Page 37 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

I wish I could feel angry at Alice, but since our first meeting, she has been completely resistant to me. What am I supposed to tell her? That I have to be with the woman who hates her? I can only imagine what she will say if I tell her she can still be my mistress. She has pride in spades. She’ll probably spit in my face.

My lips curve at the thought, despite my hurting heat. Even if the image is an unsightly one, my wolf feels proud of how fiery a mate it has chosen.

I drain the bottle of whiskey, getting progressively drunker. I wonder why my wolf is not turned off by the fact that Alice has no wolf spirit. My wolf is pleased with her; I can feel his happiness inside me.

I have no intention of filling Alice in on any of this. She doesn’t need to know that my father doesn’t want her in the royal family. The king will have no say in whom I take as my mate. It’s my decision.

I’m glad I told Jimmy to take her to her suite. I shudder at the thought of how Thomas and his daughter might have cornered her. But how do I protect Alice from my father? He’s not going to sit still while I court her over the next couple of days. I know him well enough to know that he always gets his way.

I am going to have to figure out how to keep my father from having access to Alice. That is not going to be an easy feat considering he is the king and has eyes and ears everywhere. Leaning my head back in his chair, I look at the ceiling, my inside churning.

The truth is that, if I were to put my feelings aside, I know that as the prince of the Wolf Kingdom, choosing a mate with no wolf spirit is a bad idea. It could potentially cause unrest within the kingdom, and I have a feeling that Thomas and my father would make sure that happens.

I simply have to decide whether I am willing to face that and put Alice through it all. If she stays with me, her life is going to be the furthest thing from easy. And yet, I don’t want to walk away from her. Even if I didn’t dislike Willow because of what she has done to Alice, there’s something about the blonde girl that rubs me the wrong way.

I reach for the other bottle under my father’s desk. I don’t normally drink like this, but tonight, I feel the urge to seek some sort of comfort. I don’t trust myself to go to Alice. I don’t know what to say to her that won’t crush the happiness in her eyes, the happiness she had been struggling to hide. My mate has a tough exterior, but her heart is soft. I don’t want to break it.

I need to warn her of my father’s intentions, though. And I have to keep Thomas away from her.

I take a chug from the bottle, sighing heavily.

It’s typical of my father to ruin my mood. I don’t know why I expected things to be any different today.

Getting to my feet, I walk over to the window and look outside, my heart heavy.

I’ll have to make a decision soon.

Obey my father as I have always done, or choose the woman whom the fates have decreed for me.

Chapter 8

Alice

I haven’t changed out of my dress yet. I don’t know how to take it off without some help. All the damn buttons are on the back.

Leaning on the balcony railing, I look out at the palace grounds, my thoughts conflicted. I should be happy. In a way, I am. But I’m also terrified of what this fated mate bond means for me. Even if Darian accepts me, what about his father? What about everyone else?

The thoughts eat away at me. Suddenly, the world that was so predictable till now is far too vast and terrifying. Getting embroiled with the royal family is not what I wanted.

While I’m not upset about having been forced to leave the ballroom, I do wonder where Mary is. It’s getting close to three in the morning, and she’s still not back. The ballroom is quite far from the east wing. It took me twenty minutes to get here, a testament to how large the palace truly is.

This dress is quite uncomfortable. And I haven’t even pulled the pins from my hair because I wouldn’t know where to start. It’s all piled up on top of my head in some elegant updo that Mary was convinced gave me a sophisticated aura. As opposed to looking like an ape as usual, I suppose.

The sound of banging on the door makes me straighten.

“Alice!”

I blink, recognizing Darian’s voice.

Hurrying to the other end of the suite, I grip my dress and lift it so that I don’t accidentally fall over and break my nose. When I open the door, Darian is leaning against the jamb, the first few buttons of his shirt undone and that fancy coat he was wearing nowhere to be seen. His hair looks messy, and he’s clutching a bottle that looks and smells like scotch.

When he sees me, he smiles a charming, boyish grin. “There’s my girl.”

“Are you drunk?” I ask, stunned. Before he answers the question, I snatch the bottle away from him. “Get inside.”

He’s staggers past me, and I close the door behind him.

“What are you doing, showing up here drunk? Somebody could have seen you!” I demand before getting a good look at his face. My anger fades to give way to concern. Something’s wrong. I don’t know what, but I can sense it.

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