Page 43 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

“If they won’t respect her, I will make them respect her,” Darian snarls. “And I know everything about Alice. Next time, Beta Thomas, if you put your hands on my woman, I will forget who you are. You may have my father’s ears, but I am the one who will become the king. I can strip you of your position in a heartbeat.”

I’ve never seen anybody threaten Thomas before, and it must be effective because he turns white as a sheet. “I was simply trying to have a discussion with Alice.”

“Next time you want to have a discussion with her, you can go through me, and there will always be someone else present in the room.”

Thomas refuses to back down. “You haven’t given her the mating mark yet. She’s still part of my pack, and as such, I have authority over her.”

“No, you don’t. I’m denying you your authority over Alice. Would you like to question my decision?” Darian responds calmly.

“What are you doing, Your Highness?” Willow sounds shocked and a little bit frustrated. “Look at her. You can have your pick of attractive women, and you want her? Her education, her manners in society—everything is lacking. How can you want something like that as your mate?”

I hear two growls at the same time. To my surprise, Jason is also glaring at Willow.

“I heard you raised your daughter to be a graceful female, Beta Thomas,” Jason says coolly, looking down his nose at Willow. “There’s nothing graceful about this woman. You have not raised your daughter well.”

“If you or your daughter ever say something about Alice again,” Darian adds harshly, “I’ll make sure no respectable shifter will choose to be with Willow.”

Thomas immediately pushes his daughter behind him. “You’re crossing a line, Your Highness. Threatening my daughter—”

“Threatening her?” Darian gives him a smile. “That was a promise. It would be best if you and your daughter stay away from Alice for the remainder of this gathering. Otherwise, we will have a problem.”

Too many eyes are on us, and Thomas also realizes that. Taking Willow by the hand, he pulls her away.

Darian turns his attention to Jason. “She’s spoken for, Alpha Marrock. Stop sniffing around my mate.”

Jason doesn’t look deterred. Instead, he gives Darian an amused look. “She doesn’t appear claimed to me, Your Highness. Your intended is an interesting woman. Keep an eye on her, or I may just decide to court her.”

With that, he walks off.

Chapter 9

Alice

I look up at Darian. “Is it true? Your father told you to reject me?”

Darian’s lips press into a thin line. “Don’t worry about it. I’m dealing with him.”

“How can I not worry about it? The king of the Wolf Kingdom doesn’t want us to be mates. Be honest with me, Darian. I won’t blame you if you have to obey him.”

“I don’t have to obey anybody,” Darian says fiercely. “And stay away from Jason. He’s trouble.”

“He was just helping me—”

“Because he’s interested in you!” Darian explodes before lowering his head and running his fingers through his hair, frustrated. “I can’t be with you at all times, Alice. There’s a lot I have to deal with right now. I assigned Jimmy to stay with you, but my father keeps interfering. Make sure you don’t go off with anybody other than me or that friend of yours.” We both glance over at Mary, who has subtly drifted away in order to give us some privacy. “You are not safe in the royal palace as long as my father wants you out of the way. I know I won’t be around a lot, but don’t get close to anybody else, Alice.”

I’ve never seen him look so insecure and tense. “I don’t think Jason meant what he said, Darian.” I try to make him feel better, but I fail.

“He did mean it,” Darian replies. “Promise me. Don’t dance with anybody. Don’t accept anything from anybody. Only look at me. Focus on me. That’s all you need to do.”

My hands lift to touch his face, a strange ache in my heart at the desperate emotion in his eyes. “How can I look at anybody else when all I can think about is you?”

His eyes soften. “You mean it? You think about me?”

“More than I want to,” I chuckle.

He closes his eyes and leans into my touch. “I hate that I can’t be with you right now, but I’ll make up for it. I promise.”

“It’s fine. Really. To be honest, I’m not a fan of this whole gathering. I don’t know what to do with myself.”

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