Page 123 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

“We will,” I tell her, “but your father and I have something to discuss first.”

Sitting out in the living room, our heated discussion continues. “Look, I’m not sure, but this could be some sort of prophecy!”

I stare at Darian. “A prophecy? You really think she saw all this in a dream?”

“It’s very likely,” he murmurs. “Unfortunately, the white witches removed all books related to dark witches from the royal library, so I have nothing to check to verify—aside from going to them for help, and I can’t trust them.”

“So, we have no way of knowing?” My heart sinks. “What about some other library? Surely it can’t be that all information about the dark witches was stored in the royal palace.”

Darian winces. “The white witches also removed every book from individual pack archives. The information that exists now is very limited and generic. The palace was the only place that kept full records. There’s a chance we could ask the other wolf kingdoms for assistance, but with how far-reaching the control of the white witches’ coven has gotten, I doubt we will be able to keep the matter quiet. No.” He gets to his feet, pacing now. “The only way is to find the royal archive keeper. She is said to be a dark witch. She would know.”

“The who?”

“The royal family has a separate archive,” Darian explains. “One we have maintained in secret for generations. The keeper of the archive is a dark witch. She may be able to help us.”

“A dark witch? I thought all dark witches were evil.”

“Apparently, this one the royal family trusted.” Darian runs his fingers through his hair, frustrated. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with her. There are certain points of contact where I am supposed to be able to drop a letter and she will appear in front of me, but so far she hasn’t shown up. I’ll drop another letter.” He looks at me and then sighs. “It will be okay, Alice. Whatever Mira saw, or whoever she saw, has not hurt her in all these years. I doubt she’s in any danger.”

“You can’t know that.” I let out a shaky breath. “I don’t know, Darian. Prophecy or not, why didn’t she tell me? She always tells me everything. Do you think I’m a bad mother? Have I given her reason not to trust me? I’ve never scolded her, not like other parents do their children. I’ve always tried to understand her. For her to hide something so big…” I trail off, my heart tightening in misery and fear.

Darian comes to sit down beside me. “This is how children are. Secrets are fun. I don’t think she kept it from you because she was scared or didn’t trust you. She was probably just enjoying the novelty of having a friend with whom to share a secret. It had nothing to do with you.” He covers my hand with his. “We will deal with this. Together. Nothing is going to happen to our daughter.”

I give him a tense look. “I sure hope you’re right.”

“I’ll go talk to Mira,” Darian says. Before he leaves, though, he looks at the pictures on the table. He shuffles them around, putting them in the order they were intended to be in. The witches rise up from the water. They swim to the surface. There is a battle going on. They join the battle. Three figures, two of which I can presume to be me and Mira. The third one may be Darian. I’m just speculating, from what Mira has said.

My daughter has never shown any signs of being able to use dark magic. She had the mark on her ankle when she was born. Initially, I was terrified, but over the years, I began to think that it was simply that: a mark. But now? The ability to see a prophecy? Is that even typical of dark witches?

I don’t know what to do. This is not a problem I can resolve using logic. I don’t know how long this witch has been appearing in mydaughter’s dreams. Mira says she has always been there, but the girl is so young. How long is “always”?

If the white witches find out about this…

“She said she tried to talk to you, but the bad witches did something to you, and now she can’t.”

Suddenly, Mira’s words come back to me. The bad witches did something to me? Is she referring to the white witches? I have no fondness for them, but according to history, they were on the side of good. But what if they weren’t?

This whole thing seems ridiculous. I’m probably just grasping at straws.

I sink back into the couch and stare at the ceiling. Why is this happening to us? And how can I protect Mira from a threat I can’t even see?

*****

It’s Darian who insists that we take Mira to the park.

I linger for a while before reluctantly leaving for work. Jimmy, Mary, and Darian are all there, so I know Mira will be safe, yet my heart flutters in unease at the idea of not being able to watch her. At least I know she’s with Darian.

With a heavy heart, I leave them and head to my car. The drive to the office is one filled with anxiety. I keep glancing at my phone, expecting it to ring at any given moment. When I arrive, I text Darian my work number, Holly’s number, and the main office number, even though I’m sure he already has them.

I have a pile of cases to work on, but I wonder if I should apply for a couple of days’ leave. It just doesn’t seem right to be sitting in my office working when my daughter is most likely being harassed by a dark witch and hunted by white witches.

I hear a knock on the door around lunchtime. It’s Katherine.

“I have to leave early today, Katherine,” I tell her quickly. “If we have a meeting scheduled, I’ll have to cancel.”

“That’s not it.” She closes the door behind her. “There’s someone here to see you.”

I blink in surprise. “A client?” Why is Katherine telling me this? Where’s my assistant, Holly?

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