Page 30 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

“That’s not possible.” I frown. “Should we go check?”

There’s a knock on the door just then, and Mary hurries to open it. A man is standing in the hall. He looks like a butler, and he announces, “Gifts have been sent for Miss Lane.”

“Gifts?” Mary sounds shocked, and she nearly falls over her own feet in an attempt to step out of the way as footmen start entering the room, carrying large gift boxes.

“What’s happening?” I look at the butler, who is supervising everything. “Who sent these?”

He gives me a half smile. “Sir Darian.”

Once the door closes behind us, Mary rushes to my side and grips my arm. “You said Darian was someone who worked in the royal palace. What position is he in?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know.”

“He has to be someone powerful,” Mary murmurs, “to be able to send gifts within the palace. Who have you gotten yourself involved with, Alice?”

I stare at the piled boxes on the floor and whisper, my breath trembling, “I really don’t know.”

*****

According to Mary, for fated mates to be linked, it has to be done at a very specific time under the moon. An hour shy of midnight, we are led to the palace ballroom. The dress Mary bought me is a silver gown with sequins and beautiful beadwork. It pales in comparison to the dresses Darian sent me, but my friend chose it with great care and love. It leaves my upper arms and collarbones bare, and it flows down the length of my body, thankfully covering my ankle.

Plenty of guests have already arrived, and as Mary and I are announced and make our entrance, I don’t understand how this place can be called a ballroom. The ceiling is open to the sky, and there are chandeliers hanging in the air with no support.

“Magic,” Mary whispers to me. “The royal palace works with the white witches.”

Despite the open sky, the light from the chandeliers is dazzling.

“Is it a retractable roof?” I whisper back to her. “Once the event ends, does the ceiling go back into place?”

I expect her to mock me for my silly question, but instead, she nods. “Believe it or not, I saw it happen. I don’t know how they do it. Magic is bizarre to me.”

We don’t mingle with the other guests, choosing a spot by the wall to hang out.

“So, what is going to happen?” I ask Mary.

“Once the moon is in position, it’s going to shine on that stone in the center of the room. The moonlight will be there for at least thirty minutes. The males will step forward first, and if they have fated mates in the room, the red thread I told you about will appear and find them. During my sister’s gathering, everything was really rushed, for some reason. By the end of the night, those who wanted to reject their mates had to do so. Not that anyone did. But I think tonight, according to the schedule you received, once the fated mates are declared, there are going to be events where everybody will mingle, and those who want to choose mates will be able to. And at the end, the engagements will be announced. It’s going to be a fun week!”

I try to smile. Fun? Sounds more like hectic to me.

“Look who it is.”

I hear a familiar voice, and my heart nearly stops.

Cyrus Black.

Alpha Black’s son is only a couple years older than me, and he takes great pleasure in tormenting me. If Willow is manipulative and uses her words to flay me, Cyrus is not above using his fists. He has done everything to me, from shoving my face in the dirt to pushing me off a roof once. I actively avoid him. I’m pretty sure he wants me dead. Or maybe he likes the torture part. Either way, he’s got a sadistic nature, and I’m always at the receiving end of it.

“What do you want, Cyrus?”

Like his father, Cyrus has light brown hair and soft brown eyes that give him a deceptively kind appearance. “You have some nerve coming here. Or maybe I should say confidence,” hesmirks. “Were you hoping to find yourself a mate? That’s really optimistic of you. You know nobody wants—”

“That’s quite enough,” Mary says sharply.

Cyrus narrows his eyes. “Oh. You brought your little healer friend, did you?”

Healers cannot be disrespected in wolf society. So, Cyrus cannot do or say anything nasty to Mary. It’s one of the perks of being her friend. If she’s around, nobody will mess with me. The most Cyrus can do is ignore her.

“Yes, she did.” Mary crosses her arms over her chest. “Go away, Cyrus. She has every right to be here, just like you do. Maybe you should focus on finding yourself a mate rather than picking on somebody else.”

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