Page 42 of A Mysterious Slave for the Lycan Prince

And for Goddess’ sake, be careful!

Yes,Marcel agrees, looking a little worried,Lie low.

Elise smiles.You worry too much, Chocolate Prince. Elo and I will be careful.

Elodie nods in agreement before taking her sister’s hand and shuffling away. It’s clear they’re trying to make the best of this time while the warriors are occupied and won’t be watching their every step.

I know I’ve told my group that we should play along, but once we’re all seated at the table and I’m stuck next to the disgruntled and beaten down looking Benjamin, I need to remind myself over and over of my own advice. We’ve had breakfast with the warriors before, but today it feels different.

Before breakfast is brought out, Colton stands, raising his hands high like a preacher at a sermon. “The Goddess spoke to me last night. She told me to reassure the good men of Blood Snow that the hard winter will be over soon and that we’ll be blessed with a rich and plentiful harvest.”

I try to keep my expression as straight as possible, but it’s hard. Who the fuck does this dude think he is?

When the fucker starts chanting a prayer, and his men repeat it, I don’t even have to fake my expression anymore. This is too much to grasp, even for me. On my right, Henry is wearing a similar expression, and opposite me, Marcel has his arms crossed, staring off at an invisible point behind Colton’s head.

This is a cult, not a pack!

Once Colton finishes, breakfast is finally served. Unfortunately, Freya is not part of the serving team today, but her scent still lingers around, so I know she has to be somewhere nearby. Thank Goddess, I can smell her even when no one else can. Still, this is torture! I’m fighting every instinct not to run to her.

“Finn,” Arman says, approaching me after breakfast. I’m thankful for the interruption. “I’ve got the training schedules from Alpha Colton. You’ve seen most of the pack by now, and he thinks you’re ready to join training.”

“Awesome,” I try to look as motivated as possible. “How does it work?”

“You are a beta’s heir, right?” When I nod, he hands me a sheet of paper with the schedule of the elite warriors. “You come with me,” he tells me. “The rest are probably better suited to the advanced class. However, two of them can join our trackers. They’re running a special training exercise today.”

“That’s a fantastic idea,” I exclaim, not needing to feign enthusiasm for once. It’s better we separate into groups and check out different areas of the pack. It’s especially good if we can join different groups of people. I look at my group. “Anthony and Steve, you head to the advanced training. Henry and Marcel, you join the trackers.”

“The warriors train longer than the trackers,” Arman explains to Henry and Marcel. “Once finished, you can join the training,” he tells Marcel and Henry.

I have to give kudos to all of them for nodding respectfully and pretending they would be honored to join the warriors in their training. Especially for Anthony and Henry, these tasks are a massive downgrade—they might have slacked in their training and aren’t as strong as they’re supposed to be, but an advanced class and a tracker group, that’s definitely below their skills.

We immediately separate for our tasks and head in different directions. During breakfast, Colton had only asked me once about the females in my group, as he calls them. After hearing my lie about having sent them to work because I didn’t want them around for breakfast, he sounded content and didn’t inquire further.

My training with Arman and the other elites is irritatingly boring. Arman isn’t a man of many words, and I notice how the other warriors don’t dare to do or say anything when he is around. They do exchange some secretive looks behind his back, though, and I overhear two of them whispering about a secret party and the girls they want to order for it.

Freya’s name wasn’t mentioned, but it’s bad enough that they talk about the other slaves this way.

Once training is over, everyone heads off to work. Benjamin is lingering, looking at me like he wants to talk, but realizing he won’t get me alone, he retreats, leaving Arman behind. “You did very well,” Arman grunts, tilting his head, frowning.

I pray to the Goddess that the potion my mother gave us truly works. “I’ve dedicated my life to training,” I point out. “As the future beta, I need to be strong enough to protect my alpha.”

“True.” Arman nods, his stance relaxing a bit. “Good job.”

“Thanks for the training session,” I tell him, and for once, I mean it. He really is quite a strong and capable fighter. Pity he’s stuck in this pack.

Arman leaves for an appointment with the alpha, leaving me free until lunch, so I decide to check on Elise and Elodie. I hesitate, not wanting to disturb them if they are getting some useful information, but my instincts tell me to go anyway. I close my eyes, taking a deep breath in to focus, willing my scent to go down. Perhaps if I don’t have such a strong smell, I’ll be able to move around without being seen.

I find the two girls chatting with what appear to be some nurses. One of them is sharing a cigarette with Elodie while the others whisper to Elise. The twins are good at befriending people, it seems. I decide not to blow their cover and retreat before anyone sees me.

I’m on my way back to the pack house when I hear a tiny buzzing around me like a dragonfly, only bigger. I feel something warm crawl into the pocket of my shirt. By now, I know her scent well enough to realize it’s Trixie.

I’m wondering how to communicate with her without raising suspicions from passersby, who might think I’m talking to myself. While I’m busy contemplating my options, Trixie beats me to it and links me. Mom probably found a way to make sure she could do it, but it still shocks me to hear her voice in my head.We have a situation,she exclaims.Or we might have one soon.

What’s happened?I link her back.

The advanced warrior class was awful. A group of warriors ganged up on a young slave and tugged her to the training grounds against her will. Anthony and Steve intervened.

Oh fuck,I curse.How bad is it?

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