The Alpha’s Cursed Queen (Eternal Oath Saga #1)

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 sharp and 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.

That’s when Jimmy sees her in his mirror. He sucks in a breath. “It can’t be. Darian?”

He turns his body halfway in his seat to look at me, but I don’t respond. My eyes are glued to her.

If I were to list differences in Alice between now and then, I would say her breasts seem fuller, more rounded, as do her hips. Her waist is small, making me think she takes care of herself. I wonder if her skin still tastes the same, whether she makes the same wanton sounds in bed.

“I thought she was dead,” Jimmy mumbles, looking shocked.

A growl escapes my throat before I can control myself. “Look into her. I want every bit of information there is on Alice Lane. Where she’s been all this time, who her best friend is, who she had lunch with two years ago. I want to know everything about her.” I look at Jimmy, my voice cool now. “I want that report by the end of the day.”

He nods. “I’ll try, but Darian, when I searched for her before, I came up with nothing. It’s like she stopped existing after—after what happened.”

It finally hits me. “That must be because she’s not in the registry anymore. No wonder there was no trace of her. Somebody must have wiped out her name.”

Jimmy looks bewildered. “Only the royal family and pack alphas have access to the registry.”

“You think I don’t know that?” I snarl at him. “She’s clearly been living among the humans. Kalem and Son’s law firm. Start there. Work your way back in time. But right now, follow her. I want to know where she lives.”

Jimmy starts the car and glances at me apprehensively. “What are you planning, Darian?”

I lean back in the seat, my arms folded across my chest. “I want to know where Alice has been hiding all these years. And what she’s been up to.”

My friend gives me a troubled look but doesn’t argue.

I feel my phone vibrate against my leg, and I ignore it. A few seconds after it stops, Jimmy’s phone rings.

“It’s Her Majesty—”

“Don’t call her that,” I snap. “Call her by her name.”

“The last time I did that, I was severely punished,” my second-in-command gripes, his fingers flexing on the steering wheel.

Anger thrums through my veins. “She learned her lesson, didn’t she? She’s not allowed to touch my people.”

Jimmy begins driving as Alice’s car leaves. “She’s calling again.”

“Reject the call and put your phone on silent,” I say dismissively.

Jimmy does as I say. He doesn’t question why I’m not answering Willow’s calls. After all, if anyone knows the lie I’ve been living for the past seven years, it’s Jimmy.

We follow Alice all the way to a nice apartment complex.

“She’s a lawyer,” I murmur. “Of course she must make a good living.” I feel a sense of pride. A quick search of the human internet on my phone brings up Alice’s picture and her portfolio. I’m surprised she never changed her name. “Barthel School of Law. That’s not easy to get into.”

“How did she afford it?” Jimmy muses out loud.

“She clearly found a way,” I retort. “She’s smart and resourceful.”

Jimmy rolls his eyes at me in the rearview mirror. “I’m sorry. What was I thinking, asking a completely legitimate question?”

I ignore him, trying to unearth traces of Alice online. There’s nothing about her personal life. In fact, aside from her picture on the law school’s website, on a page showcasing high-achieving alumni, and the same picture on her law firm’s website, there’s not much I can find about her. The fact that she has managed to maintain such a low profile, even with such a high-flying career, is commendable. She’s done well for herself.

I smile broadly.

More than anything, I feel relieved.

Years ago, when Jimmy couldn’t find anything about her, I assumed the worst: that she had fled the palace, and she hadn’t survived. I tried to lean on her friend, the healer, but she remained silent during the entire questioning. My father was furious, demanding that I stop my interrogations and focus on what was important.

My engagement with Willow.

He told me to ignore the white witches, who were pressuring me to find Alice. I finally told them that she had died. They were skeptical, but there wasn’t much they could do.

I don’t know when I began to believe it, to believe that Alice was gone forever, but my heart has felt like a barren land for what seems like eons.

Seeing her again made me feel like I could breathe again. Like the air that had been stuck inside me all these years was finally released.

She has changed so much. The hesitance and naivety that was once a part of her personality has disappeared. She has become confident and alluring. Her eyes are sharp, filled with cleverness that perhaps was always there. And more than that, she has settled into her skin.

When she staggered in that boardroom today, the color leaching from her face, I wanted to shove everybody aside to get to her.

“Please! Just kill me! Darian!”

“Darian, please! I’m sorry! I’m begging you!”

My ears suddenly echo with her screams, the cries I’ve never been able to forget. They still haunt me in my dreams, in my every waking moment. The broken look in her eyes, the desperation as she tried to clutch my leg, begging for a painless death, pleading for mercy.

