Page 2 of A Mysterious Slave for the Lycan Prince

“I will make sure we find a safe place to meet up. Liam can sort out the security issues, and then I’ll either bring the babies out to meet you, or we’ll smuggle you onto the pack grounds.” She smiles warmly. “They need to meet their Uncle Dave.”

I listen to their conversation with only half an ear while looking at the photo Annie just sent me. It’s adorable. The twins are the cutest little beings ever. My strong, stoic brother, a lycan alpha through and through, looks so happy despite being covered in chocolate. I’m so glad he found his mate, and she turned out to be one of my best friends. I’m also really proud of him for his success acquiring his own pack and saving them from their evil alpha. He’s worked hard, and he deserves to be happy.

All my female friends are mated to someone either within my family or very close to me. Annie’s with my oldest brother Liam, Celine is mated to my second oldest brother Marius, and Ella is mated to Liam’s beta, Dante. And while none of them have had it easy by any means, I envy what they have now. I wish I could find my soulmate like they have. It doesn’t mean I’m not genuinely happy for them. I am. I just want to find my Goddess given person too, the one who holds the key to my heart.

I push these feelings down for now, not wanting to ruin our night out. This evening has been a lot of fun. Sadly, it’s my last night out with the gang for a while, which is why we all decided to meet up tonight. Soon I’m heading off on my mission to investigate a pack in the north. It’s said they enslave their lower-ranking pack members and orphans. Our informant even says that the higher-ranking pack members can call on the slaves for any services they want…sex included. My father and Liam have entrusted me with this task, and I’m ready to take it on. It’s my chance to prove myself as a leader and show everyone what I can do. Plus, it can’t hurt to take my mind away from finding my mate.

“Okay, Finn,” Annie says, taking a deep breath before handing me a little box. “This is from all of us. We know you can’t take much on your mission, but we wanted you to carry a little something as a good luck charm.”

I open the box and gape at what’s inside. It’s a platinum chain, a bit like the dog tags soldiers wear, but this one is handcrafted and has a unique design carved on it. It seems like my friends got together and ordered it especially. All their names are engraved into the tags.

“Whenever you look at it, you will think of us now.” Dave beams.

“And it’s unique, so it won’t give away who you are or where you’re from, so you can wear it safely,” Ella explains.

Celine nods. “She’s right. You can wear it while investigating Blood Snow Pack without raising any suspicions.”

I feel my cheeks flush. I’m so touched by this beautiful gesture. “Thank you, guys. I don’t even know what to say. Just…thank you! It means the world to me.”

“Come home safely,” Annie says into the silence.

Annie drives home with Ella, who, as her beta, is also responsible for her safety. These two are a pretty dope combination. Now that there are no more threats against them and Annie’s no longer pregnant with the twins, Liam’s relaxed a bit more to let her leave the pack lands without being surrounded by guards.

Celine drives back to her pack with one of her warriors.

That leaves just me, Dave, and my guard, Anders. As a royal lycan, I’ve had a beta assigned to me from a young age. It’s usually someone we’ve chosen ourselves. My brother Marius was the only exception in our family, having never trusted anyone enough to bond with him. But for me, when I was young, I immediately felt a strong bond with Anders, who was older than me when we first met. He was the son of an immigrant couple from Ireland; he was calm, composed, and nothing like me. One day, when I was seven years old, he helped me fight off a bunch of bullies. He’s been by my side ever since.

“Finn,” Dave says, looking at me. “You will find your mate.”

I’m surprised and a bit horrified that he caught on to my thoughts from earlier. “You noticed?” I turn to Anders, who shrugs in sympathy.

No one else did, my prince,he promises.

Anders always addresses me formally, despite us being very close. Our relationship is hard to explain. He doesn’t feel like a brother to me. I have plenty of those already. He also doesn’t feel like a friend; he’s more like a guardian. Someone who is always there for me when I need him or if I’m in trouble. I can rely on Anders to always be there.

I turn my attention back to Dave. “What gave it away?” I ask.

He shrugs. “I’m the only human in our group, and I know how it feels to be different. I personally don’t mind, but I realized the situation might be similar for you.” He pauses in his tracks to look at me. “Okay, so I might not understand your entire world as wolves, but I know one thing for sure. You are a lycan prince, and despite that, you treat a gay human guy like your equal. You also treat your female friends with so much respect, and you did so even before Annie was mated to your brother, when she was still just an omega. You support your siblings and your friends wholeheartedly. There has never once been a moment where you didn’t step in to help any of us, and you’ve never asked for anything in return. You are just a genuinely good person, and the only reason I’ve never hit on you for real, besides being straight, is because I would have fallen head over heels for you if I did.” He pauses. “Do you really think your Moon Goddess would leave a man like you without a mate?”

I let his words sink in, taking a shaky breath. “Thank you, Dave,” I say, because I can’t trust myself to say anything more. “That’s exactly what I needed to hear.”

We walk together in silence for a bit. Dave pauses and turns to me before asking, “So, what are you up to now?”

“I’m going to head home to sleep. I have an early meeting with Liam tomorrow, and then I’m meeting up with my whole team.”

“How are they getting along with each other?”

I tilt my head, sighing slightly as I search for the right words. “Let’s just say I have quite the challenge waiting for me.”

“Annie’s brother is going, right? And one of Celine’s top warriors?”

“Yes, those two won’t be a problem.” I chuckle. “But I have two sets of crazy twins accompanying me, and they already hate each other. Now, that’s going to be interesting.”

Dave laughs and says, “I’m sure you can handle it.”

“I hope so.” I pause. “What about you? Any plans for tonight?”

He winks at me. “Absolutely! Big plans. I’m meeting up with Jun.” Before I can say anything, he raises his hands. “Just as friends. We’ll hit a pub, and maybe he can play my wingman. There is a regular at the pub who is kind of cute.”

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