Page 40 of A Silent Prodigy for the Lycan Princess

“I do need to work a bit,” I admit. “But, I want you to have as much fun as possible.”

“We can’t possibly—” Marilou starts.

“Of course you can,” I interrupt her. “I want you to enjoy this stay. Val, I bestow you with the task of making sure they do all the great stuff.”

“Count on me.” She smiles.

“It’s not like I won’t join the fun at all,” I reassure them. “Just leaving out the sight-seeing for now.”

“Plus, she has a mate to bang—” Tori starts, turning red when the others laugh. She slaps her forehead. “I meant to say hang out with.”

“Maybe I will do both,” I say, making the guys groan and the girls laugh.

“I’m going to stay with you,” Nox tells me.

“Why?” Eric smirks and wiggles his brows. “Are you thinking of a ménage à trois?” His laugh only grows when Valerie elbows him.

Nox groans. “No, I certainly don’t want to join a threesome with Auri and her mate. I meant to stick with her when she is working.”

“How about you divide your duties?” I offer, not wanting him to be forced to join me all the time. Nox didn’t have the chance to travel a lot growing up, and I don’t want him to miss out. “When I need you, I’ll give you a call. But the remainder of your time, you could… watch out for the others.”

Nox furrows his brows. “When did you become such a smooth talker?”

Eric clasps his shoulder. “Don’t say no to your alpha.”

“So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?” Terry asks. He’s sitting next to Marilou now, pulling her into his arms.

“Sleep in,” Val says. “You must be exhausted. I will pick you up for lunch, and then I will show you parts of Paris.”

“Are you joining us?” Lion asks me. I notice he hasn’t said much, making me wonder why he is so quiet and almost sullen.

“I can’t,” I admit. “I promised to pick up Arden early in the morning, and then catch up with what he found out about the kidnappings. But, I’ll join you for any evening and night program.”

Lion nods and shows me a crooked smile while Tori jumps up to hug me. “Miss you already,” she says.

The others take this as the cue to finally leave for their own rooms. By the secret gazes Marilou and Terry exchange, I get the sneaky feeling that they have plans for later tonight. Eric caught their glance, too, because he grins. “Just, please, no one get pregnant under my watch, okay?”

Valerie rolls her eyes and tugs him out of my room. Meanwhile, I secretly sneak a couple of condoms to Marilou. She smirks at me, hiding them underneath her sweater before following the others. Lion is the last to leave. “Smooth,” he says.

“Just girls helping girls out.” I chuckle.

He nods, lingering at my door for a moment.

“Lion, is there something wrong?” I ask him.

He looks at me for a moment but takes a bit too long to answer. “No, everything’s fine.”

“You can talk to me, you know?” I say. “I promise it will stay between us.”

“No, I can’t,” he blurts out, something in his eyes flashing. For a moment, he looks truly broken. “I can’t.”

“Why not?” I get up to approach him. “You are one of my best friends, Lion. I won’t judge you.”

“You know me, I just can’t say the right thing, ever,” he blurts out. “It’s just—” He brushes through his hair. “Fuck. You know what, please forget it. Okay?”

“What—”

“Just forget we talked about this,” he begs. “Good night.”