Page 42 of Alpha's Impostor Bride

“I’m not going to reinstate you,” I inform her. “Understand that much. You clearly don’t respect Leanna, and I can’t have anybody picking up on that. If the elders realize that I’m letting one of my most trusted people mistreat the queen, it will cause a problem for me.”

“It was just a prank!”

I give her a long look. “It was not a prank. We both know that you intended to humiliate her, and you succeeded to quite an extent. What would’ve happened if I had not stepped in? How much further would you have gone to harass her? You let the maids mock her. She trusts no one in the castle because of your stunt. Even when the staff wants to cater to her, she declines. How am I supposed to handle that? She is the queen, a queen who doesn’t trust the people around her.”

“She’s not of pure blood—”

“That doesn’t matter!” I roar. “The real Princess Vivian is dead. The whole purpose of marrying Leanna was so that we could control the East. Princess Vivian was a symbol of the Eastern Kingdom. As long as they think she’s in the North, they will not retaliate against us. This is our only chance to crush the remaining rebel factions. Your pride is destroying our chances. That is why I do not want you in that position anymore.”

She snaps her mouth shut. “Fine. But if I’m not the royal advisor, then what am I?”

“I will be putting you in a new position. I might be leaving for the border soon, and you will be my delegate. You will not be able to interfere in the queen’s matters, but you will deal with the elders in my absence. Leanna is going to be managing the castle and doing her normal duties. You will be handling my commands from the border. I will explain it to her before I leave.”

“What about Rothan?”

Rothan is usually the one I leave behind in the position of delegate. “He’ll continue serving as royal advisor to Leanna.”

“When did you stop calling her Vivian?” Bella asks after a beat.

I pause, suddenly realizing what I have been doing. If anyone were to overhear me—

“Don’t worry about that. Do you understand your new role?” A smile stretches across Bella’s lips before I give her a stern warning. “None of your decisions will impact Leanna. You are only to coordinate with the elders and me. If I find out that you are trying to interfere in the queen’s matters, I will remove you from the castle permanently. That will be the end of our friendship.”

She nods, solemn now. “I understand.”

I hope she does, I muse to myself as I exit her office. But just in case, I plan to have Rothan keep an eye on her.

Because my trust has already been broken once. And Bella isn’t one to give up easily.

Chapter 9

Cedric Raine

I’ve taken Leanna out several more times to run in her wolf form and build up her stamina. She’s getting stronger, but after she shifts back to her human form, she’s still a little dizzy and queasy, and mostly flustered by her wolf’s behavior.

The full moon is drawing closer, and I can feel my own wolf’s restlessness. The close proximity between Leanna and me is making it harder to keep my hands to myself. The night of the full moon is the only time a female shifter can conceive, so I don’t know why I’m so reluctant to touch her. Maybe it’s because there is something incredibly fragile about my mate, and I know how brutish I can be. Even when I hold her in bed, sometimes it feels like I might snap her in two. But my wolf’s desire to get closer to our mate is becoming overwhelming.

As a result, I’ve started to come in later and later at night. She doesn’t complain. She never does. It doesn’t matter what I do, Leanna never complains about it. When I’m kind to her, she’s baffled. When I treat her well, she looks at me as if she doesn’t quite understand why I’m behaving that way. There’s a distrust of me deep within her, a wariness that I wanted there from day one but doesn’t sit well with me anymore.

The castle staff, all the way down to the chefs in the kitchen, is determined to win her over. Meals are carefully prepared, snacks sent to her, new recipes tried every day to suit her taste.

I can understand the enthusiasm behind these efforts. It has almost become a game to the staff, and wolves are nothing if not playful. Leanna is the first queen to make such dramatic changes to the castle and the kingdom. They want her to be happy. But my mate still withdraws into herself as if she cannot comprehend kindness or gratitude.

I never know what to say to her when I see her standing on the balcony, looking out, a forlorn look on her face. She’s not trapped here, but she doesn’t leave the castle unless it’s work related. I don’t even know what she does in her free time aside from read. Ever since I got the greenhouse fixed up for her, if she has any time to herself, she spends it there.

This afternoon, Leanna is not in the dining room where lunch is being laid out, and I can’t find her anywhere else. I decide to take a stroll over to the greenhouse to find her. I’m sure she will be there. I’ve never once set foot inside there. I want it be her sanctuary, a place where she doesn’t have to worry about anyone intruding.

I make sure to knock on the door before entering. She has cleaned up the area very nicely. To my surprise, I see all sorts of flowers blooming. I didn’t even think such plants could grow in the North. On closer inspection, I realize these are all flowers that my mother had when she was alive. I don’t know where Leanna got the seeds or how she managed to get them to bloom so quickly.

Maybe she got help from the witch in the village to grow these plants. The same witch who has been helping her accelerate the growth of the vegetables. The seeds from the Human Wolf Kingdom that I gave her have turned out to be quite suitable for the weather here. Leanna has placed an order through me for more seeds. The farmers are all excited.

I touch one of the thick, luscious roses and wonder if Leanna sees the changes she’s bringing to my kingdom. I remember how she approached me to ask for more seeds, nervous and anxious as if she fully expected me to say no. It bothers me.

I call out her name.

She’s not here. Her absence gives me the chance to look around and see what she has done with the place. There’s a small shelf in a corner with different books. I find one paperback on the small table in the center of the greenhouse, in which Leanna has placed a bookmark. I open the book, curious to see what she’s been reading.

It’s a novel. A romance. The bookmark is at a page with an explicit scene. As I flip through the book, I realize that she has dogeared all the pages that contain sexual situations. Almost as if she’s trying to learn.

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