Chapter 191

Maeve’s POV

The King was dead.

There was chaos outside, the queen was a mess, Eric betrayed his family and the Kingdom, and the King was gone. I stared down at Queen Leonora who was feeling her mate slip away and her mate bond be broken brutally. I couldn’t even imagine how she must be feeling right now.

Char kept her arms around her mother, protectively. Each of us knew already what was going on; we knew what the fading mark meant and why she was in so much pain. I glanced over at Xaden whose face was ashen.

“We need to do something,” Charlotte said with tears streaming down her cheeks. “Mom could die along with him if we don’t…”

“Let’s get her to the couch,” Princess Mia suggested, her eyes shining with worry as well. She and Lucas got to work escorting the queen over to the couch so she would be more comfortable. Her eyes were closed, though she was conscious, and her breathing was rapid as she struggled to keep a hold of her own life.

Sweat was beading on her pale forehead, and her bottom lip was trembling as tears streamed down her flushed cheeks. I had never seen anything quite like this before; her Luna power was strong, and yet we could feel the heartbreak of her wolf. It was destroying the queen's human body, and my heart ached for her.

Outside, I could still hear the ongoing battle. The Kingdom was falling at the hands of the bears and dark magic.

All those innocent lives are being taken.

We couldn’t let this happen.

I felt a surge of protectiveness when it came to this Kingdom… to this family.

“How did this even happen?” Henry asked, his eyes darting around the room. “I leave for a few days, and I come back to complete mayhem.”

“That’s what I would like to know too,” Nicholas said as he walked into the room. He was scratched up from the battle outside and his clothes were stained in blood.

Whether it was his blood or someone else’s, we didn’t know.

“This had to be inside work,” He said, his eyes also darting around the room. “If any of you know anything, now would be a good time to talk.”

My eyes met Xaden’s, and I could see his inner battle within them; he knew I knew information. If I hadn’t agreed to help the witches get into the Kingdom, none of this would have happened in the first place. But I wasn’t the mastermind behind any of this; they needed to be aware of who the real mastermind was.

We were all deceived by the same man.

“I didn’t know what they were after…” I said softly, my eyes meeting Nicholas’. “They told me they only wanted to talk to the king…”

“What are you talking about?” Nicholas asked, his eyes narrowed. “Maeve, did you let them into our Kingdom?”

I bit my lower lip.

“I didn’t know this was going to happen…” I whispered.

“What the actual fuck!?” Henry roared, surging forward and towards me. He was almost on top of me before Xaden stopped him.

“Let her speak,” Xaden ordered. “Hear her out.”

“Did you know about this?” Lucas asked, stepping towards his brothers, his eyes narrowed at Xaden. “Did you know she was helping them??”

“They are my family,” I said quickly, trying to draw their attention back to me and not each other. The last thing we needed was to be at war with one another when we were also at war with the bears and witches. “They are the coven that my birth mother belonged to.”

“And that gives you the right to fuck over the kingdom??” Henry growled the eyes of his angered wolf flashing. Xaden’s wolf was also flashing through his eyes, protectively.

“It wasn’t my intention,” I told them, turning my attention back on Nicholas who was glaring at me like he was disappointed.

It made me wince.

“Then explain yourself, Maeve,” he finally said, his tone guarded as he addressed me.

“They fed me this story about how they only wanted peace. They convinced me to help them. They only wanted a meeting with the King. Or so I thought,” I explained, adding that last part softy.

“And did you come across them?” Nicholas asked.

“They’ve been living on the Lost Island…” I told them.

“The island for criminals?” Mia was the one who asked, her interest was suddenly piqued. “How did you come across that island?”

This was it… this was the moment I needed to tell them the full truth. It was going to shock and surprise them, but they needed to know.

“I was kidnapped and brought to that island,” I told them. “That’s where I was while everyone was looking for me.”

“So, you lied to everyone?” Mia asked, raising her brows. “You told the King that you didn’t remember much of anything other than waking up at the western border.”

