Page 198 of A Mysterious Slave for the Lycan Prince

Arman halts in front of me, his earnest eyes checking me over. His eyes don’t give away anything, and his face remains stoic and composed. “You are more beautiful than I could have envisioned,” he states all of a sudden before pulling me into his arms.

I wrap my arms around him, feeling instant relief washing over me.

“Wow.” Garret furrows his brows while he looks at Elias. “Aren’t you from the same pack? How come you haven’t said that to me? You just said: Oh no, Goddess…”

“Is this a competition?” Celine asks dryly.

“We can open a support group,” Garret grumbles

Elias and Marius look completely flustered at first, but Marius recovers fast, putting his arms around Celine and hugging her tight. She smiles, hugging him back. That’s all I manage to see because soon I find myself in the arms of my hot mate again. My heart skips a beat. I never was the type to be desperate for my mate, but I believed that one day the time would come for me. And Moon Goddess, was I right.

sixty-two

Epilogue #2 Sunset Hills

*BENJAMIN*

It’slikethesunnever sets in Sunset Hills Pack. The air is always warm, and the place is quiet and calm. I’ve never been to a place like this. I’ve never actually felt at peace anywhere. When I stood up against my father for the first time ever, it felt like my whole world crumbled; every single belief I had disappeared, and everything I kept telling myself no longer mattered.

When he died, I felt nothing.

Alpha Liam told me the news, but I already knew it when I felt my bond to him snap. Alpha Liam was kind when he told me, and it’s weird that the first person to show me some genuine kindness was an alpha from a former enemy pack. I looked deep inside me for a hint of sadness or sorrow toward my father, but I couldn’t find any. It was just an empty void.

When Alpha Liam and Alpha Elden told me a few days later that they had found a pack for me, I tried to look inside myself again and see how I felt about leaving my old pack, but again, I felt nothing. When they said that it would mean I’d lose my rank, it didn’t matter. I’m just too tired to care. I’ve lived a whole life in darkness. My wolf has never talked to me, not even when he woke up for the first time when I was seventeen. I have no bond to anyone. The only one I had was when I felt my connection to Freya. I blew that one. I knew my father would have killed her had he known, but it’s not like I was ever nice to her, protected her, or showed anyone any kindness. I played a role at first to get my father off my back, but eventually, the role became part of me, and I started to feel comfortable in it.

I feel so tired.

Why didn’t they kill me when they had the chance?

My new pack is self-sufficient and grows its own vegetables. There is no pack house, and the alpha doesn’t like to be called alpha. He is just Marcellus. I’ve heard he was one half of a former twin-alpha pair, supposed to inherit a pack with his brother and co-lead it, but he lost against said twin brother during a petty fight for the rank. It seems like a mate was involved in everything that led to the fallout. Marcellus hasn’t talked to his family ever since he lost the fight and has blocked all the attempts of his twin to reach out to him.

So at least, we share a sense of solitude, it seems.

Founding this pack for all the outsiders deserving of a second chance was his idea. I’m not sure if I deserve that chance, but here I am.

“Oh, you are bringing the tomatoes,” Marcellus says with a smile when I bump into him in front of our house. He lives in it with the coven leader, Silas. It’s a joint pack and coven, technically led by Marcellus and Silas.

They both took me under their wing when I joined the pack; honestly I don’t understand why they even cared enough to do so.

“Silas wants to have spaghetti today, and this is perfect for the sauce,” Marcellus says. He is carrying a little box with fresh herbs. “Can you take them to the kitchen?”

I nod, putting the little box on top of my own, and head to the kitchen. Silas is in there, humming and dancing to a cheesy love song. He has tied his hair back in a long ponytail and is wearing a yellow apron with sunflowers on it. Had my father seen him, he would have called him names and probably killed him. Or at least tried to have someone else do it.

“Oh, fantastic.” Silas beams. “The Goddess sent you, or whoever it is you wolves pray to.” He grins. “Just put them on the kitchen table.”

I nod, still not feeling comfortable enough to talk much around them. Talking had always gotten me into trouble back home. I hurry towards the kitchen table, stumbling over a little object lying on the ground. I try to keep my balance, but with no hands free I feel myself falling. The boxes in my hands tilt, and I empty the ingredients all over the floor.

Silas is beside me in a flash and grabs my arm to prevent me from crashing face first into the floor.

“I’m so sorry,” I blurt out, scooting away from him. “I will get more tomatoes.” I can feel my heart hammering against my chest as he approaches me. Then it feels like my body switches into autopilot, my fingers trembling when I tug off my shirt.

Silas stops in his tracks. “What are you doing?” he asks, his voice bland.

I shake my head, trying to numb my feelings. My father would beat me with his belt until I couldn't move anymore. It was always better not to scream or beg.

“Did you think I’d beat you?” Silas asks, his eyebrows furrowed. He looks worried now. “Please put your shirt back on. Let’s gather the tomatoes. They aren’t squashed. Come, Benjamin.”

I don’t trust him, but I do as he says, to not anger him further. My father would do that sometimes, pretend like he was going to let me get away just to beat me up more. I put my shirt back on, follow Silas around the kitchen table, and help him pick up the tomatoes and herbs.

---