Chapter 190

Maeve’s POV

“No…” I whispered, staring up at him. “H…how could you?”

“It wasn’t personal, Maeve. You will never be in danger, as long as you are carrying that Enigma. But this is the reality of the situation. We didn’t start this war… but we are finishing it,” Eric said, his eyes narrowed as he stared down at me.

“You betrayed your own kingdom! Your own father!” I growled, tears spilling out of my eyes. “Do you have any idea what you have done!”

“I am not the only one who helped the bears,” Eric said through his teeth. “You were the one who retrieved the book. You are the reason they are now strong enough to breach security and take over the wolf kingdom.”

“It was under false pretexts, Eric. I thought that book belonged to my mother,” I whispered, my tears burning with unshed tears. “Was any of it even real? Was it all fake? Did that book truly belong to my mother or was that a lie to get me to do what you wanted?”

“It did belong to your mother,” Mirage said. “She kept it under lockdown. Wouldn’t even let anyone else see it. She protected it with her life. But then it was stolen by his mother.” She glanced at Eric, whose gaze darkened. “King Arlan took it before he banished her, and we hadn’t seen it since.”

“That book had nothing to do with Enigmas. You used my baby to get what you wanted. How could you use me like that? You promised nobody would get hurt!” I was seething and furious with what was going on around me. This was entirely my fault, and I hated everything about it.

“It was never personal; it was always business,” Mirage said, narrowing her eyes at me as the darkness grew stronger around her.

“You are all monsters!” I screamed at them, tears spilling out of my eyes; I spun around to face Eric, my eyes narrowed to slits and anger surging through me. I could feel the power of my baby, protecting me. He was shielding me from any backlash I may get, knowing what was about to happen. “And you…” I hissed. “You had me feeling sorry for you, but you are the worst monster of them all. You’ve been working with the enemy this whole time! You are the reason bears keep breaching security, you are the reason for this war now!”

“I am NOT the monster!” Eric bit bat, his eyes glowing as his wolf surged forwards. The force of his powers pushed me back slightly and I could feel his fury towards me. “THEY are the monsters,” he growled, pointing to the mayhem around me. “This is the means of their actions. They killed our family; they made us miserable! Why are you on their side, Maeve!?”

“Not everybody is bad, Eric!” I told him, shaking my head. I didn’t recognize this man anymore. “I thought you were one of the good ones, but I was wrong.”

“Eric, the war is getting out of hand. If you aren’t careful, something could happen to her. You need that baby,” she told him.

My heart shattered as I stared up at Eric. This whole time… I thought the Alpha I was supposed to be wary of, the one that haunted my dreams as a faceless monster, was Kenneth. But no… it was never Kenneth; it was always Eric. He’s the one I couldn’t trust… he was the one who wanted to raise my baby and be a family with me. He was the one who wanted Xaden out of the picture.

I put my hands protectively on my stomach.

“You are never going to touch my baby,” I said through my teeth.

He smirked, as if that was the funniest thing he had heard, and it was cute that I thought I had a choice. I saw the eyes of his wolf flash through his gaze, and I knew Eric was only a little bit in control. His wolf was more in control, and it wasn’t going to end well for me.

Eric played me like a fiddle and because of that, the entire kingdom is in jeopardy.

Eric grabbed me, his grip tight and paralyzing. I screamed for him to let me go and for a second, I didn’t think he would, but I heard a loud and ferocious growl and I knew that Xaden was charging towards us. Relief flooded me at the sight of his large wolf pummeling through until he reached, but then as I watched the sky open and lightning shoot down, I screamed so loud that I thought it stopped the war. At least everything around me seemed to slow down as time stopped entirely.

I watched the lightning shoot from the sky and aim directly towards Xaden. Once it struck him, I felt the little resolve I was holding snap entirely. Xaden was down… unconscious, and Eric was thrust off me as the force of my baby's magic consumed me, making me untouchable.

“She’s glowing!” I heard some screaming.

