Chapter 135

Carol’s POV

“Oliver wait!” I shouted as Oliver ran around the corner and glared at Aiden and his mother.

Aiden jumped to his feet, his eyes wide and alert from seeing Oliver. My heart hammered in my chest, and I wasn’t sure what to do or think. I could feel Oliver’s anger and I could also feel Aiden’s worry.

Oliver just overheard Aiden speaking to his mother about Oliver’s father being the King’s Beta. A secret that we had been keeping from him. The entire time, Oliver thought his father was the Beta of the Capital. But it turns out it was all a lie, and this was how he was finding out.

“What were you just saying just now?!” Oliver demanded to know.

“Oliver, look…” Aiden tried to reason with him.

“NO, tell me the truth. What were you just talking about?”

It was Miranda, Aiden’s mother, who spoke, and her voice was surprisingly calm and soothing. I had never heard her speak like this before, but it was like they were both trying to calm down a wild animal.

In a way, they kind of were.

“Ollie, sweetie. Just sit down and we can talk,” she told him softly. “There’s a lot you need to know.”

Oliver shook his head, taking a step away from us as if he were infected. I hadn’t realized I was crying until my vision became distorted.

“My father isn’t who I thought he was? Is that true?” He asked, his voice becoming hard.

“Oliver—” Miranda tried again.

“No, he’s not,” Aiden said at the same time.

Miranda snapped a look at Aiden and pressed her lips in a thin line.

“Aiden!” She scolded.

“He needs to know the truth, Mom,” Aiden said in return, folding his arms across his chest. He looked at Oliver, his voice softening. “We just found out recently. I’m not sure how long my mother knew. But we were going to tell you today.”

Oliver shook his head, running his fingers through his hair.

“How did you find out about this?” Oliver asked.

“When we were in the king’s empire; we stumbled upon the truth. Apparently, Carol has more powers than we thought, and she saw some stuff. The healer at the palace confirmed it.”

Oliver snapped a look at me, his eyes narrowed.

“You knew this whole time and you didn’t tell me?”

It felt like he had slapped me in the face, and I staggered away from him. Aiden was quick to wrap his arm around me protectively.

“It isn’t her fault. I told her not to say anything. Don’t blame her.”

“I thought we were friends; we just agreed we were friends, and you were keeping this secret from me?!” Oliver hissed through his teeth.

“Watch how you speak to my mate, Oliver. Beta or not, I will kick your ass,” Aiden seethed.

“I’m going to check on your father. Please keep your voice down. I don’t want him to know about the poison thing,” Miranda said as she walked toward Alpha’s hospital room.

“The poison thing?” Oliver asked, looking at Aiden. “What poison thing?”

I heard Aiden swallowing a lump in his throat.

“We think Mike was the one who poisoned my father,” Aiden admitted.

Oliver sucked in a sharp breath.

“My uncle? He’s been nothing but loyal to the Alpha for years. Why would he do that?”

Aiden shook his head.

“He’s been loyal to your father for years,” Aiden said, keeping his eyes locked on Oliver. “But your father, your real father, wanted more for you. He wanted you to become the Alpha. He wanted my father out of the way and he wanted me out of the way….”

Oliver went quiet and then his face paled as realization dawned on him.

“The plane crash…”

Aiden and I both nodded.

Oliver was unable to stay on his feet any longer and he slumped on the nearby bench, putting his elbows on his knees and his head bowed in defeat.

“Oliver…” I said, pulling away from Joseph so I could sit beside Oliver. “We didn’t want you to find out this way. I’m so sorry. It was never my intention to lie or keep things from you. You have to believe me.”

Oliver was silent for a long while as he took deep breaths, trying to calm his trembling body.

“How is it possible that the King’s Beta is my father, and I never knew about it?” Oliver finally asked, staring down at his hands.

Aiden sat on the other side of the bench and sighed.

