Chapter 175

Maeve’s POV

Embarrassing.

That’s the only way I could describe this evening. I was mortified that I threw up in the royal palace. I spent so long in the bathroom, losing what was left in my belly. I couldn’t face anyone again. Xaden had sat with me as I vomited; he kept my hair out of the toilet, and I would be forever grateful to him for that.

He soon left so he could get my things knowing that I wasn’t going to want to stick around after this embarrassing event. I didn’t want to run out on his family, but until I could get my stomach under control, I needed some space away from them all.

Char came to check on me at one point too, but I was way too embarrassed to face even her. After a while, she stopped trying and went back to the dining hall with the rest of her family. Xaden returned with my coat and purse. He helped me clean the bathroom and made me sip on some water to ease the ache in my belly.

It was weird because it didn’t hurt prior to the meal, but as soon as it was in front of me, all the foods I had once loved so dear, made me feel nauseated. It was like something inside of me was warning me against this food.

“How are you feeling?” He asked as he wrapped my coat around my shoulders.

I gave him a shrug as tears filled my eyes.

“Mortified,” I admitted, nibbling on my lower lip.

He kissed my cheek gently and held me close to him, rubbing his hands up and down my back, sending warmth throughout my entire body.

“Don’t be,” he whispered. ‘You are pregnant. Nobody blames you for anything.”

I sighed, knowing that he was right. I felt gross, and all I really wanted to do was go home to take a hot bath and then get into bed and snuggle with my mate for the rest of the night. He took my hand and guided me out of the bathroom.

As we neared the front door, Henry stepped in front of us with a smile on his lips. His smile seemed forced and unnatural. It gave me an unsettling feeling in my chest and I instinctively took a step away from him.

“I thought you’d want this,” Henry said, holding out a to-go box. “It was your dinner. You might be hungry later.”

When I made no attempt to take the food, Xaden took it for me.

“Thank you,” he said to his brother.

Henry narrowed his eyes at Xaden and then at the food before forcing another unnatural smile. I wondered if Xaden could see it too, or if this was normal behavior for Henry. I didn’t know him well enough to know for sure, but I didn’t like what I was seeing at that moment.

“It’s important that she eats if she wants that baby to be big and strong,” Henry said, nodding at the food.

Xaden nodded and then took my hand again. Henry’s eyes found mine and they held them for a long while as I walked by him.

I could see that he had secrets… something was going on. It was an intense gut feeling that told me not to trust him.

As soon as we were outside and Prime Beta Burke pulled up with his car, I turned to Xaden.

“Can you throw that away before we get in the car?” I asked him.

He frowned.

“You should eat and—”

“I don’t want that food,” I said again, more adamant this time. I wasn’t sure what had gotten into me, but I knew deep down that I couldn’t eat that food. There was something wrong with it and my body knew it before I did. I couldn’t let that food into my stomach… I put my hands on my belly, protectively cradling my baby in the only way that I could. “I won’t get into that car until that food is gone,” I said more adamantly.

He raised his brows and then glanced at the box in his hands.

“Maeve—” he tried to reason, but I wouldn’t give him that chance. I needed that food to be gone.

“I can have Maggie make me food later,” I said quickly. “But I don’t want that. Please, throw it away.”

I pointed at the garbage can nearby.

He sighed and then relented. He walked over to the trash and tossed the food inside before turning ot my side.

“Okay, it’s gone,” he told me.

I sighed out a breath of relief before smiling at him.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

We got into the car and immediately drove back to the mansion, putting this awful evening behind me. However, as the car drove away from the royal palace, I couldn’t help but feel a pair of eyes on me and somehow I knew that it was Henry and he was not happy.

……

Third Person POV

Erik spent the night at his former nanny’s house. Sleeping in the guest room, his mind was whirling. He couldn’t stop thinking about Alpha Burton and why he would kill Erik’s mother. He couldn’t help but wonder if it was somehow connected to Maeve.

He knew that Maeve’s baby was growing exceptionally fast. She looked as if she were about to burst at any moment when in reality, she was only a few months pregnant. He wondered what it was missing.

