Chapter 93

Carol’s POV

My heart thrummed against my chest at a rapid speed as I stared at the last woman I expected to see in front of me. I couldn’t believe my eyes and fear consumed me as I stared up at her smiling and aged face.

Morgan Laveau stepped toward the cell, her hands behind her back as she examined me herself. I had no idea what was going on, but I knew it couldn’t have been good.

“Wh…what are you doing here?” I stammered, unable to keep the fear out of my voice.

“As you can probably guess, I’m the reason you are here. These men are working for me,” she said, a glint of humor in her eyes as she spoke. “We have been watching you for a very long time, Carol. I have to admit when I first saw you at that party in the Capitol, I was skeptical about you. But after I’ve had my men trailing you these past several months, I do not doubt in my mind that it’s you.”

“What are you talking about?” I demanded to know. “Why have you been watching me? Watching my family??”

She laughed, but it was bitter and left me feeling unsettled.

“Oh, Carol. Don’t you see? It was never about your adopted parents. We were only trailing them because of their connections with you. We wanted to capture you then and we knew eventually you’d end up there. What I didn’t expect was for you to end up there with him…” she said the word “him” like it was a bad taste on her tongue.

“Why are you after me? What do you want with me? I have nothing to offer you,” I said through my teeth. I wasn’t willing to show her any more of my weakness; I was pissed. and I wanted her to know it.

“That’s where you are wrong,” she said, her icy blue eyes narrowed. “You have a lot to offer. You are a very powerful witch, my dear, someone who shouldn’t even be alive, and yet… here you are.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat; her words weren’t making any sense. I shouldn’t even be alive? What did that even mean?

“Tell me, Carol. What do you know about the three surnames of witchcraft?” She suddenly asked me, surprising me.

“I… I don’t know,” I told her honestly. “Nothing I guess.”

“Those with magical abilities are part of at least one of these bloodlines. They go back from generations to the first sorcerers to ever exist. The Wlanc family are the first prophets to ever exist; those with fortune-telling gifts and prophecy are likely to stem from their bloodline. The next is the Sawol family who are gifted in mind manipulation and other brain play. Then there is the Amyrann family who are skilled in creating elixirs and potions. For many generations, the Wlanc family had ruled over the werewolf population. The title of Alpha King has been passed down to the firstborn son of each new generation. This generation’s Alpha King is none other than Alpha Bennet Wlanc. One of the most powerful werewolves to ever exist. He has the strong ability to look into anyone’s eyes and see their past and future. Alongside him was his queen, who came from the Sawol family. Her name was Alora Sawol, and she was the Luna Queen who had the strong ability to read minds. Unfortunately, though, she wasn’t a werewolf, just a powerful witch. The Sawol family never had any werewolf genes in their bloodline. But that never stopped Bennet and Alora from falling in love and becoming this nation's most powerful rulers.”

My stomach knotted at her words; I was so confused by this story.

I shook my head.

“Why are you telling me this? What does this have to do with me?” I asked her, my voice coming out breathy.

“Patience, my dear,” she said, waving me away in dismissal. “I’m getting to that part.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and clamped my mouth shut, waiting for her to continue.

“Together, they formed a child… a very powerful child. Most witches have one ability, but this child was said to have multiple abilities and be the most powerful ruler to ever exist. Their destiny, whether the child is a girl or a boy, is to take over the throne and rule the nation. This child could either be full of goodness, or full of evil. They could use their powers for good or bad and that terrified the nation more than anything. Alora would have done anything to protect her child even sending her away to live with a basic human family.”

I winced at her words; was she implying that I was somehow this child? How could that be possible? It didn’t make any sense. I stared down at my hands; was I that powerful? I didn’t feel powerful. I just felt like… me.

“I see the wheels are turning,” Megan said with a laugh.

“Where do you fit into all of this?” I asked her, not sure I wanted to know the answer, but needed to.

“I am the handmaiden of Elizabeth Amyran, of the powerful Amyran family, daughter of the Amyrran priestess. Upon hearing about the prophecy, I went to the Werewolf Empire Palace and posed as your mother’s handmaiden. I eventually convinced her that sending you away would be better and that you’d be safer from an empire that wished you harm. Hiding you was the best way to keep you safe.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“Why would you want me sent away?” I asked. “I was only a baby… why?”

“Getting to you while you lived in that palace would be difficult and I very much needed you alive. I wasn’t kidding when I said you were in danger. Others would soon want you and I couldn’t have that. I wanted your powers to develop and grow. I wanted it to be strong so I could use the transfer spell and take your powers for myself. Then, and only then, would I kill you. I put a block on you so others could never find you, including your own family.”

My heart hammered in my chest as I stared up at this woman who had zero emotions in her eyes. She couldn’t be serious.

“And my parents?” I whispered hoarsely. “What happened to them?”

“Your mother died,” she said flatly. “Poor woman had a heart attack after finding out her only child had died.”

My mouth fell open.

“Died?” I gasped. “But I’m not dead.”

“They thought you were,” she said, laughing. “I used an elixir to make you completely untraceable, even for your parents. I used another potion to make your father think he was seeing the truth in my eyes. He watched a random citizen take you from my arms during our travels and slaughter you. You should have seen the hurt on his face. Later that evening, while your mother grieved, she died. Your father put that citizen to death for killing his only beloved daughter. Less than a year later, your father marries Elizabeth and they are currently ruling as Alpha King and Luna Queen.”

“Meanwhile they think I’m still dead?” I asked, meeting her eyes through my tear-filled ones.

“Yes,” she said, a wide smile on her lips. “But I knew the truth and I’ve been waiting a long time for this day. Now that you are of age and your powers are truly surfacing, I can finally snatch them from you and kill you. It was a long game, but under the harvest moon, it finally ends tonight.”

I shook my head, tears spilling down my face.

“Please, you don’t have to do this. You don’t have to kill me…” I pleaded, hating how weak and broken I sounded.

“Oh, but I do,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me. “Then once I take your powers, I might bring them back to my queen so she can be the most powerful ruler to ever exist… she can finally kill that buffoon of a king and rule the nation by herself. Or maybe I’ll just keep the powers for myself. I haven’t decided yet. Regardless, you’ll be dead, and you’ll get to join your beloved mother in the afterlife where you both belong. It’s a win/win situation honestly.”

Fury boiled through me as I shook my head, tears flinging from my eyes.

“You’re crazy,” I croaked. “How long have you been going undercover and deceiving people into thinking you were on their side? You’ve been working for Aiden’s family for a long time too, haven’t you?”

“Only so I could stay close to you and keep an eye on your developments,” she told me, sounding bored by this conversation.

She motioned for one of the men and without a word, he walked towards the cell and started to unlock it. I scrambled backward, but I could only go so far because I was still chained.

When I opened it, in noticed the syringe in his hands.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me… I have a transfer ritual to prepare for.”

The man grabbed my hair and yanked it, exposing my neck to him. Before I could say anything, I felt the needle piercing my soft flesh. I watched as Morgan walked out of the room with the other two men following after her. The man who struck me with the needle released me and I fell to the ground in a thud… soon, everything went black.