Page 179 of A Silent Prodigy for the Lycan Princess

Aurelia’s phone beeps, signaling an incoming message. “That’s my mom,” she mutters, reaching out her empty wine glass towards me. “I need to have a glass of wine before reading it.” She pauses. “Or… could you?”

“Of course.” I reach out my hand for her phone, opening the incoming message. It’s indeed from her mother.

My heart jumps in joy and relief.

“They found them,” I say. “Both of them are alive, and the kidnapped girl is too.” I hand Aurelia the phone back. “She said she will update you with the details tomorrow.”

Aurelia takes the phone with a shaky hand, staring at the message for a long while before she bursts into tears.

“Do you want a glass of wine now?” I ask, feeling helpless. “And I’ve prepared dessert too! Mousse au chocolat!”

Aurelia laughs between her tears. “Yes, I’d love that.”

Aurelia and I head out early the next day to have breakfast at Vander’s favorite coffee shop. It’s a difficult day for me. I felt like I was able to move on, but being faced with his birthday and the knowledge I will never celebrate it with him again just breaks my heart all over.

My mate is great, though. She allows me to eat my breakfast in silence. When the memories of Vander start flooding my mind and I begin talking about him, she starts asking questions about him. I love that she wants to know more about him, and I tell her everything she wants to know.

“We better get going,” I say after a while. “Eric is going to pick us up soon.”

“Excited about going to Disneyland?” Aurelia asks innocently.

I groan. “Not at all. The noise and the masses of people there are already terrifying me. Good thing it’s a weekday at least.”

“If it gets too much, we can always take a break,” she offers.

“Do you think it would be bad if I switch off my hearing aid occasionally?” I ask. “I don’t want to insult anyone, especially since they are all here to support me and honor Vander.”

“Not at all,” she reassures me. “No one would hold it against you. And if they do, they can come to me with their complaints.”

“As if they would do that.” I chuckle.

Aurelia grins. “Exactly my point.”

“Aurelia, Arden!” Val calls out to us, successfully distracting us from our conversation. “We are here.”

We hurry to her and Eric, and get into their car. Eric has made sure we have fast-lane tickets and some exclusive entrances, so we don’t have to stand around for hours. Once there, the others are already waiting for us.

I give Léna a wordless hug, noticing how she clings to me for a while before we all make it into the amusement park. For Zoé it’s the first time in such a place. It’s adorable to see her excitement. She is not the only one, though.

“Goddess.” Eric looks around. “I love it here!” He takes Val by her waist and twirls her around. “This is the perfect place for us.” He offers her his arm. “My princess.”

She giggles. “My prince.”

“Is he always like that?” Gustave whispers towards me.

I grin. “Better be prepared for a lot of surprises, now that you are working for him.”

The afternoon is fun despite being noisy and crowded, but we all make the best of it, and as usual Eric has planned for all eventualities. He isn’t in his position for nothing.

Break?I link Aurelia when I feel the noise is getting a bit too much. The others are currently in line to ride a roller coaster,minus Eric who is skipping that one and buying something to drink instead.

She takes my hand and nods.Let’s sit down a bit further away from the attractions.

We sit down at an empty bench. Slowly, I can feel my strained mind recovering and my ears stop ringing. I did it without having to switch off my hearing aid, which makes me feel proud. It might be silly to see this as some sort of accomplishment, but it’s a huge step for me.

Sitting here with my mate reminds me of something I wanted to ask her about for a while.

“Aurelia,” I ask. “Don’t get me wrong for asking this… it’s just something I heard.”