Chapter 39
Kieran’s P.O.V
I stood there, mouth open in shock, as the world as I knew it suddenly slowed down. The room was deathly silent and I could feel every pair of eyes hungrily surveying me, anticipating my next move. My eyes swivelled around the room suspiciously, as I tried to work out what the hell was going on. A soft, subtle movement caught my eye, causing me to turn my head unwillingly. My eyes focused on the beautiful woman, who was making her way towards me, her arms outstretched, while a gentle, motherly smile stretched over her face.
“No!” I ordered, holding up one hand towards her. “Stay back! Who are you!”
“Kieran, I’ve already told you,” soothed the Lady of Peal. “It’s me, Queen Nerissa. Your mother!”
“No, You’re not doing this!” I spat angrily. “My mother died when I was just a child. You are not my mother.”
“Kieran, please you need to listen to her,” Elena interrupted, walking over to me slowly, before laying her palms on my arms. “I thought the same as you, but she has told me her story. It’s true. The Lady of Pearl really is your mother!”
“Elena!” I gasped, looking at her worriedly. “Are you okay? I’ve been so worried about you! Is the baby safe? Are you hurt? What are you even doing here?”
“I’m okay, I promise,” Elena whispered. “The baby is fine and I’m fine. I’ve been really well looked after by Nerissa and her staff. But you need to believe what she says. Otherwise, your child and I could be in danger!”
My eyes darted back towards the woman who called herself my mother who nodded slowly at Elena’s words.
“You stay there,” I ordered sharply. “But you better explain your self and you need to explain how and why Elena ended up here!”
“I can explain everything, Kieran,” the Lady of Pearl smiled gently. “It all started when news of your father’s illegitimate children broke out all over the city. He knew that questions were being asked about his suitability to carry on as King and the legitimacy of our marriage. I begged him to stop murdering innocent children but he just laughed at me and called me weak. I told him that he could send his whores and their children far away to live in peace but he refused.”
“Then what happened?” I spat angrily. “That story was common knowledge. This proves nothing!”
“I remember your father having numerous women in his bed every night, while I slept alone, in one of the spare bedrooms in the Palace,” Nerissa continued sadly. “Rubius never cared for me. He made it quite clear that our marriage was only for him to make his heir and his spare. I know he hated the thought of you becoming Alpha. He always chose your brother Carlton over you. He even said that he wished Carlton could become the heir.”
“This still proves nothing,” I growled. “Everyone knew how my father felt towards my mother. You’re going to have to come up with something a little more to prove who you are!”
“Okay, fine. I get it,” Nerissa breathed slowly. “Remember the bluebird song I used to sing to you as a child, every night before I tucked you up in bed. How you used to lie thee and twirl my hair around your fingers. Remember that day when I took you to this very beach and you found the most wonderful pink conch shell in this amazing little rock pool. You held it up to your ear so you could hear the sea and you told me it sounded beautiful. We took that shell home as a keepsake of our times together and you said you would never get rid of that shell and you carried it everywhere you went.”
I stood frozen in shock as this woman revealed more and more treasured memories that only my mother would have known. My heartbeat began to quicken to the point it made my head hurt and the room spin around in a daze of colour. This woman really was my mother! The more I stared at her soft, warm, crinkled face, showing years of life, stress and memories, I could see the gentle nature of my mother beginning to shine through. How was she still alive? I didn’t understand? What was she doing here?
“It really is you, but I don’t understand,” I whispered almost inaudibly. “How are you still alive? We were told that you threw yourself off of the south tower into the ravine below. What are you doing here and why is Elena here?”
“I can explain all that,” Nerissa sighed before sitting back down on her glass throne. “I was getting sick and tired of your father’s antics. I knew he had no love for me and I knew our marriage was a sham. He never cared for our mate bond, not even from day one. Our marriage was just for convenience. I was getting sick and tired of all the whispers, the speculation and the pitiful glances being thrown my way. I knew I deserved a better life but I know I couldn’t take my boys with me. Your father would have come after me and killed me with his bare hands.”
“So you faked your death and ran away?” I pondered out loud. “Our father never said if they recovered your body or not. He just called for me and Carlton to the throne room and told us of your death before laughing about it and throwing a prostitute filled party all night.”
“That wouldn’t surprise me with your father. He never cared for me. He was probably glad I was gone,” chuckled Nerissa thoughtfully. “No, after I threw some belongings off of the south tower into the ravine, to make it look I had jumped, I packed a bag and fled in the dark of the night. I made sure to throw some things into a part of the ravine that was unreachable by foot so that I knew no body could ever be found.”
“What about your Mate bond?” I asked suspiciously. “Surely he would have still felt that?”
“As I said, he never cared for our bond,” Nerissa explained, looking at me sadly. “He probably never even felt the bond from day one so he would have never noticed that our bond was still alive. Instead, I’ve been spending my days here in this Palace. Learning how to make potions and medicines and crystal ball reading. I knew your father would never come here looking for me. He hated this place, hence why he gave it to me as a wedding present.”
“And Elena?” I barked in annoyance. “You still haven’t explained how and why she is here!”
“I had to keep her safe. She was being followed,” Nerissa explained, smiling gently at Elena lovingly. “She is a real beauty. You’ve done well to find someone so beautiful and amazing as Elena is. But she is in great danger. I’ve seen it all on my crystal ball!”
“What do you mean she was being followed?” I spat sarcastically. “The two girls she was with was her friends! Then you came along and kidnapped her and bought her here for no reason!”
“No Kieran!” Nerissa pleaded loudly. “You have to believe me! Elena and her friends were being followed. There is a plot to kill Elena and take her from you. There are people out there who are jealous of your bond with Elena. And they don’t even know about the baby yet. Your own brother has planned to kill Elena so he can have your kingdom. You need to hurry up and marry her as time is running out! That’s why I knocked her out and bought her here, to protect her!”
“Then I shall kill my own brother,” I fumed angrily. “No one will dare hurt a single hair on my Mate’s head.”
“It’s not just him you have to worry about,” Nerissa whispered chillingly. “Carlton currently has an unofficial Mate standing by his side. You may know of her. I believe her name is Davina. She is also in the plot and wants Elena dead too!”
“Then Davina will die too!” I roared. “I always knew that little bitch was a sneaky, nasty cow. I should have killed her when I had the chance!”
“You need to calm down and think about this,” Nerissa ordered loudly. “Why don’t you sit with us and have some lunch. We can discuss everything and come up with a plan.”
“No, I can’t stay,” I quickly blurted out, remembering about Brooke and Hollie and their upcoming fate. “I need to get back to the Palace. I’ve done something terrible and I need to stop it before it’s too late!”
“Kieran,” Elena called out slowly, looking at me in worry. “What is going on? What have you done?”
“I thought you were dead. You have to understand. I was angry, hurt and upset,” I began slowly. “I need to get back to the Palace because I have sentenced Brooke and Hollie to death!”