The Mad Alpha's Substitute Bride

(DARIAN)

The look of shock on Alice’s face makes me want to chortle.

I’m not surprised by the quick flash of anger that follows. I had anticipated that. I’m sure I’m going to get an earful later on.

My father leans toward me as I sit down next to him. "Is that the young lady you can’t seem to stop jabbering on about?"

"Pretty, isn’t she?"

My father sighs. "If it were looks you were going for, I’m sure you could have found more beautiful women. But I guess it was more than just that."

"The fates chose her for me, Father. She’s the perfect fit for me."

My father’s health has begun to decline in the past decade. My mother died during childbirth, and while my father has not been the most affectionate of parents, he hasn’t been completely neglectful. I see him watching Alice, a wistful look in his eyes.

"What is it?"

He’s silent, as if thinking something over, and when he speaks, his voice is tired and filled with a heavy grief. "She reminds me of Maya."

"My mother?" I look at Alice, surprised.

I’ve never seen any pictures of my mother. After her death, my father destroyed all her portraits, not only in the palace but in the entire Wolf Kingdom. The loss of his fated mate was too much for him to bear. But he never resented me for it. Any mention of Queen Maya was banned within the Wolf Kingdom. It’s almost as if she ceased to exist, even in memory, after her death. So, to hear my father mention her is nothing short of a jolt to me.

He seems to realize the slip of his tongue and clears his throat. "You’re not going to introduce your fated mate to your father?"

I get to my feet, unable to hide my smile. "Of course."

Since the main event is now over and everybody is mingling, I make my way toward where Alice is standing with her friend, still looking shell-shocked. As soon as our eyes meet, hers turn wide as saucers, and she turns around and walks away.

I sigh.

Of course. Why does this not surprise me?

The ballroom opens up to multiple terraces where couples can step away to get some privacy. It’s in one of these spaces where I find Alice. She’s standing in a corner, her face pale.

"Room for one more?" I ask, closing the terrace doors behind me. She doesn’t say anything, just stares at me.

"You know, you can talk to me." I sit down on the bench in front of Alice, gazing up at her. "I don’t bite. At least, not yet." She presses her lips together, and I continue. "You can get mad at me. I know you want to."

"I wouldn’t want to offend His Highness." Her words are sharp, and I try to hide my smile.

She’s angry, alright.

"I would have told you," I begin, struggling to hide my amusement, "but you wouldn’t have gone out with me if I had."

"That’s not tr—"

"Oh, you know it is." I cross my arms over my chest. "You were planning to hide out in the human world, away from wolf society. I would have ruined your plans."

"You did ruin my plans." She makes a face, rubbing her arms.

"Alice." I get to my feet as the music starts to play inside. Taking her hand in mine, I pull her gently toward me. "Let’s dance."

"I don’t want to."

"Well, I want to dance with my mate," I inform her, sweeping her off her feet, into the air, and twirling her around. Her startled gasp fills me with delight. Lowering her back down till her feet touch the marble floor of the terrace, I breathe, "From the moment I laid eyes on you, I felt something, and that something just kept growing with each meeting." The more you tried to push me away, the more certain I was of this feeling. I wasn’t surprised by our fated bond. In fact, you could almost say that I have been expecting it."

I feel a surge of happiness when her eyes sparkle with emotion. She looks away as if overwhelmed. "You have far more faith in me than I do. I didn’t even know it was possible for me to have a fated mate."

"Why not?" I ask, puzzled. "Every wolf shifter has a fated mate out there. Why should you be any different?"

"Because—" She pauses, searching my eyes. Suddenly, she pulls away from me in an abrupt movement, realization forming in her expression. Her voice is shaking as she whispers, "You didn’t check, did you?"

I hadn’t expected her to figure it out so late. To be honest, I never had any intention of doing research on her. I found her address by following her scent. It wasn’t hard.

I try to move toward her, but she recoils, horror in her eyes. "You never looked me up. All this time, I thought you knew."

"Knew what?" I demand, feeling frustrated now. "What is so horrible that it could matter at this point? We are fated mates, Alice! What is it?"

"I—"

She’s about to say something when the terrace doors swing open, and Jimmy hurries outside. "The king isn’t feeling well. He wants you."

I take Alice’s hand in mine, but my second-in-command shakes his head, stopping me.

"Alone."

There’s something in his tone that has warning bells going off in my head. "My father wanted to meet Alice."

"I think it would be better for you to go by yourself, Your Highness."

Jimmy’s strained voice has me pausing. I look at him, and after a second, I say, "Take Alice to her suite and make sure nobody tries to gain access to her."

Alice balks. "Wait, what? Why are you—" She’s staring at Jimmy now. "You’re the driver from before. Darian, what is—"

"It’s for your own safety, Alice," I say distractedly. "Go with Jimmy while I tend to my father."

I hurry away, leaving her in the safe hands of my friend.

My father is nowhere to be seen in the ballroom. However, his attendant, Lucius, is waiting for me.

"His Majesty is in his study. He’s requesting your presence."

I stop in my tracks to look at the man. "I was told he has taken ill."

Lucius’s upper lip curls in disgust, but his expression remains blank. My father’s attendant has never liked me. The man is a professional, though. He hides his dislike for me quite well, but I have spent enough time with him to be able to read his small tells. Lucius looks down on me for some reason. I’ve never understood it since I have been the perfect crown prince, never neglecting my duties and always looking after my father.

"His Majesty is upset, Prince Darian. He asked me to send you to his study."

When he begins guiding me, I scowl, walking faster. "I know the way, Lucius."

I don’t understand what could have happened in the span of just a few minutes that my father has decided to retreat to his study and summon me. But judging from the expression I saw on Jimmy’s face, it can’t be anything good.

Reaching the study, I knock on the door, and my father calls out to enter.

To my surprise, he’s not alone. And the person standing in the room is not someone I expected to see here, especially during the mating gathering.

It’s the beta of Alice’s pack.

The man looks smug, one corner of his lips curled upward. I don’t bother to greet him, walking over to my father instead. "Is everything alright?"

My father has a grave look on his face. "You know Thomas. He’s the beta of the Moonlight Pack. They are a very important pack—"

"I’m well aware who he is," I cut my father off abruptly, my tone dismissive. "I’ve been very interested in Thomas’s actions lately."

To my satisfaction, the beta’s smirk fades at my threatening words.

My father raises a brow but doesn’t ask me what I mean. Instead, he says, "Thomas just told me that your fated mate is not suitable for you. In fact, she’s not suitable for the royal family."

My jaw clenches, and I give Thomas a hard smile. "Is that so? And why would that be?"

"Alice Lane, Your Highness, has no wolf spirit." Thomas almost sounds gleeful.

Of all the things I thought I might hear, this was not it. "No wolf spirit? How is that—"

Suddenly, everything Alice has said to me makes sense.

No wonder she was so shocked that I wanted to pursue her. The fragile hope and happiness in her eyes, clouded with a layer of doubt, take on a whole new meaning now. And then, the horror in her voice when she confronted me on the terrace.

My heart sinks. This is what she wanted me to find out.