“Yes, I lied,” I admitted. “But it was only to protect who I thought was family…”

“And look how that worked out,” Henry hissed. “Now the Kingdom is being destroyed!”

“Back off, Henry,” Xaden growled, his wolf on edge, not liking his mate being threatened.

“No, he’s right. I’m partially to blame for this Kingdom’s downfall right now,” I admitted, tears brimming in my eyes. “But I’m not the only one to blame. Eric played a huge role in this too. He’s been actively working with the bears, wanting your father to die and for them to take over the Kingdom thinking they would do a better job at ruling the Kingdom than werewolves.”

Everyone’s eyes were on me, their eyes wide. Even Char had turned her attention from her mother and over to me upon hearing my words.

“What did you just say?” Lucas asked. “Eric?”

“Yes,” I replied. “He wants revenge…”

“Revenge for what?” Nicholas asked, stepping closer to me. “Maeve, what do you know about this?”

“Eric isn’t Queen Leonora’s son. The King had an affair with a human witch, much like my father did,” I explained. "That’s why he never treated him like a son… Eric was a bastard and the fact that he wasn’t an Enigma, despite having the gene, disappointed the King. So, he made Eric an outcast.”

“And what happened to Eric’s birth mother?” Nicholas asked.

“She was banished by the King and later killed,” I replied. “Eric is after revenge. He wants to avenge his mother and bring justice for all humans and witches. The bears promised him just that.”

Realization dawned on Nicholas’ face as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“Fuck…” he cursed under his breath.

“You’re saying that weakling Eric planned all of this?” Henry asked, stepping away from Xaden, no longer looking as if he was about to attack me.

I snapped a look at him.

“He’s not as weak as you give him credit for,” I murmur. “But yes. This was Eric’s plan.”

Anger flashed through Henry’s eyes at the confirmation.

“Then it looks like I’m going to have to take down my own brother,” he said through his teeth.

“Not alone you aren’t,” Xaden told him.

“Yeah, we are doing this together,” Lucas agreed.

All 3 of them looked furious. I couldn’t blame them; this was a huge betrayal, and they were blindsided, blocked from Eric’s true nature.

Just then, I heard knocking on the front palace door, making us all turn our attention back to the battle happening outside.

It was Xaden who went to open the door while the rest of us stayed behind. The men had their weapons in hand, waiting for a fight. But when he opened the door, everyone lowered their weapons when he saw a few women with their children crying and shaking with fear.

“They destroyed our home,” one of the women said as she fought back her own tears. “We have nowhere to go.”

Without hesitation, Xaden ushered them into the palace.

My heart sank at the sight of them; they were bruised and bleeding from running through the Battlezone. Even the children were in rough shape.

I couldn’t let them continue to get hurt. They needed a sanctuary; a place to recover and feel safe. I felt the power of my baby surging around me and the strengthening of my natural powers as I lifted my arms in the air. A warmth spread across my fingertips and suddenly, I could see that my body was once again glowing. It made everyone around me slack-jawed.

I felt a shield strengthening around the palace, keeping this place safe. At least for the time being. I had no idea who I had done that, but my body had a burst of power, and it needed to go somewhere.”

I lowered my hands and watched my flesh return to its normal shade and no longer glow. My eyes met Xaden’s who was staring at me with wide and curious eyes.

“It’ll be safe here,” I assured him.

He nodded, trusting me which made my heart well.

“You can stay here,” he told them, women and children.

“There are so many more out there,” one of the women said, tears spilling down her cheeks. “We aren’t the only ones.”

Xaden nodded thoughtfully.

“We will make sure they are safe too.”

“Only packmates are allowed through the shield,” I assured them. “They are all welcome here.”

The women seemed to have relaxed some.

Amidst the fighting outside, a new sound could be heard in the distance making us draw our attention towards the windows. I could see a rampage of new animals running towards the battle. They didn’t look like wolves, nor did they look like pack.

My brows furrowed as I looked at Xaden, he looked equally confused.

“The vixens,” Mia said, stepping beside me to gaze out the window, a faint smile on her lips. “They’ve arrived.”