23

My mate frowns. “What about them?”

“Don’t I have to take them off?”

He gives me a long look. “Do you want to shift naked?”

“But if I shift with my clothes on, they will—”

“We are in the North. The clothes we have are enchanted by a witch who works for the Human Wolf Kingdom. We don’t have to remove them before shifting. They just disappear and then reappear.”

His impatient explanation baffles me. “We didn’t have anything like that in the East.”

“Of course not.” Cedric looks annoyed. “Your king was more focused on himself than looking after his people. It’s common knowledge that the Human Wolf Kingdom and the Eastern Wolf Kingdom don’t have the best relationship. It makes sense that’s such a trade never took place between them.”

“So, I just shift, then?” I ask hesitantly.

“Give it a try,” he suggests.

Closing my eyes, I allow the change to wash over me. I feel my limbs stretch and expand, and when I open my eyes, I’m standing on all fours.

My heart pounding, I look at Cedric, who is staring at me. He approaches me, and I close my eyes, fearing the worst. However, he sounds fascinated as he runs his hand over my dark fur.

“Stunning.”

Chapter 8

Cedric Raine

It was Harriet who had pointed out to me that Leanna had not once shifted and gone for a run since she came to the North. Harriet had suggested that perhaps my mate was shy. I had already been planning to show Leanna this beach and have her go for a run here, but I hadn’t realized that the reason behind her unwillingness to shift was because she had never been allowed to before.

I’m starting to wonder what grudge Princess Vivian could possibly have had against Leanna. My mate is well read, highly educated, and she knows how to carry herself. If she was being groomed to be the princess’s shadow, she had to be perfect in that role. Shadows are not unheard of in the wolf kingdoms, but they are usually concealed, to be used in times of danger. From what I understand, Leanna’s existence was known to everyone in that palace.

I’ve spent some amount of time in the same room as Princess Vivian, even if we didn’t interact, and I can see a stark difference between them. Leanna is graceful and quiet. She carries herself with an elegance that is admirable and regal. Vivian was haughty. She liked male attention, and she wasn’t shy about it. She had a cruel streak that I often witnessed, but Leanna treats the castle staff gently. Even though she doesn’t trust them, she doesn’t lash out at them.

It has only been a few weeks, but she has managed to win the hearts of not only the workers in the castle but also in the nearby villages. She has increased jobs and created trends among the nobles of using the local craftspeople. I don’t know if she realizes how much she has accomplished. She’s keeping her head down and working diligently, almost as if she has something to prove. I always thought I was a workaholic, but Leanna seems determined to outdo me.

When my mother was queen, she would go with my father to the outskirts of the kingdom to battle the monsters. She was one of the strongest warriors in the North, and her presence was required at the Veil. As a result, she had less time to manage the inner workings of the castle, but she tried. My father never cared if she was able to manage the castle or the kingdom. Together, they worked it out. But what Leanna is doing is different.

She can’t fight on the border, but the work she’s doing within the kingdom is no less impactful. She’s introducing changes that I never once thought of. While the Northern Wolf Kingdom is rich in gems and gold, it is also poor. The lack of fertile land has villages living in poverty. I don’t have time to oversee them all. But within just a couple of weeks, my queen has managed to do what Bella was never able to. If she cannot visit a village personally, she sends people there. She’s gathering reports, trying to come up with solutions, setting up financing for those who wish to start their own businesses.

I heard from Rothan that she asked for certain items from the Human Wolf Kingdom, books on certain trades that don’t exist within our kingdom. I don’t know what she’s planning, but Rothan seems quite impressed.

I doubt Princess Vivian would have put in the same amount of effort as this woman.

Maybe it wasn’t the worst thing to have brought her here instead of the princess.

I watch the change wash over her, and when her wolf stands before me, I can’t help but stare at her. Leanna may be identical to Vivian in her human form, but her wolf form can’t be more different. She has a ring of white fur around her neck and on the edge of her tail. It’s a very unique look. I’ve never met a wolf who has two different colors.

I see the apprehension in her eyes when I approach her, and when I run my hand over her head, her eyes flutter shut, and she leans into it.

“Stunning,” I breathe out, in awe of her magnificent animal.

She rumbles, a hint of pride in the sound. She then turns around as if wanting me to see her tail. In our wolf forms, it is our beasts that are in control. Leanna’s quiet personality has taken a back seat; her wolf wants to preen and show off how pretty she is.

Amusement fills me.

I run my fingers through her fur, marveling at how exquisite her wolf is. She rubs against me before taking off at a sprint along the shore. When she glances over her shoulder at me, almost coyly, I bare my teeth in a grin.

Bursting into a run, I shed my human skin, transforming into my wolf and chasing her. I nip at her ankles briefly, and she howls happily before trying to outrun me. I’ve never seen her have so much fun before, and while I don’t care, I also do. Refusing to examine these confused feelings, I wrestle her to the ground, playfully biting her neck and then her tail. She snaps her teeth at me in an unexpected move, and I’m impressed.

Wriggling out from under me, she keeps running, and I have no choice but to chase her down again. My wolf is enjoying itself, and so am I. I don’t remember the last time I was this carefree.

While I do participate in pack runs, I’ve never played more than a cursory role. At the end of the day, I am the alpha and the king. I have an image to maintain. But around this woman, who is my mate, do I really have to maintain anything? I catch her once more and tumble with her to the ground before aggressively grooming her. She lies still under me, letting me do as I please, before suddenly biting my leg and darting out from under me again.