Chapter 184

Maeve’s POV

I wasn’t stupid; I knew nobody could know about this mission, including Xaden. The less he knew about it, the better. I wanted to keep him safe from my crazy life, and I feared he might try to stop my involvement if he found out.

The rest of the flight was quiet. We landed on the airstrip in the kingdom and had to go through the border patrol security before we officially entered wolf territory. However, as I entered, Eric stayed behind, watching me with a perplexed and almost worried expression on his face. I could see the regret and the sorrow that lies deep within him, and I felt almost bad for rejecting him as I did. Of course, I had no feelings for Eric, but I did feel for him as a friend and the thought that I was the one who caused him pain left my heart feeling constricted.

“Aren’t you coming?” I asked him.

He shook his head.

“I need to head back for right now. But I’ll be back at the palace next week,” he told me, glancing over my shoulder at the patrol that was approaching. “You go ahead.”

“Why can’t you come too?” I asked him. “You’re going back to the island?”

A flicker of uncertainty flashed through his eyes and then he gave me a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“I have somewhere to be,” he told me.

“Maeve?” An unfamiliar voice said from behind me. I turned to see one of the border patrols approaching me, a crease between his brows. “The Kingdom had been searching for you all day.”

I swallowed; I should have known Xaden had an entire team searching for me. I nodded, turning back to look at Eric, but he was already gone. I looked around, wondering how he got away so fast, but there was no trace of him in sight.

“You’ll need to come with me, mam,” the patrol officer said, taking my arm gently.

“I nodded, knowing he was right. I could have been kidnapped and during my comatose state, they could have put a chip in me so they could spy on the werewolf territory. The thought sent bile to rise in my throat.

“Do what you need to do,” I told him.

The capital was still hours away, it made me realize that everyone was largely aware that I was missing, and I hadn’t even been gone for 24 hours yet. I went with the patrol officer to the security building where they thoroughly assessed and checked me.

“Who were you with?” They began to question their tones harsh and their movements forceful.

“Where did they bring you?”

“Where the bears involved?”

I felt overwhelmed, and honestly, I just wanted Xaden. I felt cornered like a caged animal, and they were making me uncomfortable. They did bloodwork to make sure I wasn’t given anything dangerous; they gave me an ultrasound to make sure my baby was okay. They even stripped me naked to ensure I had no marks or scratches on my body. I felt exposed, vulnerable, and completely and utterly alone.

“Why are the royals looking for her?” One of the officers asked, narrowing his eyes at me. He spoke about me as if I wasn’t even in the room.

“Who knows. Maybe she’s an escapee…”

It dawned on me that they had no idea I was Xaden’s mate. They thought he was looking for me because I was an escaped criminal. My stomach twisted and I felt like caving in on myself.

“Let’s keep searching her.”

…..

Xaden’s POV

My phone rang and I answered it immediately.

“Burke,” I greeted into the phone. He had gone off with some of the gammas to search the nearby areas for any sign of Maeve while I questioned the gammas who worked at the mansion last night. None of them know how these strange new Gammas appeared, they just kind of showed up. They assumed they were part of an elite team that I had called in, but now they all felt stupid for not questioning it sooner.

“Maeve was found,” Burke’s words cut through my thoughts. “She’s being held at the security office in the western border.”

My heart sank.

“They didn’t put her on a flight back here?” I asked, my temper rising.

“Nope, and their reception is shit. They called me but I only got bits and pieces of it. They are searching her and making sure she’s not a danger. Before I could say anything to them, the line cut off. I hadn’t been able to get a hold of them since.”

Anger boiled through me, and it took everything I had not to punch a hole in the wall. They were searching my mate and making sure she wasn’t a threat? She was a fucking victim and should be treated with more respect.

“If they touched her…” I said, my anger reaching a point that I felt out of control. The thought of them doing anything that might hurt or scare her sent me and my wolf over the edge. “I will fucking kill them.”

I hung up the phone before Burke could say another word.

“I need the private plane,” I said to my father who had just entered the room a second before I hung up the phone. “Maeve is in the western border. I need to go.”

My father nodded.

“I’ll send a mindlink to the captain and have the plane ready for you.”

“Thanks,” I said, rushing out of the mansion. I didn’t bother waiting for my driver to pull the car around, I got into my private car and started the engine. I quickly drove away from my home and towards the capital’s airport.

It didn’t take long to get there; my father’s private plane came into view, and I saw the captain getting it ready for a safe flight to the western border. A couple of the capital’s gamma warriors accompanied me as they often do when I take the private plane anywhere, for safety.

Once we finally landed in the western border, I wasted no time reaching the security building. It was a small building near the border that led outside of the wolf territory. I could smell Maeve the second my feet were on the ground. My gammas followed me as I went towards the building; the border patrol standing guard and bowing at my presence.

I nodded at them, but I didn’t slow down as I entered the building. I could smell Maeve potently, so I knew this was where she was, but I also smelled something else. Something that smelled oddly like fear. I knew my gammas could smell it too because they exchanged odd looks with one another.

I didn’t bother speaking with the security team inside the building, I continued down the long corridor, following her scent. Once I reached the room, I reached for the doorknob, but then I heard one of the officers speaking and my entire body froze.

“Do a cavity search on her; she’s already naked,” he grunted, making Maeve whimper out of fear.

Rage… pure rage was all I could feel at that moment. I roared so loud that it shook the entire building, silencing everybody inside and outside the room. Even the gammas I came with were forced to their knees, ready to submit to me. I was seeing fucking red at the sound of their words and the fear that was evident within Maeve.

Without a second thought, I had the door ripped off its hinges. My wolf fought to take control, but I desperately held him back, not wanting to cause any unnecessary issues, however, from what I heard, it might be deserved.

Sure enough, Maeve stood in front of a hospital bed, in the examination room, completely naked. She was using her arms to cover her private pits, and she had tears in her eyes as she shuddered. A man stood behind her with white doctor's gloves, his eyes wide with fear as he stared back at me.

“Your Majesty,” the others said, bowing to me.

Maeve’s breathing was shaky along with her body; it was clear she was cold.

“Why is she naked/” I said through my teeth, my eyes never leaving hers though I was speaking ot the others in the room.

“We were examining her for chips along with scratches and bruises,” one of them explained. “We were about to perform a cavity search….”

“Did you get her consent before you touched her?” I asked, barely hanging onto the little sanity I had left.

They all frowned.

“We don’t need her consent, Your Majesty,” the same guy said, his brows furrowed. “She could be a danger to our Kingdom. We need to make sure she’s not bugged.”

A low and deadly growl escaped my lips as my wolf surged forward, making the officers back down almost immediately.

“HOW DARE YOU TOUCH WHAT IS MINE,” I growly furiously, making their faces pale and their bodies shudder. “YOU ARE ALL DEAD!”