Chapter 175

Carol’s POV

The vomiting drowned out the sounds of the gasps. Aiden was quick to shield me from everyone staring. My stomach was normally stronger than this; what the hell was wrong with me? I was too wrapped up in myself and the fact that I just threw up in front of the entire pack, I hadn’t realized that the muffles screams were no more. That had to mean the King’s Beta and Oliver’s uncle were both dead.

“The show is over,” the King announced. “We will be having a meal to celebrate the lives that weren’t taken due to my former Beta.”

Most everyone hesitated, still watching their Luna warily. But the King spoke again with a voice of authority.

“Return to the packhouse immediately!”

One by one, the audience dispersed, leaving only the King, Aiden, Oliver, Fiona, and Aiden’s parents.

“Carol!” Fiona cried as she ran over to me. “Are you okay? Why do you keep throwing up??”

She spoke before I could gesture to her to not say anything. Aiden caught onto her words and snapped a look in her direction.

“Are you saying this has happened before?” Aiden asked her.

She bit her lip and glanced in my direction, realizing she had made an error by speaking about this. We could have just played it off that I was queasy from the events we witnessed this evening. But now it was too late.

Aiden looked at me.

“Is that why you’ve been blocking me? Because you’ve been unwell, and you didn’t want me to worry?” He asked the sound of hurt evident in his voice.

I sighed and wiped my lips from the excess vomit. I felt disgusted and the stench was making me feel even sicker. I could only imagine how everyone else felt with their heightened werewolf senses.

“Yes,” I told him. “It’s nothing more than a stomach bug. It’s only been a couple of days and I’ve been throwing up on and off. It’s not a big deal. I promise.”

“Have you seen the pack doctor?”

I shook my head, biting my lower lip sheepishly.

“It’s not that serious. I don’t want to bother him over something so small,” I told him.

“What if it’s not small?” He asked, his brows pinching together. “It could be serious. You aren’t throwing up for nothing.”

I put my hand on his arm to calm him.

“Honestly, Aiden. I’ll be fine. I’m going to run home and change. Then, I’ll come back to the packhouse and enjoy the rest of the party with the pack.”

His frown deepened.

“I want you to see the doctor,” he said sternly, leaving no room for debate.

I sighed.

“Okay, I’ll make an appointment. But I’m not going to have him drop everything for me.”

He didn’t look fully satisfied by my response.

“I promise, I will see him,” I assured him.

He sighed and then nodded.

“Okay,” he murmured. “I need to get to the packhouse with Oliver and the King after we clean up this mess. Take Fiona with you back to the penthouse and get back here as soon as you can,” he ordered.

“Yes, sir,” I teased.

“I’ll mindlink the driver and have him take you back,” he added.

I nodded; I wanted to kiss him, but not while I had vomit breath. So, I gave him a small smile and turned to leave with Fiona trailing behind me. She kissed Oliver and said something to him that made him smile sweetly at her. I didn’t hear what she said, but whatever it was, it definitely lightened his mood.

The car was waiting for us out front; Fiona and I slid into the backseat.

“I’m so sorry,” Fiona blurted as we headed back to the penthouse. “I shouldn’t have said that in front of him. I wasn’t thinking.”

“It’s okay. He was going to find out eventually,” I said shrugging. I didn’t blame Fiona at all. “I’m not mad at you,” I added.

She looked relieved as she sat back in her seat.

“I agree with him though; you haven’t been feeling well lately. Remember when you threw up at the restaurant last week? That was weird and I told you to see the doctor, but you still haven’t. You really should.”

I nodded.

“I know,” I murmured. “And I will… soon. I promise.”

She looked even more relieved to hear me say that. The driver dropped us off in front of the penthouse and I decided to take another shower because of how disgusted I felt. I brushed my teeth, used mouthwash, and decided on a lighter-colored dress. This party was to celebrate the life that could have been taken because of the King’s Beta and Mike, but they failed to do so. This was a celebration of a miracle, so I decided to dress accordingly.

