Chapter 10
· King Soren ·
My mind is whirring, now that my engagement has been leaked to the world.
I sit in my office, the weight of the world pressing down on me as I stare at the laptop screen.
The Zoom meeting with the council is in full swing, and I’m waiting for them to mention Bree.
I know that is why they’ve called for this meeting.
Damian sits beside me, his presence annoying as I prepare to face the inevitable questions about Bree.
“Your Majesty,” one of the council members begins finally, his tone formal and slightly condescending. “We must express our concerns regarding your relationship with Ms. Brielle. Her background remains unknown, and this raises significant risks for the throne.”
I shift in my seat, my irritation bubbling beneath the surface. “I understand your concerns, but Bree is not a risk, and who I marry is none of anyone’s concern, including the councils.”
“I understand that, but it doesn’t erase the fact that we know so little about her, and the fact you kept this hidden for so long is worrisome, like you were afraid to tell the world you were taking a mate,” another advisor interjects.
“It’s normal procedure. We hadn’t announced it because no dates are officially set, those who needed to know knew, and those directly helping in organizing the wedding did too.
You must understand after my last wife, Jacinta.
I am not willing to risk her safety especially since she is a werewolf,” I reply quickly.
The head council member, Clyde, sighs heavily. “Other kingdoms are beginning to take notice of your upcoming union, particularly the Vampiric Kingdom of Nocturna. King Alaric himself has expressed his curiosity about her identity.”
I furrow my brows. “Why would King Alaric care? We’ve never had issues with him.
” I feel a flicker of confusion, and my annoyance heightens slightly.
Alaric is a powerful vampire, but like the rest, he stays out of the media and most kingdom politics.
He is known for his cunning and shrewdness within the council, though we’ve never had issues in the past. The hybrid kingdoms, yes, but never from the vampiric one.
The council exchanges uneasy glances. “We’re unsure, Your Majesty.
He was tipped off about your impending marriage and wanted to know who she is.
This kind of attention could lead to complications, especially when we have no information about her, given we can’t figure out who she is.
We believed you were looking into an employee, not your own fiancée.
That alone has us asking why you need to clarify who you’re marrying to that extent.
Damian has been quite insistent on us finding information about her. ”
I cut a glare at Damian, who shrugs simply.
“She did start out as an employee. It turned into something more. My brother investigates everyone; you know he is paranoid, Clyde. He himself looked into you many times for council breaches.” Clyde swallows thickly, and I know I struck a chord with him by the way he nervously glances at the other council members present, who are clearly not aware of any breaches against him.
“Now, these complications you speak of,” I mutter, running a hand through my hair. “What kind of complications are you worried about regarding Bree? Maybe I can clear them up now?”
“Unrest among the other kingdoms, should they perceive her as a threat or a mystery,” Maverick, Clyde’s second advisor answers.
Clyde seems to welcome the change in the topic since it’s not directed at him and adds, “It is imperative you investigate her background thoroughly. We cannot have someone with unknown ties so close to the crown, and council members from the other districts are already expressing worry about this woman possibly having a seat on the council when nothing is known about her.”
“She has no intention of being on the council. They have nothing to fear; Bree will hold no influence on the council,” I answer flatly. Though sometimes I wonder if that was why my late wife was targeted to begin with, she was meddling and half the reason Damian looked into Clyde so many times.
“We understand that, My King, that isn’t what we are—” Clyde begins.
“I will not treat Bree as a suspect,” I interrupt. “She’s done nothing wrong.” Why are the kingdoms really this worried about her influence when she hasn’t done anything to warrant their worry?
“Your responsibility is to the kingdom and council first,” Damian chimes in, his voice calm but firm.
“We need to know if any potential risks are associated with her. The council is right to be concerned.” I grit my teeth and glare at him; he is not helping matters, adding his two cents worth when he has been nothing but critical of Bree from the moment he met her.
As the meeting drags on, I eventually agree to look into her past, yet the decision feels like a betrayal.
I end the meeting with pressure crushing my chest knowing I’ve agreed to command the answers from her, though I hope it doesn’t come to that.
The council’s demands echo in my mind, and all because Damian was pressuring them about her information, which has made it look like she is guilty of something.
