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All my hard work, everything I’ve done up till now, seems to have vanished in the wake of this turn of events. I stare blindly at the edge of the bed. As the years passed, I grew more and more confident. There was no way Cedric would find me. That false sense of security had me feeling comfortable.

What was I thinking?

I should have taken Finn and moved deep inside a far-off human city! I should have cut ties with Erik and eliminated interactions with wolf society. I was so desperate to make money and give Finn everything I hadn’t had that I overlooked the dangers attached to my lingering presence around my own kind.

And now, I feel like a fool.

I wouldn’t have run into Cedric if I had been smart and left when I had the chance.

I rest my head against my son’s small, unconscious body. “This is my fault. This is all my fault.”

“If you’re quite done blaming yourself,” comes Erik’s voice from the doorway, “maybe we should talk.”

I lift my head to look at him. He’s alone. I let out a sigh of relief. “Did he buy it?”

Erik walks over to me, glancing at Finn. “I can’t be sure. But he’s not happy.”

Tension crawls through me. “If this is going to start a conflict between the two kingdoms—”

“Don’t even think about running away,” he warns me.

“But—”

“Nothing is going to happen to the two of you.” Erik pulls up a chair on the opposite side of the bed. “Cedric wasn’t supposed to be here. He followed some Eastern rebels through the Veil, and he wanted my agreement to help track them down. If I had known he was coming, I wouldn’t have called you here.”

“That’s why the butler sent us to the palace gardens,” I realize.

Erik nods. “Cedric showed up in my office out of the blue. He must have caught your scent from the open window because he suddenly flew out of it like a madman.”

“What do I do?” I rest my face in my hands for a moment before looking at him again. “I’m telling you right now, Erik, I’m not going to let Cedric anywhere near my child or me. If I have to take Finn and disappear, I will!”

His eyes are resting on the boy. “Calm down, Leanna. You’re not going anywhere. I’ve already declared Finn as my heir to Cedric. But I may have miscalculated how determined he would be to get you back.”

“Get me back?” Erik’s words rattle me. “What do you mean, get me back? What is he trying to do?”

“Exactly what I said.” Erik meets my gaze evenly. “He’s not happy with this new development. I don’t believe it’s going to damage the collaboration between the two kingdoms, but he’s definitely going to be a pain in the ass. He basically said as much.”

I blink uncomprehendingly at him. “So, what’s next?”

“The only solution is the one I offered you the other day. I can only offer you protection if you agree to become my mate. Cedric can’t touch you in that case. But, Leanna, you only told me he was your mate. You never told me he was your fated mate.”

I don’t flinch from his sharp gaze. “You never asked. You never really asked anything, Erik. If you have questions, I can answer them. You just have to ask.”

Erik looks toward Finn again, and his voice becomes low. “Perhaps now is not the right time for questions. If you agree to be my mate, and the elders object, I can simply tell them that I had been expecting Griffin to be back by now, and that is why I have not gone ahead with the mating yet. Because I didn’t want to cement my heir’s position.”

I’m stunned. “Erik, are you really considering calling off the search for your brother?”

Erik falls silent for a moment. “I don’t know. But I do have to secure an heir for the kingdom. I may never stop looking for Griffin. If he comes back, the throne will be waiting for him, and Finn will be no worse off.”

What he’s saying make sense.

“So, we’re going to have a mating ceremony, then?” I ask slowly, accepting my destiny. There is no other way out of this, after all.

“Can I take that as agreement?” Erik shoots me a questioning look.

“If Cedric finds out that you and I are not together, even if he doesn’t go after Finn, he’s definitely going to go after me. I don’t trust him not to kill me. But if I am mated to you, he’s going to have to think twice about it. He cannot afford to start a war with the Human Wolf Kingdom, can he?”

Erik shakes his head. “No, I don’t think so. But if he hasn’t marked Vivian, you are still his fated mate. For that bond to break, I will have to give you the mating mark. Are you mentally prepared for that?”

I open my mouth to say yes, but nothing comes out.

I am, aren’t I?

Chapter 14

Cedric Raine

Coming to the Human Wolf Kingdom isn’t something I generally enjoy doing. I find this side of the Veil to be overly complicated. Shifters drive in their small boxes, preferring human convenience over the strength of their own bodies. But ever since the Eastern rebels have managed to find a way to cross the Veil undetected, it has begun to cause problems.

King Erik Wild has been more than cooperative, but the rebels are sneaky and able to cover their tracks. The Eastern Kingdom has had no choice but to cooperate with us, given the forcible trade restrictions I’ve imposed upon them. Four years ago, they tried to resist when I launched an investigation. It didn’t take long for them to bend when I showed up at their palace with another squadron.

Oh, Vivian protested, as did Bella, but their adamant displeasure made the entire thing even more satisfying.

Compared to the human world, time flows differently on our side of the Veil, especially the phases of the moon. The full moon takes place only every three months. Four times a year, a female shifter has the ability to conceive. In these past eight years, I have not touched Vivian once. The elders have fought and raged, but they can’t force me to fuck the woman.

And it’s not like Vivian hasn’t tried. She has slipped me aphrodisiacs, shown up in my room in scant clothing, but nothing has worked. It also doesn’t help that she only sees me for a total of three months each year.

Bella has been equally vocal about this, but once she lost favor with me, her importance in the castle waned.

Ever since I lost Leanna, it feels like there’s a gaping hole in my life, one I’ve never been able to fill.

Fighting at the border has made it easier over the years. I don’t like returning to the castle because I see my fated mate in every corner. I have to look at the woman wearing her face. Even now, sometimes the faintest trace of Leanna’s scent tickles my nose. I’ve tried to become accustomed to it, to ignore it, but when that small wolf pup peeked at me through the window of Erik’s office, his paws on the edge of the sill, I felt my heart crawl into my mouth.