Page 41 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

“That whole speech about not having found his fated mate and now deciding to look elsewhere?” Mary says in a mocking tone before smacking me on the arm again. “He was looking at you, Alice!”

“Stop hitting me!” I scowl. “What did you want me to do? I already have a fated mate. Why would he hit on me if he knows I already have someone, that someone being Darian?”

“Because Darian wasn’t around, you idiot,” my friend bursts out. “He should be here, by your side, to let everyone know that you are taken. You really have no idea how this works, do you?”

I stare at her. “I think my head is going to explode.”

“Fated mates verbally accept each other after the red thread appears. If they don’t, others consider them fair game. It’s something of a competition among the unmated shifters, and if one of the fated mate pairs is powerful, they try even harder to court them till the last day.”

“But fated mates mostly choose each other, don’t they?” I ask slowly.

“Mostly, yes.” Mary shrugs. “Anyway, I have a feeling that Willow might have spread information about you not having a wolf spirit, but I don’t know if that’ll be enough to hold off the other men. The fact that you are Darian’s fated mate makes you special. And—” She sniffs me again, frowning. “Seriously, why do you smell so good?”

I push her away. “Will you stop that?”

But Mary moves closer, her expression grim. “Wait. There’s something about your scent.”

“Mary, now isn’t the time to joke around.” She moves along my arm to my neck, and I turn stiff. “What is it?”

“Your scent is changing.” She leans back, looking astounded. “That’s why I couldn’t put my finger on it. It’s tantalizing. To a female like me, it smells sweet, but to men, it might smell irresistible. You smell like power.”

“Like power?” I repeat, wondering if she went and hit her head somewhere. “You’re going to have to explain that because power isn’t a smell!”

She gestures with her hand, frustrated. “I don’t know how to explain it. This is something I learned in one of my classes when I was in the training program to become a healer: scent is very important to male shifters when choosing a mate. The purer a scent, the more powerful a wolf shifter is supposed to be. This is especially true for female shifters. Before, your scent has always felt diluted, just a bit off. But ever since a few weeks ago, it’s begun to change. Wait…” She makes a face, thinking. “Not a few weeks. You know that day in your apartment when I told you that you smelled different? That was the first time I caught the change. I didn’t put two and two together at the time, but now, it’s growing stronger.”

“You’re saying my scent is pure?” I sniff myself. “I don’t smell anything.”

“I’m telling you, it’s true,” Mary insists. “And if you don’t believe me, you can ask Darian. You smell strong. No other way to explain it.”

“But I’m not strong,” I remind her, exasperated.

She shrugs. “Don’t ask me. I’m just telling you what I’m noticing, but you should probably talk to Darian. He shouldn’t be leaving you alone like this at any of the events. Otherwise, you’ll start gaining a bunch of suitors.”

“I don’t have a wolf spirit, Mary!” I enunciate each word. “What does it matter if my scent is pure or diluted? I’m not a powerful shifter.”

“But you can produce powerful pups,” Mary scoffs. “A lot of male shifters look for that in a mate. Some of them may not care that you don’t have a wolf spirit. Talk to Darian. It could be—” She cuts herself off, a strange look forming on her face. “Never mind. That’s not possible.”

“What?”

She shakes her head. “Forget it. Let’s go grab some breakfast.”

I peek out from behind the tree, mentally drained from this conversation. Most of the wolf shifters have already eaten and left. We quickly hurry over to the buffet, and as I’m piling food on my plate, I feel a pair of eyes on me. When I look over my shoulder, I see Jason leaning against a tree in the distance, watching me. He doesn’t approach me, but his chin lifts when he catches me looking over.

I wince. “Do you think we can take this to our room?”

Mary has a piece of bacon in her mouth, and she shakes her head. “I don’t think so. Let’s just find a quiet spot to eat before the hunting competition begins. We have to get dressed for that.”

We find an empty table, and as we’re eating, I catch a few shifters coming our way. However, to my surprise, Jason steps in front of them, stopping their descent toward us. He’s getting rid of them, letting us have our breakfast in peace.

When our eyes meet, he grins at me and mouths, “I’ve got this.”

I can’t help but smile. Maybe I misjudged him.

*****

The hunting event takes place in the early afternoon, and the premise is simple. All the male shifters head into the palace woods, which are crawling with dangerous animals. There’s no prize involved aside from the ego of each shifter. The one who brings back the most kills is commended, and each male shifter dedicates his prey to his preferred female.

Among the females, this event is something akin to a popularity contest. The female with the most men presenting their prey to her is to be envied. At least, that’s how Mary explains it to me. I’m far too busy making sure I don’t fall on my face in this dress to care.

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