Page 154 of A Female Alpha for the Lycan Prince

Aryanna packs the last of Jazz’s bags in her car before joining us. She pulls Jazz into her arms and smiles brightly at Marcel. “We expect you on Sunday for lunch, Marcel, and you too, mini warrior,” she winks at Luca. “You can come too.”

Luca looks a bit confused, but returns her smile and nods.

We all watch Jazz drive off, waving until the car has disappeared from our sights. Valerie wasn’t here to say goodbye, but that’s because she is staying at Red Claw with Eric anyway. She and Jazz will have plenty of time to say goodbye. I’m assuming that Valerie will soon be leaving us for Paris. Eric hasn’t officially announced when they are going yet, but my gut feeling says it won’t be long. Maybe a few days?

Harmony, Garret, and I go back to organizing the usual training schedules. As we head outside for a break, and to catch a few rays of the afternoon sun, we see Eric dropping Valerie off at her parents’ house. They are sharing a lengthy, passionate kiss when Harmony cries out, “She’s marked! Oh, and look how happy she looks.”

We watch Val run off toward her parents’ house, smiling widely. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so relaxed or joyful before,” I point out.

“You’ve known her since her birth, right?” Garret asks.

I nod. “She was like a little sister to me, you could say. I’ve always doted on her. Looking back, I think Lauren was always jealous of my close relationship with Valerie.” I’m really going to miss Val when she leaves.

“I would be happy to leave with that hot mate of hers too,” Garret points out dryly. “But don’t tell Elias I said that,” He adds quickly.

Harmony and I exchange a glance and chuckle. “Our lips are sealed,” Harmony promises.

“Speaking of Elias…” I start.

Garret looks at me curiously. “Yes?”

“I think it might be time to start digging into what’s happening in his old pack, Blood Snow. Something feels off.” I look at Garret. “Prepare Elias for that talk. I don’t want to hit him out of the blue.”

“He doesn’t talk about his past much,” Garret confesses.

“I know, and I respect his trauma and his desire for privacy, but I need to know what’s going on there. I have an awful feeling about it. From the pieces he has told us, and the few things we’ve managed to gather, the behavior in that pack is very unsettling.”

Garret nods. “I’ll talk to him. I think he trusts us enough to share some, if not all, of what happened to him there.”

“If you need help, let us know,” I offer.

Garret smiles slightly. “Even if it might get ugly, he won’t ever hurt me. Elias… he… you know he accepted me as his mate right away, although Blood Snow doesn’t accept same-sex mates. Okay, his emotional acceptance took a while, but he was so ready to leave everything behind and come to Moon Blood with me from the beginning.”

“Subconsciously, he was probably relieved to have a way out,” Harmony mutters.

“Even more reason to find out what the hell is happening there,” I say.

The other two nod. “You can count on me, Alpha,” Garret promises.

I have so much paperwork to do that I head back inside and lock myself in my office for the remainder of the afternoon. I’m surprised by the alarm beeping on my phone at 6.30pm, reminding me that I’m supposed to be at Valerie’s parent’s house for dinner in 15 minutes with Harmony and Dad.

It smells wonderful when we arrive, like roasted potatoes and lamb chops. Eric is in the sitting room drinking a glass of wine with Val’s father. “Dan,” my father greets his old friend happily, then turns to Eric. “Prince Eric,” he greets him with a smile and a slight nod.

“Come on in, everyone,” Dan waves at us.

Why did they invite me?Harmony asks as we step inside.This is basically a family dinner. Am I not out of place?

I think we are invited because they have to discuss something official with us,I point out.Besides, Dan and your dad are old friends too. He’s probably just being nice.

She smiles and nods. “Where are the girls?” Harmony asks while my father accepts a glass of wine.

“They are busy gossiping,” Dan chuckles.

“We are not!” Val peeks into the room, her eyes lighting up when she sees us. “Alpha Celine, Beta Harmony, it’s so nice of you to come.”

I can’t believe this bubbly, energetic girl in front of us is Val. She’s grown so much recently that I hardly recognize her from the frail and timid girl I knew growing up.

“Please, no formalities tonight,” I chuckle.