Chapter 192

Xaden’s POV

I wasn’t sure how she did it, but Maeve managed to put a protective shield around the palace, making it a safe haven. I could hear my mother crying and the howls of her wolf coming from the back parlor and it shattered my heart. With my father gone, we had no King. Until one was officially appointed, which had to be agreed upon by the sons of the King, none of us held the power of the King.

Without a King, this war got significantly tougher.

However, now we had the vixens on our side and the warriors had just arrived.

“I’m going back out there,” Nicholas said readying his weapons as he stood at the doorway.

“I’m going too,” Henry said as he too started towards the door, Lucas on his tail. He paused by Mia, giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek.

“I’m going to fight with my warriors,” she told him.

He nodded, giving her an approving smile. I’m sure she was expecting him to tell her to stay back with the women and children, but I knew my brother better than that. Despite his wolf on edge and his need to protect Mia, Lucas would never keep her from doing what she loves… or keep her from her people.

Mia smiled up at him and kissed him gently on the lips.

“I’ll see you out there,” she said with a wink before she took off.

Lucas too started towards the door, ready to fight alongside us in hopes of defeating Eric once and for all. However, I wondered if we beat Eric, does that mean it’ll fix everything, or are the bears still going to attack us?

I turned to Maeve who was trying to reassure some of the women and children; wiping the tears of the young children, making my heart swell. She was already so maternal even though she hadn’t given birth to our son yet.

I went to her, wrapping her in my arms and startling her; in the haste of everything, she is my mate, and I love her.

“Are you going to be okay here while I deal with Eric?” I asked her, my voice a whisper against her ear, sending a wave of chills throughout her body.

She nodded, though her face was certain.

“Please, be careful, Xaden,” she said gently. “Don’t underestimate Eric. He’s dangerous.”

“I’ll be okay,” I assured her, pressing a kiss to her temple. “I promise. You’ll be okay here though, right? In your shield?”

She nodded, her eyes mixed with worry and love.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay,” she told me gently. “I’ll be here protecting the women and children with my magic.”

I kissed her again, only this time I lingered on her lips. She closed her eyes, breathing in my scent just as I breathed in hers and melted into my embrace. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled me close to my chest, allowing her a moment of solitude despite the chaos happening around us. I could tell that the memory of almost losing me was fresh in her head and she feared that it might happen again. Only this time, it would be worse because he wouldn’t be with me.

This time, I would die.

I ran my fingers through her hair lightly, pressing another lingering kiss to her lips.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I whispered against her lips. “Wait here for me. Promise me.”

It wasn’t a suggestion or a question.

She nodded.

“I will,” she said softly. She put her hands on her belly, rubbing soothing circles. “I’ll keep us both safe.”

My heart swelled as I put my hands on her belly as well, feeling the light feathery kicks of our son. A smile lit up my face as I bent to kiss her belly, my heart so full of love it felt as if it was going to burst.

“Good,” I murmured against her, lifting my eyes to meet hers again.

I knew my brothers were already gone and I needed to catch up to them. I wanted to try and convince Eric that this was a bad idea, and that he should stand down. But I knew my brothers weren’t in the mood to talk; they were furious, and they wanted his blood on their hands.

With a final goodbye, I ran out of the palace to catch up to them before they did something they were going to regret.

I easily caught up to my brothers; Nicholas was nowhere to be seen in the midst of the night. We were attacked a few times, and we fought with ease. This would be the first time we were actually fighting along one another’s side and not against each other.

It was nice, to say the least.

I just wished that the circumstances were a little different.

I could feel the dark magic swirling around, strengthening the bears and weakening the wolf warriors, though it wasn’t doing much to weaken the royals.

We caught Eric with the witches, speaking to them through their protective shield. His words were unclear, but when he noticed us, his expression darkened, as did ours.

“It’s over Eric; we know everything,” I said to him as we approached. “You need to stop this now!”

Eric's lip curled up in disgust as he glared at us.

“All the times I’ve been tormented by the royal family and the by the kingdom and you think I’ll show anyone mercy?” Eric asked, his aura darkening beyond recognition. He let out a bitter laugh, making my jaw tighten.

“So, she was right,” Henry said, shaking his head as his eyes narrowed at Eric. “You were working with the bears the whole time.”

It wasn’t a question.

“I should have known Maeve couldn’t keep a secret,” Eric murmured, rolling his eyes.

“Don’t bring Maeve into this,” I growled, my wolf surging forward in a protective stance upon hearing our mate’s name.

He scoffed, narrowing his eyes at me.

“Oh, please. You could never truly appreciate her like I could. Maeve and I come from the same situation; we were both bred to be Enigma’s and then turned into disappointments. We both grew up in shitty situations because of it. Me and her… aren’t different.”

“Final warning, Eric,” I growled.

“Eric, we don’t want to have to fight you,” Lucas said, stepping between us, trying to be the mediator in the situation.

“Really? Because I’d love to rip his goddamn throat out,” Henry hissed. “Remind him who the fuck is in charge. Seems little Eric lost his way.”

Eric growled at Henry who growled back.

“Maybe we shouldn’t taunt him,” Lucas murmured, I was too busy holding back my wolf.

Eric just insinuated that he was after our mate, which didn’t sit right with my wolf and now he too wanted to rip out Eric’s throat.

“Awe, look at the brothers, finally working together for once. Though, I doubt you’d be working together if you knew your darling Elder brother’s true intentions.”

“Shut the fuck up; you don’t know anything!” Henry growls.

“What the hell are you talking about Eric?” I asked, my tone gruff.

Eric let out a laugh and turned to look at me.

“Your brother has been plotting against you. If it weren’t for me and my spies, your mate would be dead. And it would be Henry’s fault.”

….

Maeve’s POV

More women and children piled into the palace. They were being sent there by Vixen warriors. Mia made it her mission to go out there and collect as many innocent ones as she could. Once they were in the palace, my shield was able to protect them.

Queen Leonora, though alive, had fallen asleep. One of the women happened to be a medic and was aiding the injured. I tried my best to help with the injured as well and I knew I had some kind of healing power deep within me, but I wasn’t sure how to tap into it yet. But I could feel it bubbling inside of me like the rest of my locked-up abilities.

“This is so fucked up,” Char said as she wrapped her arms around her body.

I had never seen her look so disheveled before. She changed out of her typical evening gown or sundress and was wearing a typical pair of jeans and a long shirt. Her hair was tied back into a low pony, and she wore no makeup. After her mother had fallen asleep, we convinced her to take a shower to relax and she came back downstairs freshly showered and changed into more comfortable clothing, that way her dresses didn’t get ruined.

She had been crying, which was obvious from the redness in and around her eyes.

I nodded in agreement to her statement.

“Yeah, it’s really shitty,” I agreed.

“I mean, there are kids here without their parents,” she said, her lower lip trembling. “It’s so sad… so many lives are being taken. All because of Eric… I still can’t wrap my head around that.”

“None of us saw this coming,” I told her. “It was a blindside on all parts but Xadde and the others will stop him and restore the nation once and for all.”

“We don’t know that…” she whispered.

We both fell into a heavy silence, knowing she was right. We had no idea what was going to happen.

Suddenly, Char’s eyes grew wide as she stared off behind me. Her breathing hitched.

“Oh, my god,” she gasped.

I turned to see what she was looking at.

A small little boy, Cole, was running out the front door, crying for his mom and dad who didn’t make it back to the palace with him.

“Cole, no!” I screamed; he was leaving the barrier and he was running faster than I had seen any little boy fun before.

Before I could fully comprehend what had just happened, Char buzzed past me, running after him.