Page 98 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

“If they’re looking for me, I can’t stay here anymore, Darian. You’ve implied that the white witches and Willow are workingtogether. If Willow ever discovers Mira’s existence, she will stop at nothing to torture our child. And you better understand that now. She’ll use the white witches if she has to, or she’ll use her status as queen, but she will hurt Mira because hurting my little girl will hurt me.” I turn around to leave, but Darian stops me. Feeling his warm hand wrap around mine makes my eyes flutter shut. “Let go of me, Darian. I can’t stay here any longer.”

He releases my hand but immediately comes to stand in front of me. “Please. I’m asking you to trust me just one more time.”

I look at him, my jaw set. “I made that mistake once, Darian. And it cost me everything. I told you, I’ve learned my lesson.”

“Alice.” He blocks my path as I try to walk away again. “I’ll divorce Willow. I’m working on eliminating the influence of the white witches. They won’t be able to touch you. Nobody will be able to do anything to you. Let me protect you this time. I know I failed before, but—”

I’m staring at him, stunned. “Divorce Willow? I’m supposed to think you’ll leave the queen of the Wolf Kingdom for me? For someone who has been branded a dark witch? You expect me to believe that?” I let out a skeptical snort. “You’re not going jeopardize your kingdom over somebody like me, somebody you know that nobody will accept. If you want to make up a lie, Darian, at least make it believable.”

“What do you want me to do?” he pleads. “How do I get you to trust me? You won’t look at the evidence; you won’t take my word. Tell me how to fix it. Because I can’t do this anymore, Alice. I cannot live without you, and I especially cannot live without our daughter. I need you both. I’ve been living in a hell of my own making for seven years now. I won’t go back to it.”

I stare at him, hardening my heart. “I feel sorry for you, Darian. And the reason I feel sorry for you is that you’re married to Willow. I wouldn’t wish her upon anybody. But the truth is, even if I were to believe that you’re unhappy and you want a way out, and that I am your way out, it’s not going to end well for either of us. If you divorce her, you’re going to cause a rift within the Wolf Kingdom. I don’t think you can afford that. You clearly haven’t thought this through. And I don’t want to expose Mira to any of the backlash.”

I watch him look over to where Mary and Jimmy have taken Mira. His expression is conflicted. I can see the heartbreak all over his face, but in his eyes, there is a cold, calculating look. If I believe that the Darian I knew seven years ago was the real him, then he has changed. That Darian never had such a look in his eyes.

He has switched up his angle really quickly. From pleading to analyzing.

When his eyes return to rest on me, he’s frowning. “She’s my daughter, Alice. Her existence cannot be concealed for long.”

“If I could hide her for seven years—”

“Yes, but I didn’t know about her for those seven years, did I?” he says quietly, his green gaze piercing me. “You kept her from me. She doesn’t even know me. She doesn’t know her own father, Alice. What do you think is going to go through her head when she sees other children with their fathers, fathers who are present in their lives? You can fill the hole to some extent, but you cannot be a father to her. Even if you fulfill every emotional and physical requirement, she is still going to wonder, and she’s going to feel that absence in her life. I would know, as shouldyou. I didn’t have a mother, Alice. You didn’t have either of your parents. We both know what it’s like.”

My mouth is dry as I tear my gaze from him and look in Mira’s direction. He’s not wrong. I do know what it’s like. But the threat to Mira is too much for me to risk.

“What if she’s like me?” I whisper without thinking. “What if the witches claim that she’s also a dark witch? What are you going to do then? Hand her over to them?”

When I hear Darian suck in his breath, I belatedly realize what I have done.

“Are you serious?” Darian’s voice is uneven as he grips me by my upper arms, forcing me to look at him.

“I—No, of cour—”

“You’re lying.” He sounds numb as he stares at me. “She has the mark, doesn’t she?”

I try to push him away, but his strength is far greater than mine. “No, she doesn’t!”

He searches my eyes. “You’re saying I won’t find it if I search her?”

“You touch my daughter—” I begin, my upper lip twisting.

“I think you mean our daughter,” he hisses. “She’s mine, too, Alice. Just because you hid her from me all these years doesn’t make her any less mine. In the shifter world, I have more rights to her than you do.”

The blood drains from my face. “Are you threatening to take her from me?”

He’s quiet for a moment, his fingers still pressing into my arms. “No.”

But the threat has latched itself onto me. “If you even think of taking her, remember, she’s not registered as a shifter. She’s a human child. And I will fight tooth and nail to keep her. You cannot take my daughter from me, Darian. I will not let you take her from me and give her to Willow or the witches.”

For somebody who claims to be calm in dire situations, I’m falling apart. My worst nightmare is coming true. I have to get out of here. I have to take Mira and leave. I never should have listened to Mary. Despite everything, Darian still managed to find out about Mira, and now he wants to—

Darian gives me a quick shake, growling. “I told you, I will not take her from you! I will not keep her from her mother. But if she carries the dark witch bloodline, Mira is not safe from the white witches’ coven. They are already looking for you, and they will keep at it till they find you. And once they do, they won’t hold back. They won’t care that Mira is a child. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

His voice is urgent, and I can see the fear in his eyes.

“I–I should take her and run.” The panic builds within me. “Europe. We can build a new life there.”

“You think they won’t find you in Europe?” Darian scoffs. “The white witches are spread out over the entire world. Different covens, different rules, but the same goal: to destroy the dark witches. It doesn’t matter where you go. Once they catch a whiffof her, they will never stop hunting you. Even more than they already are because, with Mira, I now have two weaknesses, and the witches will try to exploit both of them.”

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