Page 131 of Alpha's Impostor Bride

Cassian comes to stand behind me. “Are these the case files you got from that human?”

I nod.

“Maybe Harold was a victim of opportunity,” he suggests.

“No.” I pull myself away from the screen and walk over to the board I’ve been setting up. “These people are too methodical. But the kidnapping of the two teenagers also doesn’t make sense. They’ve never grabbed two people at the same time before. Plus, one of those kids had a family.”

“One was an orphan?” Cassian checks the file before nodding. “Yup. No parents. He lived by himself in an apartment complex. He was going to a trade school and a human high school.”

“That’s odd. Isn’t there a welfare program for orphaned shifters?” I ask. “He should’ve been going to a shifter-run school. Why was he going to human high school? Why was there no adult looking after him? I thought there were establishments in place that are run by shifters who raise and teach these kids to make sure they land on their feet.”

“There are.” Cassian goes over the victim’s file. He looks bewildered, adjusting his glasses. “This boy should have been in our welfare system. Who let him attend a human school?”

“I know that human children sometimes slip through the cracks when it comes to the foster system. I didn’t realize it was the same with our kind.”

“It’s not. Each orphaned child is usually accounted for.” Cassian rubs his temples. “I’ll have to find out what happened in this case.”

I glance at my watch. “I should go check on Finn. Why is the palace so busy these days?”

“It’s the ball,” Cassian replies. “The annual royal ball is in a month. Surely, you must be attending.”

I blink. “Ah. That. No, I never go to it.”

“Oh.” Cassian looks awkward. “I thought that now, with King Cedric here, you would…”

Cassian is among the few people who is aware of my true identity since we have to work together.

My hand goes to touch the mating mark on the side of my neck, and I hesitate. This is something I should probably discuss with Cedric. During the previous annual balls, Erik always instructed me not to leave my home for the entire week. I had enough working knowledge of royal events to know why. He wanted me to avoid running into anyone from the North. I always thought that Cedric and Vivian came together.

I ignore Cassian’s comment and direct my attention back to the laptop. I wish I could print out all these documents, but the flash drive is encrypted, and I can’t seem to print anything. Yawning, I take a few photographs of some of the documents on my computer screen without really looking at them. It’s not like I can carry my laptop around constantly. And I can’t even copy the documents from this flash drive to my laptop. I have to insert it every time I want to access what’s on it.

What kind of security is on this thing?

Checking the time once again, I decide to go grab some lunch with my son.

It’s odd not having Finn around at home. He’s been having a blast here at the palace with Harriet keeping an eye on him. According to Erik, the palace staff is thrilled. They enjoy having a child running around and filling the otherwise silent halls with his laughter. The royal chef is constantly coming up with new recipes to please him. The kitchen has never been busier, according to the butler. There is never a dull moment in the palace with Finn around.

I’m glad that my son is happy here, but it doesn’t change the fact that I miss him. On the other hand, with Cedric and me in the house alone, we have been quite busy. Apparently, after a couple shares a mating mark, they retire to their bedchamber for weeks on end. I don’t really know much about this matter, and I’m a little suspicious of Cedric’s insistence that this is customary.

His stamina has not faded in the last eight years. My body is much healthier now, and I can handle him, but there has to be a limit. I rarely order in, but these past two weeks, I’ve constantly been having meals delivered since I don’t have the strength to cook, much less walk. If I didn’t know about only being able to conceive on the full moon, I would think he’s trying to knock me up again.

As I head out of the office to search for Finn and Cedric, I think back to the conversation I had with my mate a few nights ago. Neither of us understands how I managed to conceive a child on a night other than that of the full moon. A part of me believes that the poison Vivian had been feeding me constantly over the course of my youth probably had something to do with it. It messed up my insides profoundly.

Finn is with Erik and Cedric, and when I enter the dining room, all three of them look up.

“Mom!” Finn is out of his seat like a bullet, throwing his arms around my waist as if he didn’t just see me this morning when I arrived at the palace. “Are you free now? Can you play?”

I kiss him on top of his head. “Play? Haven’t you been playing a lot these days? I heard you’re running everybody ragged here.”

“No, I’m not!” He clings to my arm as I walk over to the table. “When can I come home?”

Erik immediately intervenes. “Why? You’re not having fun with me here?”

“Well, I am,” Finn says thoughtfully. “But what if Mom misses me? I don’t want her to be sad.”

Erik smirks, looking between me and Cedric. “Don’t worry. I think your mother is too busy with other activities to miss you too much.”

My face instantly heats up. “Erik!”

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