Page 142 of An Enigma for the Lycan Crown Prince

We all leave our spot to inspect the small parking lot. “Someone was there not too long ago,” Calvin mumbles, looking at the ground. He takes out a paper to take prints of thefootsteps. “I believe it’s the same as in front of the side entrance where Janice was waiting.”

“There is only one road leading away from here,” I point out. “Does anyone on the way have security cameras?”

“They would be passing by a big factory,” Jace says. “I am sure they have one.”

“How will we get it?”

“I can do that,” Calvin says. “It’s what I am good at.” He turns to me. “Alpha, are you able to reach out to the luna? As a royal lycan, I believe you could link someone over longer distances.”

“No,” I say promptly. “Our connection is blocked. Probably silver or wolfsbane.”

Jace looks at me and puts his hand on his heart. Damn it, does he think Janice got hurt? “Janice is your pack member,” I say. “Can you reach out to her?”

“No,” he says, furrowing his brows. He seems to focus on something. “But I could swear she is close by.”

At that Calvin looks at him surprised. “You can feel her presence? How is that possible?”

“Well, Jace is going to be an alpha too,” I point out to cover his ass and keep his secret. “And he is a lycan.”

“But with no royal heritage,” Calvin says. Fuck, obviously, he is not one to be easily fooled.

“It’s my gift,” Jace says. “I don’t talk much about it, but I do have the capacity to reach out to pack members I have a personal connection to. And Janice is my friend.”

Calvin seems to be content with his answer. “That makes sense.”

I can’t believe he bought that. Even Vincent looks skeptical, but, as usual for him, he doesn’t prod further. Maybe it’s because Calvin has problems with social cues, and he certainly isn’t interested in what’s going on romantically between Janice and Jace.

However, despite that, watching Calvin analyze the situation and the traces shows me my own shortcomings. He is so analytical about it and gets so much done, through keeping a cool head. Sure, he is a couple of years older than the rest of us, and he has experience already, which is why he was even chosen as my beta. Hell, he was even one of my so-called protectors, from what Samuel told me. I am sure he was groomed into his role from a very young age. Still, he truly has a way of analyzing a difficult situation. I still have a long way to go.

Clearing my throat, I decide to focus back on the present. Flora needs me now, with a cool head and not filled with self-doubts. “Can you-“ I turn to Jace. “-explore that gift of yours, further?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you said you can feel pack members you have a connection to, could you push for that feeling to get stronger. Can it lead us to Janice?” I hope he gets what I truly mean. I might not know the full truth, as he hasn’t told me, but I have no doubts anymore. They must be mates, and his mate bond to Janice is something he can touch upon in his mind. It will tighten their connection and truly lead him to his mate. He can still feel her after all, so their connection wasn’t blocked.

“It’s weak,” he admits.

“But you can feel…the connection?”

Jace seems to understand what I am talking about and nods.

“Elden is right,” Calivn points out. “It means you could lead us to her.” He pauses. “How about you try to find where Janice is being hidden, meanwhile, I will retrieve the camera footage and take a look for some more traces.”

He waits for me to nod my agreement before he takes off back to the shop and café. Meanwhile, Vincent looks at us thoughtfully. “I won’t ask questions,” he says simply, briefly looking at Jace. “Just do what you need to do.”

“I will try,” he says, not sounding too confident.

I glance at Vincent, who gets the hint and pretends to be focused on something at the other end of the parking lot. “You have a connection,” I tell Jace. “A connection only you have to her, and no one else. It’s true and real, even though you are hiding it. It’s in the way you feel her pain, joy or when she is sad. It’s how you instinctively know what she needs, and how you want to make her happy because nothing means more than to see her smile. It’s real.”

“It’s real,” he says quietly.

“Just focus on her,” I encourage him. “You said the connection isn’t blocked fully.”

I wait for him to verify my words with a nod.

“Then she can hear you if you reach out to her.”

“But she didn’t reply.”