Page 125 of Alpha's Impostor Bride

My smile widens, and I feel anger burning through me. “It’s interesting that you specify the past eight years. Because for the past eight years, I’ve rarely returned to the castle, and this council has had free rein to do as it pleased. If anything, I would say that you have been running the kingdom for the past eight years. Am I wrong?”

My attention moves to Bella again, and she meets my gaze, anger sparking in her eyes. “Well, we didn’t have much of a choice, Your Majesty, since you ran off to sulk because you didn’t get your way.”

My smile fades. “Sulk? The people I protect betrayed me and tortured my fated mate. They then proceeded to hold the safety of the common people as hostage to prevent me from punishing the aggressors. I think ‘sulk’ isn’t the right word, Bella.”

She turns pale and looks away.

“You were not betrayed, Your Majesty,” her father says sharply. “We were looking out for you. You fight on the border, and most of the time, you do not seem to understand the integrity of the royal bloodline—”

I slam my hand down on the table, causing a silence to fall across the room. “Do not tell me about the integrity of the bloodline. Right now, it is your own bloodlines you should be worrying about. I will send a list to each family by the end of the day. The individuals named therein will be sent to the border to fight. If they perish, I’ll send the names of their replacements.”

“We will not allow this!” one of the elders roars, and I pin him to the spot with my eyes.

My voice is soft, though. “Allow this? Since when are you in a position to allow me to do anything? Or have these past few years led you to forget your place? Have you suddenly become the king?”

The temperature in the room drops by a few degrees.

Crossing my arms across my chest, I look at each face. “I’m not a child anymore. You can’t force me to do your bidding. Go ahead and try. Eight years ago, I was grieving my mate—”

“Your mate is here in the castle,” Bella spits out. “That low-blooded woman was not the queen!”

“On the country. Even if Leanna signed her name as Vivian, all that means is she signed her name wrong. I would not consider that deception, and it certainly doesn’t make Vivian the queen. I’ve never officially mated the woman you claim to be the queen, not even in the legal sense. So, she is still just a princess. And definitely not my mate. You can quote all the laws you want. That woman is not my mate.”

Henry Asher exchanges a look with the other elders and nods subtly before speaking. “Your Majesty, if you insist on behaving this way, then the noble families and I will follow through with what we said—”

“You mean you will pull resources from the local villages and towns?” I blink. “You will try to harm the people of this kingdom so that I bow down to your wishes?”

Henry shifts in his spot uncomfortably, but his jaw is tight. “It’s unfortunate, but the noble families have a duty to make sure the royal family continues its progression. We demand that you officially mate Vivian and be done with this nonsense. You need an heir, and this time, during the full moon, we insist that you impregnate her. And the laws have to be changed with regard to the noble families fighting at the border. They are outdated—”

“Or”—I stare at him—“I could simply remove all of your land from you since, according to your threat, you seem to be incapable of looking after your people. How about that? Or how about I simply wipe out your entire family since you are being defiant in front of your king? There are plenty of soldiers in my army who have worked hard and should be rewarded with more land. I can give them yours.”

Bella looks horrified. “Cedric!”

“Watch yourself, Bella.” My voice is icy. “Don’t ever use my first name again. You are my subject, not my equal.”

She goes white as a sheet, and I turn my head to look at her father. “Well, Henry? Which will it be? Would you like me to take your lands from you? Or would you like me to wipe out your entire family?”

Bella’s father’s face is frozen in place, and another elder says, “Your Majesty, we are the noble families. Our bloodlines go back centuries. We sided with the royal family during the great war. How can you talk about erasing our bloodlines—”

“How can you have the audacity to threaten your king?” I shoot back.

He falls silent.

I get to my feet. “The lists will go out tonight. Rothan is going to stay in the castle as my delegate. In the meantime, Rothan,” I say, looking at him, “if anyone tries anything, kill them. It doesn’t matter how ancient their bloodline is. I want their heads sent to me. Anyone attempts to disobey you, you kill them and their family. Am I understood?”

Rothan nods.

The pale faces of the elders tell me everything I need to know. I leave the room and head to the other side of the castle where my office is. When I round the final corner of the corridor, I see a woman leaning against the door. She’s wearing a short dress that barely covers her ass, and her cleavage is nearly spilling out. An airy, transparent stole is wrapped around her shoulders, under her long, loose hair.

If Leanna were waiting for me like this, I would waste no time throwing her onto the table and taking her. But this woman? She makes my dick shrivel up.

“Why are you in this part of the castle?” I demand.

Vivian straightens up, pretending to be surprised. “Oh, you’re here. Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for you to come back home. It’s been months, Cedric. You haven’t even written to me.”

She tries to touch me, and I slap her hand away as I enter my office. She follows me inside and sits on the edge of my desk.

I say sharply, “Don’t touch my things. And get out of here. Go to your part of the castle and stay there till I’m gone.”

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