Chapter 176

Third Person POV

Anger festered in Henry for the next couple of days. Maeve managed to avoid being poisoned, which meant her baby was still alive. Henry clenched his fists, gritting his teeth and trying to keep himself under control. He tried to ignore the fact that his life was falling apart. His wife was rotting away in the dungeons, and the throne was being taken from him by someone who wasn’t even born yet.

He was glad he had a plan B already in the making and as soon as his first plan failed, he contacted his source to be prepared with the second plan.

As if on clockwork, his phone went off. It was his source.

A smile crept along his mouth as he pressed the phone to his ear.

“You better have good news for me,” he said immediately upon answering the phone.

“It’s been done,” the source said, their voice frail and worried. “But be warned. It’s a dangerous concoction. It could kill more than just the fetus.”

Henry was aware that hurting Maeve in more than one way was a possibility when getting rid of this baby. He decided, though, that it was worth the risk. As long as that baby never comes into existence, his spot won’t be taken, and he will get his spot on the throne.

“When can you get it to me?”

“It’s best if we meet outside of the capital at sundown. This can’t be traced to me, Your Majesty. Please, promise me that I’ll be safe.”

“You have my word,” Henry stated, his promise empty, but it was worth it to hear the relief on the other end. After arranging a meetup spot, he hung up the phone.

He went to a few of his most trusted men and told them of his new plan. They were already aware of his previous plan and were on board with it. Now they needed to be clued into his new plan and be on board with that as well.

Once they all had their assignments, Henry wished them luck before turning away, a smile lighting up his face.

He swore to himself if he had to kill Maeve in order to ensure that Enigma never existed, then so be it.

Meanwhile, Arlan sat in his office, pondering all the information he had collected these last few days. The door opened, and in came Leonora, the only one who didn’t need to knock to enter his private ward. She gave him a small smile as she shut the door behind herself and then stepped further into the office.

“You seem off lately,” she said softly. “Is everything okay?”

He didn’t want her to worry, though he knew her trust in him had dwindled over the years, especially after his affair. But he also knew that it was impossible not to love him and stand by him because they were fated mates. He knew that he had taken advantage of that and there was no going back, but he did love her with all his heart.

“Have you heard from Xaden?” He asked, looking up at her. “How is Maeve?”

A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

“You care for her suddenly,” she pointed out.

“She is carrying my grandson,” Arlan reminded her. “You saw the test results; they were real.”

She nodded thoughtfully.

“Sure, if has nothing to do with the fact that she’s carrying an Enigma?” Leonora asked, drawing his attention even more.

Of course, it had to do with the fact that she was carrying an Enigma, which was huge for their wolf kingdom. Having an Enigma take charge and be King is destiny, and he wasn’t going to let that chance slip away. The fact that Kenneth knew she was birthing an Enigma and kept it from Arlan infuriated him in a way that he couldn’t even explain. He constantly had to fight with his wolf to keep it under control. He refused to lose himself to his wolf.

“That and she makes our son happy,” Arlan said, making Leonora chuckle.

“You are something else, Arlan,” she said, shaking her head. “I have spoken to both Xaden and Maeve. For your information, she’s doing just fine. She’s been resting these last couple of days and she apologized profusely for bailing on dinner. Her words.”

“She doesn’t need to apologize. She’s pregnant. It happens,” Arlan murmured.

“That’s what I told her as well,” Leonora breathed. “But you know how worried she gets.”

Arlan nodded.

“Seriously, Arlan. What is on your mind,” she said, narrowing her eyes. She knew something was up with her husband.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair; he couldn’t lie to her. He had no other choice but to tell her the truth about where his mind was.

“Henry sent me something last night that may need my attention. He found a spy in the Capital. Someone working for the bears. It makes me wonder how many others there are. The spy was already dealt with, but…”

“There could be more… “she whispered. “Are these spies wolves?”

He nodded.

