Page 92 of Alpha's Impostor Bride

His smile fades. “Was that the wrong thing to say?”

“I’m not a cat.”

“I didn’t say you were. I only meant—”

“Just eat,” I say tightly.

He plucks out a potato and chews it. After a few minutes, he says, “Food is different here.”

“It’s the spices,” I reply shortly, crossing my arms over my chest and trying not to watch him eat.

He nods and takes another few bites. We sit together in silence, but I feel on edge. I keep waiting for him to say something. A sharp retort is ready on the tip of my tongue, but he says nothing. He just eats in silence, as if the meal is his whole focus.

When I steal a look at him, his eyes are on Finn, and he’s smiling slightly.

I break the silence. “He’s stubborn. Argumentative. Always has to have the last word.”

“He’s a handsome boy.” Cedric sounds pleased. “A little spoiled, but that’s to be expected. He didn’t have me around.”

There it is.

I turn to face him. “I raised him just fine—”

“Yes, you did.”

At his words, I stutter to a stop.

“He looks happy,” Cedric comments. “Confident. I was around the same age when my parents were killed. Every day was a different battlefield. I don’t remember ever feeling safe or happy after they passed. I had to grow up fast. I’m glad my son will have his childhood.”

I study the man. This is the first time he’s ever mentioned his parents to me. The wistful look on his face wrenches my heart. “You had Harriet, didn’t you?”

The words are torn from me, and Cedric gazes at the small container in his hand. “That’s right. I had Harriet. But she was just a maid, and my enemies were powerful people.”

He lifts his head to look at me. “I don’t want my son to be raised away from me, Leanna. I know you love him, but he is of royal blood, my blood. You don’t understand how strong our wolf lineage is. The Raine royal family are warriors. Our wolves become unpredictable as we get older. As he continues to grow, you won’t be able to control him. He needs a firm guiding hand. He needs his father.”

My mouth turns dry. “But—But you didn’t have anyone to help you. And you turned out fine.”

“I lived on the battlefields for years. I was nine when I had my first kill. The bloodshed, the constant fighting helped me control my wolf. Warrior breeds among our kind are bloodthirsty. They respond to carnage and dominance. Do you want Finn on the front lines?”

“No!” I jump to my feet, horrified at the prospect of my son having to face the vicious monsters I escaped in the Misty Forest.

Cedric watches me, and the serious glint in his eyes makes my heart sink.

“You mean it,” I breathe, frightened, as I sink back down. “Finn’s wolf—”

“He’s still young. If he spends time with me, his wolf will instinctively recognize mine as the dominant wolf. It will be easier to teach him how to control his animal. We are not humans, Leanna. We’re shifters. We have beasts within us. We can try all we might, but we can’t vanquish the animals that live inside us. We can pretend to be human, but at the end of the day, we aren’t. And warrior wolves cannot live among humankind. Our beasts are the most unpredictable. If Finn loses control of his emotions one day, he will wreak havoc in this world.” His expression is grim. “There’s a reason the Veil exists. There’s a reason why the Human Wolf Kingdom is so small. The wolves that reside on this side of the Veil are not as strong as the ones on the other side.”

“Erik never told me any of this,” I whisper, my heart pounding in my chest.

“The manipulative fool probably thought he could control our son’s animal. But Erik is not of warrior blood. Ultimately, Finn’s wolf will be more dominant than his. If you don’t believe me, you can check the royal libraries. I’m sure you have access to them here, given your relationship with Erik.”

The sharp edge to his voice makes me wince. But the fact that he’s offering me evidence to support his claims has me slouching down on the bench. “I want Finn to lead a normal life. I don’t want him battling those monsters.”

“That’s his fate,” Cedric says calmly. “And that’s what he will ultimately want to do. On the battlefield is where he will be able to control his bloodlust. But not yet.”

“Why are you telling me all this now?” I lean forward and hold my head in my hands. “Why not tell me when you first figured out who Finn was? This seems like a perfectly legitimate reason to snatch him from me.”

“Snatch him?” Cedric sounds surprised. “Why would I snatch our son from you? You are his mother. And we are a family. He needs you. But he also needs me.”

---