Mating the Female Alpha
Chapter 72 – Cora is banned!

Jessie's POV

Fury was rising through Jessie at what Landry was saying.

How could her brother keep such an important thing from her?

She stood to her feet as he concluded his story.

"How could you not tell me any of this, Landry?"

"I didn't want to upset you," he said in return; his tone was calm. "There's nothing you could have done. I already banned her..."

"I could have kept her from staying in my palace," Jessie hissed. "You shouldn't have kept this from me."

She turned and stormed out without saying anything more. She was going to see Bernice before she left entirely, but she couldn't even think straight. The couple of servants that accompanied her to the palace followed behind her. "Where are we going, your highness?" One of them asked, breathlessly, as they worked to keep up with her.

"To kick out a rat," she growled.

They didn't ask any more questions after that.

Upon returning to the palace, Cora was in the sitting room, sipping on some tea as she often was.

"Oh, hello Jessie," she breathed, placing her up on the table. "Have you seen the news?"

"Save it, Cora," Jessie snapped. "I know what you did."

Cora frowned, staring up at Jessie. There were guards already in the room, closing in just in case Cora tried to run.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean," Cora said innocently.

"You took advantage of my brother when you were young. You should be ashamed of yourself," she growled. "I would have never allowed you into this palace if I had known-"

"I was in a dark time," Cora said, standing to her feet quickly. "I have felt nothing but regret over that for years. Words can't explain how sorry I am..."

"Why did you return?" Jessie asked, stopping her words short. "Was it so you can humiliate Bernice? Did you hear that my brother found an omega and you wanted to destroy his chances with her?"

"You knew about her?" Cora asked, narrowing her eyes at Jessie. "You knew the Omega was the female Alpha?"

"That's not your concern," Jessie said, folding her arms across her chest. "You should have never returned here."

"That's not why I returned. I had no idea about the omega until I arrived. I simply wanted to make things right. I felt awful for so many years about what I had done to your brother. We used to be such good friends."

"He seems to think you did nothing but use him," Jessie told her, raising her brows. "I want to believe that your intentions are good. But I can't get the thought of your violation out of my head. And with this whole Bernice thing coming to the surface as soon as you get into town. It's too much."

"You don't honestly think that I had anything to do with that, do you? I would never..."

"I don't need to think anything. It's not my call," Jessie said, taking a step away from her as the guards took another step closer.

Cora realized what was happening quickly and her eyes widened in shock.

"Your brother thinks I had something to do with this?" Cora asked; she sounded hurt by the accusation. "Let me explain to him that "

"You aren't to go anywhere near my brother," Jessie roared; she had never used such force in her tone before, but she knew it left a shiver down Cora's spine by the visible shudder Cora did. "I shouldn't have allowed you to stay here, Cora. You can leave on your own terms, or you can leave by force. The option is yours."

Cora looked at the guards who stood nearby; they were ready to drag her out of Jessie's palace.

"You're serious?" She asked, eyeing Jessie carefully.

Jessie said nothing.

Cora sighed and nodded.

"Fine," she huffed. "Let me just get my stuff and I'll be out of here soon."

...

Cora's POV

Cora should have been a little more careful; she should have wiped her prints off the bug, but it was too late for that. Landry knew it was her that planted the bug. But that didn't mean she was going to give up. She opened her text messaged and sent a text to her friend.

I'm going to need a place to stay. I'll be there in a couple of hours.

Do I even want to know?

I'll tell you when I get there.

She sent another text to someone else.

Did you see the news?

I did; that was clever. Now the kingdom will force her out of the palace and straight to us. Landry will be vulnerable. Good work. Will you be coming back soon?

Not yet. I still have some work to do here. If I know Landry, he's going to try to do damage control. If we really want him vulnerable, I need to enforce the backup.

Cora went straight to Landry's palace, though she wouldn't dare go inside with how Landry feels at the moment. Especially if he suspects she's the one who bugged the palace. She lurked outside, crouching around the wooded region nearby the gates, out of sight of the guards.

"Hello Bernice," she mindlinked. "I know it's odd that I'm reaching out to you. But I'm outside and would like to speak with you."

For a moment, she doesn't think Bernice would respond. She would be smart to not respond.

"I'll be there in a moment," she finally says.

Cora smiled; this was going to be easier than she thought.

Bernice appeared moments later; she didn't look pleased to see Cora. Not that Cora could blame her.

"Why are you here?" Bernice asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"I wanted to tell you that I had nothing to do with the news," she said. "I didn't spill your secret. I had no idea you were deceiving the entire kingdom."

She frowned as if she had no idea what she was talking about.

"I never accused you of anything. I'm not sure what you are talking about."

"I just wanted to make that clear," Cora said. "Regardless of what Landry thinks. I'm not that evil. I have good reasons for my actions. One of which is that I care for him deeply, despite how he might feel toward me." "It's not my business."

"Maybe not... but it's clear that he cares for you deeply. And yet, you seem unsure of your feelings towards him. Why is that?"

"It's not any of your concern," she said, narrowing her eyes at Cora. "What gives you the right to ask that?"

"My concern is that if you don't love him, then you should leave..." Cora said, folding her arms across her chest. "The kingdom needs someone who is capable of running it alongside the Alpha King. And Landry needs someone who is sure of him. He needs someone who loves him just as deeply as he loves her."

"What are you saying, Cora?"

"I'm saying, if you aren't sure how you feel for him, then don't waste his time. Take my advice. Save yourself and him the heartbreak. Leave Landry; and don't return.