The Mad Alpha's Substitute Bride-Chapter 34: You Have No Claim

(CORRINE)

Unlike the Eastern Kingdom’s palace or the castle in the Northern Kingdom, Erik’s home is more like a sprawling mansion on the outskirts of the city. It is surrounded by forest, acres and acres of it. The Veil is at the edge of the forest, near the ocean that borders it. No human or shifter is allowed there.

The comforts of the human world are so different. Even the staff in Erik’s home behaves differently than what I was once accustomed to. Erik is in a meeting, and the butler takes me to the palace gardens so that Finn can run around.

"The king had a sudden visitor. He asked me to make sure you stay in the gardens. Please don’t wander around."

His words surprise me. The other times I’ve visited here, I have never received such a stern warning.

"Right." I don’t really mind. Besides, Finn likes the gardens. My son zips past me, bursting from his human form. I watch him scamper about, a small, dark wolf, and I can’t help but smile. He sprints back to me, nipping at my heels, and I know he wants me to transform, as well.

I shake my head. "I can’t. You go play, but stay where I can see you."

He huffs in agreement, and I head over to the gazebo where I can keep an eye on him.

It’s winter, but the flowers are in full bloom. The Human Kingdom has contracts with witches who live among the humans, and they regulate the temperature of the palace and its grounds.

I consider this a useless luxury, and when I once pointed it out, Erik just shrugged casually and told me that being king should have some perks. But I don’t believe he is as carefree as he likes his people to believe. I find him to be sharp, astute, and highly manipulative.

I’ve always been sensitive to people’s moods. I’ve had to be to survive. From what I know, before his older brother’s disappearance, Erik was the commander of the kingdom’s army. However, when Griffin vanished, Erik stepped up to the throne, and he has done quite well.

But he hasn’t stopped looking for his brother. Even now, after all these years, he still believes that Griffin is alive somewhere out there. When Erik mentions him, which is incredibly rare, there’s a deep sadness in his eyes, a desolate yearning and despair that make my own heart ache.

Erik’s offer is tempting, even the part where his protection will extend to me if I agree to be his mate. But if I mate him, I’ll become visible. Bella and Ravenna will find out about me. I don’t think either of them will like this outcome, and they will go to any length to sabotage me. If they can taint Finn’s image using my unknown origins, I don’t think I’ll be able to bear it.

I watch the small wolf run through the rose bushes, and I struggle to draw a breath. I know I’m overthinking. Over the years, Erik has let me know that he is aware of my past. I never told him who I was, but it shouldn’t surprise me that he knew. And now—

Wait. Where is Finn?

I can no longer hear the delighted howls of my son. I get to my feet and look around. I can’t see him, either.

"Finn?" I call out.

When there is no response, I feel a hint of concern. Finn often plays in these gardens. He knows every nook and cranny of this place, so it’s not odd for him to wander off. My son has an adventurous streak. But he always comes when I call.

"Finn!" I yell, stepping down from the gazebo and making my way over to where I saw him last.

When he doesn’t reply, alarm bells begin to go off in my head. This time when I shout his name, there’s a hint of panic in it. "Finn Hale! You answer me right now!"

I hear a muffled whine, and my heart sinks. Something’s wrong.

Without a second thought, I discard my human form and race toward where I heard the sound come from.

I round one of the hedges and see a man with his back to me. One of his arms is raised, and he’s holding a struggling young wolf by the scruff of his neck. My son’s arms and legs are kicking the air, but he seems too terrified to make any noise.

Roaring, I leap forward and snatch him from the man, landing a few feet away from him. The familiar scent doesn’t register on me just yet. My wolf’s maternal instincts are at an all-time high.

I spin around, ready to attack the man, when I finally lay eyes on him, on his face. I am facing the one person I never truly believed I would ever see again.

Barret Locke.

The sight of my fated mate leaves my wolf stunned. The shock is temporary, though. It’s followed by an intense rage when Finn whimpers.

Locke is frozen in place, and I shift back, clutching Finn to me. "How dare you touch him?!" I snarl.

Locke’s eyes widen, and I see the surprise in them. "How is this possible?"

He steps toward me, and I immediately move backward, baring my teeth at him. "That’s far enough."

