Alpha's Impostor Bride

32

Cedric Raine

“Not ten minutes after she left.” His voice is low. “There was a scream, and then we heard a roar. I’m so sorry. If we had only known—”

I turn to face Rothan. “This is your fault.”

His gaze lowers, a distraught look on his face. I’m about to rip his neck out when I stop.

“No. No, it’s your fault, Derrick.” Derrick looks at me, guilt and grief in his eyes. “My mate is dead because of you. Because of you and your obsession with that woman. I should never have trusted you. I should never have trusted your judgment. Because of you, Leanna died believing I wanted her to suffer.”

I look at the three men in front of me, the men I once trusted above anyone else. “One of you left her here when he was told to guard her with his life. One of you convinced me to give power to the woman who despised her. I trusted you. And this is what I get. Betrayal.”

My wolf is howling within me, and grief is clogging my throat. My mate is gone. Even if I venture into the forest, I know she could not have survived. She wasn’t a fighter. My eyes flick toward the looming trees, and I stare at them, feeling empty inside, like a part of me has been ripped out.

Did you go in there seeking your death, Leanna? When the monsters ripped you apart, did you die thinking I was going to execute you, that I gave the orders to torture you?

“I feel safer when you’re around.”

“This castle is your home. You’ll be safe here, whether I’m around or not.”

“I trust your choice.”

I failed her. I lied to her. She wasn’t safe in the castle. I shouldn’t have left her alone. I shouldn’t have let her out of my sight.

The agony eating at me on the inside is of a vicious kind.

My Leanna.

Her body. I have to bury her body.

If I enter the forest, I’ll die, but I don’t care. I begin walking toward it.

“No!” Edgar throws himself in front of me again. “Please, Cedric! The kingdom needs you! Without you, the Veil will be compromised. Think of the people who are depending on you! Think of your parents! They would not have wanted you to do this!”

I pause.

My parents. My Leanna. All gone. They left me behind.

If I do this and don’t survive, the kingdom will fall.

It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but I turn my back on the forest, on Leanna’s body.

“We’re returning to the castle.”

“Cedric?” Edgar sounds wary now. “What are you going to do?”

“Bella wanted my mate to be executed,” I say, my heart turning to stone. “She’s the one who will face the execution, the very kind she planned for Leanna.”

I hear Derrick make a strangled sound, and I turn to face him, my voice cold. “Choose your loyalty here and now, Derrick Fenrin. If it’s to that woman, then you no longer serve me.”

Derrick looks me in the eye, and then he bows his head. “I am loyal to you alone.”

“Very well.” I watch him closely, none of my previous familiarity in my eyes. “Let’s test your loyalty, shall we?”

We reach the castle in record time. The guards at the entrance give me an uneasy look as I head inside. “Where is Harriet?”

When no one replies, I roar out her name.

A woman appears before me, wearing clothes that were designed for Leanna. She has Leanna’s face, her hair, her body, but she’s not Leanna.

“If you are referring to the traitor’s maid, she’s in the dungeon. You remember me, right? I’m Princess Vivian. Your mate, King Cedric.”

I walk over to her and see the satisfaction in her eyes. Without a second thought, I grab her by the throat and squeeze. Her eyes widen, and she makes a choking sound, clawing at my hand.

“My mate? You are not my mate. Something so disgusting cannot be my mate.”

She’s struggling to breathe, and I hear Bella’s voice cry out. “Let her go, Cedric! What are you doing?”

I release Princess Vivian, and she falls to the ground, pallid. Bella crouches next to her to help her up.

Bella glares at me. “What are you doing? She’s the queen!”

I look at her with hatred in my eyes. When she sees it, she flinches, and I notice the flicker of guilt on her face.

“The queen? She’s not the queen. Where is Leanna?”

Bella straightens up, lifting her chin. “This is Princess Vivian, the true Princess Vivian. I imprisoned the impostor. She escaped, but I’m having people track her down. This is the woman meant to be your mate. She has royal blood—”

I slap Bella with the back of my hand, causing her to fly sideways and hit the wall. I catch Derrick flinching out of the corner of my eye, but he doesn’t say a word.

