Chapter 116

Carol’s POV

I stared in shock.

King Bennet wanted me to live full-time at the palace?

With a racing heart, I looked at Aiden. He looked like he was ready to fight the King. His jaw was tense, and his knuckles were white as he balled his hands into fists.

With Morgan still being out there and the whole accident thing that happened here, not to mention the poison being from this very clinic, I don’t feel safe here. Something is going on and if I stayed here, I had a feeling the attempts on my life were never going to stop.

“Aren’t you worried that someone would try to hurt me now that I’ve returned? Isn’t that what you were worried about when you gave me away?” I asked, furrowing my brows together.

He nodded.

“You are stronger now; you have your full powers. We can work with you and train you on your abilities so you can defend yourself. We have the best trainers here. Not to mention you will be closer to home…”

“This isn’t my home,” I blurted. “My home is where my family is and with all due respect, Your Majesty, you are not my family. You might have taken part in my birth, but the moment you gave me away to that woman, someone you barely even know and have no idea what she was capable of, you lost the right to call me your daughter.”

I said the words before I could stop them. A surge of anger coursing through me and I couldn’t seem to stop the word vomit from escaping my lips.

His face paled at my words and his brows knitted together as he studied my face.

“What are you talking about?” He asked, continuing his stare. I looked away from him, avoiding my eyes. I knew about his powers, and I didn’t need him looking into my head and seeing the truth within them. “What do you mean by a woman I don’t truly know or know what she’s capable of. Morgan is a trusted member of our community. She’s worked in this palace for a long time.”

“She’s my personal handmaiden,” Queen Elizabeth said, folding her arms across her busty chest. I almost completely forgot she was in the room until she spoke.

My eyes shot to her; I trusted Queen Elizabeth the least out of everybody I’ve met here so far. I had no doubt in my mind that she was the reason I was lying in the clinic bed. It was no coincidence that the servants were ordered to clean the grand staircase which forced us to use that elevator.

I bet if I were to ask them, they would tell me it was the Queen who ordered them to clean the stairs.

“Not to mention a powerful member of the council. I would trust her with my life. What happened with you as a baby was not her fault. It was the rogues,” she continued, her deep blue eyes turning icy as she glared at me.

Ignoring her, I turned back to the King who was watching me warily.

“Then how do you explain how I’m still alive?” I asked him. “If you saw in her eyes that I died, then how am I still alive? My parents told me that a woman came to them and gave me to them. They said she told them to care for me as if I were their own because one day I would be very important. Then, she left. That woman was Morgan.”

“Nonsense,” the queen shot back before the King had a chance to say anything at all. “It was a rogue that brought you to your human family. Morgan would never lie to us. They harmed you in a way that made it look like you were dead and then they healed you. After that, they brought you to that human family to be raised. They wanted your powers, so they kept you with a human family to keep you from ever discovering your abilities and training them until your powers practically exploded from you.”

“She kidnapped me,” I blurted.

“Carol!” Aiden warned, snapping me a look and I knew at that moment I had said way too much.

I clamped my lips shut and the King raised his brows as he stared back at me.

“What did you just say?” He asked.

There was no turning back now.

I took a deep breath and spoke again, this time slower, and made sure he understood and heard each word I was saying.

“Morgan Leveau, your trusted handmaiden and a powerful member of the council kidnapped me. We have it on video surveillance. She was the one who told me about most of this stuff. How do you think I found out about you in the first place? I grew up in a human family; there is no way I would have randomly guessed that my father was the Alpha King.”

“You’re lying!” Elizabeth said through her teeth. “Morgan is my most trusted ally. She would never—”

“Elizabeth, that’s enough,” the King said in a low and threatening tone, making her stop her words and then grow incredibly pale.

She glared at him with her mouth hanging open.

“You aren’t seriously believing—”

“I said that’s enough,” he said, his eyes shooting to her. “When was the last time you spoke to Morgan?”

The queen’s jaw tightened, and I watched as she visibly swallowed.

“A few days ago,” she answered. “She told me she would be in meetings for the next day or so and she had another banquet. But then will be returning to the palace by the end of the week.”

“And she sounded normal?” the King asked, his eyes never leaving hers.

I wondered if his powers worked on the Queen.

“She sounded fine,” the queen said through gritted teeth. “I can’t believe you are actually entertaining the thought.”

The King’s eyes glossed over, and my heart nearly leaped in my chest; I had never seen that look on anyone's face before. I looked at Aiden, but he didn’t seem as concerned. Though he still looked pissed, and I could tell he was trying to keep his wolf under control.

Soon, the King’s eyes returned to normal.

“I just mindlinked Beta Luca, he’s going to reach out to Morgan and find out some more information about her whereabouts these last couple of days,” the King announced, much to the queen’s irritation.

“Mindlinked?” I asked.

It was Aiden who answered.

“Werewolves can mindlink one another in their pack. They communicate in their head. But the Alpha King can mindlink any wolf even if they aren’t part of his kingdom here.”

I nodded, understanding.

“This is ridiculous,” the queen huffed. “This girl comes into our home and disrupts everything. How could you just let her dictate—”

“You may leave now, Liz,” the king said, holding his hand up to stop her.

Her mouth fell open and she looked shell-shocked.

“I beg your pardon?” She nearly choked out.

“Leave. I need to speak with my daughter—uh… Carol, alone.”

Queen Elizabeth pressed her glossy red lips in a thin line before muttering something under her breath that I didn’t hear, but I had a feeling it wasn’t anything I would want to hear. She turned on her heel and stormed out of the clinic.

King Bennet looked at Aiden next.

“Would you mind stepping out so I can speak with her?” King Bennet asked.

Aiden tensed from the request. As much as I didn’t want Aiden to leave my side, I knew it was probably better if I spoke to my biological father alone. I touched Aiden’s shoulder gently, making him turn his attention to me.

“Just for a few minutes,” I surprised him by saying.

“Carol, I—”

“I know,” I said, stopping his words and giving him a small smile. “I’ll be okay.”

He looked uncertain, but I knew he wasn’t going to argue. He bent low and kissed me sweetly on the lips.

“I’ll be right outside,” he assured me.

I nodded and watched as he walked out of the door, but not before he sent King Bennet a warning look that surprised even me.

King Bennet hardly batted an eye though; he just shook his head and sighed. Running his fingers through his hair, he sat on the edge of the bed. He kept his eyes fixed on the ground; he looked almost nervous.

“I know you don’t trust us,” he finally spoke after what felt like an eternity.

I was surprised by his words, but I didn’t interrupt us.

“I don’t blame you. I get that you grew up differently and this whole thing is new to you. But know, you are not just a human girl. You are far from human. You are the most special person in this world, and you were meant for great things. You were meant to take over this entire kingdom and be the Moon Goddess’s first and only High Priestess. You were meant to protect the earth and all the beings that reside inside of it. I did what I thought was right in order to protect you, Carol. I never wanted to give you away and I regretted that choice every single day of my life. I always thought what I saw in Morgan’s eyes wasn’t real… something is telling me that you might be right about her. As much as I wanted to trust her all these years, there was a part of me that hadn’t. If what you were saying was true and she truly did kidnap, I am sorry for my part in that. I should never have let her away free the moment she returned without you.”

My chest tightened at his words.

As much as I hated to admit it, I believed him.

I nodded and blinked away the tears that threatened to spill from my eyes.

He reached his hand over and grasped mine, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“You have my word, Carol. No one is going to hurt you again. I will do whatever I can to protect you and we will find Morgan and force her to answer for her crimes.”