Deep in the night, he received a phone call from one of his subordinates. Erik had a few spies around the capital, collecting information for him while he kept his nose clean. He was upset that they hadn’t picked up on anything that had to do with Burton and Maeve. This information had been kept in a tight hold for so long that it went right under their noses.

After his talk with Iris, Erik sends a text to his spies, demanding that they find out everything they can and focus their search on Maeve. It was then that they found out the truth.

Erik knew of Maeve’s kidnapping, and he knew of Alpha Kenneth’s involvement. But what he didn’t know was the reason behind it. Until now.

They found out all about Maeve’s bloodline and how they suspect her baby is an Enigma. Once those words were spoken, things started to make way more sense. Why Maeve’s baby was growing fast, why she always seemed to be a target, and why she looked nothing like her mother.

It was because Victoria wasn’t her mother…

Burton must have done what Arlan had done and had an affair with a witch from that tribe in hopes of birthing an Enigma. But it didn’t work out that way because he ended up having Maeve instead. He wondered if it was Esmeralda that he had an affair with and if it was Esmeralda who was Maeve's true mother.

It would make sense; the prophecy didn’t say that Esmeralda would birth an Enigma herself. It stated that her line would birth them… which meant her children. It meant Maeve. That was why Kenneth wanted her so badly… that was why she was a target.

If that was the case, then he had more in common with Maeve than he thought, and a smile grew on his lips. He could get her help and together, they could make this world a better place… a safer place.

By the next morning, Erik hadn’t slept a wink. He went downstairs and smelled bacon being cooked in the kitchen. Iris was making breakfast, and she smiled at him when he arrived.

“I hope you’re hungry,” she said thoughtfully.

He nodded and sat at the counter as she piled food on his plate and then poured him a cup of coffee.

“Still like it black?” She asked him.

He nodded again and took the coffee from her, sipping on it deeply and sighing contently.

Nothing like a hot cup of coffee to wake him.

As they ate, they were silent. Erik thought about telling her what he had discovered; he had more questions as well. He wanted to know more about Esmeralda and find out if she truly was Maeve’s mother. But he knew that Iris wouldn’t know the answer to his questions, and it was probably better if she didn’t get involved in such things.

The less she knew, the better. She already knew too much of what was going on with him. He had told her his plans during previous visits, and though she didn’t approve of his approach, she was not going to stop him. He had made up his mind long ago, even before he knew about these letters or about his real mother.

She studied him for a long while and he knew she had thoughts circulating in her mind.

“Are you still in contact with him?” She finally asked the question she’s been dying to ask since he arrived at her doorstep the night before.

Erik swallowed the food in his mouth and then took another long sip of his coffee. Once he was done, he placed the mug on the counter and sighed.

“Yes,” she finally answered. “Actually, I’m going to see him after I leave here.”

“You’re going to tell him the information you had learned?”

Erik nodded and met her disapproving gaze; he knew she didn’t like this, but once again, she wasn’t going to stop him.

“He’s dangerous, Erik. You need to be careful.”

“With my help, he might be the only one who can truly take down my father. His reign has to come to an end. Too many had suffered, enough is enough, Iris,” Erik argued.

“And I agree with you,” Iris said softly. “But there are better ways to go about this. What you are doing is inciting a war and there is no turning back from that. Think about the lives of all the innocent people who will get stuck in that crossfire. You know they don’t just want your father gone… they want to take over.”

“They showed me the future they are seeking, and I have to agree with them. It’s better than the future we are leading towards. Better than the future my father sought to create. If what I know now is true, then he’s even more dangerous than any of us could imagine. I had to seek outside help from those who want to see him gone just as badly as I did, and that’s exactly what I did.”

“But the Bear King….” She whispered, fear clouding her eyes.

Erik stood from his seat and walked around the counter to put his hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“I promise, I know what I’m doing,” he assured her. “But it’s probably better if you stayed hidden for a while. I don’t want you involved in any of this.”

Iris nodded as tears filled her eyes.

“Please, be careful, Erik,” she pleaded.

“I will,” he assured her. “But I need to leave now if I want to get to the Bear territory and back by sundown tonight. I have information they are going to want to know.”