After the meeting, I step out of my office and head downstairs toward the gardens where I know Bree and Max are playing. The sunlight spills warmly over the flower beds, and I find Bree laughing, her eyes bright as she plays with Max.
The sight tugs at my heart. How can anyone accuse her of being a spy or having ill intentions?
She has fixed her hair, the colors bright, and her regrowth once again covered.
I sigh; it’s another thing I’m dreading having that talk with her; my mother really wants her hair a more natural color, and the fact she is now the talk of the media isn’t helping.
One magazine referred to her as a hippy.
How they come to that conclusion over rainbow hair is beyond me.
“Bree,” I call, walking toward them. She peers in my direction, her smile fading slightly as she meets my gaze, and I offer as much of a smile as I can, hoping to reassure her.
“Hey,” she replies, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “Max and I were just playing knights and dragons.”
Max giggles, his small hands gripping a toy sword. “We’re winning!” Max says. I glance around for the invisible dragons he is fighting, finding the small tree chopped to pieces with his blunt blade.
I kneel beside him, my heart swelling at seeing her with my son, but I don’t want him to overhear this conversation. “Max, go play. I need to talk to Bree for a second.”
He frowns, turning to do as I ask.
My attention shifts to Bree, “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course, what is it?” I sigh and prepare to tell her about the council, but seeing the worry on her face, I divert the conversation.
“Ah… Mom wants to know about your family. You mentioned before you didn’t have anyone besides your grandmother. She believes it will be odd if you have no family in attendance for the wedding.”
Her expression shifts, a shadow crossing her face. “It’s just been me and Granny since I returned.” She chews her lip, glancing at Max before speaking again. “My parents… they shunned me over my ex-mate. They disapproved of him, so they kicked me out.”
“They shunned you?” I ask her. “So, you were part of a pack?”
“I was until I found my mate. My father is the…”
“Bree!” my mother’s voice cuts through the air behind me.
Before I can press further, my mother appears, her voice bright. “There you are! The seamstress is here. It’s time to try on some of these wedding dresses!”
Bree sighs, her shoulders slumping slightly. “Can we talk later?”
I lean in and kiss her softly, feeling the warmth of her lips linger on mine. “Of course. I’ll try to finish up early tonight.”
The tension from the council meeting swirls in my mind as she heads inside with my mother. I want to trust Bree, but the weight of my responsibilities looms heavy. I know I must find the answers to the council’s demands.
It’s not until much later that I catch up with her at dinner; I sit at the table, the warm glow of candlelight flickering around us.
The meal is laid out, and there’s an air of unease hanging over everyone.
Bree looks exhausted as she picks at her food—no doubt from my mother smothering her with fabric this afternoon while the seamstress was here.
My mother peers around the table with a frown. “Where is Damian?”
I glance at his usual seat to see it is still empty. I spoke to him just before coming in here.
“He was right behind me,” I reply, glancing toward the staircase.
The nagging feeling in my gut grows stronger.
I can’t shake the sense that Damian’s absence is deliberate.
He knows how our mother gets over dinner, especially when she cooked tonight, much to my staff’s horror.
They know that means they have no say, and she’ll try to do everything herself while they are forced to watch or pass her things.
“He might be checking patrols,” my father offers.
“He knows I do that after dinner,” I reply.
“You aren’t coming to bed early tonight?” Bree asks, looking rather disappointed.
I frown slightly, knowing we still need to talk. “I’ll try to get up earlier tonight. I just have a few meetings.” I’m sure she is sick of hearing that. “Are you alright with Max?”
She nods, pushing her food around her plate. My mother seems to notice the tension between us and quickly tosses her napkin aside.
“I’m going to find your brother,” she announces, but my chair scrapes against the floor as I push it out.
“No, stay. I’ll find him,” I tell her, and she quickly sits again.
I excuse myself and head up to find him. I knock on his bedroom door, but there’s no answer. My curiosity piqued, I open the door slowly and step inside. The room is dark, and the curtains are closed tight.