I didn’t care about anything, or anyone at that moment. Only Xaden and right now, he was unconscious because of my doing. This war was started because I was stupid and naïvely believed something I shouldn’t have believed. I should have listened to him and not got involved, but I didn’t. And now I was facing the consequences.

I knelt beside him; we were in our own little bubble. Nothing could touch us as long as my shield was up and keeping us protected. Even as the world burned around us, it all faded away as I wrapped my arms around him, crying into his chest and begging for him to be okay. He looked so broken and vulnerable in my arms. Struck by lightning because of dark magic.

He had a slight pulse, but I couldn’t tell if he was breathing or not.

I ran my fingers through his hair and down his cheek.

“Please, Xaden. I need you,” I whispered. “You aren’t allowed to die on me… not like this, not ever.”

As I touched his face, I too noticed that I was glowing as power surged through me starting from my womb and expanding outward.

I lowered myself to him and pressed my lips to his, giving him a deep and penetrating kiss that left me breathless. His lips were soft against mine and for a few heartbeats, his mouth was still and lifeless. The hope in my started to fade as I felt his light breaths on my mouth lessen… I thought he had stopped breathing, and I let out a choked sob against his lips. But then I felt his hand move to my hair and he deepened the kiss, his tongue invading my mouth as he lifted himself off the ground, moving me with him. He wrapped his arms around my body, pulling me into him as he continued to kiss me, completely forgetting about what was going on around us.

When we finally broke the kiss, we were both breathing heavily. He pressed his forehead against mine, using his thumb to wipe the remaining tears on my cheeks.

“Are you okay?” He whispered against my lips, his tone low and only for me to hear.

I let out a choked laugh, which turned into not a light sob.

“Me? You were the one struck by lightning,” I told him. “You scared the shit out of me.”

“Yeah, and you brought me back to life,” he whispered, his eyes finding mine. “I love you Maeve.”

My heart swelled from his words, and I leaned in for another kiss.

“I love you too, Xaden,” I whispered.

His lips captured mine for another bruising and breathtaking kiss.

A piercing scream, filled with terror and agony, echoed from the nearby palace, making us freeze in our movements. I looked in the direction of the packhouse, my face paling. Xaden was already scrambling to his feet, pulling me along with him.

“It’s my mom,” he said, panic and worry clear in his tone. He glanced around, seeing that we were completely shielded, thanks to our baby’s magic. “We need to get to the palace.”

I nodded, taking his hand to keep us together. We ran through the mayhem, the fire, the crumbling buildings, the ruins that were once the gorgeous capital falling at the hands of bears and dark magic. Eric was no longer in sight, and I worried he was in the palace doing something to Queen Leonora.

We burst through the palace, my heart in my throat. Char was crying as she was kneeling over her mother. Tears were flowing down Leonora’s typically perfect face. I had never seen her look so messy before and it shattered my heart knowing that this was partly my fault.

“How the fuck did any of this even happen?” Henry seethed; his eyes yellow as his wolf surged forward. “How did they get magic? Who helped them breach the kingdom’s security??”

Henry had been quiet since his mate was banished. I heard through some of the maids that he went to search for Isabelle after she left the pack. I wondered if he had found her, but I knew now was not the time to ask about it.

“The Vixen warriors, including my father, are on their way to help us fight,” Mia said as she hurried into the room, readying her weapons. Lucas was right behind her and when he noticed his mother on the ground, sobbing and withering while Charlotte attempted to calm her, his entire face paled.

“What happened?” He asked, rushing towards them.

“It's… It’s your father…” Queen Leonora’s raspy whisper broke through the silence as we all stood around her, stunned.

She opened her mouth to speak more, but her wince silenced her. My eyes found the mate mark on her neck, and then I watched as it started to fade from her skin. My heart shattered in my chest at the sight, because I knew exactly what it meant.

Tears spilled down Leonora’s face and her lip quivered as Char held onto her even tighter, tears spilling out of her own eyes.

“No…” Leonora whispered weakly.

It was Xaden who spoke out loud what we all knew to be true.

“Dad is dead…”