Chapter 160

Carol’s POV

“Carol? Are you okay?” I heard Fiona’s soft voice outside of the bathroom stall. I curled up in the corner of the stall, burying my face in my lap, waiting for the next wave of nausea to subside. I felt so sick suddenly and I wasn’t even sure why. “Carol, talk to me.”

Fiona sounded genuinely worried, and I felt bad for keeping her waiting. I flushed the toilet and got out of the bathroom. One look at my face and she looked even more worried.

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” I murmured, leaning my head against the wall. Thankfully, I had already flushed the toilet, so Fiona didn’t have to see my vomit.

She sat beside me and rested her head on my shoulder.

“Do you want to leave? We can take our food to go,” she suggested.

I nodded.

“Yeah, maybe that’s a good idea,” I said, taking in a deep breath.

Fiona stood and helped me to my feet. I gave her a grateful smile as she wrapped an arm around me and escorted me out of the bathroom. A few minutes later, the waitress was getting us to-go boxes.

“It’s on the house,” she said as she handed me a box.

“Are you sure?” I asked her. “I don’t mind paying.”

“You are the Luna of our pack. You don’t have to pay for a thing anymore. The Cruz family owns everything.”

I blushed at the thought; I felt a little weird being treated like royalty. But I guess she was right; the Cruz family did own everything in the Capitol. I thanked her and I went with Fiona back to the car where Erik remained. I initially asked him if he wanted to join us, but he said it wouldn’t be appropriate considering I was his boss’s wife and Fiona was the Beta’s mate. Mating males are insane and if word got around that Erik was dining with us, it would get to Oliver fairly quickly. This pack was full of gossip. I didn’t blame him for staying in the car and waiting.

I handed him my leftovers.

“I brought you food,” I told him.

Fiona gave me a look, but Erik didn’t seem to notice.

“You didn’t have to do that,” he said.

I shrugged and leaned back in my seat.

“What are you doing?” Fiona whispered, leaning close to me. “Aren’t you going to eat anything today?”

“I’m not hungry,” I told her, rubbing my belly. I was still feeling a bit uneasy, and I only could think that it had to do with stress and everything going on these last few days. It also doesn’t help that Fiona was leaving tonight. My heart couldn’t take it and all I really wanted to do was curl up and cry. But I couldn’t. I needed to remain strong; I was the Luna after all.

When we got back to the penthouse, I was surprised to see that my parents were already back.

“Oh, there you are,” my mom said, smiling as she walked over to me. “We are going to be leaving in about an hour. We just came back so we could pack our things.”

“Did you already grab your stuff from Oliver’s?” I asked, knowing that they each packed a small bag before they left for Oliver’s they were only supposed to be there for a day and night to give Aiden and me some privacy.

“Yes,” my mother said; there were tears in her eyes as she looked at me. “Oh, Carol sweetie. I love you so much and I’m so unbelievably happy for you. Thank you so much for inviting us to share this joyous occasion with you.”

Tears immediately formed in my eyes, and I wrapped my arms around her.

“Of course, Mom,” I breathed, taking in her loving and comforting scent. “There’s no one else I’d want here. I love you too.”

She held me tightly and then I heard my father saying, “Okay, now it’s my turn.”

I released my mother and smiled up at my father. He wrapped me in his arms and pulled me close to him.

“I love you Care-bear,” he said, whispering my childhood nickname. I chuckled and peeked up at him through my tear-filled eyes.

“You haven’t called me that in a long time,” I said, smiling. “You’ll always be my Care-Bear no matter where you are or how old you are.”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” I breathed, burying my face in his chest.

“I guess I should pack too…” Fiona murmured. “I already grabbed my things from Oliver’s before I left this morning, so I just have to grab my things from the guest room.”

My father pulled away from me to look at Fiona. He exchanged a strange look with my mother before they both turned their gazes to Fiona’s retreating back. Then, they both looked at me.

“She’s coming home with us?” My mother asked, trying to keep her tone low.

I nodded and went over to the couch because I was starting to feel dizzy. My mom watched me with concern before joining me on the couch.

“Did something happen with her and that Oliver guy?” My father asked, folding his arms across his chest. He was protective of Fiona because she was like a daughter to him.

“I’m not sure honestly,” I admitted. “They are going through something and I’m not sure I can help them. Oliver has a lot on his plate, and I don’t think having a mate was on his agenda. Fiona just happened to meet him at the wrong time. But if she stayed and worked things out with him, I’m sure it would be different.”

“Do you want us to talk to her?” My mother kindly asked.

I shook my head.

