Chapter 168

Maeve’s POV

“You’ve been dying your hair this whole time?” Xaden asked, his eyes wide as he studied me. I felt hot in the face under their scrutiny, and I hated that they were all staring at me like this. I knew I should have told Xaden the truth about me, but I couldn’t find it in me to do it. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure what I would say. I didn’t have a reason as to why I died my hair since the day I was born. It didn’t make much sense to me either. The only person who really had those types of answers was my father.

“Could it be because of what she is?” Char shocked me by asking.

My eyes grew wide, and I stared at Xaden who was still studying me. Okay, so now I was certain they all knew something about me that I didn’t.

“I don’t understand,” I said, narrowing my eyes at my mate. “What are you talking about?”

Xaden turned to Char.

“Go help Maggie in the kitchen,” he demanded.

Charolotte’s eyes grew wide, and I could tell she wanted to deny his request.

“But—”

“Go Char,” he said, his tone louder and firmer.

She would be stupid to deny him now; he was seconds away from Alpha commanding her and though they were from the same bloodline, he was stronger so the Alpha command would still work. She pressed her lips together, sensing that his wolf was on the edge and then she nodded. She turned to me and mouthed, “Sorry” before she followed Maggie into the kitchen.

I kept my eyes on Xaden as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“What was she talking about?” I asked. “What do you know?”

“My question to you is what do you know?” He asked in return, narrowing his eyes at me.

I wasn’t sure what he was getting at and I didn’t like the accusatory tone in his voice.

“What?” I asked, my voice coming out small.

“Did you know already that you are carrying an Enigma?”

My blood went cold. Alpha Kenneth had told me the same thing and that was the reason he wanted me to mate with his son. He wanted me to be an Enigma baby machine. I felt sick at the very thought, and I wrapped my arms around my body to protect myself and my baby. The memories were so fresh in my head that I grew dizzy. Seeing this, Xaden touched my arm gently, trying to soothe me.

“You are safe here, Maeve,” he assured me, his voice dropping to a whisper. “You know that.”

I bit my lower lip and nodded as I peeked up at him.

“I know,” I whispered.

“So, tell me what you know,” he said, guiding me over to one of the couches.

I lowered myself onto the couch, holding my belly protectively as I did so, and Xaden sat beside me.

“I only know what Alpha Kenneth had told me,” I admitted, nibbling on my lower lip. “My mother was a witch, and he was there the day she gave birth to me and that was when my father killed her along with the entire tribe. It was foreseen that her line would produce Enigma children and Kenneth was so sure that I was the one to be able to do that. He’s convinced that this baby is an Enigma, and he wanted to take him away.”

Tears welled up in my eyes and I hated that my voice cracked at the end of that sentence. Xaden wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close.

“I’m not going to let him or anyone hurt our baby,” he told me softly.

Hearing him say that sent a warmth throughout my body and then I remembered something as I quickly pulled away from him.

“I took another paternity test,” I blurted, without giving him much of a warning. “Because I left… I took another test. I was going to show you the results but…”

“I know,” he said, cutting off my words before I could say anything more.

I furrowed my brows.

“You know?” I asked him, confused.

He grinned as he pulled out a piece of paper from his jacket pocket. When he unfolded it, I saw that it was the paternity test results. I sucked in a sharp breath, realizing I must have left it on the nightstand in our bedroom.

“Oh…” I breathed.

He had a wide smile on his face and a glimmer of something in his eyes that made my heart swell.

“He’s our baby and I’m so sorry I ever doubted you,” he said, lowering himself to me and pressing his lips to mine.

My heart swelled with pride at the sound of him claiming our son. When I looked into his eyes, I saw something in them that made my heart skip a beat and my breathing become almost erratic.

“Xaden… I…” I started to say, but just as I was about to get the words out, the door swung open, and Char came into the room.

“I want to see what your hair actually looks like,” she decided, putting her hands on her hips. “Are you done talking yet?”

My cheeks were on fire as I turned to look at her and she frowned when she noticed my expression.

“Did I interrupt something?” She asked, staring between Xaden and me.

“I guess not,” I said, a bit defeated.

“Good,” she said with a wide smile as she walked over to me. Grabbing my arm, she pulled me to my feet. “Let’s clean this color out of your hair. I know a mixture that can take care of it.”

“Wait, really?” I asked, running my fingers through my hair.

She nodded and I turned to look at Xaden.

