Page 97 of A Female Alpha for the Lycan Prince

“Me four,” Nox adds.

“Me five. I think we can all agree on that,” I admit. I love studying, but I don’t like exams or tests. We’re almost done with everything, though. There is only one final left.

“At least we’ve already done math,” Jazz says.

“Let’s celebrate,” Lionel offers, “Are you training today, Val?”

“No, both Alpha Elden and Alpha Celine gave me the day off to focus on school and then have fun with my friends.” I smile brightly. “Ready to party.”

“We could grab some dinner,” Nox offers. “And visit Silver Lake. The actual lake, I mean. You girls haven’t been there yet.”

Jazz and I exchange a glance and shake our heads. Silver Lake? I’ve only heard rumors about how beautiful it is, like a picture out of a fantasy book.

“Great idea,” Aurelia smiles. “We should ask Marilou, too.”

“And Tori and Terry,” I muse.

“Yeah,” Lionel grins. “We have to invite Terry if Marilou is coming.”

Nox elbows him but can’t hide his grin.

“Ok. We just need to focus for two more hours,” Aurelia commands while opening the door to our classroom. “Last exam. Then we are free of school for the rest of our lives.” She pauses. “Well, aside from college, of course, but that’s something else!”

All I have done during the past few weeks is stay on pack grounds or go to school. Whenever I met up with my friends, it was always in the safety of our packs or at school, where there are guards surrounding the building. There’s been no more incidents, and I’m starting to feel more relaxed.

We have our English exam now, but I’m not stressing too much as it’s my best subject. By the looks of it, everyone else in our group seems to be writing lots, so they must be doing alright too. I’m finished before the others, so I hand in my paper and leave the classroom, deciding to wait for the others outside. Originally, I planned to grab something from the vending machine, but my bladder demands a detour. I hurry to the toilets, already planning what to do in the afternoon with my friends. We are going to have so much fun, and tomorrow it’s back to training, which currently really motivates me.

As I wash my hands in the sink, I hear the restroom door opening behind me. “Mama?”

I pause at the sound of a small voice, my gaze snapping toward the door. A little girl is standing there, she’s crying. And her arm—it’s bleeding! “Oh no, little one,” I carefully walk towards her. “What happened, dear?”

She looks at me, her face tear-struck. “Mama?” she cries.

“I’m so sorry, I’m not your mama,” I say softly. “What does she look like?”

The girl suddenly looks scared of me, and turning on her heels, runs straight out of the restroom again. There are drops of blood on the ground where she was just standing. Goddess, I need to make sure that she’s alright! I can’t let a little girl run through the school, hurt and lost.

I chase after her, following the drops of blood she’s left here and there, which thankfully makes it easy to follow her. As soon as I find her, I’ll take her to the school infirmary. I rush outside through an emergency exit, leading toward a small backyard. There are no pupils here normally, it’s just for the staff working in the school.

I search frantically, relieved when I see the girl running towards the trash cans. “Hey, little girl! Wait, I won’t hurt you,” I beg her to stop, as I continue to chase.

Turning around the corner makes me freeze on the spot. The girl is gone, and in her place stands a middle-aged man. I don’t know him, but he could be cafeteria staff or even a janitor. “Excuse me,” I mutter, confused. “Did you see—”

Run.

That’s Ailia.What?

Run!

I don’t question her. My wolf has good instincts, that’s what Elden has told me repeatedly since we started training. Time to trust her. I turn on my heels, ready to run back into the building, when I feel something lunging at me from the side.

“Don’t hurt her!” the man yells. “I want her unscathed!”

Wait… What!? They’re after me!? Goddess, I’m so stupid! The little kid was probably just a hallucination, and I followed it like a dumb idiot.

There is no way these guys are dragging me off anywhere! Who is that man, anyway? I try struggling against the second guy’s grip, attempting to bite his hand, but he just laughs. There is something sinister in his eyes, practically feral. There’s a scar gracing half of his face. He looks straight at me, ready to punch. Better to be hit than be dragged off to an unknown place, as far as I’m concerned. I continue struggling against him, yelling and screaming for help. Hopefully, someone will hear me!

“Val?” I hear a familiar voice. I turn around, gaping as I see Jazz approach. She must have followed me. I don’t know how or why, but maybe something alerted her.