Chapter 203

Aiden’s POV

Cathy coughed which seemed to wrack her entire body. She was so frail and already looked as if death was knocking on her door.

“Kill you?” I asked, my brows furrowed. “Why would I kill you?”

“Because you are an Alpha and I know that you know of my condition,” she said in a raspy tone. “No Alpha wants a weak wolf in their pack.”

“I’m not like most Alphas,” I said, folding my arms across my chest. “I’m not going to banish you or kill you just because you are sick.”

“You’d be the first one who didn’t want to,” she murmured. “I was banished from my old pack before I went into the King’s Empire. My daughter was only a little girl at the time and my condition wasn’t as bad. The King didn’t know of my condition because I feared he would kill me. But when it got bad, I had trouble hiding it from him. I was hospitalized and they told me if I wanted to be put on the donor list, they would have to alert the Alpha. He would decide if I was worth saving or not… I already knew I wasn’t.”

“So, you declined the offer?” I asked.

“They told me the likelihood of the King wanting to save my life was slim and that I was a nobody. They told me they could continue to give me treatments, but it would be too expensive. That was when my daughter offered to pay; she told me she would get a job to cover the expenses. Against my wishes, she started to work for the King and suddenly my hospital bills were being paid. I barely got to see her because she was so busy but when I did see her, she would get thinner and thinner. She looked exhausted and I could see she wasn’t happy. I told her to quit because the treatments were doing nothing but keeping me strung along, barely clinging to life. I mean look at me… I’m barely functional.”

She took a steady breath, and I could tell it pained her because she winced. She could hardly lift her head when she spoke and she had a breathing mask wrapped around her face, though it was lowered so she could talk properly, occasionally she had to stop so she could put the mask over her nose and mouth and breathe in deeply.

I wanted to stop her from talking too much because of how much it was hurting her, but I knew she needed to get this story off her chest, so I remained silent and allowed her to finish.

“I’m not worth saving and I knew this… my doctors told me the same thing daily. Jenna had come to see me once last month; this was the first time I truly met her in person. She was a cold-hearted bitch and it was clear she was using my illness to control my daughter. She told me that she was the one paying my bills and that if Monica didn’t act like a good little slave, she would stop paying the bills and let me die a slow and painful death. I wanted my daughter to quit because it wasn’t worth it, but she refused…”

She stopped talking as the pain of the memory invaded her mind. I could tell she was trying hard not to cry.

“I should have tried harder because then maybe she would still be alive…”

“Her death wasn’t your fault,” Oliver said, shaking his head. “It was the King’s for not better protecting his workers. An accident like that should have never happened.”

Cathy scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“It wasn’t an accident,” she muttered.

I raised my brows; I already knew it wasn’t an accident because Carol suspected as much. But I didn’t think anyone else expected the same thing. I was curious as to what Cathy knew.

“You don’t think she fell down the stairs?” I asked.

She gave me a pointed look.

“I don’t think she fell,” she murmured. “I think that bitch pushed her.”

“Jenna?”

She nodded.

“I knew she was evil the moment I met her, but I never thought she was capable of doing such a thing to a young girl, let alone my daughter,” Cathy said, her voice going hoarse. “I should have better protected her.”

“None of this is your fault,” I assured her. “And Cathy, you are worth saving.”

She stared down at her hands as she breathed into her mask.

“When your Gammas came to get me, they told the hospital that they were transferring me out. It was right before they got a memo saying that my bills were no longer being supported and to let me die so they couldn’t care less if I stayed or if I go. There was less paperwork on their end to release me to another pack. The King didn’t even know I was in the hospital to begin with, so he didn’t know of this transfer. If I were to pledge my new allegiance, of course, he would have to know. But I’ll be dead before that, so I guess it doesn’t matter.”

“I’m not going to let you die, Cathy,” I said, shaking my head.

