Page 90 of The Alpha's Fallen Spell
Leanna scoffs when I don’t reply. “I don’t care what he told you. Erik never loved me, not really. He tried to manipulate me into mating him because he needed a ready-made heir, and I had a son. He might have thought he loved me during a rough patch in his life when I was one of the few people he could talkto openly, but that wasn’t love. That was two people supporting each other through difficult times.” She reaches across the table, her gesture warm but brisk. “Look, I’m not here to rehash ancient history. I’m here because Erik is being an absolute idiot about this whole situation, and frankly, it’s driving everyone crazy.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, thrown by her bluntness.
“I mean,” Leanna says with exaggerated patience, “that your stubborn mate has threatened to abandon his position as commander of the army because he refuses to do anything that might interfere with your café and your freedom.”
My breath catches in my throat. “What?”
“Exactly my reaction,” Leanna says dryly. “The man won’t leave you alone and unprotected, but he also refuses to do anything that might jeopardize your business or your independent life. So, he has gotten himself stuck in this impossible situation where he has basically given up everything that matters to him professionally just to hover around you in this town like some sort of lovesick bodyguard.”
All I can do is blink at her.
“Griffin wants his brother back,” she continues with apparently characteristic candor, “so I’ve been trying to talk some sense into Erik. The obvious solution is the mating mark; it would protect you from the people hunting artificial shifters and solve everyone’s problems. But will he listen? Of course not.”
“The mating mark?” I repeat, the words feeling foreign on my tongue. “I already told him I don’t want—”
“It would make you essentially indistinguishable from born shifters,” Leanna explains matter-of-factly. “The organization hunting artificial shifters would have no use for you because you wouldn’t be unique anymore. Problem solved.”
I stare at her, trying to process this information. “And then what? He goes home? He finally leaves me alone?”
An uncomfortable expression crosses Leanna’s face. “Well, no. Once you’re mates, you will have to move back to the palace with him—”
My lips curve in an angry smile. “And what? You expect me to give up my life here?” I get to my feet. “I know about you, Leanna. When I was living at the palace, I heard your story. I’m glad you found your mate and are willing to make the necessary sacrifices. But I’m not. Don’t force your opinions on me. Just because you sacrificed your career, don’t think I will do the same. I’m very good at reading people, and you seem to be under the impression that you and I are the same. We are not. I don’t care about love. I don’t care about having a mate. I want my freedom. And you can say whatever you like, but it is clear that Erik is still hung up on you. I’m not going to sit around and be somebody’s second choice. Tell Erik to go back home. And tell him that I have a contingency plan in place if someone tries to take me. I would rather die than go through that again.”
Blood rushes to Liana’s face, and Cedric growls at me. My eyes snap toward him.
“I would stop that if I were you. Take your mate home. I have nothing to say to her, and I don’t want to hear anything else from her. Erik is being an idiot. I’m not going to sacrifice my happiness just so the Human Wolf Kingdom can have its commander back. I’m done being anybody’s sacrificial lamb. Giving me gifts and trying to win me over isn’t going to make me forget what he did.”
Cedric takes a step closer to me, and Leanna grabs his wrist, her voice sharp. “Go outside, Cedric. I’ll be with you in a minute.”
Her mate looks reluctant but obeys. “One minute.”
She nods, and he leaves after one last, baleful look at me. I glare back at him, unfazed.
Leanna is silent for a few seconds. “You’re right. I shouldn’t expect you to do what I did. The stakes for you are different. But let me tell you something, Fiona. You don’t understand the loyalty Erik has toward Griffin. For him to walk away from his brother and the palace to pursue you is no small matter. He didn’t have to care about you. If you were truly just an obligation, it would have been very easy to ignore you. He could’ve waited for you to die and then found a different mate. After all, he has more important duties to attend to. If he didn’t truly want his fated mate, why go to all this effort?”
I open my mouth to say something and then snap it shut.
Leanna gets to her feet. “You think he’s suddenly interested in you because of what you’ve done with yourself? That is the farthest thing from the truth. He has been in awe of you from the moment he found you, right after you escaped captivity. He respected you when you refused to give up and let yourself be consumed by your demons. He’s attracted to your internal strength. You’ve succeeded on your own because of your strength, and he has always admired that. You were never broken. If you truly had been broken, Fiona, you wouldn’t be able to function right now. You wouldn’t be running this café. Just because you’ve been using that word to describe yourself doesn’t mean it’s true. And just because you have been underestimating yourself, it doesn’t mean everybody else has.”
I wince at her words.
“And another thing.” Her voice is tight with emotion. “When Erik was all alone, when his brother was missing and he was struggling with his kingdom, I suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He saved me, too. He supported me. But he was willing to push my needs aside to get what he wanted. I was vulnerable, and he had no qualms about using my vulnerability for his own ends. With you, he’s not doing that. He refuses to. So, in my opinion, what he felt for me was not love. I served a purposefor him. We’re friends, and we care about each other. But love? No. I was the only person Erik could talk to like an equal. My home provided a sanctuary for him away from the worries of the palace. What he had with me was friendship, and being king at the time and isolated by the title, he didn’t have the luxury of other close relationships. He may have mistook my friendship for affection. But the way he talks about you, the way he’s willing to sacrifice everything for you? That is love. You should ask him for the real reason he rejected you, not the nonsense he’s been feeding everyone. He is an idiot; I will be the first one to say it. And he should pay for making you feel the way he did. But he would lay down his life for you. Don’t forget that.”
“What reason?” When she doesn’t reply, I block her path to the door. “I want an answer. You’re the one who mentioned ‘the real reason.’ I want to hear it.”
Leanna’s eyes tighten around the corners. “Fine. He didn’t reject you because he thought you were too damaged or would be a liability. He thought he would be a liability.”
I stare at her, my mind struggling to process what she’s telling me. “Excuse me?”
Her expression grows gentle. “Erik rejected the bond because the war with the Silver Ring Organization was escalating. It still is. It has become more dangerous than anyone anticipated. He’s on the front line of every major operation, leading the most dangerous missions.” She pauses, watching my face carefully. “He believes that when things escalate further—and they will—he may be one of the casualties. He didn’t want to bind you to him only to leave you widowed and alone.”
Her words knock the wind out of me, but I keep my expression carefully neutral. Inside, something shifts—not breaking, but cracking, like ice beginning to thaw. “That’s ridiculous,” I say, though my voice lacks the conviction I want it to have. “He’s not weak. He’s not going to die.”
“Isn’t he?” Leanna’s voice remains calm, but there’s steel beneath it. “Fiona, when Erik returned from his last mission—soon after you left the palace—he was barely alive. Nearly fatally injured. If Jerry hadn’t healed him when he did...” She shakes her head. “Griffin told me it was the closest they’d ever come to losing him.”
My breath catches. “I didn’t know.”
“The Silver Ring has developed new weapons, new ways to neutralize wolf shifters’ natural advantages,” Leanna continues. “They’ve studied us, learned our weaknesses. That’s why our soldiers have started training with conventional weapons, too; our supernatural strength isn’t always enough anymore. There are now two dangerous organizations, both determined to bring down the royal families. And both of them are targeting you specifically, Fiona. Erik knows that being with him puts you directly in their crosshairs. He’s trying to protect you from that.”
