49

My heart trembles at his words. “Proved it to me?” The wound that I have been covering up for years begins to bleed once again. “How? Would you have made me your mistress? Or would you have taken my child from me and raised him yourself, stashing me somewhere far away? Tell me why I should’ve believed that you would have spared my life when you had the real Princess Vivian. You always told me I was a substitute. You always told me that my worth as a fated mate was nothing in your eyes. Did you really expect me to believe that you were not going to get rid of me the moment you found the true princess?”

Cedric’s jaw tightens, and his eyes are filled with anguish as he looks at me. “The true princess? I still see you in every room of the castle. I closed up the greenhouse because it belongs to you. I have not taken that woman to my bed. I denied her access to my chamber because that was your rightful place.”

His words reach out and grab something deep and vulnerable inside me, twisting it. He releases my arms and cups my face. Seeing this proud man bend in front of me has my stomach in knots.

“I admit I made mistakes, Leanna. I was harsh. Perhaps I was cruel. But I have never had eyes for any woman but you. Everything Bella told you was a lie. I should’ve trusted you and listened to you back then when you felt uncomfortable with me leaving her in charge. It was my mistake, and I paid dearly for it.”

I push him away, not wanting to believe his words. “You sent her a letter. It had your seal on it. You told her to get rid of me—”

“Bella had my seal!” Cedric explodes. “She forged that letter, and she admitted as much. I was going to kill her. If the pack elders had not intervened, she would have died in the same manner that she had planned for you. Both her and the princess. Vivian is not you, Leanna. She can never be you.”

My wolf wants to believe him. But my heart has become so jaded that I find the idea difficult to believe. What if this is another trap? What if he’s just trying to get me and Finn to go back to the North with him, and he’ll hurt us there?

I shake my head at him. “No. I don’t trust you. Bella told me that if I had slept with you on the night of the full moon and conceived, she would have enjoyed killing our child. How could she possibly have said something like that without your backing? How can I be sure you’re not just saying all this so that you can harm us and get rid of the impurity in your bloodline?”

I ignore the way he flinches.

“I can’t trust you, Cedric. You never gave me a reason to. I was a prisoner back then, and I will not be one again.”

The way he looks at me makes me want to weep. It’s as if I’ve broken his heart. As if I said something so utterly cruel that he can’t wrap his head around it.

“Tell me how to prove it to you,” he finally says. “Whatever it is you want—”

I shake my head. “I just want you to leave us alone. I want you to leave me and my son alone. I want nothing to do with you or the Northern Kingdom. Finn and I live among humans now. My son will never have to suffer for having my blood running through his veins. He will never have to worry for his life because his father and his father’s people think he’s not good enough.” Each word is another slash on my already battered heart. “You have the real princess now, your pureblooded woman, Cedric. Go to her. Go to your queen. She’s waiting for you. Have a child with her. Make that child your heir.”

“If you think I’m going to walk away from you or my son—” Cedric begins.

I give him a hard look. “I accepted Erik’s proposal, Cedric. I’m going to become his mate. My son will be his heir. I will protect my child from you and the people around you at any cost to myself.”

“Erik’s mate?” He gives me a dazed look. “How can you be with another man when you have a fated mate? You can’t accept another man’s mating mark!”

“Can’t I?!” I demand fiercely. “What would you have me do? Skip hand-in-hand with you back to the Northern castle where you imprison me and kill my son? Where you let Vivian exact her twisted revenge on me? You want me to trust you?”

He stares at me, speechless, and I let out a bitter laugh.

“I’m finally free, Cedric. I no longer have to let you humiliate me just so that I can survive. I no longer have to live in a world where my only worth came from being a substitute for another person.” Hot tears spill onto my cheeks as I grab him by the front of his shirt, my voice breaking. “Nobody calls me worthless here. Nobody treats me as if I have no dignity. I work hard in this world. I’m respected. I have built a life for myself. And most of all, Cedric, I’m free. From everyone. I don’t have to lean on you to survive. I don’t have to worry about what I might say to piss you off and make you finally get rid of me. For the first time in my life, I’m free. I’ve never going to give this up.”

I don’t know why I’m crying. Maybe it’s my wolf. The devastation inside me at knowing what could have been.

“Do you know what it’s like to suffer your whole life and then find your fated mate, only to be told that even they don’t want you? Do you know how small I felt when you said such cruel things to me? I can’t even put it into words. I can’t explain to you what it did to me knowing that I had no value as a person. Erik’s not going to mistreat me. I know his people won’t harm my son. I want to give Finn everything I never got. Starting with love. I didn’t even know what love was because I never experienced it, but I know the love I have for my son. He will never go without. I’m going to make sure he values himself, that he knows he’s important and cherished, and that the purity of his blood doesn’t matter.”

“Leanna—”

I hold up my hand. “Thank you for saving me, Cedric, but it doesn’t change anything between us. I want you to go. I want you to leave me and my son alone. Stay away from us.”

“Why won’t you believe that I never—”

“I don’t want to believe it!” I snap at him. “I’m not going to give you a chance. I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but I won’t let you succeed. I have my child to protect!”

Cedric gets to his feet, and I feel both relief and a flicker of disappointment. “Finn is my heir, Leanna. I have just as much right to him as you do, if not more—”

My head whips up to look him in the eyes. “If you even think about taking him from me, you have no idea the hell I will unleash upon you. You will never take my child away from me. He’s my son, not yours. Finn is going to be Erik’s child and his heir. Erik gave me his word that he will make it happen.”

“Gave you his word, did he?” Cedric stares at me, his voice hard. “And you trust him so much because…?”