Chapter 198

Xaden’s POV

With the Bear King and most of the bears being dead, the war had concluded. Now it was just time for a final sweep of the territory and some damage control. They also had to find out if there were any other survivors other than the ones that were already at the palace, being protected by the shield that still stood tall, despite Maeve not being there.

My entire body was on adrenaline as I rushed through the rubble of the fallen Capital, my eyes searching for any sign of my mate despite Eric telling me she was only a little further ahead. She had given birth to my son without me… without my mark. Which meant, there was a good chance that she could die.

Eric briefed me a little bit about what had happened since he saw her giving birth, but it still left little to no imagination. My heart was pounding in my chest at the thought of anything happening to my mate.

As the witches came into view, I saw Maeve lying on the ground, completely unconscious. There was a woman kneeling over her, her hands glowing as she assessed Maeve’s body. I knelt down beside her, touching her cheek gently. There were traces of warmth, but it was getting cold.

“Maeve, baby…” I whispered, hoarsely.

“Are you her mate?” The woman I didn’t recognize, asked.

I nodded, unable to use words.

“You are the new Alpha King then,” the woman stated simply. “You are strong, I can tell from your aura. You must mark her now… it will save her life.”

“It’s not too late?” I asked weakly, hating how frail she looked in this moment. I hated that she had to go through this without me by her side. I hated that I missed the birth of our son.

“Not if you mark her now,” the woman told me. “It’s not too late, but you must act quickly before her heart stops.”

The thought of Maeve’s heart-stopping made my wolf surge forward, he wasn’t about to lose his mate. My teeth elongated and I leaned towards her, finding the pulse in her neck and pressing my lips to it. Her breathing was shallow, but it was still there. I pulled her close to me until she was practically in my lap. I nuzzled my face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her sweet scent and calming my wolf down immensely. He had gotten stronger, and now I knew it was because he had inherited my father’s Alpha King powers. But Maeve’s presence seemed to stabilize him enough that I didn’t feel manic.

I brushed my canines across the nape of her neck, feeling a shudder run through me. Without much more thought, I sunk my teeth deep into her neck, tasting her blood pool into my mouth. It took only a couple of seconds for me to feel the ceiling of the mate bond and the strengthening of our connection. Because I was now an Alpha King, she didn’t have to mark me in return to fully seal the bond, though she could if she wanted to.

I retracted my teeth, licking her wound closed and admiring the mark I left on her neck. My mark.

For a second, I didn’t feel any of her emotions. Typically, a sealed bond meant I’d be able to feel her emotions and practically be able to read her thoughts, but I wasn’t getting anything from her. A tight knot formed in the pit of my belly, thinking the worst.

But then, she gasped and sat up abruptly, startling me.

Her heartbeat was now rapid, and her breathing was heavy as she glanced around the area, staring up at the faces surrounding her. I could feel her anxieties and fears right off the bat. There was a mix of confusion and exhaustion as well.

The soft cooing of the baby brought her mind at ease and her attention towards one of the witches who was holding the baby. Our baby.

“Congratulations,” the witches said, bringing the baby to Maeve’s arms. “You have a beautiful baby boy.”

I could tell right away from the aura alone that this baby was powerful; there was no doubt in my mind that he was an Enigma, and I knew everyone else could feel it too. As of right now, I was only a placeholder, the title of the throne goes to my son as soon as he’s of age.

I could feel the emotions that were coursing through Maeve, but mostly, I could feel her happiness as she held our baby. Tears spilled down her cheeks and a smile lit up her face.

“We shouldn’t stay here,” Eric said, breaking through the silence. “There could be more bears lurking around. We should get her back to the palace.”

“Maeve, are you okay to walk?” Mirage asked, assessing the blood beneath her. It was an alarming amount of blood, but she was no longer looking pale.

Maeve looked up at me, her gaze softening, as if just realizing I was by her side at last. She gave me a faint smile.

“We have a baby,” she whispered, ignoring Mirage completely. I broke out into a grin as I wrapped both her and our son in my arms and lifted them off the ground. There was no way I was to let her walk back to the palace after what she had been through.

“Yes, we have a baby,” I said with a smile, pressing my lips to her temple. “We are officially a little family. Now we have to make things official and get married.”

She peeked up at me, her eyes glistening with tears.

“I can feel your love for me. We are officially mated now, right?” She asked softly.

“Yes,” I told her, holding onto her tighter. “We are mated. I hope you’re okay with that.”

There was a hint of vulnerability in my tone that even I noticed. Typically, there would be a bigger conversation before marking one another, but in this case, I didn’t have much of a choice, or else I would have lost her entirely.

As we reached the palace, Charlotte was waiting by the doorway, her brows knitted together as we approached the doors. When she saw Maeve and me, along with the baby, she gasped and ran towards us, breaking through the shield that still stood tall.

“You’re back,” she breathed.

Her eyes grew impossibly large when she saw the baby in Maeve’s arms.

“Oh, my goddess!” She cooed, her eyes lighting up. “Is that my nephew??”

“Let’s just get inside,” I said, pushing past her and rushing inside. I brought Maeve over to one of the couches and sat her down with the baby.

As I sat her down, I frowned as I looked around the room. There were a ton of women tending to the injured and the children. They were stealing glances at Maeve and the baby periodically, making my wolf extra protective of our mate.

I turned towards Char.

“How’s mom?”

Her face fell and she looked utterly broken.

“She’s stable; she’s asleep. She won’t wake up, but there’s nothing physically wrong with her,” Char said sadly. “It’s the broken mate bond… it’s destroying her. They aren’t sure if she will ever recover. She’s so broken, Xaden.”

My chest tightened at the thought of my mother being broken.

“I never meant for any of this to happen…” Eric whispered from the corner, drawing everyone’s attention to him. “I just wanted to avenge the witches… I wanted to—”

“Avenge your mother…” someone said from the doorway.

Now everyone’s attention was turned towards the older woman at the door; she was the same woman who helped Maeve with the birth of our son. Her face was aged, despite the fact that she had young eyes. She looked tired and it looked as if it pained her to walk as she crossed the room, her eyes never leaving Eric’s.

Maeve sat up, her baby held firmly in her arms as she gently rocked him. She looked between Eric and the woman, realization dawning on her and a smile spreading across her lips.

“Who are you?” Eric asked, his brows furrowed as he watched the woman get closer.

The woman looked as if she were about to answer, but then she closed her mouth when her eyes found someone in the distance. She looked lost in thought for a moment as she stared off into the distance.

I followed her gaze and saw what she was looking at. My eyes grew large as I watched my mother walking towards us. She looked tired and as if she had aged years. Everyone gasped and murmured around us as she neared.

“Mom?” Char whispered, her eyes misty with tears. “You’re awake…”

Mom’s eyes never left the woman’s.

“He’s been keeping you alive…” she whispered.

The woman nodded slowly.

“Yes,” she replied simply.

“Mom, who is she?” Char asked, looking between the two of them.

Mom took a deep breath before looking at Char, an expression on her face I didn’t recognize. She then turned towards Eric, tears filling her own eyes.

“Eric,” she said softly. “This is Athena… your mother.”