Page 108 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

Where do I live?

How big is my house?

Does my house have a yard?

Does it have a swimming pool? Because Janet’s house has a swimming pool.

Whoever this Janet girl is, my daughter clearly admires her lifestyle.

“I live in a huge house. There are so many gardens that you could get lost in there for days,” I tell her, enjoying the way her eyes turn wide as saucers.

“Really?” She has forgotten all about the game I’m letting her win. “Do you have a pool, too?”

“Not a pool but a small lake with swans and ducks. When I was a boy, I would feed them bread.”

“Can I see them?”

“Sure, when you visit.” I smile at her warmly.

“When can I visit?” she demands eagerly, the idea of these animals too irresistible to the six-year-old. “I’ll go ask Mom—”

She’s about to dash away when I stop her. “Maybe not right now. Besides, it’s winter. All the swans are probably sleeping. I’ll bring you over when it’s summer and they want to play.”

“Can I feed them bread?”

“I don’t see why not.”

A knock on the door has us looking up, and Alice says, “Mira, go wash up. Dinner’s ready.”

I follow Alice into the living room. “She’s on the cusp of her first transformation, Alice.”

I see Alice go stiff, and she turns to face me. “What?”

“She showed me her claws.”

“But that doesn’t mean anything.” I see the nervous look on her face. “She’s six. She won’t have her first shift till she hits puberty or something like that.”

“Have you discussed it with your healer friend?” I ask. Her silence confirms my initial doubt. I make sure Mira isn’t coming before I continue, my tone urgent. “The signs are all there. And her scent will get riper. Once she undergoes her first transformation, she will smell more like a wolf shifter. She has to go to a shifter school, Alice.”

“I can’t send her to one of those!” Alice walks over to the counter, resting her palms on the marble surface before looking at me again. “I can’t afford to let anyone find out—”

“Let me send teachers here, then. Or let Jimmy tutor her. There’s no one I trust more than him. Mira can’t continue to go to human schools, Alice. You know how children are. One provocation, one small fight, and she loses control, and that’s it. You will not be able to move fast enough to do damage control, and neither will I. Short of killing everybody in that school, we will not be able to contain the secret.”

Alice turns pale, and her voice is a ragged whisper. “You’re sure about this?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you. Especially not about our daughter. I’m surprised Mary hasn’t noticed.”

Alice sinks to the stool, burying her head in her hands before looking up at me. “She’s a baby, Darian. Why is the shift coming on so fast? Is it because of me, because of my corrupted bloodline?”

The amount of self-loathing in her voice makes me snarl. “There’s nothing wrong with your bloodline, and it’s not because of you. She’s a prodigy. Both her bloodlines are incredibly strong, which is why this is happening.”

Alice opens her mouth to say something, but Mira chooses that moment to run into the room, shaking water off her hands.

“Towel, Mira!” Alice scolds her lightly. “You’re not a dog, so don’t shake like one.”

“But it’s more fun!” Mira proceeds to shake her hands in the air, causing water droplets to fall on the floor.

Alice grabs some paper napkins and chases her around the room before grabbing her and forcibly wiping her hands. All the while, Mira laughs like a loon.

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