Ileus: The Dark Prince

With Ara gone, Olivia continued to stare in the direction she was kneeling. The whole event had shocked her so much that she was numb with it.

"Olivia?" Kaizan asked her slowly as Anastasia once again squeezed Olivia's hand gently. Olivia turned her face to look at him but her stare was blank. Something inside Kaizan writhed with pain. He scooped her in his arms. "Olivia!" he whispered her name.

"Take her to the bedroom. She is really shocked," said Anastasia.

A shaky breath left Kaizan as he looked at his mate who was now curled up against his chest. "I will," he replied. "Please take care of Ara," he said to Anastasia. "I really want her hurting herself or her child. Even if Vaarin doesn't accept the baby, I will be willing to adopt it as mine."

A smile came upon Anastasia's lips as her eyes became misty. This man in front of her was her favorite wolf. He had stayed with her in the forests around Galahar when there was no one and took care of her like she was a child, and until Ileus found them. And now… he wanted to adopt Luke's baby only because it would be related to his mate. She brought her hand to his cheek and stroked it gently. "Don't worry," she said. "I will make sure that she gives birth to Luke's baby." She hopped up and pressed a kiss on his cheek. Then she kissed Olivia on her cheek.

"Thank you, Anastasia," breathed Kaizan.

"You are welcome. And now take her back to the bedroom and don't attend the office. Your mate needs you."

Kaizan nodded vehemently. He took Olivia to the bedchamber while Anastasia left back for the palace. She walked to the main entrance where she noticed that Finn was shoving Ara into a cage that was being driven by two horses. She disregarded how Ara was shouting but when she couldn't take it anymore, she waved her hand. A thin wisp of smoke left her fingers and coiled around the cage. With that magic Ara's voices remained caged inside. Anastasia shook her head and then walked to her carriage that was waiting for her in the portico. She could have flown back to Draoidh using her wings, but Ileus was just too paranoid even now. He didn't want her to be exposed to the enemies. There was a heavy guard around her at all times. As soon as her carriage started, four horsemen and half a dozen Mozia started flying on their brooms with it. Initially Anastasia rolled her eyes at all this protection and she even said to Ileus that she was fully capable of taking care of herself, but her husband wouldn't only listen.

As her carriage rode to the portal from where she had to enter Draoidh, she recalled how Olivia was feeling restless. Kaizan hadn't come to her the previous night and she was getting impatient. It was because she was so impatient that Anastasia brought her home back in Silver Vales personally. When they entered the main door, they heard a commotion that was coming from the garden in the back. Olivia rushed to find out about it and the rest was history. Anastasia exhaled heavily. She was going to talk about it to Ileus and hoped that he wouldn't be harsh on Paige.

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Kaizan took Olivia to the bedchamber where he made her lie on the bed. He took her silk sandals out tucked her in the blanket. He climbed beside her and pulled her against his chest. "Olivia? Love?" he whispered her name as he stroked her head and then down to her back in gentle, slow motion. "Please talk to me." His heart had dipped. He didn't know that she would come and the situation would take an ugly turn. He had meant to reveal it to Olivia, but much later. Olivia was curled against his chest. Her head was in the crook of his neck and she was lying still. "I know this was a shocker darling, but isn't it also great that you will have a part of Luke walking amongst you?"

No reply.

"Won't it be lovely that Vaarin would be able to relive the memories of his son who he missed so dearly?"

No reply.

"Wouldn't you want Luke's baby to play with our children? You know, cousins love to mingle and hang out together."

No reply.

Kaizan pursed his lips, giving up on the situation. All he could do at present was to stay with her for as long as she needed. So, he stopped talking and closed his eyes as he continued to caress her. He didn't know how to handle Paige's problem. She had a choice to get out of her toxic relationship but she chose to remain in it. That was going to be a problem in deciding her involvement in the crime. A shudder passed through his body when the gravity of the thought weighed heavy in his mind—Paige harbored a rebel in the General's house. And rebels were the enemies of the kingdom. A headache started developing and he pulled Olivia closer. He had had so much emotional stress that he didn't want to think anymore about it. This made him realize what Olivia was going through. He just let the time slide silently.

The two went off to sleep in each other's arms. When he woke up next it was late evening and immediately missed the warmth of his wife. He fluttered open his eyes and found her propped up against the pillows. She was staring in the blank space in front while stroking his hair. "Olivia?" he called her, as he took her palm and kissed it. "Are you fine, love?"

Olivia turned to look at him. A faint, sad smile came on her lips. "I have given you so much trouble, Kaizan. Will you ever forgive me?" she asked, her voice hoarse with choked emotions.

Kaizan immediately hugged her thighs and placed his head on her lap. "You've been the source of happiness for me, Olivia. Please don't think like that. And now we are making babies. I am the luckiest man in the Lore."

Olivia chuckled. "I didn't know that I was carrying so many ghosts in my life. After Luke was killed, my parents took a lot of time to come out of depression. How can I plunge them back into the same state?"

He kissed her thigh and said, "I have a simple solution to this problem."

She stopped stroking his hair. "What solution?" she asked with a frown, feeling very interested suddenly.

Kaizan looked at her with his twin hazel eyes and said, "How about we adopt his child? No one will come to know."

Olivia blinked at him several times before she squealed, "Really?"

"Of course!" he replied firmly.

Olivia felt as if all her stress vanished in one single moment. She wanted to tell her parents about Luke's baby but wasn't sure how they would take it. Kaizan's suggestion made her joyous. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his head.. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She laughed without realizing that happy tears rolled out of her eyes.