Chapter 198

Carol’s POV

“An heir?” I gasped.

He nodded darkly.

“They wanted to ensure that their coven would be taken care of after they were gone. They never had any other kids and at that point, they were too old to have any more children. Having their daughter was their only hope for ensuring their coven remained in the family and protected. However, when Emalyn expressed wanting to stay with me in the empire, they feared that their coven would go into the hands of someone outside of the family… someone greedy who wouldn’t take care of the coven.”

My heart weighed heavily in my chest and a tight knot formed in the pit of my stomach. I wrapped my arms around my body and stared at the ground; unable to meet him in the eyes. I felt like my entire existence was just to be used so my parents could be together. As romantic as that might sound, it made me feel physically ill to think about it.

Did they ever even want me in the first place?

“We agreed to those terms,” he continued, confirming my thoughts. “We married within the month, and I finally allowed my wolf to claim his mate. Our sealed mate bond only made us stronger as a union and it brought together the two covens. Now we had the Sawol coven in our corner and our only enemy was the Amyrran coven. We still fought many battles with them throughout the years and they have placed many curses on the empire. Thankfully, we had a ton of protection between the Wlanc and the Sawol clans. We were able to overcome most of the curses… except for one…”

“And what would that be?” I asked.

“The curse they placed on your mother,” he said. “Or rather it was a curse with a nasty side effect.”

“What was it?” I urged, almost impatiently. I was hanging onto every word he spoke, eager to learn more about my birth mother and how she ended up dead.

“She couldn’t have any children,” he told me.

I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands.

“What?” I breathed. “I don’t understand. What do you mean that she couldn’t have any children?”

“The curse they placed on her, made it impossible for her to conceive,” he clarified. “We tried for years to make it happen but to no prevail. It broke your mother’s heart. It wasn’t even about the promise she made to her parents; she wanted a baby for herself as well. She was crushed when the doctors told her that there was nothing, they could do for her.”

I touched my belly, feeling a sense of sadness for the mother I never got to know.

“I couldn’t even imagine,” I whispered.

He nodded solemnly before sighing and running his fingers through his dark mass of hair.

“Yes, it was heartbreaking for everyone,” he confessed. “It was your mother who went to the Amyrran clan and spoke with the leaders. She begged them to reverse the curse and allow her to have a baby. She only wanted one and then she would never ask for another thing again.”

“And they agreed?” I asked, raising my brows. I was having trouble believing they didn’t put up a fight upon her request.

“Not exactly,” he sighed. “They told her they would let her have a baby only if she could ensure them that their bloodline also runs through this child which would give them automatic access to the empire. They want this child to have Amyrran blood.”

I gasped again.

“What?” I asked.

“They assured her that no harm would come to the empire, but they wanted to mark their place here. They wanted to be just as part of the empire as the Sawol coven were. That was their condition. Emalyn agreed to the terms and with that, they gave her a potion that would allow her to have children. She took it that night and, two years later, she was pregnant.”

“With me?” I asked. “It took two years?”

He nodded.

“Yes,” he answered. “It brought a strange harmony between the covens though. They each sent over members of their coven to help aid in her pregnancy within that couple of years. Candance, Jasmine, and Morgan came from the Amyrran clan. Some of the other empire staff came from the Sawol coven; most of which had left when Emalyn died. One of the sorcerers from the empire had a vision. Actually, she had two visions a couple of years before Emalyn got pregnant. That was why we held onto so much hope that a pregnancy would happen and that the Amyrran clan had kept their word. It was about you and the darkness that could consume you. With the three different bloodlines, you were chosen as the high priestess, blessed by the Moon Goddess herself. With the blood and powers coursing through your veins, you could take two roads. You could be the priestess of light and lead each coven with goodness and be the gift the world needs. Or you could be the high priestess of darkness and lead each coven into despair and destruction.”

I nodded, already hearing that part of the story from Candance. Apparently, Jasmine feared that I would take the ladder and become evil; she was pregnant and feared the fate of her unborn child. She tried to have the queen killed before giving birth to me, but her attempts were futile thankfully.

“The Amyrran coven sent over Candance and Jasmine, their purest healers. With their combined powers, they would be able to purify the darkness that consumed you at birth and be sure that it never gets a chance to turn you against the Moon Goddess. But as you know, Jasmine was pregnant with your friend and Beta, Oliver. She feared that they weren’t enough to purify the darkness. She had a bad feeling about it and decided to put fate into her own hands. Unfortunately for her, it didn’t work out as planned. She was caught trying to kill your mother and then she was put to death. But I allowed her child to be born and sent away before her death. She ended up dying in childbirth.”

I nodded, remembering that story.

“And then I was born a couple of years later?” I asked.

He nodded.

“Yes,” he answered. “You were born a couple of years later. It was a difficult pregnancy, but your mother was a trooper. Morgan was sent over from the Amyrran coven to assist her during this pregnancy. And then when she gave birth, three priestesses from each coven came and provided you with their blood, tying you to each of the covens and giving you their powers.”

I stared down at my hands in amazement.

“They could feel the presence of the Moon Goddess as well; she had given you her blessing,” he continued. “However, outside the clinic walls, there was an uproar. Because of the prophecy, most feared you and wanted to see you gone. When word of your birth got out, it started a riot. We worried for your safety and at the time didn’t see any other option. Morgan suggested taking you away for right now until things settle down. She knew of another pure witch, more powerful than Candance alone, who could purify the darkness. She promised us that she would keep you safe and then return you when it was safe…”

My heart sank.

“But that never happened,” I said softly; it wasn’t a question because I already knew the outcome of that.

“No…” he murmured. “She returned to the empire a few days later, covered in blood. She told me she was ambushed and that you were killed in the process of her trying to protect you. She told me it was rogues and that she barely got out alive. I used my abilities on her so I could find out the truth and see what happened for myself. I didn’t know it at the time, but she used some kind of potion to make me see what she wanted me to see. But I saw exactly what she had explained, and my entire world crashed around us.”

Tears welled up in my eyes as I thought about what they must have been going through at that time. I couldn’t imagine anything like that happening to my child and my child wasn’t even born yet. I touched my stomach out of instinct and felt the warmth pulsating under the palm of my hand.

“Your mother fell into a deep depression. For months, she was depressed. I tried everything I could to bring her out of the depression. But it was hard when I was also depressed. I found myself drinking a lot and spending most nights at the bar. Your mother remained home, licking her own wounds, while I was out binge drinking. I regret that deeply now…”

I furrowed my brows.

“You left her?” I asked.

“I had my own wounds to heal,” he explained. “I was just as much a mess as she was. But that’s not an excuse, I should have been more there for her. I didn’t know how bad her depression was, and I will never forgive myself for my part in her suicide.”

“Your part in it?” I asked. “How was it your fault.”

“Because I was the one who gave her the final push… it was the final straw for her,” he said, staring down at his hands. I had never seen him look so uneasy before and it made me equally uneasy. I had a feeling he was about to admit something to me that would most likely be better left unsaid.

“What did you do?” I urged, my voice coming out in a low whisper as I stared at him.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and took a deep breath.

“I was unfaithful to her…” he explained. “I met a woman at the bar one night and I woke up the next morning, naked and in bed beside her.”