Chapter 200

Aiden’s POV

It was a faint feeling, but I could still feel Carol’s anxiety and pain. Something was going on at the empire that was upsetting her, and it was driving me insane. I could feel it the moment she got to the empire last night but when I spoke to her on the phone, she said everything was fine and that she missed me. Even as I heard the words she spoke; I could tell her feelings didn’t match them. Something was wrong and she was worried about my response. She didn’t want to stress me out any more than I was already stressed out.

Letting her go to the empire without me was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, but it’s not like I could just leave the pack without an Alpha. My father was in no shape to run the pack, and Oliver had done enough to help me over the course of these last few months. It was time that he focused on his Beta duties and planning his future with Fiona.

I was happy for Oliver; he was finally getting the confidence he needed to pop the question and propose to his mate. I know it was a rocky road for them and that she was only here as a trial period, but things have been going really well and she’s adapting to her role as the Beta female nicely. Oliver was so in love with her, and it was evident in how he looked at her and spoke about her.

I went with him the other day to the jewelry store to pick out a gorgeous diamond ring for when he proposed to her. Now, he was just waiting for the perfect moment. We were both hoping that Carol would be here during the proposal because he knew that Fiona would need her best friend, but that didn’t seem to be possible. He even thought about waiting until Carol returned after a couple of months, but I doubted he’d be able to wait that long.

My next suggestion was for him to come with me next month to see Carol and bring Fiona along with us. He could propose to her at the King’s empire. He liked that idea the best and now he’s focused on making those plans happen, along with his other Beta duties. He had enough on his plate right now and didn’t need the stress of acting like an Alpha while I went away with Carol for two months.

It wouldn’t be fair to him.

But at the same time, not being around my mate was destroying both me and my wolf. He wasn’t pleased that I let her go without a fight, but the King was right. Carol needed to train her powers so that she could better protect herself and our pack. She had been kidnapped twice and nearly killed; I couldn’t lose her. Without a wolf, she’s more vulnerable and open to attacks. She needs proper training so she can be a strong and powerful Luna.

My wolf stirred uncomfortably inside of me as I sat in my office; he was feeling that something was seriously off with Carol’s mood. I knew something must have been wrong.

I grabbed my phone and sent her a quick text.

Me: Is everything okay? Your mood is off and it’s upsetting my wolf.

I pressed send and waited for her response, but it never came. My brows furrowed and after a few minutes, I decided to call her. However, it went to voicemail.

I groaned and slammed my phone on my desk, feeling irritated. Then, my phone started to ring, and I sprung to life, grabbing it and answering it before I even looked at the screen.

“Where were you?” I asked in a rush.

“Alpha?” I heard a male ask on the other end; my heart fell deep into my stomach. I knew the voice well enough but when I looked at the screen, it was confirmed.

“Emmet,” I said, leaning back in my seat. My pack doctor was calling… it wasn’t Carol. I tried to mask my disappointment, but I knew he could see right through it even if he couldn’t actually see me. “What can I do for you?”

“I just wanted to confirm the patient transfer. I was told not to speak with anyone at the empire about this, but I refuse to leave you in the dark as well. Is the transfer approved?”

I furrowed my brows.

“What transfer?”

He sighed.

“I knew you didn’t know about it. I told Beta Oliver this would be a bad idea if you weren’t aware of what was happening. He sent a memo to me earlier today letting me know that a patient from the Empire is transferring to our pack and to prepare a bed in the clinic. Typically, I would have gotten that memo from you, so I was suspicious and asked him questions. He made me promise not to mention anything to the Empire about this, which makes me think it wasn’t authorized on either end.”

I stared at the phone for a moment before putting it back to my ear.

“Oliver said this?” I asked.

“Yes, Alpha,” he answered.

I remained quiet for another beat; if this order came from Oliver, it must be important.

“And you spoke to him personally?” I asked.

“After I saw the memo, I called him and asked to meet with him. He came here with his mate and told me in person, Sir,” he answered.

