Page 145 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

My hands are trembling as I try to call Darian before remembering that he doesn’t have his phone.

I know one number for the palace. I call it.

Nobody picks up. Pulling back onto the road, I make a violent U-turn and start driving in the opposite direction. Mira is at the lake. I have to get there.

I keep calling the palace. Finally, someone answers the phone.

“It’s Alice. Tell Darian that the witches took Mira. They—”

The line goes dead.

Frustration, fear, and anger are an ugly combination. Why is everything that can go wrong going wrong right now?!

I don’t know who else to call.

I have no choice. Driving like a demon, I break every traffic law in existence as I speed toward the lake. The royal palace is a long way from there, but I manage to arrive in under two hours. Throwing the car into park, I don’t even bother with the key, just leaping out, running into the woods, and shifting in midair. I don’t care if I’m heading into a trap with no backup.

My daughter is at the lake.

I need to get to her.

I don’t care who gets in my way. I’ll kill them all.

I’m coming Mira. I’m coming for you!

My heart is beating like a drum, slamming against my ribcage, when I reach the tree line that overlooks the lake. By the edge of the water, I see a small figure, lying still.

Shifting back, I run toward it. “Mira!”

Before I can reach her, a figure steps in my path. I come to a halt, my blood burning even as shock hits me like a punch in the gut.

Willow.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

She looks much calmer than she did during our last meeting. “I knew you’d come running for that bastard child.”

“Insult my daughter again—”

“And what?” She sneers at me. “What are you going to do, Alice? You’ve already lost. I have your daughter.”

“Get out of my way before I kill you,” I snarl at her.

“You’re going to kill me, too?” Her eyes narrow. “You’ve already wrecked my marriage.”

“I wrecked your marriage?” I spit out. “I was Darian’s fated mate. You blackmailed him into marrying you!”

“It doesn’t matter.” She flips her hair over her shoulder. “I still won. I got him, didn’t I?” She puts her hands on her hips and smiles at me. “You think you’ve won now because you’re going to become queen? Well, I have news for you. You’re never going to be the queen, and that little spawn of yours is never going to be acknowledged as the royal heir.” When she laughs, the sound is filled with madness. “All those years, I made sure you knew your place, but you just had to return to the royal family.”

My eyes dart toward Mira before I look back at Willow. “What do you mean, return?”

Willow considers me for a moment and then rolls her eyes. “Father was supposed to give you to the white witches. He knew who you were the minute you were left at the orphanage. You don’t know anything, do you? My mother was there when you were born.”

A rough sketch is starting to form in my mind, and I take a step forward. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Willow rocks on her heels, looking at me in disgust. “My mother was very close to Queen Freya, you see. She knew how the queen looked, always so fragile. King Edward didn’t let her make many public appearances because he was afraid of something happening to her. But my mother knew her. They grew up together, after all. I spent most of my childhood by the queen’s side. She called me her little princess. And then, she got pregnant with you.”

I’m staring at Willow, trying to wrap my head around what she’s saying. “I am the queen’s—I’m from the royal family?”

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