Page 115 of A Female Alpha for the Lycan Prince

“Just don’t tell anyone.”

He shakes his head. “I won’t!”

“Luca?” I pause. “Who is the girl in there?” I ask softly.

“That’s Ciara,” he mutters. “My sister.”

Wait… what!? He’s part of the family too. It means, the old fucker is his father… I look at him wide-eyed, touching his neck carefully, the remnants of the silver collar too visible. “But why are you here… like this… and…”

He looks sad, and tired. “Mom was human,” he mutters. “She died from a rare sickness. Ciara has no wolf and got the same sickness.”

“And she died,” I mutter.

“Dad couldn’t live without them,” he says quietly. “And I’m just not enough.”

His words make my heart ache. He’s a lot younger than Ciara would be now. To imagine what he went through in his teens. How long has he been mistreated for? How long has he suffered? “And Lenny?”

“Half-brother,” he mutters. It’s obvious he doesn’t even want to think about him.

“And you?” I asked softly. “How old were you back then?”

“Eleven,” he says. “It’s been six years since Ciara became like this.”

So, he’s only seventeen now.

“My heart broke at their deaths, but I wanted to let them go.” He winces slightly. “She’s… Ciara… I failed her as her brother. Look how she is now. She’s…”

“Is this why they keep you chained up?” I ask carefully.

He shrugs, but nods eventually. He looks at me fearfully. “What happens when father realizes you can’t save Ciara?”

So, he knows?

He seems to catch my surprise. “Any sane person can tell,” he whispers.

I squeeze his hand. “We have to be careful, Luca. Don’t say or do anything out of the ordinary. I will think of something.”

He nods, his expression more hopeful now.

Once Luca has left me again, I’m alone with just my thoughts and Ailia. Until a few minutes ago, I thought it was only my life on the line… but now there is Luca, an innocent child who has been abused for years. And Ciara, whose soul can’t rest in peace.

*CELINE*

We are on our way back to the pack, and Harmony and I are debriefing the others on what we’ve learned.

Elias looks confused by all the information we’ve just dumped on them. He’s probably shocked that Harmony and I were able to extract so much information without resorting to violence. He’s always had a pretty straightforward approach as a tracker. Most of the time, Elias has to deal with only one task, one focus. Instead of going in with fake stories and gradually coaxing the information out of him, I’m guessing he would have preferred to storm in and beat the information out of Mr. Evans, if he could.

Garret, however, has already processed and moved on to our next challenge. “Our only issue is that we don’t know who else is working for this Henrick guy. Jazz was unconscious for most of Val’s attack, so she doesn’t know much about the guys who were with him when they kidnapped Val.”

I hold back, letting Harmony lead the conversation. “We know there is at least one witch with them,” she points out.

Garret nods. “We don’t know much about her, let alone her powers, or why she’s helping him.”

“That is a problem, but we have Jade and Desmona to help us,” Harmony points out.

They continue to go through the pros and cons of a direct attack while I keep listening. Elden throws me a curious glance from the driver’s seat. He probably thinks I’m listening diligently to my team’s discussion on the next course of action. In a way, I am… but not just because of our current situation. I’m actually observing my team and how they strategize because I still haven’t chosen a gamma for my pack yet, so the position still needs to be filled, and soon. I have narrowed down the possible options to three warriors with the most potential: Marcel, Elias, and Garret. All of them have fantastic skills and abilities, and they have proven themselves time and time again. My main focus is still on saving Valerie and getting rid of this lingering threat, but at the same time, I need to keep an eye on pack business… and seeing how these three act in a stressful situation is going to be a vital factor in my final decision.

“Jade said that if she and Desmona can manage to lift the barrier, then they will know more about their witch counterpart,” I explain to them, finally joining in their discussion.