Page 71 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

She looks pale. “That night, at the mating gathering, the king ordered that you were to be brought back to our suite. Jason and I were the only ones with you. Then, the king showed up, and he wanted to talk to you alone. You were very out of it. I don’t know what he said to you, and I don’t know if you remember. But when he came out, he told Jason that he would dismiss the guards and that we were to take you away from the palace. He was sending you somewhere—I don’t know where—but we ended up stopping at that clinic because you were in such bad shape. And when I discovered you were pregnant, the healer there wanted to inform the royal family. That’s why I—”

I see the strain in her eyes, and I press my lips together. “I will never forget what you did for me, Mary. I will always owe you that debt.”

She smiles softly at me. “There is no debt to pay. There never was one. You may not be my sister in blood, but you’re my sister in heart.”

After closing her eyes for a moment, she continues the story. “I knew that if Jason found out about your pregnancy, he would have to tell the king, and the king might change his mind. So, I sneaked you out of there and took you to Arizona. When I came back to LA, I found no mention of the dead healer.”

Mary rubs her hands over her face. “I never saw Jason again, but I received a visit from the king once, at night—late at night, in fact. He showed up alone. He didn’t ask me where you were. He just wanted to know that you were safe. He told me to let you know that nobody would be able to find you. He was the one who had you erased from the registry. You know the money I often gave you? He had transferred a large amount into my bank account and told me to dole it out to you periodically. That was the last time I spoke with him. He was the reason you’ve been safe all this time.”

My lips tremble. “Why? Why do all that for me?”

“I don’t know,” she admits. “I always assumed that he felt guilty for what Darian did to you, what he subjected you to. It was horrible. I think the king felt responsible. I guess he didn’t consider you a threat like the white witches were trying to claim. He was always a fair man and a fair ruler. I think this was his way of apologizing for what his son put you through.”

“I see.” I wipe my eyes. “But what now, Mary? Darian is going to come find me. He knows where I work! How many mouths can I keep shut? He’s going to find out about Mira—”

Mary holds up her hands in an attempt to calm me down. “In the human world, there are records stating that Mira is your child with a human man,” she reminds me. “On top of that, Mira’s scent is diluted. She’s very young and hasn’t shifted yet. I can hide her scent. It’s not that hard. Illegal, yes, but not hard.”

I let out a gust of air. “I work in a high-pressure environment and never lose my cool. But the minute it comes to my daughter, I start floundering. What is wrong with me?”

“You’re a mother. You love her, Alice. We both know that Darian has always had a lot of power, and now he’s the king. From all accounts, though, he’s a very devoted husband. I’m sure he doesn’t care about hurting you anymore.”

“I hope so,” I whisper, even as her words make my heart throb. “Let’s hope he doesn’t care about me at all.”

“Look, I have a few vacation days coming up next week. I’ll fly out to see you. Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out.”

Chapter 14

Darian

“Park the car up at the corner,” I instruct Jimmy as I get in the back seat.

My second-in-command looks at me through the rearview mirror, surprised. “We’re not going back to the hotel?”

“Not yet.”

I rest my mouth against my fist and stare out the window.

Seven years.

When I launched Acme Intech, a company whose ownership I concealed under multiple layers, I hadn’t expected that it would lead me to the woman I betrayed so many years ago. Alice looks just as beautiful as she did back then. Except that her beauty has matured; she was once a stunning wildflower, but she is now a gorgeous rose. Confidence oozes out of her. She’s no longer that young girl who used to look at me, confused why someone like me was choosing her.

She has become a force to be reckoned with.

If it hadn’t been for the initial shock in her eyes, I never would have known that she even recognized me. Her tone was sharpand yet professional. She didn’t so much as flinch during our interactions.

I was the one who couldn’t take my eyes off her. She barely looked at me, and when she did, her gaze was steady. It drove my wolf mad with excitement.

Jimmy pulls the car up about fifty feet and parks at the curb. “So, what are we waiting for?”

I don’t answer. He’s used to my silence by now, so he doesn’t ask again.

It’s still raining. I twist my body around to look out the car’s rear window, fixing my eyes on the building’s entrance. She’s going to have to come out at some point.

I see some men leave the building, but not her.

A couple minutes later, a slim woman—with red hair that brushes against her shoulders when she moves and a dark suit that takes nothing away from her femininity—walks out under an umbrella. She heads toward a black car.

Her gait is unsteady. As she tries to open the door, the umbrella is forced out of her hand by a gust of wind. Instead of chasing after it, she turns in our direction and stares at it, as if perplexed.

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