He gave me a head nod and winked. I smiled at him and turned to Char; together, we walked up the stairs and into my bedroom. I sat on the bed as she went into the bathroom to rummage through the cabinets. Soon she returned with an arm of supplies and a wide grin on her face.

“Okay, give me a few minutes to make this concoction,” she said, sitting at the vanity. “I’ll find your natural hair color in no time.”

I smiled gratefully at her, but I was also a bit nervous. I had never actually seen my natural hair before, and I wasn’t really sure what to expect.

After a few minutes, she finally had the concoction ready, and she motioned for me to follow her into the bathroom. I followed after her, into the bathroom. She stood behind me, pinning my hair all around my face and then I felt the cold concoction she had just created. Once it was all throughout my hair, she wrapped it and then we headed back into the bedroom so we could have some much-needed girl talk.

“So, what else did I miss while I was gone?” I asked.

She eyed me carefully for a moment and I could tell there was something she wanted to tell me. I leaned forward on the bed, urging her to speak. She finally shrugged and sighed.

“I think Lucas and Mia are actually going to get married,” she surprised me by saying.

“Wait, what?” I asked, surprised by this news.

She nodded.

“They’ve been really close lately and I think she feels really badly about hurting you and making you run away. She blames herself for you getting captured. But Lucas was there to comfort her… so I think they are going to finally get married.”

I couldn’t hide the smile on my lips. I had hoped Lucas would finally woo Mia and they could get married like planned. I just wanted her to leave Xaden alone.

“You won’t need to worry about her going after Xaden,” she continued softly. “I know that’s why you left. You should know that Xaden doesn’t want her. He never did. It’s you he wants, Maeve.”

I blushed at her words.

“I want him too,” I admitted. “I shouldn’t have left like that. I should have stayed and talked to him. But I was too hurt and too afraid…”

“None of us blame you for leaving,” Char told me, putting her hand on mine. “Luca’s sand I tore into Xaden if it helps. We knew why you left, and we smacked some sense into him.”

I smiled.

“I appreciate you both,” I told her.

Just then, the timer on her phone went off and she jumped to her feet. I wasn’t sure how long we were sitting there and talking, but I could hear the tingling of my hair.

“It’s time!” she said happily.

She rushed me back into the bathroom and unwrapped my hair. I tipped my head into the sink and allowed her to wash my hair. It felt nice having someone help wash my hair; her fingers were slender and scrubbed my scalp with ease. As she continued to wash, her eyes grew wider. I wondered what it was she was seeing. Perhaps the color of the dye was washing down the sink.

When she finished, she brushed out my hair; I refused to look in the mirror, afraid of what I would see. She blew dry it and styled it a bit and when she stepped back, she had tears in her eyes. There was a knock on the door, and she opened it without hesitation and without looking to see who it was; I knew that she already knew it was Xaden.

When he saw me, his eyes grew impossibly big.

“Maeve?” He whispered.

‘Isn’t she incredible?” Charlotte breathed, her eyes still glistening.

“Y… you’re beautiful,” he said his voice barely a whisper.

This was it… the moment of truth. I slowly turned around to face the mirror and gasped when I saw my shimmering auburn hair that was curled slightly at the ends and draped casually over my shoulders and down my back. It was sleek and looked so natural; without any makeup, it made my natural features and the light feather of freckles along my nose and cheeks pop. My eyes were glimmering and brighter than I had ever seen them before, and my cheeks had a slight rosy tint to them. I had never seen myself look so…. Beautiful before.

“Woah…” I whispered.

“I…I came here because I wanted to give you something. I think now is a good time to do that. It’ll compliment your look,” Xadne told me, handing me a small black box.

I frowned at it and then looked up at him; he just smiled at me. I slowly opened the box, and tears filled my eyes when I saw my mother’s necklace.

“Let me put it on,” he said, taking the necklace out of the box. I moved my hair to the side and turned around. He wrapped the necklace around my neck, letting it dangle against my chest. His fingers brushed the nape of my neck and sent warmth across my flesh as he clasped the necklace.

He kissed my shoulder softly and wrapped his arms around me, holding me against him as we both looked at my natural appearance in the mirror for the first time.

“I love you,” he whispered against my ear, making my heart leap into my throat. “I love everything about you, Maeve. I love your hair… your freckles… your eyes… I love who you are as a person. I love the real you and it’s so nice to finally get to see who the real you is.”