Chapter 156 Kaden's POV
The guards brought Selena in twenty minutes later.
She was bruised and dirty from her time hiding in the abandoned cabin. Her clothes were torn, her hair matted but her eyes still held that familiar defiance mixed with desperation.
They threw her into the maximum security holding cell reinforced walls, silver-laced bars, magical wards to prevent escape.
I stood outside the cell, arms crossed, watching her pace like a caged animal.
Elara stood beside me, one hand protectively over her still-healing abdomen. Damian was on her other side, ready to catch her if she showed any signs of weakness.
Ethan, Kira, and several other pack leaders stood nearby. All waiting to hear what Selena had to say.
"Release the restraints." I told the guards.
"Alpha, she's dangerous-"
"I said release them. I want her to feel free to think she has a chance. It will make what comes next more satisfying."
They removed the silver cuffs from her wrists and ankles backed away from the cell.
Selena rubbed her wrists, her eyes locked on mine. "Kaden, finally we can talk properly."
"Talk? You think I'm here to talk?"
"I think you're here because you still care about me. Deep down, you know what we had was real-"
"What we had was a mistake. A lapse in judgment I have regretted since it started."
Her face twisted with hurt and rage. "A mistake? I gave you everything! Years of my life! My body! My loyalty!"
"Your loyalty?" I laughed bitterly.
"You poisoned me, tried to kill me, framed my mate for it. Beat her while she was recovering from surgery and tried to kidnap my newborn son. That is not loyalty."
"I did those things because you left me no choice! You promised me! You said I would be your Luna! You said-"
"I said nothing, you assumed you built a fantasy in your head where we were meant to be together. I never encouraged it."
"You slept with me! Multiple times! You made me think-"
"That was before I met Elara. Before I understood what a true mate bond felt like. Before I knew what real love was."
I moved closer to the bars. "What we had was convenient physical nothing more and it ended the moment I found my actual mate."
Selena's face contorted. "She's nothing! An omega nobody! She doesn't deserve you!"
"She deserves far better than me but somehow she loves me anyway. She gave me a son; she survived your attempts to destroy her. She's stronger than you'll ever be."
"I could have given you children! I could have been everything she is!"
"No. You couldn't because you're rotten inside, Selena. You always have been greedy and selfish. Willing to hurt anyone who gets in the way of what you want."
She started laughing. A broken, hysterical sound. "You want to know about hurting people? About being willing to do anything? Let me tell you a secret, Kaden, a secret that will destroy everything."
"What secret?"
"I didn't work alone. I had help. Guidance from someone who wanted Elara in the Dark Moon Pack as badly as I wanted her gone."
My blood went cold. "Xavier."
"Yes! Xavier approached me months ago and said he had plans for Elara. Plans for the blessed child she carried. He needed her in his territory. Under his control."
Selena was practically gleeful now. "So we made a deal. I would make her life here unbearable. Drive her away, make her feel unsafe and he would offer her sanctuary."
"The poisoning?"
"My idea but Xavier provided the contacts. Helped me convince the servant to do it and made sure the evidence pointed to Elara."
"And the attacks? The attempts on her life?"
"Also part of the plan is to make her afraid and make her desperate. Make her run to Xavier for protection."
Selena smiled viciously. "And it worked. She went to the Dark Moon Pack and walked right into Xavier's trap all because of me."
Elara made a sound beside me. Pain mixed with anger.
She stepped forward, her voice shaking. "You worked with the enemy and betrayed your own pack. Got people killed all because you were jealous?"
"All because I loved him!" Selena screamed. "I loved Kaden more than you ever could! I would have done anything for him!"
"Love doesn't destroy, love doesn't hurt what you felt wasn't love. It was an obsession. Possession you wanted to own Kaden, not love him."