Page 120 of Alpha's Impostor Bride

Having been assigned a task gives Finn some motivation. His voice is brighter now, the worry and fear disappearing. “I can do that. Come on, Derrick!”

He grabs Derrick and pulls him along as they head toward the house. I wait till they’re out of earshot before I look at Leanna. Her arms are wrapped around herself as she walks over to a broken log and sits down heavily on it.

I wait for her to speak, and finally, she says, “I’m sorry about that.”

Her voice is rough, and if I had any lingering anger over my suspicions about her relationship with that human, it fades away in the face of her agony.

“Who was that, Leanna? He was clearly important to you. Were you two…” I lean against the nearest tree, watching her.

She appears to realize where I was going with that, and she shakes her head. “No. George wasn’t—We weren’t—” She lets out a sigh, the devastation on her face twisting something in my chest. “He was my contact in the police department. He was a human, but he knew about Finn and me. I never told Erik or anyone else about him.”

I frown. “Why not?”

I smell the salt before the tears slip down her cheeks. “Erik would have killed him. George was high up in the government, the deputy commissioner of the police. He was in a position where he could have potentially exposed our kind, but this entire time, he never said a word. In fact, he helped me with some of my cases.” She wipes her tears and gazes at the ground. Her voice is low. “But Erik would not have understood. George and I were friends. He has two sons. A wife who loves him deeply. And he would not have died like this if I had not called him tonight.”

Her words end on a broken sob as she covers her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking.

Guilt, I realize. She feels both grief for the loss of her friend and guilt about his death. I walk over and crouch by her side. “You had no way of knowing, Leanna. His death had nothing to do with you.”

She lowers her hands and looks at me, her pretty eyes swimming in tears. “You didn’t see it, did you?”

“See what?” I ask, confused.

“His slit neck,” she moans. “There wasn’t one slice, like from a knife, but five, like a set of claws.”

I go still. “Are you—”

“Five very precise claw marks.” She looks at me, and the devastation in her eyes has my jaw hardening.

“A shifter? But I didn’t smell any—”

“Neither did I.” She wipes her tears, her voice thick. “And we should have, right? I didn’t even smell anyone on him. I don’t know how they hid their scent, but it was definitely a shifter. No one had any reason to hurt him, Cedric. No one from our world, at least.”

“Someone did,” I murmur gloomily. “We must have been followed.”

Leanna rubs a spot on her chest. “But I would’ve—We would’ve sensed it if somebody was tracking us.”

I mull over her words, and my voice is thoughtful. “My senses are sharper than yours. If there had been a shifter in the vicinity of the carnival, I would have caught their scent. I only smelled humans there. The only shifters were the four of us.”

Leanna gets to her feet, shaking her head. “I know what I saw, Cedric. Those marks on his neck were unmistakable.”

I follow suit, standing up and watching her as she paces anxiously. “I’m not denying what you saw, Leanna. It is possible that the shifter who attacked your friend was able to mask his scent.” My mind is racing, and then I have an idea. There is something I need to verify, however. At the time, I didn’t pay much attention to that slight discrepancy. But now, I have to be sure. “I’m going to call Edgar over here to help Derrick keep an eye on you and Finn. I need to go check something.”

“What are you going to do?” Leanna steps in my path. “Wherever you’re going, you’re not going by yourself! If the shifters are able to mask their sent, they can ambush you. No. You’re not going anywhere without someone watching your back. I’m coming with you.”

“And leaving Finn at the house alone with Derrick?” I ask incredulously.

Leanna’s eyes are still moist, but I see the fierce glint in them. “You think you’re the only one who can arrange protection for Finn? After the attack on me, I put up security cameras and motion sensors all around the house. I keep them activated via my phone. If somebody so much as steps past a certain border around my home, I get an instant notification, and the palace guards are also alerted. I discussed this with Erik. Help will arrive within three minutes. There’s also a safe room in my basement. Finn and I know the combination, as does Maya. I know how to keep my son safe, Cedric.”

“Our son,” I correct her firmly, admiring her preparedness. I don’t know what a safe room is, or a motion sensor, but Leanna clearly believes in these things as security measures.

“You’re not going by yourself.” She grips my wrist, her eyes flashing. There is fear in them. “I don’t want to lose you tonight, too.”

The words flow from her passionately, and a warmth fills my chest. “Are you concerned about my safety?”

A flush crawls up her face, and she swallows before turning her head to the side. “What if I am? I have every right to worry about you. You’re my mate.”

My lips curve, and I take her hand in mine, pressing my lips to her palm, my eyes on her. “Yes, I am. And you are mine.”

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