Chapter 195

Carol’s POV

“Why haven’t you gone to the King about this? He’s a fair man, Monica. He would never turn your mother into a rogue. He would help you; he would—”

“I can’t risk it,” Monica said, standing to her feet and spinning around to face me; I could see the fire in her eyes, but there was also fear in them. She was terrified about the outcome of her mother if she went against Jenna. I knew that Jenna had connections and if she wanted something, she would get it. She would make sure that Monica’s mother never saw the light of day.

I could no longer blame her for her part in this; it was all Jenna’s manipulation. Monica was also a victim, and she got hurt in the process of all of this. My heart ached for this young girl.

“My mother means too much to me. I can’t risk her life because of Jenna’s treatments. She’s been paying for her medical expenses, and she would cut me off if I went against her,” she said, tears spilling out of her eyes.

I stood up as well and closed the gap between us, gently putting my hands on her arms.

“I can help you, Monica,” I told her. “I have resources too and—”

“Please, don’t make this difficult,” Monica said, staring at the ground. “I don’t want any trouble for anyone.”

“You both caused trouble for me,” I said, raising my voice a little louder than I meant to. When I saw the panic on her face and the color draining from her features, I decided to tone it down some. “Look, I’m not angry with you, Monica. I know you are just as much a victim as I am… maybe even more than I am. But that doesn’t excuse the fact that I’ve only been here for a couple of hours, and I’m already branded as someone I’m not. I would never hurt anyone. I don’t appreciate my name being dragged through the mud.”

She stared at the ground sheepishly.

“I’m so sorry for that…” she whispered. “I didn’t want to get you into trouble… but you are the King’s first daughter… the one he thought died. The one he had with his fated mate. I knew no harm would come to you.”

“He doesn’t trust me,” I murmured. “My reputation is on the line.”

Her cheeks reddened from my words, but she didn’t say anything. There wasn’t much she could say, so I couldn’t blame her for that either.

“I’m not angry with you,” I told her again. “But you are young, and you need to learn from your mistakes, Monica. Don’t let Jenna control you. I’m giving you an option and a way out. You can either take it, or you can go down a dark road and be just like her. The choice is yours, Monica.”

She was visibly trembling now as she took a step away from me. I knew she was going to run, and I hated that she was clearly making a choice.

“I’m so sorry…” she whispered and then she left.

I stared at the closed door, my heart heavy. She was going down a dangerous road and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to help her.

It didn’t matter; it wasn’t my business, and it wasn’t my job to protect her. My job was to protect my pack and that’s exactly what I was here to do.

“What were you doing in her room?” I heard a lowly hiss coming from the hallway. I froze, immediately recognizing Jenna’s voice.

I walked to the door and pressed my ear against it, trying to listen to their conversation.

“I… I was just—”

“Do I need to remind you who you are working for?” Jenna growled, not letting her speak at all. “Want me to injure your other arm?”

“N…no…please don’t,” Monica pleaded.

“Then tell me what the fuck you were doing in her room? When you didn’t return to my room, I went looking for you. Imagine my surprise when I saw you walking out of the goddamn guest room that my father put that bitch in,” Jenna hissed.

“I was just telling her that I work for you and that she should know her place,” Monica stammered. “I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean to— ouch!”

“Don’t lie to me!” Jenna growled. “I’m going to make you pay for ever lying to me.”

“Please… Jenna… ouch!”

I winced as I heard Jenna dragging Monica away. I should have intervened, but if I did, they would only pin it on me again.

I remained quiet and decided to just go to bed. Monica will be okay… she had to be okay.

Despite me chanting that very mantra, I found it difficult to sleep. I stayed awake for most of the night and by the time the sun rose, I was feeling like a zombie. I slowly got out of bed, staring at the clock. My appointment with the pack clinic was in an hour and I needed to start getting ready.

