Chapter 65

Chapter 65

When we got

back to the palace, Aiden was pacing by the door. As soon as he saw me, he let out a deep sigh of relief and practically rushed to my side. I was barely able to hide the pregnancy test into the deep pockets of my sweatshirt before he grabbed my upper arms and looked over me to be sure that I had no obvious signs of injury.

“Where the hell did you take her?” he directed his question at the brothers and for a split second, I thought they would tell but I caught Jael’s eye and he gave me a simple nod but it held so many meanings. My shoulders sagged in relief as I realized that my secret was safe with them.

“The Queen requested that we take her somewhere,” Jael answered simply making sure to put emphasis on the second word. “If you have any questions about our whereabouts I am of the opinion that you should direct them to her.”

Aiden’s

sjaw clenched and I could tell that the situation was about to spiral out of control so I turned him to face me. I shook my head softly and pulled him inside. He let out a ragged breath of frustration but followed me. The brothers followed closely behind me and I shot them a grateful look over my shoulder to which Jared winked.

“Are you going to tell me where you went on such short notice?” Aiden asked and I wanted to tell him. The strips in my pocket burned my skin but I needed to tell Jaxon first. He deserved to know before anyone else and right now, there were two people who knew.

“Is Jaxon awake!” he didn’t miss the quick change of subject but he decided not to push and shook his head. “Did you check on him? It’s unusual for him to be asleep this long.”

“I didn’t.” Aiden’s voice was slow as if he had just realized how weird it was.

He opened his mouth to speak but I was sprinting in the direction of our room. I could hear footsteps as the others tried to keep up with me. I got to the door of the room and held up a hand so they would wait outside. The brothers did so without hesitation but I could see that Aiden had a little more trouble following instructions. It wasn’t until the brothers stepped into his way to prevent him from going into the room that he realized I had given an instruction.

I made my way into the room and Jaxon was fast asleep on the bed. Panic gripped me and I wondered if earlier I had mistaken death for sleep. I muttered a prayer under my breath to the moon goddess as I walked closer to him. I let out a breath of relief when I saw his chest rising and falling steadily. I reached out to touch him and his skin was warm and clammy to touch- he was running a fever.

I sat next to him and lightly shook him awake. “Jaxon, are you okay?”

He didn’t stir once which I found suspicious because even the slightest movement would wake him.

I stirred him again and he mumbled a few incoherent words under his breath but he made no move to rise from his sleep. The worry that dissipated earlier was coming back full force and I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t sure if I should call for a physician or if 1 should handle it myself. The more I tried to wake him and he didn’t move, the more worried I became.

I finally decided to call Aiden in but just as I stood to my feet, Jason’s hand reached out to grab me.

His eyes fluttered opent and I let out a choked sob of relief. I practically threw myself into his arms and he grunted from the impact. He was a little sluggish in his movements but I was just relieved that he was awake.

“You’re alive,” I mumbled into his shoulder. “I was so worried that something had happened to you.

Do you feel alright?”

I pulled away from him but never took my eyes off him for fear that something would happen. Jaxon pulled himself into a sitting position trying to pretend like he wasn’t in pain but I saw the grimace he pulled every few seconds. Once he was arated, he started to rise out of bed and I put my hands out to stop him.

“What are you doing?” I asked in a panic. “You just woke up, you’re sick.”

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Chapter 65

“I’m fine,” he managed out as he stood to his feet. “The kingdom needs someone to take care of it, I’ll be fine.”

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There was a knock on the door that cut off our conversation. It opened to reveal Aiden and he had a look on his face that I knew spelled trouble.

“There has been another attack in one of our small towns.”

I couldn’t have stopped Jaxon from going if I tried so I followed behind to make sure he was fine.

For the first few minutes, he stumbled over his own feet as if off balance and he constantly ran his hand over his eyes as if the lights were too bright. I was worried about Jaxon and I knew I wasn’t the only one because Aiden kept shooting worried glances his way.