I crushed the prideful girl who had looked at me with such trusting eyes. I had finally managed to earn her trust, and then I was forced to break it. I was forced to see her scream in agony, her body contorting as the witches sealed her magic. I saw the light go out of her eyes, the dull acceptance of what was happening, and it killed me.

But all I could do was watch—because if I hadn’t watched, the fate that awaited her would have been far worse.

My chest tightens in a familiar emotion, a perpetual hopelessness, a guilt that has forever been carved into my soul. I look away from the apartment building.

“Let’s go, Jimmy. There’s no pointing staying here.”

Jimmy glances at me before nodding and driving away.

*****

It is unheard of for anyone in the royal family to stay anywhere aside from the royal residence in a given city. However, I don’t need the staff of these mansions reporting my every move to Willow, so I prefer staying in hotels where I can, especially when I’m conducting the kind of business I don’t want getting back to my in-laws.

I study the stack of files before me. After what happened with Alice, my father’s attitude toward me changed. He became colder, more withdrawn. His health also deteriorated around the same time, compelling me to take over more and more of his duties. Lucius, my father’s attendant, never left his side throughout his illness, and when my father passed, Lucius withered away, too. Despite my grievances with him, he did serve my father faithfully to the very end, so I set him up in a cottage on the palace grounds with double his pension. He lost his dearest friend the day I lost my father.

One of the last promises my father extracted from me was to weaken the power of the white witches. My interactions with the white witches had been minimal at that point. Before what happened that fateful night, I had never really paid much attention to them. However, after my father roused my suspicions about their interference within the royal palace, I started looking into them.

That is when I realized how deeply involved the white witches’ coven is in wolf shifter politics. They are ingrained in every aspect of the kingdom. Why, though? It didn’t make sense to me.

But the intricate web that I have begun to untangle over the past few years has had me coming to a conclusion, especially after the coven began pressuring Willow and me to produce an heir, a demand that my wife has insisted upon.

It is customary for a royal couple to produce a child within, at most, three years of their marriage. I discovered, to my surprise, that this unwritten rule was created by the white witches. Why the royal family ever felt the need to comply with the coven’s demand is beyond me.

It would have been easier to uncover the depth of the relationship between the royal family and the white witches’ coven had the witches not removed all mention of them from the royal library during my father’s illness. It was an unprecedented act, completely unheard of. The fact that the white witches were able to walk into the royal palace and walk out with documents has given me an ugly picture of how powerful they truly are. All my demands to return what they stole have been met with refusal. They claim that the records they took were ones they had loaned to the royal family. If that were truly the case, why didn’t they simply ask me for them?

No. Something fishy is happening. And I intend to uncover it.

The white witches are forgetting their place. Despite the deal I made with them regarding Alice, they’ve been going too far, crossing lines.

Unfortunately, with the coven so deeply integrated into every part of the kingdom, it’s not easy to work against them and try to find their weaknesses. Word of such actions can easily get back to them. That is why I set up a series of companies, including Acme Intech. The profits of these companies are directed toward my investigation into the white witches. I may be the king, but the funds from the royal treasury are closely watched by shifters who are also allied to the coven. And since the coven is supportive of Willow, things are even more tedious for me.

I look through the financial records before me. It doesn’t make sense to me how the coven is able to afford the luxuries they enjoy when their income should be quite limited. White witches are known for their healing powers. In the olden times, their skills often came in handy during battles, but nowadays, they work with healers to produce medicines that can affect wolf shifters. However, even with that work, the amount of money going out does not equal what is coming in. I can’t seem to make sense of the discrepancy. Yet.

There’s a knock on the door of my hotel suite, and I look up as Jimmy walks in. “I’ve got the report here.”

“What report?”

“You told me to look into Alice’s life.”

My back stiffens. Ever since I saw her two days ago, I’ve tried to forget about her. Bringing Alice back into my life, or even trying to wedge some space for me in hers, will do nothing but harm her. It’s better that the white witches’ coven continue to believe she’s dead.

“You can set it down there.” I gesture at the corner of my desk.

Jimmy puts the report down but watches me, his expression tense. “You’re not going to like it.”

My intention was to trash the report. I have no business diving into Alice’s life. After what I put her through? I betrayed her! How can I expect her to forget that?

But Jimmy’s words give me pause. “What do you mean?”

My friend walks over to the bar, opens a bottle of whiskey, and pours a generous amount into a glass. He turns around and hands it to me. “Maybe you should chug this before I tell you.”

For Jimmy to be encouraging me to drink, it must be bad. My heart sinks. “What is it, Jimmy?” He winces, and upon seeing the look on his face, I drain the glass in my hand before slamming it down on the desk. “Tell me.”

