Page 29 of Alpha's Impostor Bride

“Worry about yourself,” I say darkly. “Let her do what she wants. Now, what were you saying?”

He gapes at me for a full ten seconds before rolling his eyes. “Fine. It’s your problem, not mine. The elders want to know whether you plan to have a child by next year. What do you want me to say to them?”

“Tell them to stick their noses where they’re needed. It’s not their business when I fuck my mate.”

“Well, they’re making it their business,” Edgar retorts, “and you better give them an answer before they start pestering the queen. You already know how they feel about her. They’re not going be very nice to her.”

I glance at him, my tone calm. “If anyone approaches the queen, execute them. Lop off a couple of heads, and the rest will fall in line.”

Edgar shakes his head. “Since when have you become so protective of her?”

I feel annoyed at this. “I’m not protective of her. I just don’t like the elders poking their noses into my business. And they have no reason to talk to her. You give them my message.”

He sighs. “Fine. But I’m just asking when you’ll be ready to…you know.”

I give him a hard look. “I’m not going to have this conversation any longer. Do you have anything useful to say to me?”

He checks the paper in his hand and rolls his eyes. “Not really. The full moon is in a month.”

That catches my attention. “I thought it was in two weeks.”

My wolf has been drawn to Leanna, and I assumed it was because of the coming full moon. I sensed my own shift in behavior toward her, and I thought it was the effects of that, as well. As the full moon grows closer, fated mates who have yet to share a mating mark always grow a little possessive of each other.

“No. I checked.” Edgar shakes his head. “It’s in one month. Anyway, I have to go. Rothan wants my help with arranging security for when the village artisans arrive.”

I nod approvingly. Leanna has taken my order from last week very seriously. She has approached different artisans in the nearby villages to help decorate the castle. It took me by surprise because I thought she would go for renowned artists. Instead, she’s recruiting local talent. This means more jobs for the villagers, and they’re over the moon about it. The attitude of the castle’s staff toward Leanna has significantly improved, as well. She has gone from being the enemy to being a benevolent queen. There have been several maids who have asked Harriet to let them assist the queen, but each one has been turned down. It seems the newly positive sentiment isn’t returned. Leanna doesn’t trust them. She’s kind to them, but trust has to be earned, and my people are aware of that.

I guess I was wrong. Kindness does speak to Northern wolves.

“What has she ordered?”

“Tapestries for the hallways.” Edgar looks impressed. “I thought she would make up the castle like the Eastern Kingdom’s palace, but she’s putting a different spin on it. The Eastern palace was so colorful that it was almost blinding. The queen is using colors like ice blue and silver here. The carpets are being laid out tomorrow. Heated ones. There’s a local witch who’s going to help with that.”

I blink. “She got a witch to help out? They never offer their services to us shifters.”

“I don’t know if she negotiated something with her or what.” Edgar glances toward the window. “You’ll have to ask her. She looks quiet and unassuming, but she’s a force of nature. Everybody’s anticipating how the castle will ultimately look. You can sense the excitement both in the villages and within the castle.”

I feel a strange emotion inside me. I didn’t realize that the castle was so drab that the idea of adding some color to it would get everybody all worked up. Have I not been paying attention to my people?

“Anyway.” Edgar eyes me. “What about Bella?”

My voice turns icy. “What about her?”

“Are you really planning to continue with this? Stripping her of her authority was a harsh move.”

“She’s lucky she’s not in a dungeon. She overstepped her bounds, and she knew what she was doing,” I say coldly. “She humiliated my mate. Regardless of my relationship with Leanna, Bella acted out of spite and jealousy. She had no right to do so. She’s gotten too cocky. I had to bring her back down to Earth.”

“You never plan to reinstate her, then?”

I study him. “She knows what she did, Edgar. I warned her, but she thought she would get away with it. She challenged my authority. I’m not about to let that go.”

My friend nods seriously. “She’s pretty upset about it, but you’re right. Despite beating herself up over it, she still hasn’t apologized to the queen.”

“She’s too prideful,” I mutter.

“Perhaps.” He checks the time. “I have to leave. Maybe you should go see what your mate is up to. If anybody else sees her, they’re going to start wondering if she’s lost her mind. What is she digging for?”

“Stop worrying about her and worry about yourself. Don’t you have better things to do?” I scowl at him.

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