Page 21 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

She flushes. “Right. Sorry about that.”

“Let’s eat!” I hold out one of the cupcakes for her, and despite her attempt to look stoic, her ears are still red as she takes a bite out of it.

Her eyes turn wide as saucers. “It’s really good!”

We sit on the ground, eating the cupcakes and the snacks, and I ask, “You’ll be coming to the mating gathering this weekend, right? Did you get a dress?”

“My friend gave me one as a birthday gift,” she tells me, munching on a puff pastry meat pie. “She also got me some shoes. She knew what would look good on me. She’s a romantic at heart.”

“And, I take it, you’re not?” I study her.

Alice scoffs. “I’m just going to the mating gathering because I can’t find a way to get out of it. It’s going to be a waste of time. I would rather be anywhere else.”

I frown. “Don’t you want to find your fated mate? You know, this is the only time, once a year, when our wolf spirits search for their mates. You let that chance go and you may have to wait an entire year to find your fated mate.”

A shutter falls over Alice’s expression. She takes another bite of the savory treat in her hand. “I’m not going to find a fated mate.”

“You can’t know that,” I argue. “And even if you don’t, someone might express interest in you. Not everyone mates the person they are fated to.”

She lets out a dry laugh. “Yeah. Fat chance of that happening, either.”

The conviction in her voice doesn’t make any sense to me. “Nearly everybody gets paired up during the mating gathering, unless a few of the attendees want to hold off and wait till the next year for their fated mate. What makes you so certain that you won’t end up with someone? You do know I’ll also be there, right?”

Alice’s body goes stiff. “You’ll be at the mating gathering?”

“Well, yeah.” I shrug. “I—”

I pause. I’ve never attended a mating gathering, despite the fact that I’ve been of age for two years. According to my father, my main focus has had to be the transfer of power from him to me. Members of the royal family always mate their fated mates. It is only now, with my father’s illness getting worse, that the urgency for me to find a mate has increased. Alice’s name is not on the list of suitable mates, but if she and I were to meet at the gathering, maybe fate would…

I don’t complete the thought. This is the first time my wolf has ever responded to someone. Given my sudden attraction to Alice, it can only mean that there is the possibility of a deeper bond between us. If she has just come of age, that means she’s twenty-two. We don’t have much of an age difference. I’m only two years older than her.

“I’ll be at the gathering,” I finally say. “How’s this? If neither of us finds our fated mate, we could choose each other.”

Alice freezes. “What are you talking about? You don’t want—”

“I have a good feeling about us.” I put my arm around her shoulders casually. “You already think I’m good looking.”

“I believe the word I used was ‘pretty,’” Alice says sarcastically.

“I refuse to be offended,” I decide. “If you like pretty, I’m pretty.”

Her face turns red, and I hide my smile as she glowers. “Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself? And even if neither of us finds a fated mate, you’d never want me. Trust me.”

I disagree with her. “Never say never.”

She makes an exasperated sound. “Look, I’m just going to the gathering to eat food and have a good time, as much as I can.”

“We’ll have a good time.”

“You keep saying ‘we.’” She pushes my arm off her shoulders. “There is no ‘we.’ There’s you, and then there’s me. You’ll be the center of attention because of all this”—she gestures toward my face—“and I’ll be at the back of the room, stuffing my face.”

“I can stuff my face, as well,” I point out. “It’ll be fun.”

She rolls her eyes at me. “Only you would call a mating gathering fun. It sounds exhausting, and since there will be a few of my packmates there, I know it’s going to be.”

My humor fades. “Alice, do you not get along with your pack?”

I see the troubled look in her eyes, which she tries to hide. “Don’t ask questions I can’t answer.”

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