Page 149 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

“Where is Mira?”

Katherine’s voice is rough, and she doesn’t seem surprised to hear from me. “There was a car accident. The Black Arrow guys were all found unconscious at the scene. Jimmy and Mary were badly injured. I’ve been trying to get in touch with Alice, but her phone must be dead. Something happened, Darian. There’s no sign of Mira. It was as if she was never there.”

“What do you mean, never there?”

Katherine’s voice is shaking. “There were traffic cameras on that road, Darian. I’ve seen the footage. The car came to a stop, and then these women, all cloaked in white, surrounded it. Your men got out of the car and immediately dropped to the ground. Jimmy and Mary tried to fight. One of the cloaked figures reached into the car and then completely vanished. The others retreated. There is no sign of Mira. The police are looking into it. I’m at the station.”

My heart sinks. That call from Alice—She must know where Mira is! But if her phone isn’t on, I can’t track its location.

I try to think of where Mira could be. She has to be in Arizona somewhere. Did Alice go to her?

Katherine’s words come back to my mind. She said that Mira never left the car, but the woman who reached into the car vanished. What if the white witches figured out a way to transport Mira here without the time usually spent traveling? The extent of the magic they can do is beyond my knowledge. Can witches practice transportation magic? Is that even a thing?

“You said Alice took the red Jag?”

“Yes, Sire,” Brian says quickly.

“Get an alert out there. Any sign of that car—”

Lucius gets to his feet. “I have a better solution. Come with me, Brian.”

I follow them. “Searching for her will take ages.”

“You mean, minutes,” Lucius says sharply.

He leads us to the security office, which has multiple screens showing every part of the palace.

“Get out,” Lucius barks at the security personnel, who take one look at me and exit the room. He sits down and fiddles with the keyboard. The camera footage on one screen disappears, replaced by a plain-looking computer program. “Give me the license plate, year, model, everything.”

Brian begins describing the car, and Lucius’s fingers fly over the keyboard. This is the first time I’ve seen him so animated since the king died.

Within minutes, the screen in front of us displays numerous still photographs taken from traffic cameras. Lucius gets rid of the blurry ones. “Which car is it?”

He looks at me, and I point at one of the pictures. He types something again, and this time, only images of my Jaguar show up, arranged according to time stamp.

“There.” He magnifies a picture with the latest time stamp, a mere five minutes ago.

The car door is open, and the lights are on, but Alice is nowhere to be seen. Lucius expands the image, and I know exactly where it is.

“The lake,” I breathe. Mira has seen the lake in her dreams, but why would Alice go there? Does she think Mira is there? I’m having a hard time thinking straight, but I pull myself together and look at Lucius. “You know how to contact the Black Arrows, don’t you?”

He nods.

“Get in touch with the ones in Phoenix. Get an update from them. We need to find Mira. Alice went to the lake for a reason. I’m going to go after her. She’s there alone, and she may need backup.” I turn to Brian. “Get the soldiers,” I order him. As he leaves, I hand Lucius a flash drive. “Here. This is a live-feed transmitter.”

“What live feed?”

“Trust me on this. Plug it in, and if a live feed appears, blast it to every shifter’s phone and screen. Can you do that?”

Lucius nods.

I hurry out the door, and the soldiers are already waiting for me. I don’t bother with a car; I shift into my wolf form, and my men follow suit. Going through the woods will be the quickest way to get to the lake. Moving past the palace grounds, my soldiers on my heels, I run as fast as I can, with Lucius’s words spinning in my head.

Alice. It was Alice all along. No wonder the king was so angry with me. He had finally gotten his daughter back, only for me to hurt her so viciously. In his eyes, I tortured her. I wonder if he passed away without forgiving me. The thought is upsetting. Even if he wasn’t my real father, I thought he was my entire life up till now. The idea of him loathing me all the way to the grave is painful.

I know it doesn’t matter anymore. He’s gone, and his daughter is my mate. If I couldn’t protect her in front of him, at least his spirit now knows that I will keep her safe.

I push myself to the very limits, trying to get to Alice. The woods are all connected, and I know how to get to the lake through them. However, the distance is long, and despite my speed, it takes time.

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