Chapter 141
HANNAH
"And you haven't found someone you would like to imprint on," I said.
I wished he would, though. I thought Edward was one Lycan definitely worthy of love.
"I haven't," Edward agreed, looking at me, then away. "That is why my mother is doing all she's doing. I think she's growing rather desperate since she's resorted to threatening a girl into marrying me."
Edward looked so sad for a moment that I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. I didn't tell him that, though. There was no need to make him feel more embarrassed.
"You'll find the one. Don't worry," I said.
Edward didn't answer that.
"My mother won't bother you again," he said as we walked back to the principal's office. Edward had judged that we had spoken long enough to please his mother. "I promise."
***********
I looked at Cade, Jace, and Cade. They were angry, really angry, and they were not bothering to hide it. They were glowering at Edward, who must have felt their hostile stares. Though he was not looking directly at them, he looked very uncomfortable.
Unlike the queen.
She sat stiff and straight and proud like she owned Alpha Wallace's meeting room.
When Edward had told me he would talk to his mother, I hadn't imagined it would lead to such a scary-looking meeting. Was this how he planned to diffuse the situation?
Couldn't he tell he was making it worse?
Alpha Wallace shifted in his chair. He looked uncomfortable too and at a loss for words. Having Dawson and Asher come in here making claims and giving ultimatums was one thing. Having the Lycan Queen do the same was another thing entirely.
Finally, Alpha Wallace cleared his throat loudly. The queen stopped brushing off an invisible speck of dirt from her dress. She gave him a questioning look.
"I must say. This meeting is quite... unexpected," he said.
"Unexpected indeed," she said and pointed at me. "This one here had the audacity to reject my son. If that isn't unexpected, then I don't know what is." Edward looked pained. The queen turned those eyes on me. "You, girl. You must feel on top of the world. Isn't that right? Because you are the white wolf, you think you're all that special."
Alpha Wallace cut in. "Your majesty, I don't think what she is comes into this. As she must have told you, she is already mated, something she willingly accepted. The laws guiding our kind state that she can accept or reject advances from other males."
The queen turned up her nose in the air.
"My son is not just another male," she said proudly, placing a hand glittering with rings on Edward's shoulder. "He is the prince, next in line to the throne. You all must understand that if it's Hannah he wants, it's Hannah he will get."
I glanced at Edward, wondering if he was really the one asking his mother to pressure me. Maybe, like my mates had said, his easygoing manner was just an act, and he was like most Lycans—proud and wanting to get what he wanted by all means.
"Wouldn't that be breaking our sacred laws, your majesty?" Alpha Wallace said.
The queen gave an offended sniff. "The law is what the royals make it. Surely you, as an Alpha, know that."
A muscle jumped in Edward's jaw. Before Alpha Wallace could reply, he cut in, "Mother, as much as I like and respect Hannah a lot, I cannot force her to be with me. I expected you to understand me and respect my wishes in this matter instead of calling for this meeting to embarrass me further."
"Embarrass you?" the queen asked, her eyes bulging.
"Yes. It's embarrassing when you try to use power to get what you want, especially when it's a matter of the heart. You can't order someone to love someone else."
"Love?" She scoffed and waved a hand impatiently. "Who is talking about love here? The only embarrassing thing here is that you haven't imprinted on anyone yet."
"We have an audience," Edward reminded her, speaking through his teeth.
"Oh, I'm well aware of that. Since you have decided to openly go against me, we will discuss this here. You are the future king, expected to take the throne, marry, and produce an heir, and yet you have failed to imprint on anyone. You show no prospects of leading, Edward. You disappoint me and yourself. Tell me what would it take for you to imprint-"
Edward sprang to his feet.
"I've imprinted on someone, okay?" he yelled.
There were gasps of surprise from us all but not from the Queen. She stared up at her son, her mouth set into a mocking twist.
"Oh, now you've imprinted, have you?" she taunted.
"Yes," Edward hissed, his chest heaving.
"I see. If it's true, then tell me who it is," his mother said.
Edward turned to me.
"Her," he murmured, sounding defeated.
"What?"