Chapter 102

Carol’s POV

Poisoned?

I gasped at Aiden’s words. He held his phone tightly in his grip, staring at the blank screen longer after his conversation ended.

“I don’t understand,” I finally said after a long silence. “Who would want to poison your father?”

“A lethal amount of wolfsbane was in his system,” Aiden explained. “He has a lot of enemies, so it could have been anyone.”

“Enemies?” I asked.

“It’s easy to accumulate enemies when you are the Alpha of the largest and most successful wolf packs in the world,” Aiden explained. “Right now, he’s being treated at the Capital hospital, and they aren’t sure if he’s going to make it.”

My stomach twisted in a tight knot. What would happen if his father died? Would Aiden have to return to the Capital and become the Alpha?

Then a thought surfaced in my mind, and I gasped loudly as I looked up at him.

“You don’t think Morgan has something to do with this too, do you?” I asked.

His brows furrowed together.

“How does my father fit into Morgan’s plans?” Aiden asked.

“I don’t know. But do you really think it’s a coincidence that he was poisoned while all of this is happening?” I asked, motioning vaguely around the room.

He fell silent as he allowed that thought to process.

“I’m honestly not sure,” he finally said after a long pause. “But I do know we need to go to the Capital for the unforeseen future.”

My heart dropped; I knew this was coming. But I didn’t want to believe it.

When I didn’t say anything, Aiden looked worried.

“You’ll come with me, won’t you?” He asked, his brows pinching together.

I let out a heavy sigh and closed the gap between us.

“Of course,” I assured him. “I’ll always be by your side.”

He looked relieved by this and bent to kiss me.

“I’m not sure when we will be back,” he confessed. “This might be a permanent move. I’ll have ot resign from the team for right now.”

My heart hurt from his words; this meant I had to quit too. What was I going to do once I got to the Capital?

I decided to brush the thought out of my mind for right now.

“When did you want to be there?” I asked him after a moment.

“I should probably be there tomorrow,” he answered. “Father is in surgery today. I’d like to visit him at the hospital as soon as possible. Even if he’s not awake yet. I need to see it for myself.”

I nodded in agreement.

“I’ll help you however I can,” I told him. He leaned over and kissed me on the lips, but his kiss was brief and filled with so many emotions.

Aiden got up and changed out of his uniform and into his normal clothes. Then, we went home. The drive home was silent as we both processed our emotions; I couldn’t even imagine how Aiden must be feeling. My heart ached for him, and I wished there was something I could do to help him. But I knew there wasn’t.

We spent the evening packing; neither of us was sure how long we were going to be gone, so we decided to pack most of everything.

“You should let your parents and Fiona know that we are leaving tomorrow,” Aiden said, breaking the silence that consumed us.

I nodded as I grabbed my cell phone off the nightstand. I decided to call my parents first knowing this conversation was going to be a little bit easier.

“Hello?” My mother said as she answered the phone.

“Hey, mom,” I replied. “Are you busy?”

“I’m never too busy for you, Carol, dear,” she said cheerfully.

“Is Dad around too?” I asked.

She was quiet for a moment, and I could hear some talking in the background.

“Carol?” My dad said into the phone. “Everything okay?”

“It sounds important if you need to speak with both of us,” my mother pointed out.

I sighed, chewing on my bottom lip, I wasn't really sure how to tell them this. I would be leaving tomorrow, and I wasn’t sure when I would be coming back. They were going to be upset for sure and the last thing I wanted to do was upset them.

Aiden watched me warily from the other side of the room and I took a deep breath before continuing.

“So, something kind of happened,” I started to say.

“Tell us about it,” my dad said, his voice firm and yet it was filled with so much concern.

“Aiden’s father was poisoned,” I blurted.

“What?!” They both gasped at the same time.

“Who would poison him?” My mother asked, shock evident in her voice.

“He’s an Alpha right?” My father asked. “I’m sure he has a lot of enemies. Do they have any leads.”

“I’m not entirely sure,” I admitted. “But Aiden and I have to go to the Capital for the next unforeseen future to take care of things.”

