Page 19 of A Mysterious Slave for the Lycan Prince

I won’t,he says excitedly. Ican’t sleep now anyway.

Following Marcel’s directions, we arrive at a large clearing. It looks well used. Blood Snow Pack members must use it to take their breaks when they drive up here. The moment I park, everyone scrambles out of the car, desperate to stretch their legs after the last few hours of driving through that treacherous path of horror.

“Using a ship doesn’t sound like such a bad idea anymore, looking back now,” Elodie mutters.

“I think it’s a matter of perspective,” Marcel muses. “The more often you drive this path, the easier it gets. You’d get used to it.”

“There is no way I’d ever want to drive here again,” Elodie says before turning her head slightly towards her twin sister. “What’s wrong? Why are you so quiet?”

“It’s nothing, just…it’s freezing.” Elise shudders. “Stupid me for leaving my scarf at the bottom of my bag.”

Steve removes his scarf and offers it to her. “You can have mine for now. I’m not cold.”

Elise looks genuinely surprised at his gesture. “But you might need it.”

“Nah, I’m okay.”

She smiles at Steve. “Thank you.”

He returns her smile as he wraps the scarf around her neck. Due to their difference in size and height, the scarf dwarfs Elise, covering at least half of her upper body. “Thank you, Steve,” she repeats, sounding genuinely grateful. “That was very kind of you.”

“It’s a good thing you have so many muscles and are so strong,” Elodie adds, clearly pleased that he helped her sister. “Keeps you warm.” She flexes her arms like a bodybuilder in emphasis as an attempt to boost his ego now, and it’s obviously working by the way Steve is blushing profusely at her praise.

“I’m just a normal guy,” he murmurs.

Elodie chuckles. “With those muscles? C’mon Steve, you are strong!”

“Why so shy?” Elise smiles. “You’re a real lady killer.”

Steve looks flustered by their attention. “I just don’t want to be a jerk,” he admits. “I have two sisters, and I would hate it if either of them ended up with a player.”

Elodie and Elise exchange a brief look, clearly liking what they hear. “Don’t worry, Steve.” Elodie smirks. “We’ll introduce you to some nice girls!”

“Yes.” Elise beams. “Plenty of girls are into nice, hot guys!”

They compliment him some more, and watching him squirm is too funny. Steve clearly has zero experience with girls. He screams innocence, but he comes across as natural and genuine, and I’m sure a lot of girls like that in a guy. I can see that this conversation is annoying the alpha twins, though.

For obvious reasons, I’m sure.

Elodie and Elise would rather drop dead than compliment them on anything.

I leave everyone to tend to their own business for a few more minutes while I scan the area for trouble. This time I use my gift, my eyes roaming over everything to check for nearby auras. Thankfully, I can only make out a few deer and snow rabbits in the vicinity.

I let out a sigh of relief and call the team over. “This is probably the last time we can talk freely. Once we leave here, we’ll need to use mind links exclusively,” I point out, then signal for Marcel to spread the map for us to look at.

He explains the area in detail, pinpointing the exact location of the pack, how we’ll arrive, and other information he’s managed to gather.

“From what we’ve heard, Blood Snow is a very rough and dangerous pack,” I restate, hoping that it finally sinks in. “We also believe they are enslaving their own pack members and grossly mistreating orphans. Recently, an exchange program was established for young warriors and heirs of rank to visit different packs and train with their allies. This will be our cover. Don’t forget who and what your rank is supposed to be; they think we are all from the same pack. Alpha Jace—Anthony and Henry’s father—will secure our cover for us since he is unknown to Blood Snow, and they won’t suspect him. Officially, we are all from Emerald Moon.” I look at the twins in particular. “Remember. We are not heirs to an alpha! We are solely connected to a strong beta family.”

“Will they believe all of this?” Elise asks, concerned. “You are very strong and tall, Finn. You look like an alpha.”

Elodie throws the twins a dirty gaze. “And they scream alpha too, particularly their attitude.”

“That’s why we have the potion from my mother. It will suppress the effect of our auras on others,” I remind her. “We need to stick to being betas, officially. My cover story is that my father is the current beta and I’m half lycan. This pack does not have many outside connections, so we are hoping they have no idea what a lycan truly looks like and what kind of auras we have.” I turn to the twins. “Did you think of a cover story yet?”

Henry shrugs, while Anthony at least has the decency to look embarrassed. I feel my annoyance growing. “This is not a school trip we are on! We are here to save lives,” I emphasize. “From now on, you’ll both be elite warriors. You’re young and strong. This should work.” I turn to look at the others. “Marcel?”

“Warrior,” he says. “It’s the easiest. You’re right, our contacts told us they don’t know much about outsiders. If a guy like you pretends to be a beta, and Anthony and Henry are supposed to be elite warriors, I need to pretend to be of lower rank, or it won’t be believable. I’ll tell them I’m currently polishing my skills as a tracker.”

---