Chapter 227

Aiden’s POV

Raelyn took a step back and I worried she was going to run.

“Who is putting you up to this?” I asked, trying to draw her attention to me.

She glanced at me, and I could see the inner turmoil through her eyes.

“I… I can’t tell you,” she said hoarsely. “I… I’m sorry…”

“See, right there,” Candance said, stepping even closer. “If you were completely consumed by darkness, you wouldn’t feel this kind of remorse.”

Raelyn’s eyes darkened and then I saw it, the dark swirls that circled around her feet and began to wrap around her torso. It was the darkness; it had returned to our viewing, and it swirled around her like smoke… or clouds.

Candance swallowed as she took in the change, but she didn’t back down. I had to admire her for that; she was kind of fearless and she was truly trying to get through to her.

“You think I feel remorse?” Raelyn asked, her tone haughty. “I feel sick that I’m going to get beat because of this shit. I was caught, which was the last thing she wanted to happen. Now, I’m going to get punished.”

“Is the ‘she’ you are talking about my wife?” The King asked, his tone deep and angry.

Raelyn looked up at him; her face hard to read.

“Does it matter, Your Majesty? You had a daughter in your palace locked in the dungeon for her entire life and you never noticed. Maybe you should worry about that…”

“If I had known—”

“But you didn’t!” Raelyn snapped. “You let me rot down there my entire goddamn life! Do you have any idea what I dealt with? Do you know how badly I suffered??”

The King looked pained by her words, and he dropped his gaze; it was strange seeing him defeated like this, but at the very moment, he looked crushed. He knew she was right; he didn’t protect her. She suffered under his nose her entire life. She was filled with resentment and hatred towards him.

“He didn’t know, Raelyn,” Candance said, trying to defuse the situation. “He didn’t know that you existed let alone were being tortured in the basement. But he knows now, and he wants to help you.”

The King lifted his gaze to meet Raelyn’s.

“I’m here now,” he told her. “No harm would ever come to you. I want to protect you. Let me protect you.”

“And you think I believe that?” Raelyn scoffed. “You never wanted me. You knew about me, and you gave me up because you couldn’t stand me. I wasn’t your precious Carol so you couldn’t even look at me. I reminded you too much of her and I only brought you pain. You blamed me for every misfortune that happened, and I was beaten whenever something terrible happened to your precious little family. I was your dog, which you had never visited. Your neglect caused me the worst pain of them all…”

Tears flowed down her pale cheeks; I furrowed my brows at the King, wondering if any of that was true. But when I saw the painful and confused look on his face, I knew he had not done what she was talking about, but her words still hurt him greatly.

“Who told you all of that?” He asked after a beat of silence.

“Does it matter?” She asked. “It’s true…”

“No, it’s not,” he said firmly. “Who told you this?”

She bit her lip and stared at the ground, refusing to look at him.

“Please, Raelyn…” Candance begged. “Who told you this information? I’ve been here for a long time and there’s never been any mention of you. After I saw you as a little girl that one time, I was told you were dead.”

This caught her attention.

“They… they told you I was dead?”

Candance nodded.

“If I had known you were in that much danger… if I had known you were even alive… I would have done something to help you. You were only a little girl and you didn’t deserve any of that to happen to you.”

“Who told you that I knew about you?” The King asked, barely paying attention to the rest of the conversation. My mind was elsewhere as well; if this was Raelyn, then where the fuck was my mate?

“M… my mother,” she whispered.

The King’s face paled.

“What?” He asked. “Your mother??”

She nodded and lifted her gaze.

“The one who raised me…” she said softly. “Queen Elizabeth.”

That confirmed what we already knew and now I hope the King understood that the woman he married was not who he thought she was.

I looked at the King.

“We need to find Carol,” I told him firmly.

He nodded, but his eyes remained on Raelyn’s.

“What does she want?” He asked her.