“Because he didn’t want anyone to know that he had a child,” he explained. “Back then, a relationship between witches and wolves was forbidden. It’s frowned upon now, but not like it was then. But Beta Bennet was in love with a witch, Jasmine. She has a twin sister Candace and the two of them were the most powerful healers in the world. They were sent to the palace to be the palace healers. Jasmine was pregnant with Beta’s child…”

“Me?” Oliver asked, his voice sounding distant and unfamiliar.

We both nodded.

“He sent you here to live with his brother who was my father’s Beta. That’s the one you considered your father because you didn’t know otherwise,” Aiden continued.

“And my birth parents just what? Forgot I existed?” Oliver asked, glaring at Aiden with hurt etched in his eyes. “Even my birth mother? What happened to her?”

“She died during childbirth,” I blurted. “You would have been dead too if he didn’t send you away.”

“What?” Oliver asked, looking at me now.

“There was a prophet a long time ago about me…” I whispered, now it was my turn to stare at my hands. “Actually there were two prophets. The first being that I was going to the High Priestess of the Moon Goddess and be the most powerful being in the world. The second being I was going to hold great evil and be the strongest being in the world. Born to do destruction and despair.”

He stared at me, his mouth hanging open.

“It all depended on how I was raised I think, because I don’t feel evil or dark,” I told him. “But the healers were meant to purify me once I was born and make sure no evil spirits take control of me. They wanted to make sure I was born with light and not dark. But Jasmine kept having dreams about the darkness that consumes me and she worried for the fate of her child…”

“She did something, didn’t she?” Oliver asked, his voice coming out as nothing more than a whisper.

I nodded as tears filled my eyes.

“Yes,” I whispered in return.

I glanced at Joseph who was listening to us without speaking; I silently asked him permission for me to continue and he nodded, understanding my unspoken question.

I looked back at Oliver and took a deep breath.

“She created a poison so powerful that it could kill any creature. Her sister helped her create this potion under the impression that it was just in case they couldn’t purify me at birth, in case it didn’t work, and darkness still attached itself to me. But that wasn’t Jasmine’s intent. She wanted to make sure I was never born.”

“What?” Oliver asked, his eyes narrowed.

“No mother means no baby,” Aiden clarified.

“She tried to kill your mother?” Oliver gasped.

I nodded.

“Yes. But she accidently poisoned the wrong person and ended up killing a servant. She was found out and sentenced to death. Her sister convinced the King to let her give birth to the child first before killing her. So, she performed a C-section in the dungeon and gave birth to you. Then, she died from blood loss…”

Oliver let out a breath of air as he slumped back into his seat.

“So, my mother is gone, and my father gave me away,” he muttered.

“The poison that Jasmine and Candace created was recently stolen and it was the same poison that was given to my father. Only one vile of it existed because of how dangerous it was. It was outlawed but Candace kept some of it for emergencies. But it was stolen from her and sent here. Someone here was in contact with someone at the palace. We found out from Carol’s visions and putting clues together that it was Beta Bennet… he’s been in communication with Mike…”

“I can’t believe my uncle would do something like this…” Oliver muttered, rubbing his hands over his face. “He’s been like a father to me for years.”

“He cares for you, I think that’s why he would do something like this,” Aiden told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “But we can’t let him go unpunished.”

Oliver was quiet as he processed all we had told him.

“I’m so sorry, Oliver,” I whispered, tears spilling out of my eyes.

He sighed and gave me a small smile.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you. I know you didn’t want to keep this from me and it’s not easy information to swallow. With everything going on, I don’t blame you. But I swear to God, either of you keep shit like this from me again—”

“I’ll gladly take a beating,” Aiden said lightly.

“So, you believe us?” I asked, skeptically.

“Should I not?”

I shook my head.

“I just thought we’d have to convince you otherwise,” I admitted.

He shrugged.

“I don’t think you’d lie to me about this,” he said simply. “But I would like proof that my uncle Mike is involved. That’s the hardest one to accept.”

“Of course,” Aiden agreed.

“Aiden,” Miranda’s voice sounded from the doorway of the hospital room. Aiden stood at the sound of his mother’s voice. “Your father wishes to see you. He wants to know what you know about the poison…”