I settled on a comfortable blouse and stretchy pants. I took a quick shower, threw my hair in a ponytail, and got dressed. Once I was done there was a knock on the door. I opened the door to see an older maid standing at the doorway; her eyes were red as if she had been crying and her face was pale as she looked up at me.

“Hello, Mam. The king is waiting for you downstairs. He will go with you to your appointment,” she said in a heavy Spanish accent.

“Thank you,” I said softly.

I wanted to ask her what was wrong, but I decided against it; it wasn’t my business, and I doubted she would tell me anyway. The halls were like a ghost town as we made our way across the manor and went down the stairs. Yesterday, everything was so busy and lively, and now it was as if no one lived or worked here.

I stopped in front of the King who smiled pleasantly at me; it was a complete difference from the look he gave me last night before he left my room. However, his eyes were void of emotions. It was as if he was trying to block me from how he was truly feeling. I wanted to ask him what was going on around here, but I decided not to.

I just wanted to get through today in one piece and maybe even call Aiden later.

“Shall we go?” He asked, offering me his arm.

I nodded and took it without hesitation. I thanked the maid who escorted me before going with Bennet outside and into the waiting car. It was the same car we took yesterday, and I was relieved to see that the Queen was not in the car this time.

The pack clinic wasn’t far from the manor and the doctor was genuinely nice. He led me into the examination room; Bennet stayed behind with a couple of his warriors. It was weird being accompanied by warriors, but I guess when you are the King, you can’t be too safe.

I lay on the examination bed as the doctor introduced himself to me and told me a bit about himself. He asked me some questions as well, mainly medical history questions. Then he instructed me to lift my shirt so he could put the jelly on my belly and start the ultrasound.

As the machine lit to life, he moved the wand across my stomach. I waited with bated breath, wishing more than anything that Aiden was here with me. He should have been here to see the ultrasound too, but instead, I had to do this alone.

The doctor paused the wand when he saw what he was looking for, and then a smile spread across his lips.

I heard the whooshing sound and the constant beating of a heart; my heart swelled with pride and tears immediately filled my eyes.

“There’s the heartbeat,” he said proudly, and then he pointed at the baby on the monitor. “And that’s your baby. Would you like to know the gender?”

“You can tell the gender already?” I asked. “I’m only like a month pregnant.”

He nodded.

“Your baby has wolf blood, which means you’ll only be pregnant for about 5 to 6 months,” he told me.

I gasped and stared at him in disbelief.

“That’s it?” I asked him.

He nodded thoughtfully

“Afraid so,” he told me. “But don’t worry; I’ll help you however I can. You are in good hands here. So, would you like to know the gender?”

I shook my head.

“My mate should be here for that,” I told him. “Maybe when he visits next month.”

He nodded and started to put the machine away. He did a few other exams, like blood pressure, heartrate, and drawing some blood for testing. He also gave me some vitamins to help with my baby’s development.

After the appointment, I met up with Bennet in the waiting room.

“Is everything okay?” He asked.

I nodded and touched my belly; I hadn’t noticed, but it was starting to get bigger, and I was shellshocked by that. When had I popped?

“Are you ready to go? We have a lot of training to do in such a short time,” he said, motioning for the doorway.

“Yes,” I answered. “Let’s go.”

We returned to the manor moments later and just like it was earlier this morning, it was still a ghost town. I frowned, unable to contain my concern any longer.

“Where is everybody? I finally asked. “Why does it feel ghostly?”

The King frowned and stared at the ground.

“I gave most of the staff the day off,” he told me. “However, some of them still wanted to work… but they are doing easy work.”

“I don’t understand,” I said, looking up at him. “Why would you give everyone the day off?”

He was quiet for a moment and then he took a deep breath.

“There was an accident last night,” he told me.

My frown deepened.

“What kind of accident?” I asked.

“Last night, Monica fell down the stairs. Because of her arm being in the cast, she couldn’t grip the railing in time, and she fell down numerous flights, breaking her neck. It was too late by the time anyone found her this morning… she was already dead.”