Page 20 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

“Well, I don’t.” I pause. “No, there is something I want.”

A triumphant look crosses her face. “I knew it. What?”

“Your name.”

My words have her looking confused. “That’s it?”

“Yeah. Just your name.”

She studies me curiously. “Why do you want my name?”

“Because you know mine,” I point out. “It’s only fair that I know yours.”

“Alice Lane.”

I clear my throat. “Well, in the spirit of sharing our full names, I’m Darian Kassel.”

I sneak a look at her, wondering if she will recognize my surname, and when her expression stays the same, I don’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed.

She peeks into the bag on the ground in front of her. “So, what did you get me, Darian Kassel? Those are a lot of boxes for one cupcake.”

“Why don’t you open them and find out?” I suggest.

The first box she takes out and opens has six cupcakes of assorted flavors. The bakery I got them from is a special one that only caters to the royal family. Each cupcake is decorated in a delicately beautiful manner, and even I’m impressed. I’m also impressed by how sturdy the packaging was that the cupcakes are all intact despite the way I dropped the bag they were in.

Alice looks shocked. “They’re beautiful. I don’t think I could eat them.”

“Well, not yet.” I grin. “Check the other boxes.”

The next one contains a variety of savory snacks, and the last one has a thick tube in it. She picks it up and stares at it. “What’s this supposed to be?”

“It’s a sparkler,” I tell her. “One of the companies I ru—work with makes toys and decorations. Humans love these for birthdays.”

I can see that I have Alice’s full attention. “How does it work?”

I hold the sparkler away from our faces and twist the top. Nothing happens. I do it again but with more friction this time. It lights up, a shower of sparks and colorful lights exploding from it. It’s like a safer version of a firework.

I glance at Alice, and she’s smiling broadly, excitement and delight written all over her face. Her eyes are pinned on the little display, and for the first time, there is no reservation in them. She looks happy. My heart skips a beat, and my wolf rumbles in interest.

I meet plenty of beautiful women every day. Pack alphas like throwing their daughters at me in the hopes that one of them will catch my eye, but I’ve always steered clear of them. To them, it’s my title that is of value, not me. But Alice looks at me. She sees Darian.

It’s not just that. Being around her lets me relax. It’s like when I’m around Jimmy. We bicker all the time, but he’s my closest friend and ally. I trust him above everyone, including my father. Around my childhood friend, I can be myself. When I’m around Alice, it’s the same feeling. I don’t have to be Prince Darian. Just being Darian is enough.

It also helps that I find her amusing and unpredictable. And when I see her like this, smiling with her guard down, she looks ethereal.

I haven’t forgotten our kiss. It was impulsive, and I hadn’t expected anything to come of it. But when our lips pressed together, it felt like electricity was coursing through my veins.

I needed more. I wanted more.

In that moment, I felt like my heart would burst out of my chest. Her scent, her touch, it was all driving me crazy. I couldn’t get enough of her. Those feelings, invoked by a simple kiss, surprised me.

Touching her last night was like getting a hit of a potent drug, one that I haven’t been able to stop craving since. As I watch her beaming in excitement at this shower of sparks, such a simple thing, I realize how innocent she is. I want to be the one to corrupt that innocence, to claim it. I want her to be mine.

My mouth turns dry at the dangerous thought.

As the sparkler dies down, Alice looks at me in amazement. “That was incredible!”

I can’t help but feel a little proud. “So, I guess I’m not a jerk anymore?”

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