Page 2 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

“Let’s ask Alice if she wants to involve the police.” Willow is smiling smugly as she looks at me. “Well, Alice?”

My whole body is stiff from the pain. I would love nothing more than to say yes, but I know what Thomas will do to me if I send the human police after his daughter. I can’t—

“Hello? I want to report an assault at Benny’s Diner on Melrose Avenue.”

The sound of a woman’s voice makes Willow’s eyes flash with quick rage as we all turn in the direction of the customer sitting a few tables away.

I close my eyes in regret.

Well, shit.

Flint starts shouting at the woman, and Willow looks pissed even though she’s trying not to show it. With their attention now diverted toward the kind-hearted customer, Sam whisks me away.

I have a hard time speaking through the pain, but Sam knows what to do. He hands me a very full glass of water once we’re in the kitchen.

“Blink into it. It’ll help.”

I do as he says, and sure enough, the burning from the pepper in my eyes begins to fade away.

“The cops are going to want to talk to you,” Sam says as he hands me a towel to wipe the soup remnants off me.

I glance anxiously back at the door leading to the small hallway that opens into the dining area. “It’ll only make things worse for me, Sam. Just help me get cleaned up so I can—”

He gives me an angry look. “You can’t seriously be planning to let her off the hook again! Have some self-respect, Alice! The woman is a menace. She keeps coming in here with new men and making a scene.”

I study him, my insides churning with humiliation and anger. “You think I don’t want her to pay for what she’s doing to me? She’s got backing, Sam. Her father is the beta of the pack. He’ll make my life a living hell if I get his daughter arrested. He already had the pack stop my college funding because I made a fuss over Willow harassing me last year. I can’t afford—”

I don’t get the opportunity to finish my sentence because the kitchen door is pushed open and a police officer walks through. He wipes the sweat off his forehead and looks around. When his eyes land on me, he blinks. “You the server who had the soup dropped on them?”

I’m about to say no, but my appearance is a dead giveaway.

“Do you need to go to the hospital?” He gives me a once-over. “You don’t look too good.”

I shake my head. “I’m fine. I don’t want to press charges.”

“You don’t?” The officer sounds incredulous. “From what I just heard, you had scalding hot soup thrown on you.”

“It was a misunderstanding. The customer’s hand slipped,” I tell him quickly. “It wasn’t his—”

“Sure,” the officer says casually, glancing around the kitchen once more. “Where’s the security footage? I noticed you guys have cameras here.”

The blood drains from my face, and Sam gives me an apologetic look. I don’t understand why till he gestures with his hand. “Right this way, Officer.”

I feel the knife digging in my back. How can he do this? He knows what the Moonlight Pack will do to me if Willow gets in trouble!

I quickly step in front of the policeman, wiping my face with the towel again. “I don’t want to press charges. Shouldn’t that be enough? It’s my choice, right?”

“I’m afraid not.” The man doesn’t look like he cares what I want to do. “I have to file a report.”

“But if I don’t want to press charges, there’s nothing you can do about it,” I argue, feeling foolish as I say the words.

He eyes me. “You look young, so let me give you a word of advice.”

The guy can hardly be a year or two older than me!

“I understand that this job may be important to you, but if someone assaults you, you shouldn’t protect that person. Now, let me do my job.”

After sharing the most useless bit of advice I’ve ever heard, he nods at Sam.

---