Page 29 of A Mysterious Slave for the Lycan Prince

“You can have the pineapple,” I offer.

“Fantastic.” She grabs the fruit and slams the knife down into it.

We work together in a peaceful and comfortable silence. Having Leila here means that no one else has dared to approach us. Soon, the tension of earlier is forgotten, and the atmosphere relaxes. Some of the girls start chatting amongst themselves. When everyone else is busy, Leila turns to me. “Freya,” she says quietly. “I wonder if I could talk to you for a moment?”

Leila wants to talk to me? Why? There is nothing special about me. I look around helplessly. Fortunately, Ludovica comes to my rescue, something close to hope flashing in her eyes. “Freya, why don’t you take Lady Leila down to the storage room and show her where everything is kept,” she offers, loud enough for everyone to overhear.

“Oh, that would be so interesting.” Leila exclaims. “I want to see where you keep all of the supplies!”

I take the opportunity gratefully. “Of course, please follow me, Lady Leila.”

We walk away from the kitchen and down the corridor in silence. It was smart of Ludovica to send us to the storage room. None of the warriors go in there as the alpha strictly prohibits them from going through the supplies. Everything here is closely rationed and calculated to the last grain so as to keep the pack fed in such cold weather.

We both keep up the pretense for a while, And I explain how everything is organized, where each ingredient comes from, and other things neither of us are remotely interested in talking about. When we reach the room furthest away from everything else, Leila pulls me into it, closing the door behind us.

“No one is around,” she says. “Let’s be quick.”

I nod, confused as to why she even wants to talk to me.

“I had a vision,” she whispers. “Or…no, not a vision. A prophecy concerning you. I was looking everywhere for you that day when the warriors beat Emmanuel.”

I’m surprised, both at her knowing Emmanuel’s name, which makes my heart warm to her, and because I’m part of a prophecy. “But… I’m no one special. How come—”

She places her index finger over my lips. “Let’s not waste time questioning the Goddess or being unnecessarily humble.”

Sereia stirs in my mind.I like her. That’s the second t-shirt-worthy thing she’s said today.

I breathe in deeply and nod in understanding. She’s right. We could go back and forth, exchanging words of disbelief and reassurances. But who the fuck cares? We don’t have time to waste. “Thank you,” I whisper.

“For what? It’s your prophecy, you have the right to know it.”

I shake my head and smile, thinking about alpha dumbass Benjamin. “It’s more than that…I’m grateful for how you talk to me compared to how you tell your premonitions to others.”

Her eyes glint slightly. “What fun would I have if I told everyone their fate without the mumbo jumbo,” she says, smiling mischievously. “Are you ready?”

I nod.

She takes a deep breath before reciting:

A child born in darkness

A prince as her guidance

On the night of the blue moon

With the light to her left

And the darkness to her right

A decision must be made.

ten

Dress-Up

*FREYA*

Ihadtoswearto Leila that I wouldn’t tell anyone about the prophecy. In very few words, she explained that there is a difference between a mere vision and an actual prophecy. Apparently, a prophecy is like a whisper from the Goddess, words Leila hears but can’t tell me what they mean.

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