Page 82 of The Alpha's Fallen Spell
“About time,” she says, pushing past me into the room. “Do you always sleep this heavily? I’ve been knocking for ages.”
“Leanna,” I say, running a hand through my sleep-mussed hair. “What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t arriving for another two weeks.”
She shrugs elegantly, settling into the room’s single armchair. “Plans changed. Cedric’s downstairs getting coffee.” She looks me over critically. “You look terrible.”
“It’s five in the morning,” I point out dryly. “And I wasn’t expecting company.”
Her expression softens slightly. “I heard about your situation. About Fiona.”
Something in her tone makes me tense. “What exactly did you hear? Have you been keeping tabs on me?”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” she says with a small smile. “Maya told me everything. We’ve been in contact about the artificial shifter situation. That’s why I’m here, Erik,” she continues. “Derrick found his fated mate.”
This catches my attention. Derrick is one of Cedric’s most trusted men—a warrior I’ve fought alongside in numerous battles. “Who is it?”
“An artificial shifter. A woman who had recently joined this new organization you’ve been monitoring.” Leanna’s eyes never leave my face. “She chose him over them. She’s living with him now in the North.”
“And?” I prompt, sensing there’s more.
“And she told him about their plans.” Leanna’s voice drops. “For Fiona.”
My blood runs cold. “What plans?”
“They want to use her as leverage. To force the royal families’ hands.” She rises, pacing the small room with restless energy. “Their demands aren’t entirely unreasonable—recognition as legitimate shifters, not ‘artificial’ ones. They want Maya to develop a way to make them more complete shifters. Or, for those who don’t want their wolves, to completely remove them.”
“And if their demands aren’t met?” I ask, already knowing the answer.
Leanna’s expression darkens. “Violence. They’ve rejected all attempts at peaceful negotiation.”
“That’s not all, is it?” I can read the tension in her posture, the careful way she’s choosing her words.
“No.” She sighs. “Some of the scientists among them—artificial shifters themselves—want to study Fiona. They’re fascinated by how she has managed to suppress her wolf for so long.”
“‘Study,’” I repeat, the word tasting like ash. “You mean ‘experiment on.’”
Leanna doesn’t soften the blow. “They want to cut her open, Erik. To see how it works.”
Rage boils within me, but I keep my expression controlled. “I won’t let that happen.”
“We’ve come up with a way to protect her,” Leanna says. “The mating mark.”
I stare at her. “What?”
“Maya’s research shows that when an artificial shifter receives a true mating mark, their biology fundamentally changes,” Leanna explains. “They essentially become indistinguishable from born shifters. The organization would lose interest because there would be nothing unique left to study.”
“She doesn’t want it,” I say quietly. “She doesn’t want me.”
“Then find a way to convince her,” Leanna says without emotion. “Because the alternative is worse.”
“I won’t force it on her,” I say, the very thought repulsive. “I won’t take away her right to choose again.”
A look of approval appears on Leanna’s face. “Good. I would have been disappointed if you had considered it.”
I sink onto the edge of the bed, weighing our options. “She’ll never forgive me, Leanna. Not after everything I did.”
“You’d be surprised what the heart can forgive,” she says softly. “When I escaped the North, I was convinced I would never forgive Cedric. The misunderstanding between us seemed too great, the hurt too deep.” She sits beside me. “Yet, here we are.”
Before I can respond, another knock sounds at the door.