“Isn’t it obvious?” She asked, standing her ground. “She wants power. She’s using me as her ultimate weapon. Once Carol and her baby are dead, I’ll inherit her powers. Our powers combined will make me unstoppable.”

“She’s been using me?” He asked, his voice coming out breathy as realization dawned on him. “The whole time… None of it was real?”

“She’s going to kill me…” Raelyn whispered as tears fell from her eyes.

“We have to get her out of here,” Candance said quickly, rushing to Raelyn and grabbing her arm. “Let me help you…”

Raelyn looked hesitant; I was losing my patients.

“I need to find Carol,” I said again, louder this time.

This snapped the King back to the present moment, and he nodded atm e again.

“Go. I need to find my soon-to-be ex-wife,” the King said through his teeth.

I could hear Raelyn and Candance talking more but I wasn’t paying attention to their conversation. The King and I rushed out of the infirmly and into the main foyer, just in time to see Jenna running through the doors and heading toward the stairway. She looked horrified and to my horror, she had blood all over her clothing.

My wolf immediately growled in fury; it was Carol’s blood.

“Jenna?” The King asked. “What’s going on?”

She kept her back towards us as she inched towards the stairway.

“Hello, Father. I’m rather tired. I’m going to take a shower and—”

Before I could stop myself, I let out a ferocious growl, practically shaking the manor grounds.

“You have Carol’s blood all over you!” I hissed. “Where is she and what have you done to her?”

“Jenna, is that true?” The King asked. “Turn around!” He demanded, washing his Alpha King aura over her.

She had no voice but to turn around and face him. Sure enough, blood soaked her clothing. She was trembling and she looked horrified. My heart sank deep into my chest knowing that Carol… my pregnant mate, was in danger and hurting.

The King looked mortified as well and he rushed up to her, grabbing her face and peering into her eyes.

“What have you done??” He asked. I watched as his aura grew stronger and I knew he was using his powers on her. She hadn’t blocked her mind from him, so it was easy for him to retrieve the information needed.

He gasped once he saw what had happened.

“Guards!!” He growled, making the guards jump into action and rush into the room. “Take her to the dungeons.”

“What??” She gasped. “N… no!” She cried. “Daddy, please!! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it!”

The guards weren’t listening, and neither was the King.

“I’ll deal with you later,” he said through his teeth.

“What did you see?” I asked, my heart racing. He turned to look at me, his face pale.

“Carol is in trouble. You need to get to her,” he told me. “I saw where they are keeping her. I’ll send you the coordinates.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone; he started to type something and then I felt my pocket vibrate.

“You need to get to her now. Take some guards with you,” he demanded, motioning for the remaining guards to accompany me. “She’s alive… but I’m not sure for how much longer. Jenna did a number on her. I’m going to find Elizabeth and deal with her accordingly.”

He didn’t have to ask me twice; I was already shifting and running in the direction he had sent me.

The house that the King saw in his vision was in the middle of the empire’s forest. It was used as a storage unit for a long time and then later abandoned. I was expecting there to be guards outside the place, but there weren’t. I’m assuming the Queen told them to abandon ships. I just hoped that Carol was still there and that she was okay. From the King’s face, after he saw the vision, I knew she wouldn’t be.

I burst through the door and ran through the house, trying to find any trace of Carol. I gave my wolf full control and let him find her via scent and in no time, we were rushing down the basement steps. I froze when I got a whiff of her fresh blood and then I saw her, lying in a cage. She was bruised and drenched in blood. She was unconscious, barely breathing, but she was breathing.

Blood ran between her legs and my heart plummeted into my stomach.

The baby….

I ran to the cage and used my wolf’s strength to tear open the door. My wolf gave me back control and I shifted into my human form.

“Carol?” I asked, touching her face. She remained unmoved and fear consumed me.

I sent a mindlink to Oliver to meet me at the hospital and then I scooped her limp and bludgeoned body into my arms.

“It’s going to be okay…” I whispered to her. “You’re going to be okay…”