18

“Tapestries for the hallways.” Edgar looks impressed. “I thought she would make up the castle like the Eastern Kingdom’s palace, but she’s putting a different spin on it. The Eastern palace was so colorful that it was almost blinding. The queen is using colors like ice blue and silver here. The carpets are being laid out tomorrow. Heated ones. There’s a local witch who’s going to help with that.”

I blink. “She got a witch to help out? They never offer their services to us shifters.”

“I don’t know if she negotiated something with her or what.” Edgar glances toward the window. “You’ll have to ask her. She looks quiet and unassuming, but she’s a force of nature. Everybody’s anticipating how the castle will ultimately look. You can sense the excitement both in the villages and within the castle.”

I feel a strange emotion inside me. I didn’t realize that the castle was so drab that the idea of adding some color to it would get everybody all worked up. Have I not been paying attention to my people?

“Anyway.” Edgar eyes me. “What about Bella?”

My voice turns icy. “What about her?”

“Are you really planning to continue with this? Stripping her of her authority was a harsh move.”

“She’s lucky she’s not in a dungeon. She overstepped her bounds, and she knew what she was doing,” I say coldly. “She humiliated my mate. Regardless of my relationship with Leanna, Bella acted out of spite and jealousy. She had no right to do so. She’s gotten too cocky. I had to bring her back down to Earth.”

“You never plan to reinstate her, then?”

I study him. “She knows what she did, Edgar. I warned her, but she thought she would get away with it. She challenged my authority. I’m not about to let that go.”

My friend nods seriously. “She’s pretty upset about it, but you’re right. Despite beating herself up over it, she still hasn’t apologized to the queen.”

“She’s too prideful,” I mutter.

“Perhaps.” He checks the time. “I have to leave. Maybe you should go see what your mate is up to. If anybody else sees her, they’re going to start wondering if she’s lost her mind. What is she digging for?”

“Stop worrying about her and worry about yourself. Don’t you have better things to do?” I scowl at him.

“Fine. Don’t bite my head off.”

Once he’s gone, I sit down at my desk and try to get some work done. However, every few minutes, my eyes wander toward the window. What is she doing? Maybe I’ll just go see. If she’s trying to find an escape route, I’ll have to tell her that’s not the right spot to dig.

After making my way downstairs, I head outside. It’s cold. But then, it’s always cold. As I approach my mate, however, I see that she has taken off her jacket. A growl builds in the back of my throat.

“Why aren’t you wearing your coat?”

She nearly jumps in fright. “What?”

“Your jacket, Leanna. Why did you take it off?”

Grabbing it from where she has tossed it on the ground, I pick her up by her arm and begin putting it on her.

She struggles against my grip. “I don’t need it.”

“The healer said you’re not supposed to get cold. Why is it so hard for you to listen to instructions?”

“Let go of me!”

She’s trying to pull away, but I’m determined to get her into this coat and zip it all the way up.

“Why are you such a bully?!” she suddenly bursts out, pushing me away, her cheeks flushed from the cold and her eyes glittering.

“Bully?” I echo, my eyes narrowing. “Since when have I bullied you? You’re not supposed to be out in the cold.”

“I am minding my own business,” she snaps, and I see her try to regain composure.

Lately, it’s been harder for her to maintain that cool façade around me. Probably has something to do with the fact that she wakes up in my arms, all tangled up with me. I refuse to let her go back to her room. She clearly doesn’t know how to look after herself, and I have no plans of searching for another queen anytime soon. Leanna has been resistant to the idea of sleeping in my bed, but she’s slowly getting used to it. I’ve also begun to notice that she is getting a little mouthy around me. That part, I like. I have no use for a weak mate. Leanna has a spine, and it’s starting to show a little bit.

“What are you doing digging out here? Where are the gardeners?”

“They don’t know how to plant this.”

She’s holding the packet of seeds I gave her two days ago. Her eyes filled with shock when I handed them to her and told her that I specially requested them from the king of the Human Wolf Kingdom.

“They will if you tell them.” I cross my arms over my chest, and when she leans down to resume her work, I snarl. “Don’t even think about it. I’ll throw you over my shoulder and carry you into the castle if I have to. Get somebody to do this for you.”

“They’ll ruin it.” She’s beginning to get upset now, and my wolf stirs, not liking the look on her face.

“They are gardeners.” I try to speak patiently. “This is their job. This is what they are trained to do.”

“I know how to plant these seeds. You can’t make the holes too small or too big. They have to be the right size, and the right distance from each other, and around the right tree.” She begins to babble, and I can feel myself getting a headache.

Annoyed, and seeing no other way out of it, I roll up my sleeves and crouch down to the ground. “Fine. You tell me how to do it. I’m sure I have enough brain cells to follow your instructions.”

Cheeks turning red, she stammers, “Y–You can’t dig. You’re the king.”

“And you’re the queen,” I retort. “And you’ve been digging out here, looking like a fool. What if somebody saw you?”

I see the shame in her eyes and instantly regret the harshness of my tone. As soon as I do, I catch myself and feel a hint of irritation. Since when do I care how I speak to her?

She picks up a book that has been lying on the ground. “Two more handfuls. It has to be seven inches deep.”

“How do I measure?” I look at her. She immediately hands me a ruler, and I stare at it. “Have you been carrying that around?”

“Yes?” she answers cautiously.

I give her one last look before proceeding to dig the hole.

“You have to make it even.” She’s looking over my shoulder, and I get my hackles up.

“Let me do what I’m doing.”

“But you’re not doing it right,” she complains.

I look over my shoulder at her, incredulous. “I’m on the ground, digging you a hole, and all you can do is criticize?”

She flushes. “Well, no. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Then just shut up and let me do this.”

She stops nitpicking, but I can feel the anxiety pouring out of her from behind me. All I’m doing is digging in the dirt, yet it’s the most stressful thing I’ve done all day. It almost feels like she can’t wait to yank me away and start doing it herself. My brows knit together when I feel her breath on my neck. Lifting my head, I nearly slam it into her chin.

“That’s enough,” I snap. “Go over there.”

“But—”

“Go. Before I shift into a wolf and take a big bite out of you.”

She scurries over to where I’m pointing. Clutching the book to her chest, she shoots me hateful looks. The queen can sulk. I’m beginning to wonder where the meek woman I first met has gone. She’s gaining confidence day by day. Is it because she feels safe here now? Is that it? Or is it something else?