Page 145 of A Silent Prodigy for the Lycan Princess

“Or maybe you don’t,” a voice rings through the room.

I turn around to see Tori approaching us. Lion is following her with a deep scowl on his face. “We are sorry,” she says. “We didn’t mean to eavesdrop. We were just here to pick you up for lunch.” She pauses. “I am an omega, and no one here knows me. I could do it.”

“No, no way!” Lion blurts out.

“I’m a good choice,” she says.

“Aurelia,” Lion begs. “Don’t say yes.”

She turns around to look at him. “Lion,” she says, surprisingly serious. “I want to help, and Icanhelp. I don’t need your approval to do it, but I would still like it if you have a bit of faith in me.”

How did she learn to handle him that fast?Nox links me.

Beats me,I answer.Must be the mate bond.

“Zoé,” Arden says suddenly. “Do you still have access to the chatroom and auctions?”

“Yes, although there are no auctions at the moment.”

“Can you hit the seller for a request? Let’s say our friend Alexander is looking for an omega girl in her late teens who looks similar to Tori. You think you could pull that off?”

Zoé takes a deep breath and nods. “Yes.”

“Good,” Eric says. “I approve.” He turns to Arden. “How are we doing this?”

Arden doesn’t even waver, and it’s then that I realize how much more confident he is now. “Gustave and Emilien, I need you to update the geographical profile, we know much more now about the victims, but also about Night. I still want to narrow down the most likely places the girls are kept at, in case our plan doesn’t work out.”

“We’ll jump right to work,” Emilien says.

“Leila please help Zoé with luring in Night or whoever it is who keeps an eye on their chatroom. Make sure to emphasize that it’svery urgent because your customer is leaving the country soon. You have a good sense for people and for manipulating them. I think you would be a great help to Zoé.”

“Got you.” Leila nods. “We’ll press for them to act fast.”

He turns to Nox and me. “I’d need you to prepare Tori for her role. I know you are both good with doing the dirty work, as you call it. Please help her. We don’t have much time. I want her to be ready to donate blood in the afternoon.”

Nox chuckles. “Shady stuff is our forte, huh?”

“Everyone is good at something,” I say, slightly amused.

“Good,” Eric says. “And I will see that we have everything prepared to keep Tori safe. I want her to carry a chip so that we can track her constantly. Maybe in one of her teeth.”

“Yes,” Emilien muses. “Even when her cover gets blown, they won’t pull them, will they?”

“WHAT!?” Lion exclaims.

Eric glares at Emilien. “You just had to say that out aloud.”

“I apologize,” Emilien mutters. “It doesn’t mean they would go that far or—”

“I know of the risks,” Tori intervenes. Her voice is shaking slightly, but other than that she looks firm. “I still want to do this. I know everyone thinks I’m rather shallow, but I’m worried for Léna and want to help.”

I take Tori’s hands. “You have nothing to prove,” I say quietly.

“I want to help, Aurelia,” she says with emphasis. “And I can do it. No one knows me here. I’m an omega, I am the right age, and it will be easy to forge my documents.” She turns to Eric and Emilien. “Am I right?”

“I can’t deny that,” Eric admits. “With Zoé going to stress for a fast sale, they won’t be able to check your background too much. We can pretty much fake everything about you, including your blood group. I can even add a fake illness to it, to make you even more appealing to them.”

“Alright,” I give in. I don’t want to put Tori in unnecessary danger, but ultimately this is her decision. “Let’s do it.”