Chapter 214

Carol’s POV

“Alpha Aiden, I wasn’t expecting you to join us for training this morning,” King Bennet said questionably as we walked into the witchery room at the back end of the manor. Bennet looked at me with a frown when we walked into the room, hand-in-hand, and then he narrowed his eyes at Aiden.

“I’m not staying, Your Majesty,” Aiden assured him. “I wanted to speak with you about something.”

Bennet’s frown deepened and he nodded as he motioned for the seats across the room. We walked across the room and sat on comfortable-looking seats. Bennet crossed his leg over the other and peered at Aiden questionably.

“Go ahead,” he said, motioning for Aiden to start talking.

“It’s about Alison,” Aiden continued.

Bennet corked a brow.

“I’ve already told you, I’m not changing my mind. I won’t allow someone that important in my pack. She’s a danger to everyone…”

“That’s not what we are requesting,” Aiden said, interrupting him.

I wanted to say something on behalf of Alison because she wasn’t the one who was dangerous. But I decided no good would come from that so I kept my mouth shut and waited for Aiden to continue.

“We asked her to join our pack last night,” Aiden finally told him, much to Bennet’s shock which was clear on his face.

“You what?” Bennet asked, raising his brows. “Why would you do that?”

“Because she’s not dangerous,” I blurted. “She doesn’t deserve to be banished and sentenced to her death. If you don’t want her in your pack, then we will take her into ours.”

Aiden put a hand on my leg as if he were telling me to calm down and stop talking. I bit the inside of my cheek and leaned back into my seat.

“She’s a young girl and we didn’t want to see her get hurt,” Aiden continued to explain. “She’s already agreed to change her allegiance to me, but I still need you to sign off on it.”

King Bennet stared at him for a moment and then looked at me.

“Do you really think that’s a good idea? She was the one who served—”

“She didn’t poison me,” I said quickly, stopping his words once again. “I would like her to join our pack.”

King Bennet looked between the two of us for a moment before he nodded.

“Okay,” he said. “Granted. I’ll sign off on it. Was there anything more?”

“Yes,” Aiden said hesitantly. “We would like her family to move with us.”

“Impossible, her father, Rick, is one of my best Gamma warriors,” King Bennet said, shaking his head.

“And yet he’s not your head Gamma?” Aiden asked, raising his brows.

Bennet frowned deeply.

“He’s good at what he does,” Bennet said through his teeth. “He wouldn’t make a good leader, but he’s great at night patrolling the North border.”

“And you can’t find someone else who can do his job just as good?” Aiden asked, cocking his head to the side.

“And who are you to question me?” King Bennet’s voice rose anger started to take over. “How dare you speak to me like this. Did you forget who I am?”

Aiden lowered his head in respect.

“Of course not, Your Majesty,” he replied. “I meant no disrespect. I only meant that I would hate to separate the family. If there aren’t any growth opportunities, I don’t see the point of keeping him here. He does a job that any of your gammas could do and just as well if they’ve been trained properly.”

“Did you only come here so you can steal my packmates?” King Bennet asked, staring at him.

“Of course not, Sir,” Aiden answered.

“He’s doing this because I asked him to,” I said, putting my hand on Aiden’s arm. “I want Alison to join our pack, but I also want her to have people around her who know and love her. It’ll be a hard transition, but I’d like to make this as easy as possible. There’s plenty of growth opportunity in our pack and they will be safe.”

“And you don’t think they are safe here?”

“I don’t think any of us are safe here,” I blurted. “I mean, someone tried to poison me, and it wasn’t Alison. Whoever wanted me dead, is still out there somewhere and probably plotting against me again. We need to be careful while we are here…”

King Bennet looked shocked by my erupt words; he didn’t confirm anything I had said, but he also didn’t deny it.

“Have you already spoken to Rick about this?” He asked Aiden.

“Yes,” he admitted. “He said he would need to think about it and discuss it with you first.”

King Bennet thought about it for a moment, and I could tell he was hesitant; he didn’t want to let any of his packmates go, let alone a gamma warrior. It was rare that a packmate would switch allegiance unless something was seriously wrong.

