Chapter 8: Know Your Place

(LOCKE)

“Any word from the Eastern family?” I lean back in my chair, looking at Derrick.

My friend has been very withdrawn over the past few days. It’s been a week since we returned from the East, and we’re still working on rounding up the remaining members of the royal family whose lives were spared.

“We heard from King Gideon’s brother. He was traveling during the attack and is currently returning from the wolf kingdom in the human world. He wants to secure Ravenna’s release.”

“Well, that’s not going to happen.” I tap my fingers on my desk. “Make sure that if he shows up here, they never meet.”

“Bella told me the queen said that even Ravenna’s father was not able to distinguish between them. Are you sure her uncle could? Maybe we should let them see each other, so they have proof that we have Ravenna, no matter who she really is.”

Derrick’s words make sense. Allowing a single, supervised meeting might be in our favor. However, I intend to be there. I don’t trust my mate not to run her mouth.

The mere thought of her puts a scowl on my face. I don’t understand the woman. Whatever I say to her, however I treat her, she accepts it all without a single complaint. When she looks at me, her eyes are always empty. No anger, no distress, nothing in them at all.

My body brimming with a strange emotion, I jump to my feet and go over to the window to look outside.

To my irritation, she’s there.

Ravenna—No, that woman is walking in the garden by herself. My mother always maintained the castle’s gardens, but after she passed, no one else bothered.

I follow my mate with my eyes. She sits down on one of the broken benches, stretching her legs and rubbing them.

Do her legs hurt?

She suddenly jerks and stands up to examine the bench. Her hand runs over the wood, and she pauses at the spot where she was sitting. I know the bench has a crack. Foolish woman. She didn’t even bother to check before sitting down.

She wraps her coat around herself and crosses her arms as if trying to keep warm.

My brows knit in irritation. If she’s chilly, why not wear something warmer? That coat looks too thin. Then again, isn’t the weather in the East warm all the time? She’s probably not accustomed to the cold.

I lean against the window, my arms folded. Why is she so thin?

I don’t spend any time with her. It’s been a week, and I haven’t shared a single meal with the woman. I prefer to eat in my office or while working. Her food is delivered to her room. What is she eating?

Just then, I see a familiar figure hurrying after her. It’s Sigrid. From her body language, Sigrid is clearly scolding her. The woman bows her head and nods along. Then she follows Sigrid back inside the castle.

“Are you listening, Locke?”

Derrick’s voice pulls my attention back into the room. “Did you say something?”

“I was asking what her name is.” I stare at him. “Whose name?”

“Your mate, the queen. She’s not Ravenna, so who is she?”

“Does it matter?” I shrug, recalling those thin shoulders and that thick, luscious hair piled on top of her head. She walks with elegance. But there’s an emptiness in those soft, brown eyes of hers.

The perfect doll.

The thought makes me uncomfortable.

Derrick frowns before exchanging a look with Edgar. “What do you mean? Does it matter? Of course it matters. She’s your mate. And she’s not Ravenna. We have no bone to pick with her. She’s innocent.”

“She’s from the East.” I straighten up and head back to my desk. “She’s hardly what I would call innocent. The East is responsible for shielding the rebels that killed our parents, remember?”

Derrick’s face grows dark. “I will never forget.”

My mother and father had been visiting the Eastern Kingdom on a diplomatic mission.

Derrick’s parents had accompanied them. All four of them were assassinated within the palace grounds. Instead of trying to take responsibility, the Eastern royal family tried to seize control of the North.

They failed terribly, and had I not been so young, I would have made them pay tenfold.

Derrick takes a breath before continuing. “But this woman isn’t responsible for any of that. And she’s your fated mate, Locke. Don’t take that so lightly. Your wolves are connected. Have you given her the mark?”

“No, and I don’t plan on it. She’s a political prisoner before anything else.”

Edgar chooses this moment to speak up. “Without the mating mark, your bond will suffer.”

“That’s my business.”

Rothan approaches the desk. “Locke, this wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that she doesn’t have pure, royal blood, would it?”

As always, Rothan hits the nail on the head.

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 Locke.”

“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 weak 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, Locke. I took your mate to the villages nearby, and she asked Sigrid 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 Sigrid questions. If she needs something, she should come to me. I don’t trust her, Locke.”

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 pureblood. 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 Ravenna 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.

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