Page 113 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

“You’re a bad shot, Dad.” Mira rubs salt in my wounded pride as she hugs her new bear.

I narrow my eyes at the two of them. “That was a fluke. I can still score you some toys.”

Mira giggles. “Mom always wins me the big ones.”

“Well, your dad is going to get you even more.”

“You couldn’t even win her a bear,” Alice taunts me.

I glare at her. “You’re going to eat those words.”

An hour later, I’m the one eating my words as I carry around Mira’s new plush collection that her mother has won at every game. Alice is laughing. “Must be fun to be right all the time.”

“This whole carnival is rigged.”

She licks her ice cream. “Of course it is. Because you can’t be bad at something.”

I mutter under my breath, and she cups her hand at her ear. “What was that? Was that you admitting that you’re not good at every single thing?”

Mira giggles.

“Should Dad buy us a nice dinner now, Mira?” Alice asks, grinning.

The girl nods. “The Pizza Poo! I want to go to the Pizza Poo.”

I stare at her. “That doesn’t sound like a very hygienic restaurant.”

“Poo is the name of the mascot at this pizza place. It’s close by. We can walk.”

Spending time with Alice and Mira, relaxed and teasing each other, is something I never would have imagined. By the time I take them to their car, Mira is sleeping in my arms. Her new plush toys are in Alice’s arms.

“It’s been a long time since I could enjoy myself like this,” I say lightly before glancing at Alice.

“Mira had a good time. I’m glad.”

“How about you?”

As we stand by Alice’s car, she meets my gaze, her own looking troubled. “We have a long way to go, Darian. But I’m willing to meet you halfway for Mira’s sake. You’re a good father. I want that for her.”

“I don’t think just being Mira’s father is going to be enough for me,” I admit. “If you were cold to me all the time, I could understand, but you’re not. I’m not asking you to forgive me. I’m asking you to give me a chance. I messed up. I know what you went through was horrible. Not just the events of that night but every day after that. I’m sorry. I know I’ve never properly apologized, but I am apologizing now. I’m sorry you went through that because of me and my actions. I wish I knew how to fix everything. Whatever you say, I’m willing to do. But I’m not willing to walk away from you again, Alice. I don’t think I could survive walking away from you a second time.”

She looks away from me, her eyes wet. “I don’t know if I can move past that night, Darian. It still haunts me. It clings to me, and when I look at you, I can’t help but be reminded of who I was and how I was treated. I’m trying to be civil to you because of Mira. Why can’t you be happy with that?”

When she drives away a few minutes later, I stare after her car.

I can believe many things, but not what she just said. She’s not being civil to me because of Mira. If that were the case, she would be setting more limits.

She feels something for me. It’s up to me to bring those feelings out.

*****

Spending time with Alice and Mira becomes a frequent occurrence. I also get to see Alice during meetings with Katherine’s company. Her attitude toward me is softening, and I’ve noticed that she likes to feed me. I don’t know if she realizes that this is something mates do for each other. Even if Alice hasn’t accepted me, her wolf has.

It’s something that gives me hope, but I’m not going to shoot myself in the foot. I have no intention of telling her the meaning behind her actions. However, when she gives me some of her lunch or forces me to eat something, I never turn her down.

My team of lawyers always watches in morbid fascination when Alice speaks to me in a casual but disgruntled voice. None of them would dare speak to me in that tone. In fact, over the years, I’ve developed a reputation as a little bit of a tyrant. My attitude toward my own wife, Willow, is harsh enough that rumors about my personality have begun to spread.

Dinners at Alice and Mira’s home have become even more frequent, and I enjoy them. I’ve noticed that when I don’t push Alice on the topic of us, she relaxes around me. It is at one of these dinners, after I have put Mira to bed, that I come back out to see Alice washing the dishes in the kitchen sink.

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