The test strips were at a far side of my mind and I didn’t know how I would tell Jaxon about it considering everything that was happening. I had stuffed it into a corner of my closet before we left the room wondering if I would ever get the chance. to tell him about it or if it would just randomly come out when I was too far along to hide it. In more ways than one, Noxian had upended our lives and we were the ones paying for it.

In the council room, Jaxon gave orders for soldiers to be deployed to the villages while I sat quietly.

I knew nothing about pack wars and strategies but I knew something about people and I knew that this new attack would only make them hate me more. The entire time Jaxon and Aiden spoke about the town and what they were going to do, all I could think about was how the people would put the blame on me.

“Freya, are you listening?” Jaxon called snapping me out of my thoughts and I turned to him. “I asked when you wanted to go to the village. We have to see them and offer our condolences as well as check on the others from the first building.”

“I can’t go,” everyone was shocked by my choice of words.

“What do you mean by you can’t go?” the question came from Alden. “Are you sick? Is there something wrong? Does this have something to do with when you went into town earlier this morning?”

Jaxon’s eyes snapped to mine on the last sentence. I shut my eyes and muttered a small curse under my breath. Aiden seemed to realize what he had said wrong and he tried to take it back but it was already too late. Jaxon was fixated on that sentence and he was not going to let it slide until he found out exactly why I left the palace without informing him.

“When did you leave the palace?” Jaxon asked and I shrugged. “Freya, don’t do that right now. I’m not above calling your guards and demanding a response then firing them for taking you away from the safety of the palace.”

“Where I went doesn’t matter. What you should be worried about is how your pack members found out about Noxian,” heavy silence fell over the room. If someone had dropped a pin you would have heard it.

“What do you mean?”

I explained how I went to the bathroom and what those women said. I still refused to tell him where I went or what I went to do but it didn’t matter to the story. By the time I was done, Jaxor muttered a long string of expletives under his breath and I could feel the frustration beginning to seep out from his skin. I wanted to comfort him but I didn’t know how.

“Only a trusted few knew about it,” Aiden said. “Who would have let it slip?”

“That’s what I need you to find out,” Jaxon ordered.

Aiden bowed and within a second, he was out of the council room. As soon as the door shut behind him, Jaxon picked up the item closest to him and threw it in the direction of the door. It was a glass figurine and it shattered directly on impact. I flinched from the sound but otherwise made no motion to move.

“I’ll fix this,” he promised me. “I’ll get to the bottom of this and I will make sure they know that this has nothing to do with you”

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Chapter 65

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“It has everything to do with me.” I chuckled softly under my breath. “They’re right you know; it is my fault. I am the one that Noxian wants and they are all suffering because of me. There is no shame in the truth.”

Jaxon walked over to me and grabbed my shoulders in a firm grip. He made sure I was staring directly into his eyes as he spoke. “I don’t care what you or any of them think. This was not your fault, it will never be your fault. Everything that is happening is as a result of one man and you are not him. Am I clear?”

I nodded and he pulled me into his chest. I went slack in his embrace and allowed myself to feel the comfort I desperately craved and needed. I wanted this war to be over as soon as possible so we could finally get much needed rest and peace of mind. My mund felt like a war zone and Jaxon was under so much stress that it was beginning to manifest physically. We needed a shred of good news to balance out the bad and although I knew my pregnancy would be perfect news, it wasn’t what we needed because it would only add to Jaxon’s worry.

“What’s wrong?” he asked without pulling away from me. “You went stiff in my arms just now, you were thinking.”

“It doesn’t matter.” I could tell he wanted to push on the matter so I leaned up on my toes and pressed a small kiss to his lips.

He smiled and kissed me back in a way that had my head spinning and my toes curling. I smiled at him knowing that everything was alright in that moment but as always, every good thing must come to an end. The door flew open with such alarm that I knew whatever was going to be said would be terrible.

Aiden rushed in looking panicked and unlike himself for the first time since I had met him. Jaxon immediately understood that something was wrong because he pulled away from me and put on his king look..

“What is it?” Jaxon asked.

“Noxian and his men are in front of the border. They are ready to wage war.

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