Page 54 of Alpha's Impostor Bride

“Yes,” he admits, his voice heavy. “She’s waiting for you at the hut to kill her. She believes that you will at least be merciful.”

I punch him in the face, and he goes falling backward.

Edgar restrains me. “Stop. Just calm down. She’s here, Cedric. We can sort this whole thing out.”

“What can we do now, though?” Derrick looks shaken. “If the elders know that Leanna is not the princess—”

“She is my fated mate. I’m not killing her!” I roar. “Damn the elders! Where is she? I want to see her!”

Rothan leads the way in his wolf form. As I follow him, I wonder if I ever gave Leanna any assurances that I would never hurt her. Didn’t I? I looked after her. Surely that meant something to her. The idea that Leanna truly believes I ordered her execution makes me sick to my stomach. Surely, she wouldn’t think—

My wolf is beside itself.

When we reach the hut, I feel relieved. I’ll tell her. I’ll tell her she’s not replaceable.

I burst into the hut, but there are only two guards sitting there, wringing their hands. When they see me, they jump to their feet, shocked.

“Where is she?” I demand.

“Your Majesty?” They both look panicked. “Do you mean the messenger woman?”

I grab the one closest to me and slam him up against the wall. “Where is my mate?!” I roar.

If there was any blood left in his face, it drains away fast.

“Your ma–mate, Your Majesty? That woman—She was the qu–queen?” he stammers. From the fear in his eyes, I’m getting a bad feeling.

“Tell me where she is if you value your life!”

“She ran into the forest,” the other guard whimpers. “She said she wanted to relieve herself, and we told her she could do it at the edge of the forest, before the markers. She didn’t come back, so we went looking for her. We saw her heading deeper into the forest. We tried to stop her, but she ran.”

I stare at him, my blood turning to ice. “And you didn’t follow her?”

He trembles. “We didn’t dare. We are not allowed to leave our post. We thought she was just a foolish woman—”

I plunge my hand into his chest and rip out the man’s heart.

“Cedric!” Edgar shouts, and I release the first guard, giving the other one an enraged look.

“You didn’t go after her.”

“Forgive me, Your Majesty!” The man slumps to the ground, petrified. “If we had known she was the queen—Rothan told us she was nobody important—”

I storm out of the hut, heading toward the forest.

Edgar, Derrick, and Rothan all run after me, and Edgar steps into my path. He holds up one hand as he yells, “You can’t, Cedric! You can’t go in there! You won’t survive.”

The remaining guard stumbles out behind them, raw fear in his eyes. “It’s pointless, Your Majesty. We heard a scream. We heard her scream.”

I stare at him, numb. “What?”

“Not ten minutes after she left.” His voice is low. “There was a scream, and then we heard a roar. I’m so sorry. If we had only known—”

I turn to face Rothan. “This is your fault.”

His gaze lowers, a distraught look on his face. I’m about to rip his neck out when I stop.

“No. No, it’s your fault, Derrick.” Derrick looks at me, guilt and grief in his eyes. “My mate is dead because of you. Because of you and your obsession with that woman. I should never have trusted you. I should never have trusted your judgment. Because of you, Leanna died believing I wanted her to suffer.”

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