Page 43 of A Female Alpha for the Lycan Prince

She giggles, poking his chest playfully. “Oh, nothing,” she claps her hands. “Let’s have cake.”

“No clue as to what she just saw?” Harmony asks quietly.

Elden shrugs. “She never says anything.”

“That’s because I can’t. It’s part of the rules,” Flora hops up from her chair and flutters around the table to make sure we all have a piece of cake.

There is some finality in her words. Seeing how Elden accepts what she says is proof enough for me that she’s telling the truth. She probably isn’t allowed to say anything. Whatever her reason might be.

Elden invites us to stay for the evening. There are a bunch of teens visiting from other packs for their infamous bonfire. “Wouldn’t mind some additional help,” he chuckles.

“Scared the teens will go wild?” Harmony grins.

“Tell me I’m wrong?”

“Absolutely not,” Harmony chuckles. “It sounds scary to have so many teens in one place.”

“I have help, though,” he admits. “My people are on guard. And Liam sent me some of his people.”

“And Brian normally joins you too, right?” I ask. “He told me he would visit Silverlake for the bonfire.”

He smiles brightly. “Thanks to Annie, her parents are part of my family now. Brian and Rosalee always go above and beyond themselves to help.”

“They do,” I smile warmly. I still think Brian should have been beta originally. My dad chose Lauren’s dad because they were great friends. Her father was a good beta too, definitely, but Brian would have been even better, I think.

Flora leaves us for a moment. When she returns, she smiles conspiratorially at me. “I just took a look at your books,” she says. “Added another one to it. Just to make sure.”

Elden looks at me insistently, like he wants to tell me something but can’t. I get the message though. That’s the book I need to pay the most attention to.

The Bonfire

*VALERIE*

Jazzhadmeputon this tight blue dress which reveals way too much, in my opinion. But somehow, she talked me into it, saying it would look so hot with my skin tone. I feel a bit naked, but when Marilou sees me and gives me a thumbs up too, I feel a little better. If Jazz and Marilou both think it looks good on me, it can’t be that bad. Jazz herself is wearing tight black pants with a glittery crop top, and Marilou chose a cute combination of a dark-green miniskirt and a tight white top, which goes well with her red hair.

Jazz did all of our makeup, as both Marilou and I have no idea how to put it on since we didn’t go anywhere before starting this school year. I sometimes feel like I’ve missed out on so much due to being sick, but then, I’m still young, and I can have fun now. Plus, I feel so grateful for being healthy now, so I don’t want to bitch or moan around and waste time being sulky.

How much harder must it be for Marilou, though? She was treated like a slave under her old Alpha. Only when Alpha Liam took over did things finally turn good for her.

“You all look hot,” Aurelia greets us. She and Nox have picked us up from Silverlake’s pack border. Aurelia wears very tight black leather pants and a fitted gray top, revealing her perfect body. She always looks daring but never tacky. “Right, Nox?”

He nods and looks at me a bit longer than he does at the others, making me blush. “Told you,” Jazz whispers at me.

Even now, a few weeks later, it still feels like an out-of-body experience to be considered Aurelia’s friend. But after our lunch in the cafeteria, we’ve hung out regularly, and she and her friends are so much fun to be around. We just clicked. She’s nice, confident, and very straightforward. A bit serious at times, but I assume that comes with her position.

“Finally, you can see our pack grounds.” Aurelia smiles proudly while she leads us through the area. “The bonfire festival is in a clearing of the forest. Not far though.”

“Hey ladies,” Lionel jumps to our side from nowhere, making me gasp slightly. I grasp Nox’s arm without thinking. Once I realize it, I feel myself blush slightly.

“Sorry,” I stutter, letting go again.

“Don’t worry,” he says with a smile. He’s so nice. It takes a second glance to realize that he’s truly a nice guy. He has these dark eyes and equally dark hair, and tanned skin… he looks a bit rough with the scar across his cheek, but he is such a kind person. He’s hot too, without any doubts. I’d be all over him if I were braver, but I don’t want to get too close to anyone at the moment. The thought is super scary. To imagine putting myself out there and trusting someone… it’s… I’m not sure if I could do it.

Marilou, however, doesn’t seem to share my fears. She might be a bit awkward and shy at first glance like I am, but that’s about it. Terry and his twin sister, Tori are chatting with her now, and I can see her flirting a bit with Terry. We all know she finds him cute, a mutual feeling, it seems, because Terry likes to return her affection too.

Aurelia and her friends weren’t kidding, though. The party is huge. There are girls and guys from different packs, most of them seem to be high schoolers. I recognize some from our school, others I don’t know.

We find an empty table, covering it with our bags and jackets so that no one else will sit down there.