look at my fate." He replied to me while staring into my eyes.

I just didn't know what to do or what to say anymore. I was so shocked with that sudden kiss that I didn't even realise that I was holding my breath. My lungs were burning because of the lack of oxygen but I didn't breath. "Erica! Hey! Breathe! Calm down. I am sorry. I didn't mean to kiss you like that. I just didn't want you to blame yourself for something you didn't do. There was nothing else you could have done to save her. And there is nothing wrong with your fate." He shook me a little as he asked me to calm down. That was when I got back into my senses and filled my lungs with oxygen.

"You are perfect the way you are. I envy you, Erica. After knowing how bravely you fought your own family just to make sure no one would touch my sister. Even though you had no powers to lessen your pain or to heal you. I can't imagine doing all that or bearing that much pain for my sister. You did it for her while you didn't even know her. You are the bravest woman I have ever seen in my life. I just wish I would not have been binded by my lust for revenge, I would have seen the scars of your bravery. Just don't blame yourself for what happened to Alicia." My heart skipped a few beats as I heard him praising me like that. As if he was impressed with everything I had done. I had no idea what it felt so good to hear him praising me like that. Maybe because he was my alpha. Or maybe because I never expected that from him. Either way, it felt so good.