Then that confirmed it; something was going on at the empire that I wasn’t aware of.

“Yes, it’s authorized,” I told him. “Go ahead and do the transfer.”

“Yes, Alpha,” he said, and then I hung up the phone.

Just as I brought up Oliver’s contact to call him, the door of my office swung open and the devil himself walked in. I furrowed my brows at him; Fiona trailed in behind him.

“Just the man I wanted to see,” I said, putting my phone down and leaning back in my seat.

“You spoke to Emmet, I’m assuming,” he murmured.

“Yes, I did,” I answered. “Want to tell me why we are transferring a patient from the Empire to here?”

Oliver swallowed.

“I’m not entirely sure,” he murmured. “She wouldn’t tell me, and I’m not really supposed to say anything to you about it. But in the text messages, she sounded urgent.”

I leaned forward in my seat to glare at him. I already knew who he was talking about, but I needed to hear it from him.

“She who?” I asked, willing him to answer me.

….

Carol’s POV

I stared at the King, trying to find some sense in his eyes but he only looked at me with a dull expression. It was confirmed that the woman he cheated on my mother with and got pregnant, was in fact Elizabeth. But I couldn’t believe that he would actually marry her after my mother supposedly killed herself.

I felt sick to my stomach and held onto my belly with dear life.

“And yet, you married her,” I said in a low whisper.

“After a year of your mother being gone, I married her,” he confirmed. “She told me the truth about who she was and the coven she came from. She’s the daughter of their Amyrran coven leader and has leader experience, just like Emalyn did. The Empire needed a queen, and our child needed a father.”

I shook my head as my eyes filled my tears. My mother was probably rolling over in her grave watching my father marry the woman he claimed he didn’t have any feelings for.

“But you told me that you didn’t have feelings for her; that you loved Emalyn,” I said, glaring at him. “But you changed your mind?”

He thought about it for a moment and nodded.

“After a while, I realized I did have feelings for Elizabeth. Over time, I fell in love with her, and we started to become a happy family. I never wanted to hurt your mother, and I loved her deeply, but I couldn’t deny my feelings for Elizabeth once they developed. Even my wolf started to accept her. I truly fell for her even more when I marked and mated with her. The feelings were unavoidable after that.”

“Did you ever think about my mother again?” I asked; I didn’t bother stopping the tears that fell from my eyes and soaked my cheeks. “Or me…?”

“I never stopped thinking about you, Carol,” he said, reaching over to touch my hand. “But you have to understand, I thought you were dead. I had no reason to believe otherwise. And yes, I thought about Emalyn too. I never got over the guilt of her death. I miss her every day, but at some point, I had to move on because the Empire needed a strong King and Queen. I had to be strong for my people. Your mother wouldn’t have wanted me to wallow around after her death; she would have wanted me to be a strong leader and that’s exactly what I am. Maybe not with the woman of her choice, but I do love Elizabeth and Jenna. They are my family now and I want you to be a part of that family. I want you to get along with them so we can be a happy family once again and keep your mother’s name alive. You are the rightful ruler of all our covens. You were given the blood of three amazing priestesses from each coven so that you could be connected to them all. You are the high priestess, and I already know from being around you that you are not dark… I know that you would follow the Moon Goddess and lead our covens the right way.”

I wasn’t sure what to say, but thankfully, I didn’t need to say anything right now because Elizabeth walked into the room, interrupting our talk.

“Darling, sorry to interrupt, but may we speak for a moment,” she said, batting her lashes at him.

“Of course, my love,” he said, standing to his feet. “Excuse us, Carol.”

I nodded and watched as he left with Elizabeth, but not before she turned to give me a sour look. I grimaced at her gaze and turned away just as my phone started to ring. It wasn’t the first time I felt it ring on the couch, but this time, I didn’t ignore it.

“Hey, Aiden,” I said to him, feeling relieved to hear from him until he started to speak.

“Want to tell me why my Beta sent out an order to basically kidnap a patient from the Empire?”