Chapter 109

Carol’s POV

The limo wasn’t long; the estate was fairly close to the royal's airfield. The closer we got to our destination the more nervous I got. I was glad to have Aiden by my side though; he was anchor I needed to keep my sanity.

As we pulled up to the Wlanc estates, my mouth fell open at the giant mansion the limo parked outside. It was the most gorgeous building I had ever seen, and it was huge. It is hard to believe that only the King and Queen lived here.

My heart was pounding wildly in my chest and the palms of my hands began to grow incredibly sweaty.

Someone grabbed our luggage out of the limo and started to bring them toward the mansion.

“Oh, we could have gotten those later. We are planning on staying at the local hotel anyway,” I said as we got out of the limo.

Kendra raised her brows.

“If you do happen to be the King’s daughter, there’s no way he would allow you to sleep at a hotel,” she said, waving off my words. “He will bring your things into the nicest guest room we have.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, feeling all sorts of unsettled. I wasn’t sure how if felt about Kendra; she was very proper and stern and she kind of intimidated me. I remained quiet and followed her with Aiden by my side until we reached the front foyer of the palace.

“Charles,” Kendra said to the man in a black suit who was standing near the door when we entered the palace. “Can you take their belongings to their room?”

“Right away,” the man, Charles said.

He looked like a butler; so, that’s probably what he was.

She then turned ot face us.

“Follow close behind me,” she instructed.

I nodded; she turned and started to walk into the palace. With a final look at Aiden, we followed closely behind her. I was in awe of how beautiful the interior of the place was. The floor was made from a white marble and there was the typical red carpet that went from the door and up the grand staircase. There were images all over the walls of former King’s and Queens and a large chandelier hanging overhead.

Guards were walking around everywhere and there were also workers rushing around to complete their tasks. Everyone seemed to be in a rush and very busy. I had to admire that.

As we passed the grand staircase, which had a red rug draped over it, and went ended at the front door like in those classic movies, I saw a woman standing at the doorstep. She wore a gorgeous maroon dress that hugged her curves perfectly and showed off her large cleavage. Her shimmering dark hair curled around her shoulder and down her back, crowning her perfectly around face.

Around her forehead, she wore a golden gown with different colored pendants attached to it which amplified her brightest features.

But the one thing I noticed the most was the fact that she had the most beautiful deep blue eyes I had ever seen with long and dark lashes.

She was staring down at me; her ruby red and plump lips thinned slightly as our eyes met. I could feel the power radiating off her and I’m not sure how I sensed such a thing.

My breath got stuck in my throat.

Kendra noticed the woman as well she immediately stopped to bow; motioning for us to do the same. Aiden did so without hesitation, but I couldn’t bring myself to bow to her. I just stood in and place and stared up at her as she came down the stairs, walking in short and elegant steps.

As she reached the bottom steps, she finally pulled her gaze away from me to look at Kendra who kept her head lowered.

“Kendra,” she greeted. “I wasn’t aware we were having guests this evening.”

“I apologize, your highness. I assumed the King would have informed you. This is Carol Miller and her mate, Aiden Cruz.”

The woman, I’m assuming was Queen Elizabeth, raised her brows as she glanced at Aiden.

“Cruz?” She asked; her voice velvety. “As in the Alpha of the Capital?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Aiden said without missing a beat. “The Alpha is my father.”

I noticed that he didn’t mention that his father was unwell, and Aiden was the acting Alpha until further notice. Something told me to keep that information private as well.

“Are you here on business?” She asked.

“Actually, I’m here to support my mate on her journey of self-discovery,” Aiden said, putting his hand on the small of my back and sending a wave of warmth throughout my body.

The queen raised her brows as she once again met my eyes.

“Is that so?” She asked. “And your journey brought you here?”

“Miss Miller could be the daughter of the King, Your Highness,” Kendra was quick to explain. “If it’s true, it would truly be a miracle.”

“The daughter of the king?” She asked, her perfectly trimmed brows pinched together. “As in… My king?”

“King Bennet,” Kendra clarified. “Yes, mam.”

“That’s impossible. My husband has no other children besides the one he has raised with me,” the queen told him. “Princess Jenna is his only daughter.”

Kendra looked uncomfortable for a moment as she stared at the ground. The silence between us grew so loud and I just wanted to melt away.

“You aren’t talking about that child he had with his first wife, are you?” The queen asked.

“The daughter he had with Queen Emma?” Kendra asked. “Yes, Your Highness. That’s the one.”

“Impossible,” the queen said again, her voice coming out in a whisper as she looked at me. “She was supposed to be dead… we thought she was….” Her voice trailed off and now when she looked at me, it was like she was seeing a ghost.

“That’s why she’s here, Your Highness,” Kendra informed her. “We are going to be taking a paternity test. The King told me he would like to accompany us to the clinic, so we are here to meet with him.”

Queen Elizabeth allowed that process for a moment before she finally nodded and forced a smile on her lips; to outside eyes, her smile would appear to be genuine and even beautiful. But to me, I could see the fakeness behind it and the anger that was hidden within her eyes.

She wasn’t happy I was here, and I had an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

“I see,” she finally said. “Well, isn’t that something?”

“If you’ll excuse us, mam. We should be going. The King doesn’t like to be left waiting,” Kendra said, bowing her head respectfully to the queen.

Aiden did the same and I remained standing and staring back at her.

Aiden took hold of my hand and pulled me away from the Queen, though my eyes lingered on her for a moment longer.

“I’ll be seeing you soon, Miss Miller,” the queen said just as we rounded the corner, and she became out of view.

We followed Kendra around another corner and down a long hallway. There were guards posted outside of a large set of doors.

“The King is expecting us,” she said with confidence.

The guards looked at her and then looked behind her at us. I felt uneasy under their scrutiny, but after a moment they stepped aside, allowing us access.

Kendra said nothing as she walked past them and through the door. I rushed to catch up to her with Aiden on my tail. But I paused momentarily with an overwhelming sense of fear attacking my belly.

Aiden kept a tight hold on my hand, and he gave me a reassuring smile just before we entered the King’s private study.

The area was huge; it was basically a library with a large chestnut wooden desk that sat in the center and a big rug placed on the hardware floors.

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I thought about the King; I honestly thought he would be wearing a giant grown and maybe even have a cape like they do in the movies. The man who sat at the desk wasn’t wearing a crown or a cape.

He was wearing a business-type suit and a tie. His dark hair was combed neatly out of his face, and he had a neatly trimmed beard and mustache. He couldn’t have been much older than 50, if not in his early 40s. For an older gentleman who could be my father, he was rather good-looking.

His eyes flickered to mine and my breath caught in my throat when I saw that I had his exact eye color. His brows pinched together for a moment and then realization crossed his face as he slowly stood to his feet.

“My goddess…” he breathed as he studied my face. “You look just like your mother.”