It’s the first time I’ve ever raised a hand against a woman.

“I trusted you.”

Bella gets to her feet, rubbing her jaw and groaning.

I advance on her. “I trusted you, and you betrayed me. You filthy little creature.”

She squares her shoulders, defiance in her eyes. “What are you complaining about? You said we needed the real Princess Vivian. Now, here she is. I’ve had people looking for her for a long time. There was nobody, remember? Just someone with a mark on her wrist. I tracked down the true princess and brought her here.”

My eyes widen. “So, you manufactured this entire incident?”

Bella isn’t showing an ounce of remorse. “I never betrayed you, Cedric. The Asher family has always looked out for the royal family’s best interest. The purity of the bloodline—”

“Purity?” I say mockingly, grabbing her by the back of her hair and forcing her to look at me. “Purity of the bloodline?” I drag Bella over to Vivian and throw her at the princess’s feet. “Why don’t you f**k her, then, because I will not touch this female.”

Bella pales. “You have to! You have a duty to maintain the royal bloodline.”

“I have no duty to anyone but my fated mate. Because of you, she is dead. You had her believe that I wanted her to be tortured. You had her believe that I was going to execute her. You used my seal illegitimately.”

“I did no such thing!” Bella retorts. “I was your delegate. I had the right to use the royal seal!”

“Not for an order of execution!” I snarl. “You wanted my mate to die? You’re the one who will die, Bella. In the same manner you planned for her execution.”

Vivian steps forward, shielding Bella from me. Her voice is high. “You can’t touch her. She’s my royal advisor.”

“And who the f**k do you think you are?” I grab her by the jaw and shove her aside. “Derrick, capture the traitor. Throw her in the dungeon and starve her for three weeks.”

When Derrick advances, Bella goes pale. “You can’t do this! I’m the Asher family heir.”

“You are nothing but a traitor who betrayed your king and your queen,” I say furiously.

As Derrick takes hold of Bella, she shouts, “Let me go, Derrick! Don’t you know me? Why’re you mishandling me like this? Cedric’s just pissed off for no reason!”

Derrick is silent.

“I did nothing wrong!” Bella screams, a hint of panic in her eyes now. “I was well within my rights. You can’t execute me just because you’re mad that w***e of a woman died. I hope she suffered. I didn’t break any law. I did everything by the book! And if you execute me, the elders will turn against you. This kingdom will descend into chaos!”

“Take the traitor away!” I roar. “And Rothan, go release Harriet!”

Vivian bristles. “You can’t do this! I’ve chosen Bella as one of my most trusted people—”

“You are no one to make decisions in this castle!” I growl. “Edgar, strip this thief of my mate’s belongings and lock her in a cell!”

Vivian gives me a hateful look as she is dragged off. Alone now, I stand in the entrance hall, quivering with rage. Everywhere I look, Leanna’s efforts are showing.

“Your Majesty.”

A woman’s voice has me glancing over, and I see a familiar face approaching me. It takes me a second to place her as one of the maids who once assisted Bella in mocking Leanna.

“What do you want?” I snarl at her.

She has tears in her eyes. “Your Majesty, we helped the queen escape. Is it—Is it true that she’s dead?”

All the fight leaves me.

Dead.

My beautiful Leanna is dead. My shy mate—the one who liked to chase my tail in her wolf form, the one who used to burrow her face in my chest when I held her at night—is no more.

A thick, rolling wave of grief staggers me. “Yes. Leanna is gone.”

“Leanna?”

“That was her name,” I say hollowly.

And I loved her.

How did she do that? How did she go and make me fall for her so effortlessly? I don’t even know where to go and ask her. I don’t know which room to search for her. She’s not going to be there.

It’s hard to breathe. I failed her. I failed her, and that will haunt me forever. She died thinking I had lied to her, used her.

I don’t know which is worse, that she’s gone or that she believed that of me as she died.