Chapter 137

Carol’s POV

“So, what are you going to do? Do you want a relationship with your biological father?” Fiona asked on the other end of the phone. I leaned against the wall, the nurse had allowed me access to the phone earlier to call my parents kept giving me dirty looks, especially after I asked to use the phone for the second time. I tried to avert my eyes from hers.

While Aiden went into the hospital room to speak with his father, I decided it was time to face the fire and call my overly protective best friend whom I hadn’t spoken to in a couple of days. I had to explain to her that my plane had gone down and I had been stuck on an island for the last couple of days.

After I finally calmed her down enough to take deep breaths and assured her that I was okay, we started to talk about my time at the palace and where my head was.

“I’m honestly not too sure, Fi,” I admitted, staring at the ground and biting my lower lip nervously. “All I know is that his wife and daughter hate me, and his Beta tried to kill me. It’s hard to believe that he had no idea any of this was happening.”

“But what if he was completely in the dark?” Fiona asked, concern evident in her tone. “You could always talk to him about it. Maybe he will do something. I mean, he’s the King. He shouldn’t have someone like that as his Beta.”

I knew she was right; he deserved to know. Especially if he had no idea about any of this, to begin with. A nervous pit sat in the middle of my stomach as I pondered that idea. Before I could say anything more, I heard a loud commotion coming from the hospital room. I knew it was Alpha Johnathan’s room and the loud commotion was coming from Aiden’s mother.

“Are you out of your mind?!” His mother hissed, loud enough for the entire floor to hear. I felt the color draining from my face upon hearing the hiss in her words. “I refuse to have that woman as my daughter-in-law. She’s probably the one responsible for putting your father in the hospital?! Did you even look into her??”

My body trembled from her cruel words; she didn’t really think I had anything to do with the poison, did she?

“Fiona, can I call you later? Something came up,” I told her, my voice sounding distant and unfamiliar.

“Yeah, sure. Everything okay?” She asked, uncertain.

“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I hope so.”

“Call me later,” she told me. “Love you.”

“Yeah, love you too,” I murmured just before I hung up the phone. I handed the phone back to the nurse and she scowled at me.

“Are you done using my stuff now?” She asked, her lips pressed in a thin line.

“I appreciate your help,” was all I said in return as I turned and walked towards Alpha’s hospital room.

“You are being unfair, Mom. She’s my fated mate—”

“How could she be your fated mate?? She’s nothing more than a human, Aiden. Have you ever thought about what this would do to your pack? How could she possibly be a Luna without a wolf of any kind? How could she even gain their respect? The capital would eat her alive,” his mother growled, causing me to flinch.

“She’s stronger than you give her credit for,” Aiden replied, and I could hear the bite in his words. I knew enough about Aiden to know that he was furious, and he wasn’t going to stand up for his mother speaking about me like this. But I didn’t want to cause any issues between them. “You have no idea the kind of woman she is!”

“And I don’t care to know,” his mother barked furiously. “I won’t have my son mating that human girl.”

“You have no say in this,” he said through his teeth. “She’s my fated mate, Mom. You can either get on board, or you can leave the pack and not look back.”

“What?” She gasped at the same time as I gasped. Would Aiden seriously banish his mother from the Capitol for me? “I’m your mother and the Luna of this pack—”

“With Father stepping down and me taking over as the Alpha, I have the final say. Carol will become the Luna which now strips you of your title. Don’t make me banish you, mother. I love you and I always will, but this is my life now. Carol is my mate and will do whatever I have to make sure she stays by my side.”

There was silence; it got to a point where I could actually hear my own heart beating. I felt sick to my stomach, and I wanted to curl up in a ball and just cry my eyes out. But I didn’t; I just bit my lower lip to keep it from trembling and kept my stance.

“Okay,” she finally said after a long pause. “I will… support you.”

I knew it strained her to speak those words, but she had nothing left to argue. She had no more fights in her. Aiden threw in the final straw, and it left her vulnerable and with nothing. I was about to step away and return to my seat in the waiting room, my legs felt wobbly, and it took me a minute to get my bearings. I started to turn away, but the door of the hospital room opened, and Aiden stepped out, freezing when he saw me standing in front of him.

“How much of that did you hear?” He asked, his voice soft as he closed the door behind him to give us privacy from his mother.

“Enough,” I managed to whisper.

Without saying a word, he wrapped me in his arms and pulled me to his chest. I took comfort in his embrace and breathed in his loving scent. I loved the way I felt in his arms; the world could be falling apart around me, and I would still feel safe and warm in Aiden’s arms. I wanted to stay like this for as long as I could before reality slammed back into me. His mother despised me so much, that she would say and do whatever she could to get me away from her only son.

My heart was crushed; she didn’t think I could possibly be good enough for her son and the pack. Maybe she was right; I didn’t have much to offer. I had these strange powers that I’m learning how to use, but are they good enough to prove myself to the pack?

I can make potions, see parts of someone’s past, and manipulate minds. But can I use those skills to become a good Luna to the most powerful werewolf pack in the world? I felt nauseated and I just wanted to go to sleep and forget about this whole day.

“I know this isn’t how you wanted any of this to go,” he whispered, peppering kisses along my hairline and rubbing my back in soothing circles. “But I’d like for us to move forward with the marking ceremony. You are my mate; Carol and I love you more than anything. I want to mark you and mate you; I want you to be the Luna of this pack.”

Tears pricked the corner of my eyes, and I peeked up at him.

“Do you think I’ll make an okay Luna?” I asked the question that’s been weighing most on my mind.

He gave me a gentle smile as his lips brushed across mine, making my heart flutter in my chest.

“You are going to make an incredible Luna,” he assured me as he deepened the kiss.

Tears escaped my eyes and coated over my cheeks. I closed my eyes and just allowed myself to get lost in this incredible feeling. I got lost in the love that we shared; I got lost in my mate.

“Okay,” I whispered after he finally pulled apart from me, rubbing his hands up and down my arms like he was trying to keep me warm. “I’ll mate with you.”

His smile grew and he pulled me back into his arms as he started to tell me that those around the pack would help plan the ceremony and we would have it in a week. I asked if Fiona and my parents could come, and he said of course they could.

As nervous as I was, I was also excited about this. We remained in the hospital for a little while longer; just holding one another and sitting in the waiting room. I think we were both hesitant about leaving considering his father was in rough shape. He explained that his father was coughing up blood and that it was a side effect of the loss of a wolf.

We both wanted to wait to make sure that Alpha Jonathan would be okay for the night before we left.

Aiden’s phone started to ring, bringing him out of his deep thoughts. He pulled it out of his pocket and frowned when she glanced at the screen.

“Yes?” He asked into the phone. There was a pause and his expression hardened. “Put him in the holding cell. I’m on my way. I’ll call Oliver now.”

He hung up without other words and started to dial Oliver’s number while I asked, “What’s going on?”

He put the phone to his cheek and met my eyes.

“They found evidence against Mike. He truly was the one who poisoned my father and now he’s about to pay the cost.”