Page 134 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

“I won’t do anything to either of you,” I assure her. “But you will be watched for a long time, until I’m certain you won’t go blabbing to anybody.”

“Sure.” She sounds amused. “Tell people I’ve seen humans change into wolves. That’s the fastest way for me to lose my seat in my family’s company. They don’t like crazies sitting on the Board of Directors.”

My lips twitch.

“So, what are you?” She turns to look at me, a curious look in her eye. “Werewolves? Aliens?”

I scoff. “Werewolves were born from the human imagination. We are shifters. We are able to hold both human and wolf form and change at will. We have always existed alongside humans.”

Katherine holds up her hand. “I think that’s all I need to know. I have a feeling the more I know, the more danger I will be in.”

I give her a wry smile. “Alice did tell me that you’re smart.”

She stirs her coffee. “That’s me. And I’m sure you didn’t come here to give me a one-minute history lesson. Did you need something?”

“I’m going to send you and your friend home. Before I do that, though, I want to know everything that happened in Alice’s office today. Including the exchange between Willow and Alice, word for word, if you can.”

Katherine blinks at me. “That’s all?” She sits down on one of the stools, sips her coffee, and begins. “I saw the woman in the lobby when I was coming in. She was screaming, demanding to see Alice.”

As Katherine continues, my blood turns to ice.

I already had an idea from what Alice had told me, but Katherine includes some details that my mate left out, the ones she knew would infuriate me. Once Katherine is done and both she and Alice’s assistant are on their way back home, I finally head down to see Willow.

The royal family has residences in every city. Beneath those mansions are dungeons meant to hold criminals or trespassers. This one is no different. The door to the dungeon is in the cellar, and as I walk down the stone steps, I hear the shrieking.

Willow’s voice grates my ears, and after learning of the threats she made against my daughter, I’m ready to rip her throat out. But I won’t touch a hair on her head. I won’t give her a private death. Willow will face the executioner. She humiliated Alice in public seven years ago, so her death will be open for all to see.

Alice may not be fueled by revenge, but I am. Willow ruined my life, traumatized the woman I loved, forced her to raise our child in secret for all these years. The list of crimes I can pin on her are endless.

She and her father will suffer. I’ll make sure of it. I’ll grind their pride into dust, and then, I’ll have their heads.

Two of the Black Arrows are guarding her cell. Her usually well-coiffed hair is tangled, her dress is dirty, and tear stains streak her face, spoiling her normally flawless makeup. As soon as she sees me, she leaps forward, a desperate gleam in her eyes. “Darian! Darian, look at what they’re doing to me! They hurt me! Get me out of here! They have no right to put me, their queen, in a place like this!”

I just stare at her.

When I don’t respond, she grabs the bars and begins rattling them, her voice rising in tempo and volume. “Why aren’t you doing anything! I’m your wife! I’m queen of the Wolf Kingdom! Why are you letting these people hurt me?!”

Disgust fills me as I look at her. “Are you for real?” I finally ask. “You exposed your true form in front of humans today.”

She goes still, and I see the sly look in her eyes before she starts backtracking. “That was a misunderstanding, Darian! I had no choice! I was threatened! I had to protect myself!” When she sees that I’m not reacting, she becomes even more frantic. “What’s the problem? We’ll just kill them! There were only two humans, and we can get rid of both of them. Problem solved. I have a right to defend myself, Darian. I was in danger. I had to shift!”

She’s repeating the same rhetoric, and I ask her calmly, “Why were you in that building in the first place?”

She freezes. “I–I was called there.”

“By whom?”

I see the nervousness in her eyes as she says, “It was all Alice’s fault. She lured me there. She came at me. She tried to hurt me. She has become a monster, Darian. She has dark magic, and she tried to kill me! I had to defend myself!” She reaches out toward me through the bars, trying to grab my shirt. “I forgive you. I forgive you for everything. We can go back to how we were. I’m a good queen. I’m a good wife. Whatever dark magic she has cast on you, the white witches will help us get rid of it.”

“Have you completely lost your mind?” I spit out. “The white witches? You and your father have been colluding with them for a long time, haven’t you?”

She flinches. “Of–Of course not! I’m loyal only to you, Darian! I love you. I’ve always loved you. You just can’t see it. Look, look.” She is stumbling over her words, her eyes darting here and there.“Alice has dark magic in her. And she has a child who’s also a dark witch. We have to get rid of them. Once they’re gone, you and I can finally be happy. I forgive you for sending me those divorce papers. We’ll forget it ever happened.”

“Pathetic.” I shake my head at her. “You went after Alice today because your father told you where she was, didn’t he? The plan was to kill her and kidnap my daughter.”

“Daughter?” Willow stares at me. It takes a second for her to explode, screaming hysterically. “That thing is not your daughter! Alice cannot have had your daughter! I am the only one who can bear your child! I am the queen. I won! I’m the only one who can give you a child. That thing isn’t your daughter! We can kill her, and then I will give you a child!”

She has gone insane, I realize. When did that happen? Or is it just an act?

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