Page 36 of A Silent Prodigy for the Lycan Princess

Leila laughs. “You really need to learn to read the room.”

They tease Gustave a bit more, but I don’t hear it. I’m too focused on Aurelia, her warm hand in mine, and the tingles shooting through my body. Nothing I felt before compares to the intensity of the mate bond.

“You are not one for talking much, are you?” Aurelia asks me while we aimlessly walk through the huge building of the Council. It’s like a majestic castle inhabiting a whole pack with several floors and wings.

“I don’t,” I admit.

“It doesn’t matter,” she says. “I like the silence, too, sometimes,” she pauses. “So, you are a genius?”

I groan. Thank you, Eric! “It’s really not like that,” I say. “I just have a photographic memory.”

“Really.” She smiles at me. “Because Val and Eric talked about you a lot whenever we’ve met or talked. That’s how I know you a little bit.” She tilts her head in my direction, flashing me a smile. “What about you? Were you curious about me?”

“I—I honestly thought you would be a typical princess,” I mutter, feeling like the dumbest idiot ever. Maybe I should have lied and told her I asked Eric about her?

To my surprise, she grins. “You mean like with a gown and a crown?”

When I nod, she laughs. “I hope you are not disappointed?”

“Not at all,” I say with emphasis.

Usually, I have problems with new voices. They strain my ears and my nerves. Today has been difficult for me for that reason alone, but her voice is soft and velvety to my ears.

“Arden.” Aurelia stops to look at me. “My lycan wants to talk to you.”

I look at her curiously, wondering what this is about. “Sure.”

Aurelia’s eyes flash black, and her demeanor changes slightly. She looks confident all of a sudden and a bit more majestic… not that she wasn’t before. “Hello, Arden,” she states with a smooth timbre.

“Hello…” I pause. “I apologize, I—”

“Maxima,” she says before stepping closer and burying her nose in my hair. Aurelia is as tall as I am, maybe even a bit taller. “You want us, Arden, don‘t you? Your lycan wants us?”

I can feel Cato’s shock at her implication that we wouldn’t want them.

“Of course,” I say with emphasis.

“Then, why does your lycan not respond to me?” she asks, brushing through my hair.

“Oh,” I say.Did you not interact with her at all, Cato?

I didn’t want to scare her off,he admits.

“Maxima,” I take her hand, squeezing it slightly. “I need to tell you something. Will you listen?”

She eyes me curiously. “Of course.”

“When I was a child, I was in an accident and lost major parts of my hearing. I’m wearing a hearing aid.”

Maxima nods. “Aurelia noticed but didn’t want to sound imposing.”

I’m relieved she already saw it and didn’t feel turned off. I was so engrossed in our meeting that I completely forgot about my handicap. “Unfortunately, once I received my lycan, he wasn’t able to heal the old injury.”

She tilts her head. “So, he can’t hear well?”

“No, but all his other senses work very well,” I reassure her.

“I’m not worried about his abilities,” she says in a matter-of-fact tone. She might be even more direct than Aurelia. It’s kind of intriguing. Both of them seem to be so strong and secure. “He looks very strong.”