They had gone quiet.

“What about your job?” My mother asked.

“And your apartment?” My father added.

“For right now, all that’s important is standing by Aiden’s side,” I told them honestly. “Everything else is just details that I will just figure out later.”

“You are right, it’s important to be with your mate during this time,” my mother breathed.

“But Carol, what if whoever poisoned his father is still out there and tries to hurt you and Aiden next?” My father asked, always the logical one.

“I’m sure the Capital is taking extra precautions to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again,” I assured him. “I can’t imagine they are taking the poisoning of their Alpha lightly.”

“But still, you should be extra careful,” my father warned.

“I will be,” I promised.

“Try to call us frequently if you can,” my mother pleaded. “I’m going to be worried sick until I hear from you again.”

“Try not to worry too much, Mom,” I told her. “I’ll call you every chance I get, and I’ll keep you updated periodically about the Alpha’s recovery.”

“Are you going to tell Fiona you are leaving?” My mother then asked.

“I have to,” I told her, biting my lower lip. “I’m not sure how she will take it. But I’m going to call her next.”

“Just break it to her gently,” my mother warned. “You know how fragile she is. She cares for you and will probably be upset that you are leaving.”

“Yeah,” I breathed. “Well, I’m going to get off the phone now so I can call her. I love you both so much.”

“Oh, we love you so much, Carol dear,” my mother breathed.

“And we always will,” my father added. “No matter where you are in this world, you’ll always be our little girl.”

My heart swelled. I didn’t dare to tell them about my birth family just yet; that was a conversation from another time. Regardless, the Millers were my family and as far as I’m concerned, they were the only family I wanted.

I said goodbye to my parents and looked at Aiden.

“Now for the hard part,” I said, he gave me a small smile.

“You got this,” he replied.

I took a deep breath and called Fiona.

“Hey girl,” she said on the second ring.

“Hey,” I said in return. “I have bad news.”

“Should I be sitting?”

“Maybe,” I admitted. “I’m just going to come right out and say it. Aiden’s dad was poisoned and now he has to return to the Capital. I’m going with him and I’m not sure how long we will be gone for.”

“What?!” She gasped. “What do you mean by poisoned? That shit only happens in movies!”

“Not in this case,” I told her grimly. “He’s in critical condition right now. We need to leave tomorrow.”

“When will you be back?” She asked, sounding worried.

“I’m not sure,” I said, biting my lower lip. “This could be permanent. It’s all up in the air and depends on the Alpha’s recovery.”

She sucked in a sharp breath.

“You are leaving me?”

“Don’t look at it like that, Fi,” I said, biting my lower lip, hating that she was upset. “It’s a responsibility that Aiden has and he’s my mate. I can’t just stay behind while he lives in the Capital.”

“But what about me?” She asked, sounding hurt.

“Like I said, we aren’t sure what’s going to happen. This could be a quick trip, or it could be long-term. But for right now, we are taking it by day.”

When she didn’t say anything for a long while, I added, “If I do end up moving to the Capital full-time. You’ll be able to visit me all the time and we will be able to go to the most elite shops.”

She was quiet for a moment while she processed that.

“They do have really good shops there,” she murmured. “Okay, fine. But promise you won’t forget about me?”

“You’re my best friend, Fiona. How could I possibly forget about you?” I chuckled.

She laughed as well, and I felt a little lighter knowing she wasn’t mad at me.

After I said goodbye and hung up the phone, I collapsed in Aiden’s arms. He held me tightly and I could feel all the raw emotions he felt. He kissed the side of my head and nuzzled his face in the nape of my neck.

“Once we get settled, we will have that mating ceremony and I’ll finally mark you,” he whispered to me. “You’ll finally be mine.”

“I’m already yours,” I said in return. I looked up at him and kissed his lips tenderly. “And I always will be.”

He held me tighter, deepening the kiss before he pulled back.

“We should get some sleep. I have a feeling that tomorrow, nothing is going to be the same again.”