Page 160 of A Mysterious Slave for the Lycan Prince

Arman nods, and I see him smile for the first time.

When Arman and Leila leave us to look for some pack members and see if any regular members were hurt, I continue to discuss this pack with my father. “It’s a mess,” I say.

“You’re right. They are weak because their alpha weakened them on purpose. There is trauma at every corner. There were forced markings and matings, and we need to make sure the individual pack members can get out of these forced bonds. And Arman is right; they have a massive rogue problem.”

“It’s weird because Colton himself was a strong wolf,” I muse.

“He made sure to keep the others weak so they would look up to him like a god,” Dad says.

“So, what are we going to do now?” I want to know.

“One step at a time,” Dad says. “Liam and some of my warriors have already started transporting some prisoners to Silverlake and Red Claw to keep them there until they can have a proper trial and we know which crimes they participated in.”

“Then we need to make sure the rest of the pack is safe for now,” I say. “Move the slaves out of the basement, and for goddess’s sake, let’s revoke their slave rank!”

“They should be our top priority,” Dad agrees. “Then we have Benjamin to deal with. Once we find him, I’ll have him brought to Silverlake and put him under house arrest until I know what I’m going to do with him.”

“I don’t envy you for that task,” I mutter.

“Yeah, I bet no one does,” he chuckles bitterly. “A broken child that grew into a young man who abused his rank.”

“Do you think he can recover from this and redeem himself?” I want to know.

“That depends on him,” Dad says. “I can only give him a chance; if he chooses to take it, that is up to him.”

“We also need to go through the names of the fallen Blood Snow warriors and see who they are and inform their families and mates,” I sigh. “I’ll take over that task. You, Aurelia, and Liam have enough work on your hands with the prisoners.”

Dad smiles and squeezes my shoulder. “Good, but for now, let’s help the kitchen staff with lunch and eat with everyone else. We are approaching noon, after all.” He looks around briefly. The sun is shining and lighting the snow. “If this weren’t such a depressing situation, the pack ground itself would be beautiful.”

I nod. It’s true. Blood Snow is located between mountains, safe and secure, and there are lots of luscious forests around it. A part of the pack leads towards the cliffs by the ocean, where we climbed down towards the cave during our first visit. The other part leads towards the mountains and steep slopes.

“We need to have a talk later on,” Dad says all of a sudden. “You, Aurelia, and I. Not today, but maybe tomorrow.” He nods at me. “And great job. You did very well here, both with your mission and the battle.”

I can feel myself getting flustered at the praise. Not sure what to say, I nod slightly. I have a feeling about what he wants to talk to us about, but there is no time to dwell on it as we soon join the others in the pack house to eat. For the first time in probably years, if ever, the whole pack is there, including pups and she-wolves.

Freya refuses to leave my side and keeps snuggling against me, finally dressed in dry clothes. The food is simple. Some potatoes and beef stew, but it serves its purpose. It warms us all up and gives us some nutrition after the long hours outside and the strength to deal with the aftermath of the battle.

Freya decides to help Ludovica and the others. She wants to reconnect with them and see how they are doing. To my surprise, Leila and some other she-wolves join them too, and the two new friends Freya brought out of the ocean, who I still don’t know shit about, volunteer to help too. However, I take a wild guess that the older one is secretly crushing on Leila, and wants to be where she is.

Most of us then go back outside to deal with the aftereffects of the battle. Arman and his trusted team help us identify the fallen warriors before we carry them to a pile and burn them. We all stand around the fire for a while, watching it take the remainder of the battle away with its flames. More pack members join us and watch as well.

There are mixed feelings in their expressions. Many of them look relieved, some even happy, but all of them look scared, too. I can feel how anxious they are; they don’t know if their next alpha will be batshit crazy, too, or if they will continue to be suppressed.

Well, I won’t let them be controlled like that again. I’ll ensure that their next alpha will be good to them and treat them well, like a true alpha should.

Elodie, Elise, Henry, and Anthony join me. It’s weird to see these four together without bickering or being at each other’s throats. We all join for a group hug. “How did it go for you, Elise, and Elodie?” I want to know. “After we attacked the area around the lake, I don’t know what the rest of you did.”

“We were dealing with some warriors that tried to escape. Also, a bunch of rogues attacked midway. This pack truly has a problem,” Elodie says.

“Then we helped Alpha Liam and your sister with the prisoners and our own injured warriors,” Elise adds.

Henry and Anthony nod. “We did something similar. Headed out there to gather the bodies of the fallen warriors of Blood Snow.”

“Any casualties on our sides?” I want to know.

“Just a few,” Elise says. “I think it was due to the rogue attack, unfortunately. Fortunately, we were well prepared. We attacked with elite warriors, while this pack didn’t have much to offer in terms of fighting support.”

“Liam already sent those who got hurt back to Silverlake to get treated,” Henry explains.

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