Page 50 of Alpha's Impostor Bride

A child.

Maybe there’s going to be a next life, I think to myself. Maybe in that life, I’ll have everything I ever wanted. Maybe somebody will love me in that lifetime. Maybe I won’t be born a wolf shifter.

A bird. I would love to reincarnate as a bird. To roam the skies, not shackled by anything or anyone.

A bitter laugh leaves my lips.

Considering my luck, I doubt I would even get that much. I hope when I die, there is no reincarnation. I hope I just fade away.

Fade away into nothing.

I don’t want to experience this world again. I don’t want to experience anything ever again.

Two days I am kept without food or water. My lips are cracked, and the guard who gave me the blanket was severely punished and removed from his duty. I feel bad for him. He was simply trying to pay me back for a kindness.

On the third day, I hear footsteps approaching my cell. I’m leaning against the back wall, my body limp. I don’t even have the strength to move my arms. My vision is blurry.

Are they going to do it now? I wonder dimly. Can’t they just get it over with? Is Cedric back?

“Oh, Your Majesty,” I hear someone cry, and then the cell door is opened. Something is pressed to my mouth, something wet, and I taste it. It’s water. Eagerly, I swallow it. Harriet’s voice is horrified. “What have they done to you?” I hear her sob. “Rothan!”

“I know, Mother.”

Something else is held to my mouth, and this time it’s not water. Medicine? I feel my body tremble, and some of my energy returns. My vision grows clear, and I see Harriet and Rothan crouching before me.

“I’m going to take you away from here, Your Majesty,” Rothan says in a low, urgent voice.

“Has my execution been decided?” I ask hollowly.

“I’m not going to let that happen!” Harriet grabs my hands, her tone fierce. “Nothing will happen to you. Rothan is going to take you to Cedric.”

I don’t understand what is happening. “But he wants me dead.”

She shakes her head. “I don’t believe it. Once he sees you, he’ll change his mind.”

“Change his mind?” I mumble, looking between the two of them. A stark realization forms in the pit of my stomach as my last delusion shatters. “He really did order my execution, then?”

Rothan looks away, but I have already seen the guilt in his eyes.

Harriet denies it vehemently. “I refuse to believe it. Your Majesty, King Cedric cares for you deeply. There has to be some misunderstanding.”

I want to tell her she’s wrong, but I don’t have the heart to say it.

“Rothan will take you to the king. The witch is waiting outside.”

“The witch?” I’m struggling to follow her.

“Freya,” Harriet says quickly. “The girl, the young witch who helped you with the heated carpets and the plants. She’s going to create a portal and get you out of here. Rothan will bring you to Cedric, and once he sees you, he’ll make the right decision.”

I see the look Rothan gives her, and I know he doesn’t believe his mother. I give him a small, tired smile.

Maybe Cedric will kill me himself. At least he might be merciful.

Harriet wraps me in a thick cloak. “It’ll take you one day to get there. Trust me, you’ll see. The king cares for you.”

“What about the guards?” I look toward the metal bars as Rothan replies.

“Knocked out. One of the maids put sleeping pills in their food.”

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