Page 146 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

Willow looks like she wants to throw up. “The queen was so happy to have you. She always wanted a child, a daughter. Before you came along, she gave me all her attention, all sorts of gifts. And then, when she became pregnant with you, she suddenly began to focus only on you. It was like I didn’t even exist anymore. She even stopped calling me her princess. I hoped you would die in the womb. I never wanted you to be born, but then you were.”

I am too much in shock to react to any of this. Willow continues her story, sounding disgusted.

“My mother was talking to my father, and I overheard. They said you had to be given away. Something about a mark on you.For a while, you disappeared. And then you showed up at the orphanage. My father knew who you were. He recognized your red hair. My mother also recognized you. She wanted to take you back to the queen, but my father said we should turn you over to the white witches. You were a dark witch, after all. But my mother”—Willow makes a face—“she never chose me. She never understood that I had to come first, not you. She wanted to protect you. I told her to let you die. That was the only way Queen Freya would pay attention to me again. I had to be the princess! My mother got so angry. She was going to take you back to the queen, you know. I was six years old by that time. I was always smart. I knew—”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I finally spit out. “You’re clearly delusional.”

Willow snickers. “I wasn’t delusional when I put the oil-soaked rag in my mother’s car engine. I thought you would die with her, but you were like a cockroach. My father blamed you for her death. And I guess he kind of also liked being able to step on one of the royals. I told him to give you to the white witches. But he didn’t want to do it anymore. He wanted you to pay for my mother’s death. He wanted you where he could control you. Let a member of the royal family slip from his grasp? My father couldn’t let that happen. He kept coming up with more and more excuses not to hand you over. He couldn’t punish you for his mate’s death if you were with the white witches.”

I stare at her, stunned. Bile rises in my throat. She has to be lying. She has to be!

“But…you overheard Darian and Jimmy discussing the mark on my ankle…”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Willow scoffs. “I already knew what you were. I went to Darian to try to seduce him, but then I found out he had discovered the mark. Blackmail is so much faster. I was already planning for the white witches to come to the mating gathering during the last event. I was going to be queen. I wasn’t going to let something like you stand in my way. King Edward was already becoming a problem for the white witches. My father had been planning to have me marry into the royal family, but no matter how many times he brought me with him for his meetings with the king, we never seemed to run into Darian. When I reached out to the white witches about your identity, I offered them a deal. If they helped me become queen, I would give them open access to the kingdom. It didn’t quite work out like that since Darian refused to accept me, but with the white witches on my side, he didn’t have a choice. Even now, he doesn’t have a choice.”

She seems amused, and all I can think is how insane she sounds, how utterly repulsive.

“The queen always said I was her little princess. I was going to be the next queen. Then, you ruined my life. When you were born, Queen Freya changed her attitude toward me. Because of you, she completely changed and went away. If I couldn’t have her, then I was going to have Darian. The day I saw him in that restaurant with you, and my father told me who he was, I remembered. I had seen him once before. I was going to be the one to stand by his side. Not you. It was easy to make a deal with Darian. He’s such a sucker. He just fell for it.”

“I don’t understand,” I breathe. “You did all this because you were jealous of me?”

“Jealous of you?” An enraged look enters Willow’s eyes. “I was supposed to be the princess. You took the queen from me! You didn’t deserve to live. You think I’m going to let you take Darian from me, as well? I’m going to kill you and that spawn of his. Better yet, I’ll keep the creature alive, and he’ll have no choice but to take me back. That is, if he wants to see his baby girl live. Of course, once I have a child, I’ll get rid of this one.”

I growl. “You think I’m going to let you do that? You really did take the crazy train back to LA.”

I call out my wolf, but just as the change is about to wash over me, I feel a strange sensation.

My wolf doesn’t come out. I try again, but it doesn’t budge.

Willow laughs as cloaked figures emerge from the trees around us.

“Did you think I was going to let you try the same trick twice? I’m not stupid, Alice. This is it for you.”

As the witches surround me, my frantic gaze moves to Mira.

She’s also surrounded, the hands of the witches outstretched.

Fear fills me.

No!

Chapter 29

Darian

The tip that came in about Thomas’s location was a little strange. I probably should have brought some back up with me. I moved quickly when I received the information; perhaps I was too hasty. And now, I’m halfway to Alpha Rodriguez’s house when I realize I don’t even have my phone on me. I can either keep going or head back to the palace, grab my phone, and get my ear chewed off by my mate for not bringing any soldiers with me.

My decision is the obvious one. I turn the car around and drive back to the palace. I park outside the entrance of the main wing where I’m staying with Alice, and as I enter the foyer, I’m about to call out for Brian when I see somebody standing by my father’s portrait that hangs there.

I’ve been accustomed to seeing Lucius wearing his formal attire since childhood. To see him in a robe, unshaven, with his hair a mess makes me pause. I’ve never liked the man. He has always been disdainful toward me. Of course, now I know why. He knows I’m not biologically related to the royal family. Why should he have to treat me with respect?

However, right now, he looks so old and frail that he reminds me of my father—I mean, the former king.

My heart aches for a brief second.

“Lucius?”

He glances toward me, startled. “Your Majesty.” He sounds lost.

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