“They are our own people, Leonora,” Arlan informed her. “I’m not sure how I was so blind to see it. It makes me wonder who else the bears are in contact with. We could have spies under our own roof.”

Leonora paled at the thought as she wrapped her arms around her body. The thought of someone she trusts working with the enemy gave her a creepy feeling like she was being watched at that very moment.

“What are we to do?” She finally asked after a beat of silence.

“Henry thinks we could pool together with Xaden and figure something out. I think I’m going to call Xaden to me for the next couple of days. I wondered if you thought Maeve would be okay without him for a bit.”

“Oh, I see,” she breathed. “I’m sure she will be fine. Charlotte and I will see that she is. You can take Xaden, and I’ll care for his pregnant mate. You don’t need to worry, darling. That’s what I’m here for.”

He relaxed as she walked around his desk and placed a warm hand on his shoulder.

“I love you,” he said softly. “I hope you know that.”

She kissed his cheek gently.

“And I love you.”

……

Maeve’s POV

It’s been a couple of days since I went to the palace, and I had no desire to go there right now. I felt off being around Henry and I couldn’t seem to shake the feeling. Something was wrong.

Xaden had left earlier in the afternoon, saying that he wouldn’t be back until tomorrow because there was an emergency concerning the kingdom and his father needed him. He didn’t give me many more details other than that but appointed some guards to keep their eyes on the mansion and suggested that I don’t leave unless I have some guards with me.

I didn’t like going to bed without Xaden beside me, but I knew he was busy and sometimes I had to make sacrifices. If there truly was an emergency, then the kingdom needed him. I couldn’t be selfish. There wasn’t much I could do to help him while I was pregnant.

Maggie was kind enough to help me get into bed and brought me some tea. After she left for the night, I stayed awake for several hours, finding it difficult to fall asleep. But later, sleep started to come to me, and I found myself dozing off.

I’m not sure how long I had been asleep before I was startled awake by the sound of glass breaking. My eyes popped open, and I quickly sat up when I saw the window had shattered. In a panic, I struggled to get out of bed, but I froze when I saw hooded figures climbing through the window.

Letting out a startled scream, I attempted to get out of bed with my protruding belly. There had ot be at least 3 men, all wearing dark clothes, black masks, and hoods over their heads, keeping me from seeing their faces.

When I finally got out of bed, I started towards the door, unable to keep the scream in my throat but I was quickly grabbed by one of the men who proved to be much stronger than I.

He not only wrapped an arm around my body, holding me in place but also put a hand over my mouth, keeping me from screaming.

I struggled against him as he dragged me towards the bed. I bit his hand hard, trying to get him to loosen his grip on me, but it only seemed to fuel him even more. His hand tightened around my face, making it almost impossible to breathe.

I wanted to tell him to let me go and not touch me, but his hand was too hard around my mouth that my words came out muffled.

Another man grabbed my feet and lifted them off the ground, helping the first guy bring me to the bed.

“We should hurry; we don’t have a lot of time,” he murmured.

Tears burned my eyes, making it impossible for me to see. Who were these me and what exactly did they want?

The third guy who was approaching me had something in his hands and when he lifted it, my heart stilled.

It was a syringe with some sort of liquid inside. It was clear he intended to use it on me… but what did it do? What was it for?

Panic consumed me and I nearly passed out from the lack of oxygen during my very real panic attack. I struggled even harder against the men who were holding me, but it made them hold me even tighter and they even fought back a bit. With their scorching hands tightening around me, I knew they’d leave marks.

One of the guys was digging his nails into my flesh, making me wince in pain.

I was slammed onto the bed, but the guy who had his arms wrapped around me and his hand on my mouth kept himself attached to me, making it impossible to move even an inch.

The guy with the needle approached, his eyes grim and his face expressionless.

“Just stab her with it!” The guy holding my feet said as I struggled against his hold, attempting to kick him.

The guy with the syringe lifted the needle and just as he slammed down and towards my chest, my bedroom door burst open.