Chapter 185

Xaden’s POV

It only took seconds; I lost control of my wolf, and it took seconds for him to kill every single officer in the room. By the time he was finished and gave control back to me, I was drenched in blood. Maeve stood in front of the examination table, trembling as she struggled to put her clothes back on.

I shifted back into my human form once my wolf was finally calm, and I grabbed my clothes, I managed to throw them in the corner before fully shifting. I put them on and rushed to Maeve who was trembling with tears in her eyes.

“Hey,” I said softly, helping her put the rest of her clothes on. I cupped her face in my hands and brought her head up so she could look directly at me. “You’re okay,” I whispered, more to myself than to her. It wasn’t a question, just an observation and meant to provide her with a bit of comfort, but I was still on edge, needing to check for myself that she was truly okay. I mean, she was kidnapped and then harassed by the border patrol in the western region. Despite her not having any physical wounds, she definitely had emotional ones.

She nodded as an answer, nibbling her lower lip as she suppressed the tears that desperately wanted to fall from her eyes.

“I was so scared,” she whispered. “I’m glad you got here when you did.”

“Did they touch you, Maeve?” I asked, I needed to know. “Why were you naked?”

“They forced me to strip so they can examine my body, making sure I don’t have any obvious wounds or chips,” she explained, her voice barely above a whisper. “And then they were about to give me a cavity search when you showed up.”

My wolf growled at the very thought of other men touching what belonged to us. She continued to look into my eyes because my hold on her head wouldn’t let her look anywhere else.

“I was scared…” she admitted, her eyes tilting with even more tears, breaking my heart into pieces at the sight. “I thought…” her voice trailed off and without a second thought, I pulled her into my arms, crushing her small form to my chest, holding her tightly, careful not to hurt her baby bump. I placed my hand protectively on her belly, feeling the movements of my son and my heart finally felt at ease knowing both my mate and my baby were okay.

Thank you, Moon Goddess.

“Your Majesty, is everything okay?” One of my gammas asked as he walked into the room, pausing when he saw the bloody scene.

I lifted Maeve off the ground, cradling her bridal style as I headed towards the doorway.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” I growled, walking past him and leaving the room. I ignored the rest of the patrol and my other gammas as I left the vicinity and went back towards the private plane.

1 hour later, we arrived home.

…..

Maeve’s POV

I was surprised to see the royals at the mansion when we arrived; even the King was there. I could tell from the way Leonora and Charlotte rushed to me, that they were worried. Charlotte doesn’t look like she had slept, and her mother had tears collecting in her eyes.

“Maeve!” Charlotte said, wrapping her arms around me.

Instead of asking me a bunch of questions, Char, Leonora, and Maggie fussed over me. Trying to get me cleaned and changed before King Arlan decided to question me about my whereabouts. Xaden took his eyes off me since he found me; I knew he was worried that I would get kidnapped again.

I wished I could tell him that it was okay and explain to him about the Red Oak Coven and why I was kidnapped. But I couldn’t tell him anything. He couldn’t know about their plans for world peace. I couldn’t tell him about Eric’s involvement, no matter how badly I wanted to.

“You don’t remember a thing that happened?” Arlan asked a few hours later.

I nodded and glanced at Xaden, who was watching me with a frown.

“I was drugged,” I lied to them, hating the taste on my tongue but I needed to do what was right for my baby. I didn’t trust King Arlan; he was no different than my father and I knew if given the chance, he would turn on me. I wasn’t going to let that happen. “One minute I was in bed, and the next I’m sitting outside of the western border.”

Arlan glanced over his shoulder at Nicholas who was leaning against the doorframe, listening intently.

“Find out what you can,” Arlan ordered him.

Nicholas nodded; his dark eyes looked almost penetrating.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Nicholas said before pushing off the wall and walking out the door.

“It’s late, I think Maeve could use some rest,” Xaden suggested, clearly suggesting that he wanted his family to leave. Truth be told, as much as I enjoyed being fussed over by Char and Queen Leonora, I really was tired, and I truly just wanted to relax with my mate.

Thankfully, Leonora picked up on the hint right away and nodded in agreement.

“Maybe after she rests, she’ll remember more. We should continue this again tomorrow,” Leonora suggested, putting her hands on her husband's shoulders, indicating for him to agree as well.

King Arlan narrowed his eyes at me, studying me like he was trying to see through me. I felt a nervous ping in the middle of my stomach, but I maintained eye contact with him. I didn’t trust him and I hoped my penetrating gaze said just that.

He pulled back, finally allowed Queen Leonora’s words to wash over him. He nodded as he took her hand into his.

“Yes, we will speak again tomorrow to see if any new information was remembered during your rest,” Arlan said, nodding at me. He turned and nodded at Xaden too. He was the first to leave, followed by Queen Leonora who hugged me tightly before she left. Char hugged me as well and I could tell when I was with her earlier that she had some underlying problems that she was dealing with. I wanted to ask her if she was okay and what had happened to cause her such distress, but I didn’t pry into her personal affairs, so I only accepted her hug and let her walk away.

After we were alone, Xaden wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close and into his body. I could feel every muscle, every ripple, every ab from this one hug. I melted from the heat that radiated off his body and basked in the warmth he provided. Thought I was only gone for 24 hours, it felt like an entire lifetime without my mate. I hated being away from him; hugging him, being with him, it felt like I was truly home.

“It’s okay,” he whispered, rubbing my back soothingly. “You’re safe now.”

I relaxed into his body.

“Do you want to tell me what really happened and don’t say you can’t remember because I know you are lying Maeve.”

I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth and pulled away from him. His arms fell to his sides as he studied me. I wasn’t sure what to say, so for a long moment, I didn’t say anything.

“I smelled Eric on you when I first saw you,” he told me. “And he’s been gone for the last couple of days.”

I looked up at him, meeting his eyes, my cheeks flushed as he studied me even more. My heart cracked, knowing that I was lying to him; I needed to come clean and tell him what was going on. I hated myself for cracking so easily and so quickly, but I couldn’t have Xaden be so worried about this… about me.

“Eric was the one who took me, and he brought me to the Lost Island,” I said in a breath.

I watched Xaden as he fought to keep control of his temper. He clenched his fists, his knuckles growing white and I saw the yellow hue of his wolf through Xaden’s eyes. Both he and his wolf were furious with their brother, and I couldn’t blame them. I’m still pissed at Eric for doing something so stupid and evasive.

“The Island for criminals?” Xaden asked through his teeth.

“Yeah, because he discovered information that brought him to that island. Information about himself and information about me,” I explained. “He found survivors of the Red Oak tribe.”

Xaden’s eyes narrowed.

“Your mother’s witch tribe?” He asked. “The one Burton destroyed?”

I nodded, my eyes remaining on him as he worked the puzzle out in his own mind.

“Is your mother…” he started to ask.

“She’s dead,” I said. “My father killed her. But there were other survivors. Eric found out that Arlan had an affair with one of the witches, because he too wanted an enigma baby. He ended up having Eric, but Eric was not an Enigma. That’s why he’s such an outcast in the palace; that’s why your father barely pays him any mind. That’s why Queen Leonora doesn’t treat him like a son or their oldest son to treat him like a brother… Leonora is not his mother and your father…. He’s no different than mine.”