Page 84 of A Mysterious Slave for the Lycan Prince

“Something was in the water,” I mutter. “I’m sure something is in there. Something was reaching out towards me.” I shiver slightly, looking back to the lake and noticing how the formerly calm water is now restless, waves rippling through it like something big is moving in it.

Amaryllis looks scared, too, allowing Steve to pull her back toward him. “Finn,” Steve mutters. “Freya is right. Something feels off with this lake.”

“Yeah.” Anthony furrows his brows. “It’s really creepy.”

Finn pulls my trembling body into a warm and soothing hug. “It’s alright now, Freya. Let’s get out of here.” He scoops me up in his arms, ignoring my protests. I feel bad for having hurt him. Healing powers or not; I never wanted to hurt my mate or anyone else I love.

I give in to him and lean against his chest, feeling his heartbeat thumping in a regular rhythm. It calms me down a bit, when the realization hits me that I couldn’t reach my wolf before.Sereia,I call out, panic rising inside me again.

This time, however, I can feel her presence again.Freya, I’m so sorry.Her voice sounds small.I wasn’t able to reach out to you. Something blocked me.

What happened?I want to know.What was targeting us?

I don’t know,she whimpers.But mate’s right. We should get out of here.

To my relief, Finn thinks the same because he eyes the rest of our group, who have escaped to the spot furthest away from the lake. “Let’s get out of here as fast as possible. Out of this cave! Trixie, lead the way.”

“Of course,” Trixie’s voice sounds worried. She flutters around me for a moment, touching my face with her tiny hands, a kind smile on her face. Then she takes off, like a bumblebee on speed. Everyone is so relieved to leave the lake that they run after her.

My body is slowly settling down, and now I feel drained, drifting off into a dark and dreamless sleep while listening to Finn’s even heartbeat. I don’t know how long I was out of it, but eventually, I can feel Finn nuzzling his nose into my hair and peppering my face with soft kisses. “Wake up, my fiery ice flower,” he teases. “You’ll be happy to hear we reached the exit. And we’re in human territory now. Anthony, Henry, and Marcel already checked the surroundings. It’s safe.”

I perk up in his arms, feeling my energy is fully restored again, thanks to the sleep and the mate bond. It looks like the rest of the group has been taking a break, too, and rested a bit in the last chamber of the cave right before the exit, which means I must have slept for hours!

I don’t mind, though; this is it. Finally, so far away from Blood Snow that it truly feels like we are away from that goddess-forsaken place. Amaryllis seems to think the same because she looks at me with tears in her eyes. In excitement, I jump out of Finn’s arms and grab Amaryllis’ hand. We look at each other with a smile before running out of the cave together.

We are finally free.

It’s freezing cold outside now that we’ve left the warmth of the cave and the underground passage, but none of us mind. The exit leads us to another lake, covered with thick ice and not as creepy as the one in the cave. And then behind it, the landscape opens up to a vast empty area, like a snow desert. I can’t help it anymore. I drop to my knees, bursting into tears. Finn is at my side instantly. “What happened, Freya? Are you hurt?” he asks, sounding worried and pulling me to his chest. He must think I’m a nutcase for having a mental breakdown twice in a row.

“It’s just…I feel free.” I sob into his chest. “I thought I never would. But this is…freedom.”

*STEVE*

After Freya recovered from her overwhelming emotions, she and Ryllis start dancing and jumping through the snow. Neither of us has the heart to tell them we need to get moving to the human town. Watching these two experience feelings that shouldn't be new to them is a lot to process.

My heart clenches at seeing my adorable mate smiling and hugging her best friend. Someone hurt her so much, I know it. She was hurt, and I don’t know how to heal her. I want to hold her, stroke her hair, and tell her it’s going to be alright, but I don’t know how to help her. It’s so obvious how scared my Amaryllis is of everyone. Someone has scarred her deeply and in a way that might have traumatized her for life.

Freya is different. She doesn’t look traumatized, but you never know what’s going on inside someone’s mind. Finn seems to know how to act around her, though. I saw them cuddling and kissing already, while I am stunned every time I’m even close to my apple pie.

I’m just glad she didn’t reject me.

My cute little apple pie.

“Let’s rest for a bit longer,” Finn says to us, and everyone nods their agreement.

“I think we can sacrifice another hour,” Marcel agrees while watching the two young women. He sighs sadly while sitting down on one of the rocks.

Amaryllis is just the cutest, I think, when I see her shaking her brown locks and freeing her clothes from the snow. I hope one day she will feel safe with me.

Mate trusts us,Lynx says with conviction.Cutie knows we won’t hurt her. And when we return to that pack, I’ll sniff out everyone who hurt Cutie and then rip their throats out.He growls in a menacing way, which is rare for my normally kind wolf.

I’m sorry I suck so much at this,I admit.I barely know what to say or do when she is around.

She didn’t run from you,Lynx points out.I call that a success.

I hope he is right.

Eventually, Freya and Amaryllis have had enough of playing around, and return to us. Freya approaches Finn with a smirk, slipping her ice-cold fingers under his shirt. He laughs and groans at that and threatens her playfully. They seem to click well, and I’m so happy for Finn. He searched for his mate for so long, and now he’s found her. It might have been at the worst place possible, but at least he found her, and I know she means the world to him.

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