“She has a daughter,” Jimmy says quietly. “She married a human man soon after she disappeared. His name was Paul Scott. He was an engineer, and he died in a workplace accident when her daughter was a year old.”

A bitter taste fills my mouth.

She was married.

I’d thought I was prepared for anything, but clearly I hadn’t imagined that she would have gone and gotten married to someone else. “How old is the daughter now?” I force myself to ask.

“Records show that she is six. She’s in first grade.”

I reach for the report, knowing Jimmy would have been thorough. As I knew I would, I see a picture of the child clipped inside the file. A little girl in pigtails smiles back at me. She has Alice’s hair. Her eyes are green, though. She’s adorable.

My chest tightens with unspeakable grief. If things had been different, would this have been my daughter?

I close the file, unable to look at her anymore.

My mind and my heart are at war. Alice married a human. She lay in bed with him. She let him touch her, and she conceived his child.

When I took Alice’s virginity, she was shy, inexperienced. Did he teach her about her body, about what drove her crazy? Did she love him?

My wolf is pacing inside my mind, anxious, angry, and hurt. However, the voice of reason in my head asks me what I expected. Did I expect her to sit and pine for me? After everything I put her through, did I expect her to yearn for me and still hold a candle for me? After all, I got married, too, didn’t I?

“Get me that whiskey,” I say darkly. Jimmy doesn’t waste any time. I take a swig straight from the bottle. Then, I pick up the report and throw it in the trash. “I don’t want to hear anything about Alice Lane ever again. Get in touch with Katherine Lockhart and tell her that we will only go ahead with this deal if a new lawyer represents her company.”

Jimmy hesitates. “Are you sure about this, Darian?”

“Did I stutter?” I glower at him. “Why don’t you go and do what I told you to do instead of wasting time?”

My friend’s jaw tightens. “Yes, sir.”

Once he leaves, I bury my head in my hands. A child. She has a girl who looks just like her. She’s raising her daughter alone.

Did she love her husband? Did he make her laugh like I used to? Was he the one who healed the scars I put on her soul? Did she forget about me when she was with him?

My vision blurring as the pain consumes me, I pick up the bottle of whiskey and hurl it against the door. It shatters into a thousand slivers of glass. As the whiskey stains the carpet, I stare blindly at the wall. The agony brewing inside me doesn’t disappear.

I’ve always prided myself on being a reasonable man. On being logical rather than letting my heart make decisions for me. And logic dictates that I should stay away from Alice. She has no place in my life. I should be happy that she managed to make something of herself after what I did to her.

And yet, all I can think of is her in bed with a man who is not me. My wolf is growling, desperate to get out. It wants to go lay claim to the woman it chose seven years ago.

“Enough!” I snarl, getting to my feet. “Alice is not ours. She’s not ours!”

I walk over to the window and open it, desperate for some fresh air.

Alice doesn’t even smell like a wolf shifter anymore. She doesn’t quite smell human, either, but she definitely doesn’t give off the scent that is unique to our kind. Humans, witches, and wolf shifters all have unique scents that help my kind differentiate among them.

Alice smells like none of the three. She did smell tantalizing the other day, though. It stirred my blood. And I wasn’t the only one who noticed; the lawyers on my team also caught that scent. It didn’t escape my notice that every wolf shifter in the room was watching her, desire emitting from each of them. That’s why I held off on talking to them after our meeting. I didn’t think I would be able to stop myself from ripping out their throats.

The blast of fresh air does nothing to calm me down. It’s the right decision to ask for Alice to be removed from this collaboration.

But what if it hurts her career? a small voice asks inside my head.

I grind my teeth, frustrated. I can’t seem to win. Maybe I should talk to her. Explain why I don’t want her working on this case. She might agree with me. She might be upset. Or maybe she was happy to see me.

The sudden, intrusive thought has me wondering if Alice ever missed me. How did she feel when she saw me? Seven years is a long time, after all. Maybe she forgave me when she moved on.

I lean against the wall, my eyes fluttering shut. I would have to be delusional to think that she could ever forgive me.

I saw the anger in her eyes when she looked at me, even though she was able to control her facial expressions. The fury that made her eyes sparkle. And yet, all I could think of during that meeting was how beautiful she looked. I wanted to touch her hair, play with the ends of it. I wanted to ask her when she cut it short.

I wanted her to smile at me.

My phone rings, and without thinking, I yank it out of my pocket, a strange hope filling me. But the name on the screen isn’t the one I want to see.

Willow.

