Chapter 218

Carol’s POV

“You’re my sister…” I whispered, sitting back on the bed, not because I wanted to get comfortable, but because my body could no longer handle my weight any longer. I felt 10 times heavier, and I needed to sit to relieve some of that tension. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing; could this woman seriously be my sister? Why hadn’t anyone told me that I had a twin? An Evil twin at that??

“If that’s what you want to call me…” she muttered. “Don’t expect any sisterly bonding or anything,” she practically spat.

“I don’t understand,” I said, shaking my head. “Why hadn’t the King told me about you? He told me all about my past and my mother. But you were never brought up… I just know that Morgan promised to take care of me and purify me of the darkness, but it never happened. She returned a few days later, covered in blood, claiming that I was killed by rogues. Instead, she brought me to a human family and they adopted me. Why didn’t she just kill me if she wanted me gone so badly?”

“She wanted to,” she murmured. “And she tried. But even as an infant, you were too strong. You wouldn’t die. She had no choice but to mask your identity and bring you to that human family. She thought once you got older, she could harvest your powers and then kill you.”

“She couldn’t harvest my powers as an infant?” I asked. “If I was that strong…”

“You were strong enough to keep you from dying. But your full powers hadn’t come in yet and wouldn’t until you became an adult. Only then would she be able to harvest your powers. So, she placed you with the human family. You were pretty much being incubated until your powers came in. She worried that if you knew about your abilities and strengthened them, you’d be able to stop her. So, that was why she chose a human family and not another magical one.”

I felt sick to my stomach.

“And you?”

“Morgan returned to the manor with me in her arms and she kept me in the dungeon,” she muttered. “The King never really went into the dungeon and gave the guards a potion that kept them silent about me. They cared for me when the King wasn’t around. Then when Elizabeth made it to the palace, it was she who mainly cared for me. If you’d call it caring…”

“She hurt you…” It wasn’t a question, but it made her scoff.

“That’s an understatement,” she muttered. “From the moment I could walk, she tortured me into using all my dark energy. She turned me into her goddamn weapon.”

“But you knew what she was doing was wrong…” I said, shaking my head at the thought.

“Yes,” she answered.

“So, you can’t be that evil,” I told her. “There has to be good in you.”

“I feel no remorse for any of the things she made me do,” she said sharply. “There’s zero good in me.”

“Then why tell me all of this? Why are you warning me and giving me this information and if you didn’t want to see me live?”

She let out a throaty laugh.

“You mistake me,” she murmured. “I’m not warning you because I want to see you live, I’m warning you because I want you to know that there’s nothing you can do. Elizabeth and her daughters are going to take over the nation. As soon as Jenna is in power, the takedown will begin. I will be unleashed to the world and cause the destruction I was meant to cause. My purpose is to rain hell on this planet and end your life once and for all. I’m the only one who can truly kill you.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“But we are sisters, Raelyn,” I whispered. “Why don’t you just stop with this evil stuff and help me? Elizabeth had kept you locked here for your entire life. Why would you want to do anything for her?”

“Because she’s the only mother that I know,” Raelyn said, her voice barely above a whisper. “She took care of me.”

“You call this taking care of you?”

“Shut up! You have no idea what you are talking about. I am supposed to be a stronger version of you and that’s exactly what I intend to be!” She shouted.

“I don’t believe that,” I said, staring down at my hands. “I don’t believe that’s what you want…”

“You don’t know a thing about what I want.”

“Maybe not… but I do know there’s more than meets the eye. I don’t think you are as bad as you seem. I think you are probably scared and just trying to survive like the rest of us,” I told her gently. “I think you need to get away from Elizabeth…”

“And I think you need to shut your mouth,” Raelyn hissed.

I heard a door creaking open from down the hallway, silencing us both. Then, the sounds of heels clicking across the cold concrete ground sounded around the dungeon. I didn’t need to see her to know who it was; I could tell from the way she was walking; even her scent was becoming obvious to me, and I didn’t have wolf-smelling.

The door to the cell beside me opened.

“Mother…” Raelyn said, her voice stronger than I had heard since speaking with her.

“Kneel to the ground,” Queen Elizabeth ordered. I heard Raelyn dropping to the ground and then I heard what sounded like a slap on the face, I flinched from the sound, but Raelyn didn’t make a peep.

“W…what have I done wrong?” Raelyn asked, her voice returning to its hoarse state. “I heard your voice outside the dungeon. What have I told you about speaking??”

“I… I’m sorry…” she whispered.

“What would happen if the king were to hear you?” There was another slapping sound and then what sounded like a kick. This time, Raelyn did let out a whimper. “Open your mouth.”

“N… no…” Raelyn whimpered. “I promise… I won’t speak anymore. I’ll behave. Please, mother…”

“I heard what sounded like a gagging sound and I guessed that the queen had her by her throat.

“Open your mouth,” she repeated through her teeth.

Moments later, I heard what sounded like gagging, and then she howled in pain as she fell to the ground. She whaled in agony; it sounded tortuous, and my chest tightened. I quickly jumped to my feet, panic seizing. I heard her growing muffled and I wondered if the queen was attempting to suppress Raelyn’s screaming to keep her from being known. I heard her agonies and her pleas, but the queen showed her no mercy and only waited for the crying to end.

Soon, there was nothing but silence. I heard Raelyn falling limply to the ground and the queen scoffing in disgust.

“What had you done to her?” I asked, my tone shaking.

“Liquid fire,” the queen said as the cell door opened and shut. “Hell of a potion.”

“Y… you killed her?” I asked, my brows furrowed together. I didn’t understand why the queen would keep Raelyn alive for all these years, only to kill her this quickly. It was making no sense to me.

“No, she will live,” the queen muttered. “Just like you, it’s impossible to kill her unless her powers are harvested first. This wasn’t the first time she’s drank liquid fire, and it won’t be the last.”

Her voice was much closer now and I knew she was outside of my cell door. Soon, the door unlatched and it opened, revealing the queen in all her glory.

“Considering I can’t exactly kill you… what will I do with you now?”

…..

Aiden’s POV

“You can’t honestly believe that Carol had anything to do with this?” I asked the King, glaring at him from across his office.

“Jenna has no reason to lie—”

“Neither does Carol. Do you think she would do anything to put our baby in danger? Did you forget she’s pregnant? Why would she willingly seek out a fight?”

“I don’t have all the answers, but we will find them. I told the guards to keep her safe. She’s not cuffed right now; she’s resting in the cell. She’ll be fine.”

I let out a deep growl, angry that he had put her in this position.

“You were supposed to be protecting her. What would happen if I wasn’t here?”

He glared at me as he slowly stood from his desk; his Alpha aura washing over me and making me bow out of respect. Not because I wanted to, but because his aura was forcing me.

“Do not forget who I am, Alpha,” he said through his teeth. “Do you not question me again or you’ll find yourself without a pack.”

I wanted to argue with him, but I bit my tongue. He released his hold on me and I lifted my head.

“You’re right,” I said, biting the inside of my cheek. “I apologize.”

I left his office without another word, only to be greeted by Oliver.

“I got the footage you requested. It took a while because everything was wiped out. But they forgot to wipe the backups. Once I hacked into the security, I was able to find it easily,” he told me, holding up a flash drive.

“Did you look at it yet?”

He nodded.

“Yeah, and you were right. Jenna was the one who hurt Carol, and she hurt herself. The proof is all here.”