Page 96 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

Alice shoves our daughter behind her, glaring at me. “What’re you doing here? Are you stalking me?”

For a few seconds, I can’t speak. I’m still trying to wrap my head around all of this. “Why didn’t you tell me she’s mine?” I finally ask.

I see her swallow, and the fire in her eyes is mesmerizing. “Because she’s not yours. She’s mine!”

She could have repeated the story about her one-night stand, but we both know she has no leg to stand on anymore. I’ve already caught Mira’s scent, and seeing her up close is different from looking at a photograph. She has my eyes, the shape of them. She also has my smile.

There’s no mistaking it. I’m her father.

“Does she know who I am?” My heart is clenching inside my chest as I try to come to terms with the existence of a daughter.

Alice’s lower lip trembles, and then she looks at Mary. “Take her. I don’t want her hearing this.”

“But Mama…” Mira protests, her eyes welling up.

I raise my chin toward Jimmy. “Watch over them. Not even a scratch.”

Alice doesn’t protest my sending Jimmy along with Mary and Mira. When it’s just the two of us left, the silence between us islike a deep chasm, one filled with secrets and lies. I’m so tired of it all.

“Were you ever going to tell me about my daughter?”

“No,” she replies quietly. The denial feels like a knife stabbing me in the heart.

“Why didn’t you reach out? Why didn’t you—?”

“If you had been in my position, would you have reached out?” She bares her teeth at me, her eyes flashing. “For all I knew, you would’ve taken my daughter and hurt her just to get back at m—”

“Alice!” I roar her name, horrified by her insinuation.

She flinches.

It’s a struggle to control my temper. “Let me clear up one misunderstanding right here and now. I would never harm a hair on that little girl’s head. And I would never harm you. You should’ve told me about her, Alice. You shouldn’t have gone through the pregnancy alone! Even if you didn’t want to see me, I would’ve given you money, sent you somebody to look after you. It didn’t have to be me!”

“I didn’t and still don’t trust you. After what happened, do you really think I would have picked up the phone and called you?”

Her hands are clenched into fists, and when I smell blood, I grab her wrists and force her palms open. She doesn’t retract her claws in time, and I find myself staring at them. “You’ve gained your shifter abilities?” I lift my gaze to search her eyes.

She gives me a defiant look. “An unfortunate side effect of the sealing spell.” She snatches her hands away, or at least tries to. I don’t let go.

“Our daughter deserves a father, Alice. You can’t keep her from me.”

She narrows her eyes. “Who is saying this? Her father or the king of the Wolf Kingdom?”

My jaw tightens. “When I stand in front of you, Alice, I’m not the king of the Wolf Kingdom. I’m your fated mate and the father of your child.”

I see the emotion build behind her eyes, and she looks away as if to hide it from me. “Mira is happy with her life. She doesn’t need you.”

“Doesn’t need me?” I laugh bitterly. “Every girl needs her father, Alice. She needs me to protect her from the world—”

Her head snaps back toward me, eyes flashing in anger. “I protect her. I’ve protected her for the past seven years!”

“And what about when the white witches come for you? Will you be able to protect her then?” Her face turns pale, and I continue. “Yes. They’ve been looking for you.”

She tries in vain to pull away from me. “Is that why you’re here? You’re trying to sell me to them again! You bast—”

“No!” I growl. I see the panic in her eyes, and my heart breaks, but my hands tighten around her wrists. “I just found out about it right now. They gave me their word that they would leave you alone if I married Willow. I’ve kept my side of the bargain for seven years, but they haven’t kept theirs!”

“What?” Alice suddenly isn’t fighting me now, frozen in place. “What did you just say?”

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