“Wow, you look gorgeous,” Fiona cooed as I stepped out of my room, and she saw the pink dress I was wearing. I took my hair out of the braid and now it laid wavily around my shoulders and down my back. “Although, you’d look great no matter what you wore,” she added, nudging my arm with hers.

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You flatter me,” I teased. “We should get back. I’m sure Aiden is wondering where we are. It’s been a couple of hours since we were there last.”

She nodded in agreement. Thankfully the driver was still waiting outside and was ready to take us back to the packhouse. Aiden and Oliver were walking inside when he appeared, and they both stopped to wait for us as we got out of the car.

“We just finished cleaning everything up,” Aiden explained. “The King is making a report about the execution and will be joining the party soon.”

I wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his neck and basking in the warmth he provided.

“I love you,” I whispered to him.

I felt him smiling as he kissed my temple.

“I love you too,” he replied. “Is everything okay?”

I nodded.

“We are here to celebrate the lives that could have been lost,” I told him. “I could have lost you, Aiden. I never want to feel like I did in those days when we were stuck on the island without one another. I thought I would never see you again…”

His smile softened as he pressed his lips against my forehead.

“I thought I lost you too. I was terrified, Carol. I’ll never let anything like that happen again.”

“I don’t think you could have prevented that,” I told him.

“I’m not taking any chances,” he told me.

I glanced at Oliver who was holding Fiona, grinning, as she whispered something into his ear.

“How are you doing, Oliver?” I asked him, wanting to check in on him after he lost his biological father.

He glanced at me, and I could see the turmoil in his eyes.

“It’s going to take a bit to cope with what had happened. But I’ll be okay,” he told me.

I nodded and gave him a small smile.

“Just know, you aren’t alone,” I assured him.

“Damn right he’s not alone,” Fiona said, holding him tighter, making Oliver grin even wider.

“We should get inside and enjoy the party. My parents are probably wondering where we are,” Aiden said as he started to pull me towards the entrance.

“Carol!” I heard my name being called from a distance and turned to see King Bennet walking towards us.

“Hey,” I said to him.

“How are you feeling?” He asked once he approached.

“Better. I just needed a shower and to get away from it all,” I told him, which wasn’t a complete lie.

He nodded thoughtfully.

“Well, if you need anything let me know. I was thinking maybe in a couple of weeks you can visit the empire again. We can do more training with your powers.”

I glanced at Aiden and he looked uncertain.

“I promise you that nothing terrible will happen like it did last time. I will personally assure your safety,” he told me firmly.

I nodded; I did want to practice my powers some more and if I were to be honest, I wanted to get to know my biological father a bit more as well. He had proven himself trustworthy lately and it would be nice to know where I came from.

“Sure,” I said to him. “I would like that.”

He smiled and nodded.

Just as we were about to walk into the packhouse, my phone started to ring in.

“Hold on a second. I’ll meet you guys in there,” I told them.

Aiden gave me a quick kiss before going inside with the others. I grabbed my phone out of my purse and glanced at the screen, frowning when I saw it was the doctor's office in the town I used to live in. Recently, I switched all my information to the pack doctor and informed my old doctor I wouldn’t be returning. It was strange they were calling me.

“Hello?” I said into the phone once I answered it.

“Hello, is this Carol Miller?”

“It’s actually Carol Miller-Cruz now. I just got married,” I told the woman on the other end.

“Oh, congratulations,” she said thoughtfully. “This is Doctor Carmichael. Sorry to bother you. I know you aren’t a patient here any longer but there was a problem resorting in the clinic having to make some phone calls.”

“What kind of problems, doctor?”

“We have it listed that you recently got a refill for birth control,” she said, almost hesitantly.

“Uh, yes. I did maybe 3 weeks ago. It was my last prescription refill before I switched clinics,” I informed her.

“Right,” she said, and I could hear her flipping through some papers. Panic set in.

“Is there an issue?” I asked her, unable to contain my nervousness.

“Yes,” she answered. “Your specific brand of birth control has been recalled. The batch was no good. They do not work. I’m so sorry Mrs. Miller-Cruz.”

I nearly dropped the phone when she spoke those words.

Was she telling me that there was a chance I was pregnant??