The Mad Alpha's Substitute Bride

(ALICE)

Like the first time Darian kissed me, I find myself reeling at the contact.

There is something so intimate, so deeply raw about the way he touches me, his hands diving into my hair, his mouth moving against mine, that I can’t think. I feel his fingers pull the pins out of my hair till it falls loose and wild. He grabs a fistful of it, his tongue piercing my lips, invading my mouth. A wanton sound escapes me as my lower body throbs in need.

I feel like I’m on fire, and I want more of it.

His fingers move to the back of my dress, and I hear a ripping sound.

Before I can process what he is doing, I hear the door of the suite open, and we both jump apart.

"Alice!" Mary bounces in, all smiles. "Wait till you hear what I have to— Your Highness!" Mary almost falls over her feet in surprise. "I—Did I interrupt something? I can come back."

She turns around to leave, and I nearly leap over the couch to get to her. Grabbing her by the shoulders, I force her to stop. "Darian was just leaving. Weren’t you, Darian?" My fated mate looks the furthest thing from happy, and when he opens his mouth, I know he’s going to say something rude. I don’t know how I know, I just do. I glare at him, repeating tightly before he can get a word in edgewise, "Weren’t you, Darian?"

I see the way his brows knit together, a sulky pout on his face that is not befitting a prince. "Sure I was."

Grumbling under his breath, he heads out into the corridor, but not before picking up his bottle of scotch on the way. As he closes the door behind him, he throws me a dirty look.

I try not to feel guilty.

As soon as Mary is certain he is gone, she turns around to ask in a hushed, fascinated whisper, "Is he an alcoholic?"

"No. He got it for me," I lie easily. "What took you so long?"

"Forget me." She sinks into the armchair, watching me with a mischievous grin. "What were you two up to? And why is the back of your dress torn?"

"Mary."

She sighs. "Fine, fine, I won’t ask. Although, it’s completely unfair that you’re sucking face with the prince of the Wolf Kingdom and won’t tell me about it."

"Sucking face?" I echo.

She makes a horrifying sound, twisting her lips in a grotesque fashion that has me cringing.

"Whatever that is, it’s not what we were doing. Now stop it before your face stays that way."

Mary sprawls out in the chair. "You missed the best part. Willow looked like she’d eaten a turd."

I grin at my friend’s gleeful tone. "I didn’t see Willow. She must have been pissed!"

Mary is chortling now. "And Cyrus looked like he wanted to throw up. Thomas was furious. He went up to the king, and then the two of them disappeared. I saw Cyrus complain to his father. I think nearly everybody from our pack who’s here was shocked by this turn of events. No one expected you to be the prince’s fated mate, especially since he’s so hot!"

"Wait..." I focus on one part of her story. "Why did Beta Thomas go talk to the king?"

Mary’s expression shifts into a troubled one. "You don’t think he went to tell the king about your lack of a wolf spirit, do you?"

My heartbeat quickens. "If he did, then the king wouldn’t let me be with Darian, would he?"

It’s so hard to maintain my composure in front of Mary. I’m starting to see some of the pieces coming together, and the picture they’re attempting to form is terrifying. Darian’s drunken behavior. His fierce words. Thomas’s private meeting with the king.

What if I was right? What if Darian truly did not know I don’t have a wolf spirit, and the king told him after finding out from Thomas? But then, the first thing Darian did was to come here and assure me that he still wants me.

I sink into the chair closest to me and bury my head in my hands. "When did things become this complicated, Mary?"

Mary crouches by my side. "What happened? Did Darian say anything to you? Were you two fighting when I came in?"

I shake my head. "Quite the opposite. He kept reassuring me that he would stand by my side, no matter what." I give her a bewildered look. "What is going on, Mary? If Thomas told the king, there is no way the royal family would want me in their midst. I’m just setting myself up for failure."

"Stop it," Mary says vehemently. "You need to have a bit more confidence in Darian. If he says he’ll handle it, he’ll handle it. I keep telling you that you should rely on other people. Not everybody is a raging asswipe like Cyrus or Willow or even Thomas.

She sighs at my distraught look. "I know it seems complicated and messy, but sometimes good things happen. This is your good thing, Alice. Embrace it. Give Darian a chance to prove himself. You clearly like him. And he’s your fated mate on top of it. You have everything a girl could ask for, my friend. Don’t wreck it."

I look at her, feeling lost. "I wish I could explain how hard it is to accept that any of this is happening. You wouldn’t understand—"

Mary leans back on her haunches and gives me a stern look. "Try me. Get it off your chest."

I stare blankly at her, not knowing how to voice these messed-up feelings inside me without sounding like a whiny brat. All my life, I’ve been despised and tossed aside, told how worthless I am, and suddenly, someone seems to want me desperately.

It doesn’t seem real. I don’t know how to wrap my head around it. What makes it worse is that whenever I’m around Darian, I don’t use common sense. I’ve always prided myself on being rational and levelheaded, and yet, when it comes to him, it’s like my brain cells begin to wither away.

Mary’s expression softens when I don’t speak. "You deserve love, too, Alice. And when you have a hard time believing that, you just tell me, and I’ll remind you. You are the nicest person I know. You deserve your happy ending. You deserve to have Darian in your life. It’s perfectly okay to open your heart to him. He won’t break it."

"How can you say that with such confidence?" I whisper hollowly. "Because I saw the way he looked at you," Mary sighs. "Call me a romantic, but there was something about the way he was watching you. He looks like he’s madly in love. From the moment he entered the ballroom, he couldn’t take his eyes off you."

I want to remind her that I’ve only known him a few days, but I don’t think she’ll see it my way. She’s right, though. Being a fated mate is no small matter. I should put my trust in him. It might be difficult to open my heart to this man, but I can at least try.