She let out a laugh, but it turned into a raspy cough and soon, blood was spilling out of her mouth. A nurse, who was stationed in her room, ran to her bedside and started to wipe her mouth. I could see the compassion in the nurse's eyes, and I knew she was feeling remorseful towards the woman. None of my doctors and nurses enjoyed watching innocent people suffer like this and the fact that the King’s doctors and nurses in the Empire pretty much wanted her to suffer until she died was sickening. It made me furious to think about such a thing.

“When they told me they were alerting you of my condition, I assumed you’d want to see me to tell me that you were ending my life or banishing me. I called you here so you could get it over with, Alpha. I’m ready to join my daughter in the afterlife. You don’t need to sugarcoat anything.”

I walked closer to her bed and lowered myself so I was at eye level with her, that way I could look into her eyes, and she could see what I was about to say was the truth.

“I’m not going to let you die, Cathy. The best thing we can do for your daughter right now is to make sure that you live a long life. She only worked at the King’s Manor so she could take care of you and pay your medical bills. Letting you die now would be like letting her die in vain.”

Tears welled up in Cathy’s eyes and she quickly blinked them away.

“How are you going to save me?” She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“You are already on the donor list,” Oliver told her; he was leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. Fiona was in the waiting room with Luca and the other Gammas.

Cathy’s eyes grew large as she looked at my Beta and then back at me.

“You put me on the donor list?” She asked. “But why?”

“I told you; I’m not going to let you die,” I told her with a shrug. “You are stuck with us and now I’m your Alpha, Cathy. You are under my protection, and I protect my own.”

“I wish I came here to begin with,” she said with a light laugh.

Truth be told, I’m not sure my father would have accepted her into the pack knowing she was on a time limit of life. But now that I’m the Alpha, I’m wanting to change things. I want things to be better for my people and I want us to be more accepting.

“Well, you’re here now and that’s all that matters,” Oliver said, exchanging a look with me. I nodded at him because we both had the same thoughts about my father and a mutual understanding.

I turned back to Cathy who had a steady stream of tears running down her cheeks.

“Thank you, Alpha.”

I nodded and then turned back to Oliver.

“Get me the King on the phone,” I said. “I need to speak with him about my upcoming visit. I want us to leave tomorrow morning.”

We left the hospital room and by the time we were outside, the King was on the other end of Oliver’s phone. He handed me the phone.

“King Bennet,” I said in greeting.

“What can I do for you, Alpha Aiden,” he said, sounding tired.

I wondered what was going on to make him sound so tired. I brushed the thought out of my head because I really didn’t care right now.

“I’m visiting sooner than planned,” I told him. “I’ll be there tomorrow with my Beta and his mate.”

There was silence on the other end.

“We have a lot of training to do tomorrow. Can I ask why you are coming so soon?”

“My wolf can’t rest until he knows for certain that his mate is okay. We have a bad feeling that something is wrong, and I’d like to make sure she’s settling in okay,” I explained, trying to be as vague as possible.

“I assure you, Carol is safe. I would never let anything happen to her,” he told me, his voice hardening.

Clearly, that wasn’t the truth because stuff was already happening that he wasn’t aware of.

“I’d still like to see her for myself,” I said. “My parents are going to watch over my pack for the next couple of days and we will be there midday tomorrow.”

I left no room for arguments and so I added, “I’m sure you can understand. Carol is my mate and there’s nothing more important than her. Nothing and nobody can keep my wolf away from his mate.”

“Yes, I understand,” the King breathed. “I’ll make up a couple of rooms for you and your Beta.”

“I’ll be staying with my mate,” I told him.

“Yes, of course,” he said, sighing again. “Anything else you need?”

“We have to talk to you about something else, but it can wait until tomorrow. I’ll see you then.”

I hung up before he could say another word. I handed Oliver his phone back as I said, “Call the private pilot and have him prepare the plane. We leave in the morning.”

If the King won’t protect my mate, I’ll have to do it myself.