54

“We never agreed to that.”

“The terms have changed,” I respond firmly. The king of the Human Wolf Kingdom gives me a wary look, and I continue. “You dragged me into this, Erik. You’re the reason Cedric knows about Finn and why he’s threatening to take my son from me. You said you would protect us from him. Unless you’re backing out—”

“I’m not,” Erik says hurriedly. “I’m not. You have my word.”

“You fucking bastard!” Furious, Cedric is about to leap at him, but I step in his path, blocking his way.

“That’s enough!”

He freezes, his fist suspended in mid-air.

“This is my decision,” I tell him. “Not yours. I am not your subject or your prisoner anymore, Cedric. Get that through your head. Whatever you’re trying to do isn’t going to work. So, stop it before I decide to take Finn and disappear. This time, I’ll make sure you’re never able to find us.”

His face turns white, and he lowers his fist. “You wouldn’t do that.”

“Try me.”

“I’m his father!” Cedric’s voice is filled with anguish, and it takes every drop of willpower not to let his pain get to me.

I can’t trust him. What if it’s an act?

I don’t care if he is Finn’s father. I will never subject my son to anything that can harm him.

I turn my back to him. “You’ve done enough damage to me, Cedric. I’m not going to give you an opportunity to hurt our son. You have Vivian. Have children with her. Have your heirs with—”

He grabs my arm, forcing me to face him again. “Is that what this is about? Vivian? I’ll throw her in a dungeon. I’ll do to her what she did to you! She and Bella will pay—”

I shove his hand off of me. “If you intended to make them pay for what they did to me, you would have done so long ago. But Vivian is living in your castle as your queen, isn’t she? And Bella is still alive, isn’t she?”

When he doesn’t say anything, I laugh bitterly.

“Let’s be honest, Cedric. You don’t want me back. You want to finish the job. You can’t bear the idea of having me out here, alive, of having had your order disobeyed. You can’t tolerate the existence of a child with tainted blood—”

“That’s enough, Leanna!”

It’s not Cedric who raises his voice, but Erik. Cedric is silent, his lips pressed together so tight that they’re white. He looks tormented.

“That’s quite enough,” Erik says, disapproval heavy in his tone. “You’re being unfair here, Leanna, and you know it.”

My jaw tightens. Perhaps I was a little cruel with my words, but I didn’t give Cedric even a taste of the torment I went through. “Fine. But I want him to stay away from me.”

Erik sighs. “Cedric is the one providing security for you and Finn. He and his people will be guarding your home.” I open my mouth to protest, but he lifts his hand. “I’m not going to argue with you about this. It’s already decided. Before you start panicking, he is not going to be able to take you or Finn to the Northern Kingdom without my permission. Since Finn was born here, he is one of my subjects. If Cedric tries to remove him against your will or mine, it will spark a war, and I’m sure King Cedric doesn’t want that. So, you have no say in the matter. It’s either this or you move into the palace.”

I stand there, open-mouthed, not knowing how to respond. Moving into the palace is not an option. I don’t want Finn’s entire life to be disrupted. “Fine,” I repeat through gritted teeth.

Erik’s voice becomes gentler. “Look, I know you’re angry, but the people who attacked you might try again. Think of Finn. For one moment, only consider his safety. Who better to protect him than his own father and the king of the Northern Wolf Kingdom?”

He studies me, and I glance at Cedric, who’s watching me.

“Cedric is an experienced warrior. If anybody can protect you two, it’s him. Don’t think with your heart but with your head. Can you name any other person within the Human Wolf Kingdom that you trust enough to protect Finn?”

My lips part again, but I have no answer. Because the truth is, I don’t know anybody who is as strong as Cedric.

“I am personally guaranteeing your safety, Leanna. Nothing will happen to you,” Erik insists.

I look between the two men. Do I really have a choice? A flicker of helpless anger passes through me. Decisions are being made for me. It pisses me off. Even now, my reins are in somebody else’s hands.

“Fine,” I repeat for the third time. “Now, is there anything else you would like me to do here, or am I allowed to go back home? With your permission, of course.”

Cedric opens his mouth, and I give him a nasty look.

“If I were you, I’d shut up right now.” I start to head toward the door. “I’m leaving.”

“Leanna—” Erik begins, and I shoot him a look of loathing.

“This is your fault, Erik. I don’t know what I was thinking when I made this agreement with you. I should’ve known better.”

I ignore the hurt look on his face. I’m supposed to care about how everyone else feels while they all have the right to trample on me? I stride out of the room toward the palace garden, anger bubbling inside me.

“Finn!” I call out, my voice a little too sharp for my liking.

My son rushes over to me from where he was playing near the gazebo. “Are we going home?”

“Yes.”

“Is he coming with us?” He lowers his voice, and I realize he’s looking at Cedric, who has followed me outside.

“Yes.”

When Finn looks excited about that, I feel a wave of nausea. I want to tell him not to get attached to Cedric. I want to warn my son to keep a safe distance from that man. But the words don’t come out.

Getting in my car, I don’t bother asking Cedric to join us.

He can find his own way back.

 

  

As I stir the pot, I glance at Finn, who has had his nose glued to the kitchen window ever since we got home from the store. “Finn, get away from there.”

He looks at me, not listening. “He’s been standing outside for hours, Mom. He’s out there every day. It’s been, like, a week. Can’t we invite him in?”

“No,” I reply shortly.

“Why not?”

I move the spoon around a little more aggressively in the meat stew.

“He didn’t even have lunch, and now we’re having dinner, and—I can take a plate to him!” He gives me a hopeful look.

I set down the spoon and turn to face my son. “Why are you so concerned about him?”