Chapter 108

Carol’s POV

There was no use staying in the hospital much longer. After we said goodbye to Miranda, and not bothering to spare Katrina another look, Aiden and I left and went straight to the Capital packhouse.

I noticed most of everybody had worried expressions on their faces when we entered through the front doors. I’m sure they were worried about the state of their Alpha.

Oliver was first to greet us and he gave Aiden a wry smile as he patted him on the back.

“How is he?” Oliver asked.

“His condition got worse,” Aiden confessed.

We walked through various amounts of hallways until we reached the Alpha’s office. Oliver had his stuff already set up since he was the one keeping this pack under control as the Beta while the Alpha was out of commission.

“How did it get worse?” Oliver asked. “I just spoke to the doctors this morning and they said he was stable.”

“It’s a slow-working poison. It wasn’t just wolfbane like we initially thought. The researchers found other stuff within the poison and it’s slowly destroying different elements in his body. His organs are starting to shut down and his wolf is way too weak to heal him. They are performing another surgery on his as we speak,” Aiden explained.

Oliver slumped in the chair behind the desk, running his fingers through his already-tousled dark hair. He looked stressed out and exhausted like he hadn’t slept in days.

“So are we going to lose him? What does this mean?” Oliver finally asked, peering up at Aiden who seemed lost in thought as well.

“They are doing everything they can to help him, but they aren’t sure they will be able to fully save his wolf,” Aiden answered. “If they do happen to save his wolf, he won’t be the same. He won’t be as strong.”

“Which means he won’t be able to return as Alpha,” Oliver finished the thought for him.

Aiden nodded and leaned against the desk, looking just as defeated.

“When my father died in a rogue attack and your father refused to get another Beta, I didn’t think I would be taking on the role of Beta so soon,” Oliver admitted. “But since he’s been sick, I’ve been overwhelmed with all that is left here. He wasn’t a very organized man and he had quite a few enemies. He doesn’t have strong alliances with a lot of Alphas. I’m surprised he hasn’t been attacked sooner honestly.”

“Nobody in their right mind would try anything against my father,” Aiden said, shaking his head with dismay written all over his face. “At least that’s how it used to be. My father is terrifying and strong. He doesn’t need any alliances when he’s already the stronger than them all.”

“Everyone needs alliances,” Oliver said, shaking his head. “I’ve been trying to do some damage control with some nearby packs to try and get something formed. Your father was stubborn. Apparently, other packs came to him and asked for alliances, wanting protection and to use our warriors but what your father was asking in return was too much for them. Lost a lot of respect.”

“So literally anybody could be behind this poisoning then?” I asked, looking between the men who seemed to have forgotten I was in the room. “It doesn’t have ot be just this pack… it could be anybody. Sounds like he had a network of enemies.”

Oliver nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, it could be anybody.”

“But they would still have to have some kind of connection to the empire,” Aiden reminded me.

Oliver furrowed his brows together.

“The Royal Wolf Empire?” Oliver asked, confused. “What are you talking about? Why would they have to have a connection to the empire?”

Aiden glanced at me before looking at Oliver.

“The doctors found some stuff in the poison that could only be found at the empire,” Aiden explained. “They think it would be wise if I went there and investigated in person.

Oliver nodded and then looked at me.

“That’s the King’s empire. How do you feel about going there?” He asked me.

I looked at Aiden, feeling a sense of security in his presence but I also had a large pit of fear bubbling in my lower belly and chest.

“This is bigger than me,” I said, shrugging. “I have to swallow my pride and take one for the team.”

Oliver smiled.

“Talking like a true Luna,” Oliver praised. “I’ll get your flight prepared. You can take the private jet,” Oliver suggested.

“Thanks,” Aiden said, patting him on the back. “My mother was right; you’re a great Beta.”

“Can’t wait for you to take the title of Alpha so I can stop with these Alpha responsibilities,” Oliver groaned, giving him a cheeky grin.

Aiden didn’t respond to the comment and Oliver didn’t stick around for him too. He left to take care of our pending trip to the capital.

“So, what’s the plan? We can’t exactly barge into the palace and demand answers,” I said, furrowing my brows together.

