Page 72 of A Mysterious Slave for the Lycan Prince

“Yes.” Steve beams. “This is Amaryllis, my mate.”

Trixie stretches her arms, glitter exploding all around her. “She is so adorable!”

Amaryllis is completely enchanted by the little being, forgetting her initial shyness. “You’re cute too,” she says gently.

Trixie beams happily, gesturing to Steve to come closer and reach out his palm before she engages in a game where she jumps from one hand to another. I decide to give them some privacy and use this moment to check out my surroundings.

The cave is a big surprise to all of us. Once we entered it, it led us towards a narrow corridor before we reached a huge opening, almost like a room. It’s clear someone has been here regularly, and I assume it’s been Arman. Who knows…maybe he had plans to escape from Blood Snow too?

There is a pit with dry pieces of wood for a fire. The ground is flat and even and will give us the perfect space to sleep and rest. Now that we are deeper below the mountain, it’s not as cold anymore, and I can feel my fingers prickle slightly as they warm up.

Steve and Marcel work fast to light a fire while Henry rummages through our luggage for a blanket. He wants to spread it close to the warmth of the fire for Anthony to lie down there. Elise hurries to work instantly and attends to Anthony, trying to tug his shirt off him. Unfortunately, some of the blood had dried already, making the fabric stick to the wound.

“Water,” she mutters. “I need water.”

Finn tilts his head a bit. “I can hear the sound of flowing water.”

“Really?” Elise sounds hopeful.

He nods. “My hearing is extraordinarily good.” He points at a place next to two pillars. “There are canisters there, probably to transport water.” He grabs two of them. “Arman is a good guy for telling us about this safe space like he did.” he muses.

“You’re right,” Marcel mutters. “We can’t let him down.”

“I’ll help you,” I offer to take a canister from him and let him take my hand to lead me to where he hears the water. To my relief and joy, we indeed reach a small stream. It amazes me that there is underground water here, flowing naturally despite the cold outside. Finn takes a careful sip from the water, nodding his approval. “It’s good. No salt.”

I kneel next to him, smiling when he places a teasing kiss on my cheek. Goddess, I want to jump him right here, right now, but I will my instincts down. We have more urgent matters to tend to.

Once we return, Henry grabs one of the canisters to take to Elise while we heat some of the rest above the fire. Meanwhile, the guys ensure we are all wrapped in blankets and seated next to the fire. It seems like Arman truly thought of everything. He is such a good person. Looking back, I realize how much he was trying to watch out for us. It had to be a tough job, making sure to stay away from the warriors and off Colton’s radar while still trying to help as much as he could.

“Warm up a bit,” Finn tells me softly, rubbing over my arms. He smiles when he sees how Steve leads Amaryllis to the fire and makes her sit beside me.

“You are an icicle,” he voices his worry. “Come, my little apple pie.” He takes his thick sweater off and helps Ryllis into it. It’s hilarious in a way because she is tiny, and his sweater looks more like a dress on her. She flushes sweetly and wraps the long sleeves around her middle, smiling shyly at Steve while he wraps a blanket around her.

“Thank… thank you, Steve.” She flushes further.

He kisses the top of her head softly. “Stay with Freya, okay?”

“I’ll make sure she gets warm again,” I promise, pulling Ryllis closer and rubbing her fingers. They are ice cold.

Finn frowns in worry. “I wish you weren’t wearing dresses. In this cold weather, they’re not keeping you warm enough. Maybe you could borrow some clothes from Elise and Elodie.” He turns to look at Elodie, who is rummaging in her backpack right next to us.

She raises her head now and smiles. “Sure thing. Elise and I have some extra clothes that Freya and Amaryllis can wear.”

“That would be great.” I beam thankfully, smiling when Elodie gives me the thumbs up. “We weren’t allowed to wear pants in our pack.”

Elodie’s joyful expression falls and turns into something more serious. “For real?”

I shrug helplessly. “The alpha provided our clothes, and we wore basic linen dresses all day long. When you visited, you saw the best of us.”

Elodie’s mouth drops open, but she doesn’t say anything. She just looks sad. “My sister and I have a few extra clothes here, don’t worry. Plus, you can wear your men’s sweaters. They’ll love for you to have their scent on you. You know, mark their territory.”

I chuckle a bit while Amaryllis turns red like an overripe tomato.

For a few minutes, I just stare into the flames of the fire, the feeling slowly returning to my fingers and legs. It makes me groan in pain, like needles poking me all over. Ryllis next to me shivers violently, and I rub over her arms until she eventually settles. Her formerly pale face is slightly red now from the sudden warmth.

Now that my body is listening to me again, I can finally shift my attention to Anthony, watching Elise and Henry work on his wound, gingerly cleaning it up first before trying to locate the bullet. I’m not sure if my input or help is wanted, but if I know one thing, it’s how to treat someone’s wound without an infirmary and any real medical tools or useful items around.

Feeling a bit shy about offering them my help, I decide to tend to my mate first. I know he hurt his shoulder during his fall. I put the blanket aside, stretching a bit before looking for him. He is currently going through our food supplies.

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