“Damian?” I call out, scanning the space. He’s not here and doesn’t answer me through the mindlink. Opening the mindlink to the staff, I ask them. “Has anyone seen my brother?” One of the maids quickly answers and I recognize the voice instantly to be Vanessa.
“He was in your room before we served dinner; I was going to take the laundry up. He said he’d drop it in your room, Your Majesty.”
I growl. “Thank you, Vanessa.” Closing the link, I head upstairs.
Entering my room, I call out to him. “Damian, are you in here?” My heart sinks when I spot him crouched in the corner of the closet, rummaging through Bree’s suitcases that we had stored in there.
He jumps slightly at the sound of my voice, peering up with wide eyes filled with surprise and a hint of guilt. “I didn’t think you’d find me so quickly,” he mutters, trying to compose himself as he stands, brushing invisible dust from his clothes.
“What the hell are you doing?” I demand, crossing the room in a few strides.
“Nothing,” he snaps, his defensiveness palpable.
“Doesn’t look like nothing to me. You can’t go through her things, Damian.”
“I’m protecting the kingdom, something you are refusing to do,” he shoots back, his voice rising. “You’re blinded by your feelings for her. You can’t see the risk she poses!”
I step closer, my fists clenched. “And what exactly have you found that justifies this invasion of privacy?”
Damian bends and pulls out a crumpled piece of paper from the suitcase.
My breath catches when I see it’s a birth certificate and something else. I reach for it, but he holds it just out of my grasp. “Her name isn’t Brielle. I went to her storage locker containing her grandmother’s things and found this, so now I am trying to find her real ID.”
“What are you talking about?” I snap at him. His expression is a mix of triumph and apprehension. There’s a smug satisfaction in the way he holds the paper, shaking it slightly in my face as if he’s unearthing a truth he believes will support his actions.
“She looks pretty damn alive to me!” Damian growls, and I snatch the papers from his hands and am horrified to find the second paper is a death certificate. I look at Damian, who is glaring at me.
“Still believe she isn’t hiding something? I found the death certificate in her grandmother’s things.”
I try to think of a reason why she would lie to me, but nothing comes to mind except her ex-mate, who she is so terrified of. “She’s been using a dead girl’s birth certificate? Why would she lie about that? And if she isn’t Brielle, who the heck is she?” I mumble.
“Exactly! We can’t trust her,” Damian argues, his eyes narrowing with conviction. “What else has she hidden? What else do we not know? You can’t deny the evidence of her being deceptive when you’re holding it!”
I take a deep breath, trying to keep my voice steady. I’ve spent more time with Bree than anyone other than Max; I know she must have her reasons, and I refuse to believe she has malicious intentions wholeheartedly. “I know her, Damian. You have to understand—”
“No, don’t give me that. You’re letting your feelings cloud your judgment! What if she’s playing you? What if this is all a trap? The kingdom’s safety is at stake here.”
“You think I don’t care about that? I’m trying to understand because this level of deceit doesn’t match the woman I’ve come to know. I won’t throw her to the wolves based on just this; she must have a reason!”
“Based on this, Soren, you have no damn clue who this woman is!” he snarls.
He’s right, but I refuse to believe our relationship is a total lie.
Damian shakes his head, exasperated. “What happens if she does turn out to be a threat? You’ll be the one responsible for putting us all in danger.”
“So your suspicions give you permission to go through her things?”
“I’m just doing my job,” he replies, his tone cooling.
He snatches the paperwork from me. “I’m going to run this via the council and see what comes up using the death certificate.
On the plus side, we know she came from a pack because the Blackwood pack is listed on the death certificate, which is the only way she could have this. ”
“Blackwood Pack? Is the father’s name listed?”
“No, the birth certificate isn’t formal; it’s the one the hospital gives for identification, only the mother is listed. The death certificate I can’t make the name since something is spilled on it. But I can get the registry to run the numbers, these don’t match the ones I’ve been looking up.”
“And you know those numbers?” I scoff.
“Yes, I do because I’ve done nothing but try to figure out who this woman is!”
He turns away and leaves the room, I can’t shake the unease settling in my chest. Standing there momentarily, feeling lost and confused, I take a deep breath and force myself to confront the truth. She lied to me, but my main question is, why?