Mating the Female Alpha
Chapter 56 – Tina’s Funeral

Landry's

POV

Landy couldn't tell if Bernice was speaking to him, or to the crowd at that moment.

Either way, he was moved.

The crowd was silent as she concluded her speech and then they all applauded. But the murmurs and confused looks continued. He knew it was only a matter of time before more rumors about Bernice traveled around the kingdom. Landry didn't even know Bernice was planning on speaking during this conference.

He glanced over at Jessie who was giving her a thumbs up and had a look of admiration on her face. He should have known this was his sister's idea. He couldn't even be upset about it because her plan had worked. Seeing that Bernice, someone they think to be a lowly omega, trusts Landry, the Alpha King, caused them to trust him as well.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to make a speech?" Landry asked once they were away from the press conference.

Bernice glanced over at Jessie who stood by her side and Jessie gave her a sheepish grin in return.

"I was afraid you would have said no," Jessie answered. "Am I wrong to assume that?"

Landry thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.

"No," he answered truthfully. "I would have found it to be a stupid idea. Anybody could have recognized her."

"But I disguised her," Jessie said with a grin. "She's hardly recognizable."

"Anybody could recognize her," Landry said again, more firmly. "She's not safe here, Jessie. I should have known when you insisted, she came along."

"I wanted to speak on your behalf," Bernice chimed in. "It's not all on Jessie. It was my idea too."

He sighed; he didn't want to argue about this anymore. Besides, their plan did work.

"I need to go," Jessie says, turning away from them and toward her waiting car. "I must plan a funeral by tomorrow. I'll see you both there."

She left without another word, leaving Landry and Bernice alone. Bernice turns to Landry and peers up at him through her dark lashes.

"We need to find the rogues who did this so nobody else gets hurt; along with that vampire spy," she says to him; her face hardening. "And you need to stop overprotecting. Don't forget who I am."

He admired that she cared about this as much as he did, but he needed her to think logically and not run off into the woods again.

"And we will," he assured her. "I have my warriors on it as we speak. No rogues, vampires, or bears, are getting past us." He paused for a moment. "And don't you forget who I am."

They stood there for a moment longer; he wanted to ask her more about her speech and if it was planned. He wanted to know if she meant the words she said, or if it was just for show for the crowd. But he didn't.

They returned to the palace to get rest for the evening. He gave her some berries and his blood to calm her symptoms before she broke out into a long due fever. She fell asleep shortly after. He watched as she slept for a long while; he sat by her bedside, staring at her chest as it moved up and down.

She looked peaceful and beautiful.

Her rose-colored plump lips were open slightly as she breathed softly; he wanted to lean down and kiss her. He wanted to feel her mouth against his and ravish in her glorious scent. But he refrained from doing so.

He eventually left her room so he could return to his study for the evening. He wasn't tired enough to sleep himself and he had a lot of work he needed to catch up with.

"Alpha," his beta opened a mindlink. "We found the rogues that killed Tina. They had traces of her blood still under their claws. We are bringing them to the prison as we speak." That was good news.

Landry almost wanted to wake Bernice to tell her, but he figured he would let her rest. He thanked his beta before closing the mindlink.

Now he can rest. For now.

...

Morning came a little too quickly. Landry slept in his own room, giving Bernice room to rest by herself. Today was the day of Tina's funeral. Jessie has been preparing for it since yesterday. Landry dressed in a dark suit; he had his maids lay out a dress for Bernice to wear as well.

By the time he went to get her in her room, he was pleased that she was already dressed. She was gorgeous in her black dress, and she had her hair tied back and out of her face. She only wore a light layer of makeup, which happened to bring out all her bright features.

She gave him a polite smile before taking his hand and allowing him to escort her to the waiting car out front.

They arrived at the King's Burial Ground in record time.

Her casket, which was picked out by Landry, was a chestnut brown with golden swirls and flowers decaling the top. Tina's name was also engraved at the top of the casket.

It was something she would have liked.

The greens of the grass were plushy around her grave; workers from around the cemetery were in the process of digging the hole for the grave and getting her tombstone in order.

Jessie was too busy barking orders to her servants to notice Landry and Bernice approaching. They arrived a little early so they can help her with the setup. Even as good as Jessie was at planning events, Landry knew this might be a little too much to handle on such short notice. Especially when high emotions were involved.

"What can we do to help?" Landry asked as they approached.

Jessie looked relieved to see them.

"I need all the chairs to be set up," she says breathlessly. He could tell she's been running around like a mad woman. "There's a ton of them and the guests will be here shortly. They need a place to sit."

"I can handle it," Bernice says as she goes towards the pile of chairs. "Leave it to me."

Jessie says her thanks before barking more orders to her servants.

"That is the wrong music choice! Go back to my palace and grab the correct one! Right now!!"

Landry only sees Jessie like this once in a Bluemoon.

"Jessie, relax,” Landry says to her. "Nobody is going to care about the music choice. They are here to say goodbye to Tina."

Jessie shoots him a look and narrows her eyes.

"Every detail matters, Landry," she growls. "Tina deserves a perfect funeral."

Landry knew better than to argue with her. He looked back at Bernice who was setting up the chairs; she worked quickly and efficiently.

"More guests are arriving, your highness," one of the maids said as more cars piled in the street.

Many familiar faces appeared out of the cars; they were all dressed in dark, yet elegant, clothing. Some of them were close to Tina during her lifetime, others were only onlookers from around the kingdom who came to pay their respects to the fallen mistress.

Landry greeted each guest and they bowed to him as they passed by to take their seats. Jessie finally calmed down as more guests arrived.

Bernice had set up a VIP section for Tina's family and Landry at the front. He was pleased that she set up a seat for herself beside him and another seat for Jessie on the other side of her.

Jessie stood at the front, in front of Tina's casket and Landry could tell she was trying to hold herself together.

There were a few others that were crying in their seats; others looked stone-faced. Everyone was silenced when Jessie began speaking; almost all seats were filled, and the funeral was beginning promptly at the time Jessie had put on the invitations.

"It's starting?" Bernice asked from beside him, confused.

Landry nodded, though he didn't make it look like it bothered him that the seats beside him remained empty.

Tina's parents had yet to appear.