“No, but we can go there and see what we can find out. Maybe we could use the fact that you could be his daughter to our advantage,” Aiden suggested. “While you get to know your father, I’ll do a little digging and see what I can find out.”

I narrowed my eyes at him.

“I already have a father who I know quite well; what if I don’t want to get to know my birth father?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest.

“It’s for the pack, Carol,” he reminded me. “You don’t need to develop a relationship with the man. But at least get us in the door so I can find out who poisoned my father and why.”

I sighed, knowing that he was right. I needed to take one for the team, just as Olver previously stated.

“Okay,” I finally conceited. “I’ll give his assistant, Kendra, a call, and then we can go from there.”

He kissed me deeply, taking my whole breath away.

“I’ll give you some privacy to call her,” he said as he started to walk towards the door.

“You want me to call her now?” I gasped.

He smirked.

“What better time than the present? The sooner we get there and investigate, the sooner we can get back.”

I sighed and watched as he left the room.

I took out my phone and the card Oliver had given me and then called Kendra. After a short back and forth, she scheduled a time for us to arrive at the palace tomorrow morning. After the King found out that his daughter could potentially be alive, he ordered a paternity test be done right away so that was the first thing we were going to do as soon as we arrived.

I really didn’t want to meet this man, but I had to do this for Aiden and for the pack.

Later that night, I found myself unable to sleep, thinking about meeting my potential birth father in the morning.

Slipping out of the room while Aiden slept, I grabbed my phone and called my father once I was seated in the living room of the penthouse.

“Carol?” My father yawned; it was late, and I felt bad for calling him at this hour. “Is everything okay?”

I was quiet for a moment before taking a deep breath.

“I just wanted to call and tell you that I love you, Dad,” I told him, tears building in my eyes.

“I love you too, Carol,” he said, sounding perplexed. “What’s going on?”

“I didn’t want to tell you this because I didn’t want to upset you. But I think I found my birth dad,” I confessed, biting my lower lip and anticipating his next words.

“Is that so?” He asked, sounding a little hurt, but not angry. “Have you met him?”

“Not yet,” I told him. “But I’m going to tomorrow…”

He was quiet for a moment, and I would have given anything to find out what he was thinking.

“I’m not meeting him to get to know him,” I added quickly; not wanting my father to get the wrong idea. “Aiden thinks that the poison used against his father came from my birth father’s empire. So, we are going there to investigate.’

“Your birth fathers… empire?” My father asked, now very confused.

I sighed.

“Yeah, my birth father might be the Alpha Wolf King,” I admitted.

“Are you sure about this?” My father asked. “The woman who dropped you off to us never mentioned anything about a wolf king.”

“She didn’t want you to know,” I murmured. “But all signs are pointing to him being my birth father.”

“And you think he’s involved with Aiden’s father being poisoned?” My father asked.

“Or someone in his empire is responsible,” I answered. “That’s why we are going… to investigate.”

“How do you know for sure that he is your father?” My father asked. “How did this come up?”

“It’s kind of a long story that I don’t want to get into right now,” I told him, chewing my bottom lip nervously. “But I’m going to be taking a paternity test tomorrow, so I’ll let you for certain after I get the results.”

My father sighed heavily.

“I see,” he breathed.

“I’m sorry, Dad. I don’t mean to worry you. I just didn’t want to go to meet him without you knowing about it. I would never forgive myself. But you are my one and only father and I love you.”

“I love you too, Carol,” he said, a bit sadly. “I don’t blame you for wanting to meet him. He did take part in creating you after all.”

“It’s not that I want to meet him,” I muttered. “I don’t really have a choice right now. But I’ll keep you updated on everything.”

“Okay,” he breathed. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Good night, Dad,” I whispered, tears flowing down my cheeks.

“Good night, Carol.”

We left early the next morning for the airfield; it took us several hours to reach the empire and once we landed, we were greeted by a tall woman, with long brunet hair and thick-framed glasses. She wore business casual attire and a stern face as she approached us from the limo she had just gotten out of.

I found myself standing stiff as she approached.

“You must be Carol Miller. I’m Kendra. Please come with me. We will be getting a paternity test done but first, we need to run by the palace and speak with the King himself.”