"Corrine," he breathes. "I thought you were dead."

Is that hope I hear in his voice? I always wondered how I would feel when I saw him, if I ever did. I always imagined the perfect scenario where I would lash out at him and make him regret what he did to me, that I would make him grovel. A fantasy meant only to soothe my deeply wounded heart. But when I look at him now, the only anger I feel is driven by the instinct to protect my child. Under that anger are thick, roiling fear and pain, a heavy sadness that permeates me to my bones.

"I’m sorry," I finally say, trying to calm down and focusing on the fear. "I think you’ve mistaken me for somebody else."

I look different. I know I do. And eight years is a long time to forget somebody he knew for only a short while.

Holding Finn tightly in my arms, I begin to walk away from him. My heart is pounding like a drum against my rib cage with each step. There is fear in every breath I take.

Let him accept that. Let him think he made a mistake.

I feel his hand on my arm, and I am whirled around. Locke’s eyes bore into mine, and his grip is tight, almost to the point of painful. His voice is hoarse. "You can’t fool me. I know you, Corrine. You can change your hair all you like. You can’t change your face or your scent."

I narrow my eyes at him and pull away from his hold. "Stay away from me." When he moves to touch me again, I yell, suddenly overcome with emotion, "I said, don’t touch me!"

Finn whimpers in my arms, and I hold him even closer, protectively.

Locke’s eyes flit to the dark wolf cub, and an emotion flickers behind his eyes. "That’s your child." I take a few steps back, ready for an excuse that might actually work, and he says harshly, "Don’t deny it. I can smell him. He has your scent."

Wolf shifters carry the scent of their mothers, just a trace of it, from the womb. To identify their father, shifters have something similar to the DNA tests that humans conduct. For our kind, drops of blood from the child and the potential father are placed in a bowl of water. If they are truly father and child, the blood drops combine; if not, they stay separate.

There is no way that Locke will be able to recognize Finn as his own child right now because he can’t see the boy’s facial features. And I’m sure that as long as Finn is terrified, he won’t shift back, feeling safer in his wolf form.

I clutch my trembling pup to me. "Stay away from us!"

Locke looks shocked to the core. "You—How are you alive? Who—who is the father of that child?"

A part of me, a cold, vicious part of me, feels a sick sense of satisfaction at how stunned he looks. He expected me to be dead. He wanted me to be dead. What a surprise, seeing me alive and thriving after all these years! I hope it hurts him. I hope he—

"Whose child is that?" he snaps, rage in his eyes now.

His anger is startling, and I take another step back. "What’s it to—"

"Watch your tone, Locke!" Erik’s voice comes from behind me, and he sounds irked. "Corrine, take Finn and go inside!"

I’ve never heard him sound so pissed. I start to walk away, but Locke blocks my path, his eyes flashing. "I don’t think so. I’m not letting you leave my sight again."

"Watch it, King Locke," Erik says coldly. "I won’t tolerate my son and his mother being threatened."

"Your—Your son?" Locke goes pale, and my wolf strains inside me, not liking this turn of events.

"Yes." Erik comes to stand beside me, taking Finn from my arms and holding him. "My son and heir."

"Your son," Locke breathes, looking dazed. He looks like someone has punched him in the stomach. "You and Corrine. Do you even know who she is?"

Erik stares at him silently, and I flinch inwardly.

Even now, he’s going to try to sabotage me? Erik knows what happened, or at least part of it. If Locke really decides to—

"She’s my fated mate!" Locke snarls. I go still. That wasn’t what I expected.

"Your fated mate?" Erik sneers back at him. "But you’re mated to Princess Ravenna from the Eastern Kingdom. Do you really expect me to believe that you are mated to another woman and have a fated mate? You do know that once you give a female your mating mark, your bond with your fated mate disappears. You have no claim to this woman."

Locke glowers at him. "Ravenna does not bear my mating mark!"

Erik scoffs. "So what? You refused to mark your queen, and now Corrine should serve as your mistress? Is that what you’re trying to imply?"

Erik’s absurd conclusion has my head whipping around so I can gape at him. Locke didn’t say anything remotely like that!

However, the king of the Human Kingdom has his eyes on the King of the North. He doesn’t even glance in my direction.