Angry and annoyed, I finally answer her call. “I’m busy. What do you want?"

“Where are you?” My wife’s voice sounds strained.

“Why are you asking?”

Silence from the other end, and then she says, in a high-pitched tone, “I told you to tell me where you’re going at all times. Why can’t you understand that? You’re not staying at any of the royal residences. I checked. So, where are you, Darian?”

“You may be my wife, Willow, but don’t think for even a minute that you have any control over my actions or my life. Your job is to dress up and be presentable. There’s nothing more I want from you.” My tone is ruthless, and I can hear her rapid breathing on the other end. A vein in my forehead throbs.

“Serena came by today.”

“Why is the leader of the white witches’ coven coming to the royal palace? I explicitly made it clear that she is not to enter the palace grounds if I’m not there!”

“She’s my friend, Darian! You can’t tell me who I can and cannot see—”

“Yes, I can. You may be my queen, but you are still my subject. And if you cannot curb your extreme behavior, don’t think I won’t put you under house arrest. You are crossing lines, Willow.”

“She’s worried about us!” Willow cries out. “We need to produce a royal heir.”

“I’m not interested in that. I have other things to tend to.”

“Not interested?” She makes a choking sound. “What is wrong with you? I’m beautiful. I take care of myself. Why won’t you just—”

I cut her off, not wanting to hear the same drivel from her. “I don’t have time for this nonsense. I have work to do.”

“We were supposed to go on vacation last week. We were supposed to spend time together so that we could conceive a child!” Her voice is quivering. “I made the arrangements. All you had to do was show up. I waited for three hours. The cruise left, and you weren’t even answering your phone. You promised you would—”

“I didn’t promise anything,” I scoff. “You and your father tried to strongarm me into it. He said I would go; I never said I would. Your father may be involved in palace affairs, but I don’t recall the last time I let someone speak for me. I’m not going on any cruise; this kingdom isn’t going to run itself.”

“My father could look after things while we’re gone. You can trust him.”

I let out an amused laugh. “Trust your father? I don’t even trust you.”

A soft sob. “How can you say that? We’ve been married for seven years, Darian. Why won’t you give in? A lot of time has passed. I have been nothing but understanding. You and I… Look, wherever you are, just come home. Let me plan a romantic dinner, and then we will—”

“I’m not interested in sharing your bed. You don’t excite me, Willow.”

My harsh words have her pausing and then changing tune. “If I were Alice Lane, you would have no problem getting excited, would you?” The edge of her voice is laced with hysteria.

I bristle. “Don’t say Alice’s name to me ever again.”

“Why? If she were to spread her legs in front of you, you would fuck her without hesitation. I’m ten times more beautiful and a hundred times more cultured than that back-alley whore. What does she have that I don’t have? She’s dead, Darian! Just get over that bitch and come home. I’m your wife. And I’m the queen of the kingdom, not that redheaded tramp—”

“That’s enough!” I roar. “One more word about Alice, and I’ll have you thrown into the dungeons for another week.”

She goes silent.

I let out a shuddering breath, covering my face with my hand. “Don’t call me again, Willow. You got what you wanted; now, live with it. Just don’t expect me to warm your bed.”

I end the call. Tossing the phone aside, I sink to the floor, resting my head against the wall.

Life would be so simple if I weren’t royalty.

If only I had not seen that mark on Alice’s ankle.

If only I had not mentioned it to anyone.

Everything that happened was my fault, and Alice and I both paid the price for it.

The door opens as I sit there. Staring at the ceiling, I hear footsteps approach me, along with the clinking of glass. Jimmy sits down next to me and pours me a drink. “Here.”

I glance at him. “You could’ve sulked for a little bit longer.”

He shrugs. “You’re an asshole fifty percent of the time. If I sulk every time, I won’t get anything done.” He toasts my glass with his own. “You need to get drunk.”

I sip the scotch. “I take it you heard?”

“You had her on speaker. I tried to rip out my eardrums when I heard that nasally voice, but it didn’t work.”

I let out a miserable laugh. “I wish I hadn’t been born into this family, Jimmy.”

“Fair. But you do get to be king of the Wolf Kingdom, even if you are stuck in an unhappy marriage. Just drink till you forget that part.”

“Actually, that’s good advice. I’ll take it.” I drain my glass and then hold it out to him for a refill. But once he pours it, I only gaze at the liquid.

After a while, I murmur, “Her daughter looks like her.”

“She does.”

“Do you think she ever missed me?”

Jimmy gives me the side-eye. “Let’s be honest, Darian. She most likely hates your guts.”

“I know,” I breathe as I put the glass to my lips and drink.

But can I live with that?