9

I look up at him. “She’s my problem. I know how to deal with her.”

“Step one would be to stop referring to her as a problem,” Edgar points out.

I growl at him. “Don’t you all have something better to do?”

Derrick starts to reply, but a knock on the door has him snapping his mouth shut and looking over his shoulder. Rothan opens the door, and Bella enters. I see Derrick’s expression change into that of a love-struck wolf pup.

“What brings you here, Bella?”

Bella narrows her eyes at him. “Nothing that’s any of your business. Don’t you have to go piss on a tree or something?”

Edgar snorts, and I press my lips together. My childhood friend has been pursuing Bella for two years now. One thing about wolves is that we are relentless once we know what we want. Despite all the rejection he’s faced, my friend still thinks he has a chance. He’s also doing everything in his power to drive off Bella’s other suitors, including marking his territory outside her bedroom window.

“Why?” Derrick winks at her. “Is somebody bothering you? I think I’m going to take a stroll outside your room again.”

“Don’t you fucking dare!” Bella grabs him by the front of his shirt, and he grins at her.

“Ooh, foreplay. Maybe we shouldn’t do this in front of the king.”

Bella shoves him away. “Get out. I need to talk to Cedric.”

“Don’t worry, Bella. I’m taking him with me,” Rothan says, taking Derrick by the arm and pulling him out of the room. Edgar trails after them.

Once the door closes behind my men, I look at Bella. “You really should give him a chance. You are a match made in heaven. He’s a masochist through and through, especially when it comes to you.”

“I think you shouldn’t worry about matchmaking when you have your own mate to deal with.”

My small smile fades. “What did she do?”

“What are Everence seeds?”

“What?”

She puts her hands on her hips, looking irritated. “Everence seeds, Cedric. I took your mate to the villages nearby, and she asked Harriet if she could get some Everence seeds. Is that a thing in the East?”

“I’ve never heard of them. Maybe you should talk to a botanist.”

“Whatever they are, she’s trying to fuck around with our ecosystem. You should have a word with her.”

I study Bella. “You don’t like her?”

She crosses her arms over her chest. “I don’t give a crap about her.”

“What else has she done?”

“Nothing yet, but I don’t like her asking Harriet questions. If she needs something, she should come to me. I don’t trust her, Cedric.”

This conversation is starting to annoy me now. “I’ll have a word with her. Have you shown her the books?”

“I gave her the castle’s budget. She’s going over it. Not that she knows anything.” Bella rolls her eyes. “She seems like an airhead. Look, if you want her to be queen, just put her in a corner and tell her to look pretty. The castle is running just fine without her interference.”

A soft growl leaves my lips. “Careful, Bella. She is still the queen. I expect some level of respect.”

Bella makes a face, looking away. “If she were deserving of respect, I’d give it. She’s not a pure blood. She’s some maid that you found and brought here.”

“Bella!” I raise my voice sharply. “I know I’ve given you a lot of loose rein around here, but at the end of the day, you are an advisor to the queen. Remember your place.”

Bella scowls. “Fine. But I don’t like her interfering with the castle when I don’t know what her intentions are. Tell her to watch herself.”

She storms out of the room, clearly unhappy.

Bella was the previous butler’s daughter. We grew up together, so we’re quite familiar with each other, but she has always been a little bit arrogant. After managing the castle for so many years, she probably doesn’t like sharing the authority, but she has no choice. I didn’t bring Vivian here just to sit on her hands and look nice. She needs to make herself useful. From what I’ve heard, she did receive some level of training, so maybe she has some skills.

There’s only one person who might know what is going on in that woman’s mind.

When Harriet arrives, her expression is strained.

“Is something wrong?” I get to my feet.

She shakes her head. “It’s nothing. I was attending to the queen.”

“Why do you smell of blood?”

Harriet hesitates. “She had a small accident.”

My wolf sits up in concern, and I slam it back down. “What happened? What’s wrong with her now?”

Harriet gives me an aggrieved look. “Nothing you need to worry about.”

It’s obvious from her expression that she’s not happy with me. After my parents died, it was Harriet who looked after me, so her disapproval stings.

I clear my throat and say, “Bella says that Vivian is looking for—”

“Leanna,” Harriet says abruptly. “That’s her name. You can take everything else away from her, but don’t take her identity.”

The tightness in her voice makes me pause. I can be rude to anybody, but in front of Harriet, I don’t want to raise my voice.

“I don’t care about her name, Harriet.”

“You should,” she retorts.

“I never took you for a bleeding heart, Harriet. She is the enemy—”

“She’s an orphan who was abused by the princess. Don’t add to her suffering when she has done nothing to deserve it.”

Harriet must really like her, I realize, if she’s defending her so vocally to me.

“Fine. Leanna.” My wolf rumbles in approval when the name leaves my lips. It likes it. “Bella said that Leanna is looking for some seeds.”

“Bella told you or she complained to you?” Harriet asks tensely. “She is refusing to accept Leanna. She’s very impolite to her.”

“I’m sure the queen isn’t blameless—”

“She listens to Bella’s insults and doesn’t utter a word to defend herself. She acts as if she deserves it!”

Harriet’s explosion stuns me for a second. “You’re telling me she lets Bella talk to her like that?”

“Yes.”

I know how sharp Bella’s tongue is. “Tell Miss Asher to control her temper, then. She said Leanna asked for some seeds. What is she trying to do?”

“She’s not trying to do anything.” The older woman before me sighs. “The plant she was referring to is grown in the human world in their coldest regions. It’s a type of vegetable. You know the farmlands here are wasting away. She is hoping to see if those plants can sprout here, and if so, she wants to purchase seeds and give them to the farmers to grow and harvest. Currently, we import vegetables from the Human Wolf Kingdom. If we start growing them, Leanna says it will help the economy.”

“We don’t need help with the economy.”

“You don’t, but the farmers do,” Harriet points out. “One of them has a bad back and was heating up some water in a kettle for a compress. Leanna mentioned that an electric blanket she saw in the human world might help with his pain. She has no bad intentions, Your Majesty. She is just trying to help.”

“Why didn’t she go to Bella with all these suggestions?”

“She did,” Harriet snaps. “Bella told her to stay in her own lane. So, Leanna asked me if she could plant a few things in the palace garden, just to see if they can grow.”

I take a minute to ponder this. “And you think these ideas are good?” I finally ask.

Harriet nods. “The truth is, Sire, we need to start pursuing some level of advancement. Before your father’s death, he was planning to bring some development into the North. Aside from basic electricity and some heavy farm machinery, we haven’t introduced much, not even vehicles or household equipment. The queen’s recommendations are helpful. I believe you should let her do as she sees fit. She’s quite intelligent. She has a good grasp of budgeting and of the human world. If we provide her with more resources, I believe she can work on developing the North while you focus on protecting the North.”