“I already tried, and nobody can make this decision for her,” I told her sadly. “The most we can do is just hope that fate works things out in their favor.”

My mother nodded and wrapped me in her arms.

“I’m going to finish packing and then we will take off,” she said, standing to her feet. “Will you be here to see us off?”

“Of course,” I told her. “I’m just going to take a shower.”

I went into my bedroom and grabbed a fresh pair of clothes; after throwing up earlier, I felt disgusting and just wanted to shower and change. I already decided I wasn’t going to tell Aiden about throwing up at the restaurant. With everything going on, he doesn’t need that kind of worry right now.

By the time I finished showering and changing, I was already feeling better. I walked back into the living room to see Fiona with her reddened eyes. She was staring at her phone like a lost puppy and my heart broke for her. I hugged her tightly, not wanting to let her go.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked her.

She nodded.

“I have to,” she whispered. “I need space to figure things out. Can you tell him I’m sorry…”

“Wait, he doesn’t know you’re leaving?” I asked, pulling away from her. “Like at all?”

She shook her head and bit her lip.

“It would be too hard. I can’t say goodbye, Carol,” she whimpered. “I’m so sorry. But this is for the best. He doesn’t want me anyway… not like I want him. I’m only a bother to him. I can’t be around that right now.”

I wanted to protest that it wasn’t true, but the look in her eyes left no room for arguments so I just nodded and hugged her again. I hugged both my parents as well and helped them bring their stuff to their waiting car.

“I love you guys,” I said, holding back my tears.

“We love you, Care-Bear,” my father said.

“Don’t be a stranger,” my mother said as she slid into the car.

“I’ll call you,” Fiona promised, giving me a sad smile before she slipped into the backseat.

My father got into the driver’s seat, giving me one last wave before their car drove off, leaving me standing there and watching after them.

I knew one thing for sure… Oliver was going to lose his mind.

….

Aiden’s POV

“Why are you still here? Don’t you have a mate? Go home,” I said, looking over at my Beta who has been hunched over his desk all day. He looked stressed and I couldn’t blame him. He had to figure out what execution method to use on his own father and the man who practically raised him.

I know that the King thought he was doing Oliver, but he only piled on more stress.

“How can I face her knowing what I have to do?” Oliver asked, looking up from his desk. “I have to decide how to kill my own father. Fiona is a human woman; this kind of thing isn’t something she’s used to. I don’t want her to see the kind of monster I am… the kind of monster she’s mated to…”

“You’re not a monster, Oliver. If anything, your guardian and your father are the monsters. My father’s wolf is dead because of them. They almost killed me and my wife, Fiona’s best friend. They illegally transported an incredibly deadly poison across the nation. They are dangerous and they shouldn’t be walking this earth. It’s time they got their justice. Fiona will understand.”

“I feel like I’m not good enough for her…” he whispered.

I nodded.

”I felt that way about Carol for a while. But now I’m married to her. She’s unbelievable. The kind of things she doesn’t mind because she loves me so much. This is her life now and Fiona will adapt to this life too. She has her best friend in her corner. She needs you too. I don’t know all that happened in Fiona’s past, but I know she doesn’t trust easily. Don’t break her heart.”

Oliver sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

“You’re right. I’ve been a dick to her. Hot and cold. I never should have left her this morning without saying anything. I need to talk to her.”

He quickly stood up but just as he was about to leave, my phone rang. When I looked at the screen, I smiled when I saw Carol’s name flash across the screen.

“Hey, wifey,” I said teasingly, unable to keep the smile off my face.

Oliver was putting on his coat when I answered the phone and shook his head with a smirk on his face.

“Hey…” she said, sounding strained.

I was immediately on high alert and the smile melted off my face.

“Carol, what’s wrong?” I asked, getting Oliver’s attention.

She sniffled and I knew she’d been crying.

“My parents just left,” she whispered.

I sighed, knowing that it was hard for her to say goodbye to her family.

“Awe, babe. I’m sorry. I’ll come home right now, and we can spend time together. I know it must have been hard to say goodbye…”

“That’s not it,” she said softly, her voice barely a whisper. “I mean, yes, it was hard, and I miss them already. But it’s something else.”

I frowned.

“What is it?” I urged.

“It’s Fiona… she left with them.”

I almost dropped the phone, and my eyes met Oliver’s who was staring at me curiously, not hearing what Carol was saying on the other end. So, I decided to repeat what she said so he would know exactly what was happening.

“What do you mean that Fiona left with them?”

I watched as the color drained from Oliver’s face. Before I could say another word, he was gone.