Page 4 of Alpha's Impostor Bride

“Are you sure this is alright?” I gaze at her warily. “Am I allowed to sit by the fire? I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

She gives me a surprised look. Probably because it’s the first time I’ve spoken so many words in a row. But she’s the only one who has shown me any kindness, and I don’t want her to pay for it. I’m not accustomed to kindness.

“It’s quite alright. He’ll be here in a while. If you get hungry, there is fruit on the table for you.”

I watch her leave, my body tensing once I’m all alone. I don’t understand what is happening. Why am I being cleaned up and given food? Why am I wearing this soft dress? Am I missing something here? Is this to get me comfortable before they start torturing me?

My eyes stray toward the fire. It’s so warm. There’s a small carpet in front of it, and I sit down on it, preferring this to the chair. I don’t feel comfortable sitting in a chair. I was never allowed to sit on high surfaces in Princess Vivian’s presence. I belong on the ground. It’s where I feel the safest, where I have always been told my place has been.

I curl up on the carpet, exhausted. My stomach hurts. My body hurts. Everything hurts.

As I stare at the flickering flames, a strange numbness settles within me. Maybe if he kills me, I’ll finally be free.

After all, freedom is the only thing I’ve ever truly craved.

Chapter 2

Cedric Raine

“You’ve lost your mind, Cedric!”

I lean back against my desk, arms crossed over my chest, as I watch the three men gape at me. If anybody else spoke to me in this manner, I would rip their heads off for disrespect, but these men are different. I trust them with my life.

Even a king needs people he can trust.

Derrick Fenrin, Edgar Lee, and Rothan Bader. I grew up with Derrick. Edgar saved my life during a battle. And Rothan? He’s the youngest of us all, the son of the head maid in my castle, Harriet. I trained him myself at her request. Their opinions matter to me but not about everything.

“She’s the enemy,” Edgar points out, his demeanor unruffled. “You can’t be serious about this.”

“We proved to the East that the North is not to be taken lightly. Their kingdom fell, and we captured their prized jewel. The girl is not the enemy. She’s a foolish female who can be used as a tool to control the remaining royal family of the Eastern Kingdom.”

“But mating her?” Derrick explodes at my explanation. “Why can’t we keep her as a political prisoner? Throw her in the dungeon. Keep her alive and use her as leverage—”

My voice turns harsh. “Vivian is a symbol within the Eastern Kingdom. Imprisoning her will force the war to continue. I don’t want to waste my time and my people squashing rebellions around our borders. The girl’s uncle is desperate for her freedom. We’ll put him on the throne and make sure they watch themselves.”

“How do you know she’ll even agree to mate you?” Rothan speaks up, glancing at me. “She was terrified of you.”

Silence fills my office, and Edgar frowns. “I was rather unimpressed, to be honest. I was sure she would kick up a fuss. From every account I’ve heard of her, she was supposedly arrogant and prideful. I didn’t see that. I just saw a scared girl, not a seasoned aristocrat.”

“Because she was too busy pissing herself,” Derrick sneers.

I can understand Derrick’s anger. After all, it was his cousin who was killed by Vivian. Not a close relative, but a member of his family nonetheless, and he wants blood. However, as king, it is up to me to maintain balance among the wolf kingdoms, and the North is not equipped to rule the East. I cannot make a decision based on emotions, and I know my friend understands this.

“There’s another problem that Vivian’s presence will solve,” I point out. “She’s a pureblood. No matter which noblewoman I took as my mate, she would not be of royal blood. Vivian fixes that problem. She will bear royal heirs and therefore is perfectly suited.”

Derrick reluctantly agrees. “At least I got to kill her father.”

He doesn’t know the half of it. Princess Vivian is a spoiled little girl. Her father was the true mastermind, attempting to ignite the war so that he could seize control of the mines hidden in the rocky terrain of the Northern Kingdom. Living in his plush palace surrounded by luxury, the old fool did not understand the true might of the Northern wolves. We thrive in harsh conditions. We are giants on the battlefield.

“An eye for an eye,” Edgar murmurs in approval.

Rothan is studying me, a strange expression on his face. “There was something else I noticed, Cedric. When you first saw the princess, I felt something.”

They’ve all sworn blood oaths to me, so I shouldn’t be surprised that they felt a fraction of the jolt I experienced upon locking eyes with the exquisite beauty that is the Princess of the East.

“It’s irrelevant.”

All eyes turn toward me, and Derrick says slowly, “Now that I think about it, I felt something strange, too.”

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