“If he comes to me, I give you my word that I will hear him out,” King Bennet finally said with a set jaw. “But I won’t be going to him, and I won't be granting permission until it is discussed between the two of us without any outside interference.”

His meaning was not lost on Aiden, and he nodded.

“Thank you, your majesty,” Aiden said, bowing his head.

“Now, if you’ll excuse us. We have a lot of training to do today,” King Bennet said, standing to his feet.

Aiden and I stood as well, and he turned to face me.

“Have a good session; I’ll see you later,” he said, kissing my cheek sweetly.

I smiled at him and nodded, watching as he left the room.

I turned to King Bennet who was watching me thoughtfully before he gave me a smile.

“Ready?” He asked. “We are going to start training your abilities today. We are going to start with mind manipulation. I’ve recruited a couple of maids to help us with our sessions and they should be here shortly.”

I nodded.

“Am I going to make them do things?” I asked, a bit worriedly. I didn’t like the idea of forcing anyone to do anything.

“Small things; nothing major,” he assured me. “This ability is from your mother’s coven. You have the telepathy ability and possibly even the mind-reading ability which would be from your mother directly.”

I raised my brows.

“Wouldn’t I know if I could read minds?” I asked.

He shrugged casually.

“Maybe,” he told me. “But it would be hard when you haven’t been trained, so maybe not.”

Just then, there was a knock on the door. King Bennet opened the door, and two timid-looking maids stood before him. They both bowed out of respect.

“Your Majesty,” the said in unison.

“Megan and Hansely, this is my daughter, Carol,” he introduced.

They both bowed to me, and I had to stifle another eye roll at the bowing. I bit my tongue this time because we were in front of my biological father.

“It’s nice to meet you both,” I told them politely.

“They are going to be helping us out in our sessions. They’ve consented already so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“We are honored to help you, Princess,” the one named Hansley told me.

“You can just call me Carol,” I told them. “I have a feeling we are going to be spending a lot of time together.”

They both beamed at my words and nodded.

“Hansley, stand in front of Carol,” King Bennet ordered as he stood back.

Hansley did what she was told, and I smiled at her a bit warily, not sure what to expect. She looked a little nervous as well.

“Now, Carol. Look into her eyes and think about an action you’d like her to do. Imagine there’s a string connecting your mind. What would it feel like to do this specific action if you were in her position.”

“What kind of action?” I asked.

“Start with something simple. Make her bark.”

I raised my brows and stared at him.

“Like a dog?” I asked, not very amused.

“Or hop like a bunny?” King Bennet suggested.

I sighed and looked back at Hansley who was red in the face.

“I don’t mind,” she reassured me. “I’ll do whatever you want.”

I nodded and looked deep into her eyes. I imagined a golden string stretching out from my mind to hers, connecting into place. I could feel my mind whirling as the thoughts circulated and my powers strengthened. From the way her eyes dilated, I could tell she could feel it too.

I imagined what it would feel like to hop up and down like a bunny and the string that connected us began to glow brightly in my mind. I didn’t tell her out loud what I wanted her to do because I wanted to see if it was genuine, but soon, she was hopping in circles like a bunny.

With the mind string still tethering us together, I felt confident that I didn’t need to continue looking into her eyes to make my powers work, so I decided to switch her action. I made her stop hopping and then imagined what it would feel like shaking Megan’s hand.

Before I could even finish the thought, Hansley turned to Megan, walked to her, almost robotically, and then she held out her hand.

Megan, getting the gesture, took Hansley by the hand and they shook. I looked at King Bennet who was nodding approvingly.

“Well done, Carol,” he told me, his tone filled with pride. “It seems your powers are stronger than I thought. Let’s try something new. Megan, your turn.”

Megan swallowed and stepped towards me. I released the string that tethered me to Hansley, and she gasped at the sudden loss of connection. She touched her face like she expected something to be there, but when nothing was there, her cheeks reddened. I bit back a laugh as I turned my attention to Megan. I was planning on tethering her as well, until the King spoke, causing me to freeze.

“For this exercise, you are going to read her mind.”