Chapter 197

Carol’s POV

What was all set?

What had Oliver done?

Me: What did you do?

King Bennet turned his attention back to me and nodded toward the pastries and tea.

“Help yourself,” he said as he grabbed a cup of tea and took a sip; he hummed in satisfaction. I thanked the maid who had just poured me a cup as well before she retreated from the room. I picked up a scone and took a sniff of the pastry, my stomach growling slightly. I hadn’t eaten all morning, and I knew my baby was probably starving at this point. I had been so wrapped up in Monica’s death, that I completely forgot that I needed to eat to keep up my strength and to ensure my unborn baby's health.

I nibbled on the scone and sipped on the tea while the King collected his thoughts and continued with his tale.

“Anyways, yes. We had a target on our back,” he continued to explain. “Everybody wanted a piece of our fortune, and they wouldn’t stop at anything to get what they wanted.”

“So, what ended up happening?” I asked, completely engrossed in the story now. It was interesting hearing things from his perspective, and I wondered if my mother was one of the ones who wanted a piece of my father’s fortune.

“There was a feud between the covens,” he explained. “The Sawol coven and the Amyrran coven both wanted my coven. They’ve even sent over some of their own to get inside information. Their hatred and greed caused them to despise one another, though they both had common goals. The three covens, which were meant to work in unison and exist in harmony under the eyes of the Moon Goddess, couldn’t stand each other. Battles after battles happened and we did everything we could to protect our coven. When our covens started to become more diverse and grow in numbers, it started to get more difficult to decipher who belonged and who didn’t.”

“That’s when they sent spies?” I guessed.

He nodded.

“Your mother was one of the ones sent to my pack,” he explained. “I had been the new King for only a year when your mother arrived at the empire. Other covens were formed around the world at that point, and it was no longer just the three major ones. However, they still came from the same bloodline. Those who didn’t want to stick to the rules of the coven or partake in the battles left and formed their own groups. So, once in a while, we get stragglers from different covens offering their services. Your mother, who was able to read minds, offered her protection. She assured me that no one would dare try to harm me or the pack while she was present because she could easily read their minds. She told me that she was from a different coven far away but left due to differences.”

“And you believed her?” I asked, dumbfounded.

He was quiet for a moment as he stared at the ground and then he nodded.

“Yes, I believed her. Because at that moment, I knew that she was my fated mate,” he explained. “I wasn’t sure if she could feel it or not, but my wolf was adamant about claiming her. I would have believed anything she told me.”

My heart squeezed in my chest.

“She was supposed to feed information back to her coven leader, her parents, but she never did. She couldn’t bring herself to betray me, even after only knowing me for a short while. I think she knew that I was her mate, but without a wolf, she couldn’t understand the feelings she was having. Months after she arrived and I courted her, I confessed to her that my wolf wanted to claim her and that we were fated mates. She confessed to me about her coven and their plans. It put a damper on our budding relationship; I couldn’t trust her after that, and I even went as far as locking her in the dungeon.”

I gasped.

“You locked your own fated mate in the dungeon?” I asked, bewildered.

He nodded, his gaze darkening.

“She betrayed me and the pack. I wasn’t sure what was real and what was fake. It felt like everything she had ever told me was a lie and she was only after power and fortune, just like anyone else. For all I knew, she used some kind of spell to make me think that she was my mate. I honestly couldn’t be so sure, and I had to be careful. Locking her in the dungeon was for the safety of the empire,” he explained.

“So, what happened?” I asked. “How did you end up living happily ever after?”

“We didn’t at first,” he admitted. “There was a huge battle. The Sawol coven didn’t appreciate me taking one of their own, especially the leader's daughter. They wanted her back and they started a war against the empire. The Sawol coven were strong with their telepathy and got many of my warriors to change sides and fight against the empire. It was almost a battle we had lost; the small number of fighters I had left was no match for the number of fighters they converted to their side. One of my warriors, under the influence of telepathy, had broken your mother, Emalyn, out of the dungeon and she rushed to aid in the battle, not sure what to expect. I was stuck in a situation where I was being held down by my own men while her father was about to use an axe to behead me…”

I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands, my eyes wide with alertness. Clearly, he didn’t die, or he wouldn’t be here telling me this story. My only assumption was that my mother got to him in time and saved his life.

My suspicions were confirmed when Bennet continued the story.

“Emalyn jumped in front of me just before her father cut my head off… however she wasn’t unscathed. The axe cut into the nape of her neck before her father could stop it. She lost so much blood, that she nearly died on the spot. I scooped her into my arms and brought her to the infirmary with her parents crying for me to save her. The battle was put on hold while Emalyn was in critical care. Those who died during the battle were given a burial and those injured were given treatment. Even those who weren’t on our side. The Sawol Coven leaders released their holds on my warriors but forced them to keep a distance from the Sawol Coven, fearing another battle would break out. I was too preoccupied with the fact that my possible mate was in a critical condition to truly pay attention to what was going on around me.”

“I’m sure her parents were just as worried if not more so,” I murmured, staring down at my hands.

“They were,” he admitted. “They even tried reaching out to the Amyrran coven to get a strong healing potion, but they refused to help. I hid the fact that I was her fated mate because I still wasn’t sure the truth of it. But the doctor could tell, and he told me that my blood could heal her if I were her fated mate. Her family was shocked by the revelation, and I decided to give it a shot. There wasn’t anything more I could lose. So, I gave her my blood and we waited for what felt like an eternity. We were all shocked when her vitals started to improve, and she started breathing on her own again. Her wounds were healing from the inside. That was when I knew with certainty that I was her mate, and she was mine. When she finally woke up, we embraced, and I told her how sorry I was. She told me that she was in love with me, and she knew from the moment she saw me that we were meant to be together. Her family wanted to take her away, promising no more wars and to settle our dispute as thanks for saving their daughter.”

“They were going to take her away?” I asked, raising my brows. “Even after discovering she was your fated mate?”

He nodded grimly.

“Yes,” he answered. “They wanted to protect her, and I couldn’t blame them for that. But your mother, being stubborn, refused to leave. She wanted to be with me, and I wanted to be with her. So, we fought for our love. This started a different type of war; this wasn’t about power and fortune, it was about their daughter and her virtue. Eventually, they realized they were going to lose her if they didn’t do something to stop the madness. They finally agreed to let her stay but only under one condition.”

I raised my brows.

“What was the condition?”

He was quiet for a moment as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and then he lifted his gaze to meet mine.

“They wanted her to produce an heir. Someone to take over the coven when they are of age. They wanted to ensure the safety of the Sawol Coven.”