Page 119 of A Mysterious Slave for the Lycan Prince

“I’m so happy I can explore all of this with you.” She points at me first, then at herself. “I’m all yours and you’re mine.”

Max stirs in my mind. This time it’s not the food that’s making him come to the surface, but a deeply rooted territorial feeling inside him. No other man ever had Freya, and no other woman ever had me. I’m so happy I decided to wait for her with everything because I know nothing will ever compare to the intensity of the mate bond. “It makes me very happy too,” I say, pulling her into a long and gentle kiss.

Her grumbling stomach interrupts us, and we break apart with a laugh. “Burgers,” I say with finality in my voice.

She nods, shuffling into the kitchen to grab some plates and cutlery, while I accept our food. “Thank you, it smells delicious.” I smile politely at the young maid, who beams happily at my praise. I always try to be polite to those of lower rank. Everyone is important. We need people to cook and provide meals for us. It’s not a lower-class job.

When I close the door behind me and turn around again, Freya watches me through big eyes. There is something sad in them, yet also something hopeful and joyful. I’m unsure if I understand where her mixed feelings are coming from, but her eyes light up when she looks at me. I approach her and sneakily kiss the side of her head.

We don’t engage in any more action, though, because once I lift the cover of our plates, my wolf and mate are suddenly looking at the food through gleaming eyes. There is no stopping these two anymore.

Freya hasn’t had burgers before, and it’s beautiful to watch her experience so many things for the first time. “Hmm.” She licks her lips after the first bite. They are glistening now, making me want to drop everything and claim them again.

Don’t you dare!Max complains.Food first, fun afterward. Didn’t our parents teach you anything?

Right, my gluttonous wolf, I forgot.

“How do you like it?” I ask Freya with a smile.

She keeps chewing on her burger. The kitchen staff provided us with crispy chicken burgers with a rich chive sauce, tomatoes and salad, and a classic beef burger with ham and cheese. She takes another bite from the second burger before taking one of the potato wedges, dipping them into the sauce, and eating it too.

To my shock, tears fill her eyes suddenly. “Freya…” I say quietly. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.” She sobs. I drop my fork and slip closer to her.

“It’s not nothing,” I say, rubbing my hand over her back.

“You’ll laugh.”

“I would never laugh about anything that upsets you,” I say with emphasis.

“It’s just… it only now dawned on me what they kept from us. I know this is just a burger, but we weren’t allowed proper food, or to go out with friends. We weren’t even allowed any simple connection to others or to walk around the pack freely. I’ve never eaten fresh fruit or gone shopping with friends. I’ve never eaten pasta or walked through the forest to watch nature. I wouldn’t have been allowed to stand outside and let the sun shine on my face. And…” her voice breaks, and she starts to sob.

She is so strong and confident that I completely forgot how traumatizing growing up in that pack had to be for her. I am so stupid and pathetic. I pull her into my arms now, holding her close to my body and allowing our bond to do its magic. “No words I have will erase this pain,” I say to her quietly. “Nothing I can say will take it away. Because what happened to you in that pack, it’s been a great injustice. It should have never happened, and we should have all intervened sooner. Every day we waited was a day too long.” I move back to take her face between my hands, brushing away her tears with my thumbs. “I’ll do anything I can to make sure you can experience all the things you missed. Whatever it is. And I promise you. I’ll go back to Blood Snow and make sure no one continues to live under that kind of oppression. And I promise we will do this together.”

“Yes, Finn,” she whispers, a careful smile on her face. “Can I go with you when you save them?” she asks me.

I hesitate. When I said we’d do this together, I meant helping the former slaves overcome the trauma. But the attack… we are literally going to war, and Freya does not have a wolf, nor does she have fighting experience.

“It’s a feeling,” she says quietly. “That I have to be there. I can’t explain it, Finn.”

I remember the prophecy and also that this is her old pack, her past. I can’t force her to stay behind. “We’ll think of a way for you to join.” I pause, looking at her insistently. “In a way that you are safe and able to be there. But not in battle.”

She nods. “That’s all I ask for.” She pecks my nose softly. “Alright, now back to the food.”

I chuckle. “You’re truly my wolf’s mate.”

“Priorities,” she says with a smile. There is still sadness in her eyes, but I can see that it made room for determination too. She is not going to magically heal overnight, and I’m still amazed by how strong-willed she is. Colton never managed to break her, and by the way Ryllis clung to her, I get the feeling she was her anchor too.

“Finn,” she says once we finish dinner, and I’m glad she finished her whole plate. They starved her for so long that I know eating isn’t always easy for her. But she is regaining her strength fast, and I’m glad. “There is something else I want to do tonight.”

“Aside from me?” I deadpan.

Freya blinks at me first before she laughs. “That’s on the list too.”

“So, what else?” I ask, kissing the top of her head.

“I want to meet Max.”

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