Page 83 of A Mysterious Slave for the Lycan Prince

“That’s amazing,” Anthony agrees, carefully kneeling to check out the water. “How come it’s so blue? It’s so beautiful.”

“It’s beautiful because men have never touched it,” Henry says. “Good thing it’s so hard to reach it. It’s seawater, by the way. There must be some outer part of the ocean that feeds the cave with water.”

“You know a lot about these things,” Marcel points out.

“I like to read,” he admits.

“When everything’s over and done with, we should return here to appreciate it fully,” Finn muses, pulling me closer to his body. “It’s a pity we don’t have the time to stay here.”

I nod while staring at my surroundings. I don’t see much of the sky, but I could swear the clouds were getting thicker. A shiver goes down my spine, and I can see shadows on the walls of the cave out of the corner of my eye.

Did you see that, Sereia?I mutter.

The shadows are vivid, moving over the walls and then the ground. I jump a little, trying to move back. I don’t want them to touch me at all! I keep my eyes on the shadows, watching them move from the walls and ground to the lake. For a brief moment, I feel like something is moving in there. I bend forward to check it out.

What the fuck is going on here? Maybe I’m hallucinating.

Sereia?I ask.What do you think?

But to my surprise and discomfort, Sereia doesn’t answer. Instead the presence of whatever is in the cave seems to engulf me, and it makes my blood freeze in fear. I call out to Sereia again, but something is blocking her.

Come…darkness…a voice whispers.…child of darkness.

That’s not my wolf! Something else is calling me, and I suddenly remember the times Colton called me a witch. Maybe he is right, and maybe I’m a dark witch; maybe I’m cursed!

I try to move back and away from the lake, but I don’t seem to be able to. I can feel my blood rushing through my veins; my ears are ringing. I can swear I see hands reaching out of the water and ground and moving toward me.

What the fuck is this?

Sereia!I call out again.

Why did she leave me?

What’s going on?

I can feel hands grab me and tug me away from the lake. My body goes into defense mode instantly. Someone’s attacking me. I need to defend myself, even when my wolf is not with me. I need to…I’m not weak…no one can hurt me!

No one!

FREYA!

I blink in confusion at the voice reaching me. It sounds oddly familiar. Warm and deep, but also panicked now. “Finn,” I mutter.

The fog in front of my eyes clears, and the blood in my veins calms down. Finn’s face is right in front of me, his arm around my waist. He’s hurt, though; his arms and hands are bleeding. “Oh no,” I breathe out. “That was me, wasn’t it? I’m so sorry.”

“No, it’s nothing.” Finn shakes his head. “You had a panic attack, my love. Don’t worry.”

“A panic attack?” I mutter, still feeling dizzy.

Finn nods towards Elise, who is standing right behind him, and she instantly scurries forward, handing me a bottle of water. I take a few sips, feeling how hoarse my throat is.

“Maybe something triggered you,” Elise says softly.

“Are you alright, Freya?” Amaryllis is hurrying past the others and towards me. She wraps her arms around me. “You were screaming.” She looks at me with worry. “The water’s weird as well. It’s not as calm anymore.”

“The water?” I blink, slowly remembering why I was feeling off in the first place. I jump up, scurrying backward and tugging Finn and Ryllis with me.

“What happened?” Finn urges me softly, grabbing my face to make me look at him. “Talk to me. What did you see?”

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