Page 97 of Alpha's Impostor Bride

“Mom!”

I don’t know which one of us sounds more terrified. I’m ashamed to admit it, but my heart nearly stops for a moment.

“Go to your room, Finn!” Leanna says tightly.

My son inches away and then practically runs up the steps to his room, leaving me and Leanna facing off against each other.

“I was just bringing him home,” I try to explain, but she holds up a hand. The look on her face is not a happy one.

“Come inside,” she says.

I follow her into the kitchen, and she puts a kettle on the stove. Wrapping the robe tightly around her, she turns to face me.

“I’m not neglecting Finn,” she tells me. “I know he’s been sneaking out. I figured if I tried to stop him, he’d find another way, so I usually just follow him to make sure he’s safe. He has a rebellious streak, and if I offered to accompany him, he would just find some other disobedient thing to do. Something that might be more dangerous.”

Her words take me by surprise. “You should’ve just told him not to go.”

She rubs her temples. “You really think that would have worked? Have you met your son? He would’ve gone anyway. At least this way, I can watch him and make sure he’s safe. Finn isn’t the easiest child. He likes to test me. I love him, but I know how his mind works. He’s mischievous.”

I feel guilty for thinking that she wasn’t paying enough attention to him. “The boy isn’t trying to cause trouble deliberately. I told you that his wolf is different. Wolves with warrior blood don’t like being controlled. That’s why he likes to rebel. It’s his dominant spirit, the bloodlust. He needs to run wild and tire himself out. Finn does not understand what he needs yet, so he just runs around till he’s exhausted. I used to do the same thing.”

Leanna swallows, averting her gaze from mine. It’s only when the kettle begins to whistle that she finally speaks. “If you think you can help Finn, you can take him out for runs every day. I’ve tried to keep up with him, but I get tired. He can go for hours on end.”

I blink, surprised. “You would be willing to trust me with our son? Just a few hours ago, you were saying that—”

“I know what I said! I’m the one who said it.”

She glares at me, then turns around and pours the hot water over some tea leaves in a pot. I notice that her hands aren’t quite steady.

“Leanna?”

She takes two cups out of the cupboard and slams them down on the counter, her back still to me. Her hands grip the edge of the counter, and now I see that she’s trembling.

Her voice is distraught. “Why is she still there?”

For a heartbeat, I don’t understand what she’s talking about. Then, it hits me. “Vivian?”

“Even if you thought I was dead, you knew what she had done to me. You knew what Bella had done to me. Why are they still in that castle? Why didn’t you make them pay? You and Harriet keep saying how upset you were, but they’re still alive and well. Why didn’t you avenge my death? You say the elders forced you. Well, now they’re going to be a threat to my son.”

When her voice breaks, my mouth turns dry. “Leanna.”

I start to approach her, but without even looking at me, she lifts a hand, stopping me in my tracks. “Give me an explanation I can believe. And I want the truth. Why did you tell Bella I was a tool? I can forgive everything else, Cedric. I am even willing to forgive the fact that you made me feel so horrible in the beginning. But you replaced me!” Her jaw hardens. “Fine. You replaced me. You were never secretive about that. You always told me I was a substitute. You did what you always intended to do. So, why are you acting like you missed me and that my apparent death was so horrifying to you? How could it have been so traumatizing when Vivian is in my place? She’s your queen. She’s your mate, even if not in the true sense. In the eyes of everyone else, she is.”

“I have not allowed any other woman into our bedroom since you left, Leanna. Your things are still there. Your clothes are still there. Vivian may be in the castle, but she knows perfectly well that she is not my queen or my mate. It doesn’t matter what others may think. She knows. Everyone in the castle knows the truth.”

I put my hands on her shoulders, turning her around to face me. “You want answers. I’ll give them to you, but you need to listen.”

She pushes my hands away and pours the tea before bringing the two cups over to the kitchen table. After putting them down slightly more gently this time, she gestures toward the chairs. “Talk. I’m all ears.”

I’ve never seen her so angry, but I also know she won’t give me another opportunity to clear my name.

“I wanted to kill Vivian.” I meet her gaze, sitting down only once she has taken her seat. “I threw her and Bella into the dungeons. I tried to go after you in the Misty Forest. If you had just waited, Leanna—If you had just trusted me for a few more minutes, you would not have had to live with the belief that I betrayed you. I didn’t.”

When she doesn’t respond, I continue. “Rothan and the others stopped me from following you into the forest. If I had died in there, the Northern Kingdom would have been left without a protector. They told me to choose my duty as king because they all believed you were already dead. So did I. The guards had heard you scream. I was sure you were gone.”

Leanna’s eyes are lowered, and her hands are wrapped around her cup. Her knuckles are white.

“When I returned to the castle, I did throw both Bella and Vivian in the dungeons. But then, the elders got involved. The Northern Kingdom was trying to squash the remaining bit of rebellion in the East. Without Vivian’s presence in the North, it would have been impossible to force the Eastern Kingdom to cooperate with us. And Bella is the eldest daughter and heir of one of the noble families. Her execution would’ve sparked conflict within the kingdom, and if I had to focus my attention on domestic politics, I would not have been able to fight at the border and protect the Veil. The elders knew that. They knew I couldn’t allow the kingdom to descend into chaos. They threatened me with all of this because they predicted how I would react.” Anger courses through me and my hand curls into a fist. “I had to make a choice, Leanna. Protect all of my people or get rid of the two who hurt you.”

---