Page 18 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

My friend curls his upper lip in disgust. “You sure do know how to hit below the belt.”

I smile at him, but my mind is already on other things.

Getting out of the palace isn’t easy for me because I’m usually handling my father’s duties, especially since he got sick. He wants me to take over his title, but only once I take a mate. I have been given a list of acceptable females for me to choose from if I don’t find my fated mate.

I can only take the throne if I have strong backing, as well. Although I am the king’s only child, life can be made very difficult for me if I don’t have someone powerful behind me. So, I have to choose a strong mate. Either in terms of strength or status.

Yesterday, I stepped out on my own to deal with some personal things. I don’t like the fact that all my wealth accumulation is linked to the palace, so I have been building my own businesses on the side, including among the humans. Once every few months, I have to go meet with my investors and the people looking after my companies. That is what I’d been doing when I first ran into that girl. It bothers me that I don’t even know her name.

But I do know that she will be at the mating gathering next week. I need to see her once more. Not for any particular reason, but simply because…

I look out my office window, my hands behind my back. The least I can do is make up for the birthday I ruined. I couldalways ask Jimmy to look into her. After all, her features are distinguishing enough to figure out who she is. However, I don’t want to do that. She seemed like a very private person. A little direct, but private.

Besides, I don’t have to involve Jimmy in everything I do.

*****

A couple of hours later, as the sun begins to set, I pick up a box of cupcakes, along with some other snacks, and make my way to the lake. There’s no guarantee that she’s going to be there, but if I can track her scent from the lake and find her that way, I might be able to apologize—and get an apology in return. Maybe she’ll also overlook how stalkerish my behavior is.

It’s not very likely that she’ll return to the lake today, but I’m willing to chance it. When I walk out of the trees, I see a figure slumped on the ground. For a moment, I don’t understand what I’m seeing. Then, recognizing the girl, I drop the bakery bag and rush over to her.

Her clothes are dry, but she’s not wearing her shirt, just a bra. She looks fine, but she’s unconscious. I check her pulse, and it’s thready.

“Hey!” I give her a shake before reaching for my phone. I need to get a healer out here.

I’ve barely managed to dial the number when she stirs. A soft groan leaves her lips, and when she opens her eyes, there’s a confused and dazed look in them.

“What happened?” Her voice is husky.

“You tell me.” I help her sit up, and I see the puzzlement slowly fading from her eyes. “What are you doing out here, shirtless?” I cannot smell any male on her, which relieves me. At least she wasn’t assaulted. “This is not a great place to sunbathe,” I scold her angrily. I don’t know why I feel so frustrated and protective. Anything could’ve happened to her. How can she be so reckless?!

“I was—” She looks toward the water. “Wait. How did I get here?”

“What are you talking about?” I demand. “You were lying on the bank when I saw you.”

She stares at me and murmurs, “So, it was just a dream. Thank God for that.” She suddenly seems to notice her state of undress. “Where’s my shirt?!”

“I just told you.” I give her an exasperated look, reaching out and grabbing the crumpled top from beside her. “You weren’t wearing it. Why were you half naked out here?”

I expect her to look embarrassed, but instead, her eyes fill with a terrible fear as she stares at the lake. “I was—I took it off to jump in.”

“Jump in?” It’s my turn to look horrified. “Were you trying to kill yourself?”

“What? No!” She shakes her head and grips my forearms. “I–I went to the pack library to read up on the witches in the lake. I just wanted to see if they were really there.”

“Have you lost your mind?” I gape at her. “That was very dangerous! The lake is far too deep—”

“I saw them,” she whispers, her expression so frightened that it chills me to the bone. “I saw them, and I don’t know why, but I wanted to touch one of them and—” She shudders. “It wasn’t dead. The witch looked at me. She grabbed my arm, and she wouldn’t let go. Then, everything turned black.” She looks at me. “And I woke up with you hovering over me.”

The legend of the witches in the lake has been around for a long time, but I know for a fact that the Wolf Kingdom was responsible for removing their bodies and burning them.

“You must have been dreaming,” I assure her. “There’s nobody in the lake. I was just messing with you yesterday. The bodies were taken out and burned.”

She shakes her head. “I wasn’t dreaming. I went into the water.”

“Maybe you were planning to go in, but you fell asleep.” That’s the only explanation that makes sense to me.

She blinks at me and then at the water.

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