Page 144 of An Enigma for the Lycan Crown Prince

Or kill Janice. I am not saying the last part out aloud, though.

“It seems like they didn’t even care,” Vincent says. “It’s so… weird.”

“Let’s see what Calvin has to say about this once he catches up with us,” I say. “For now, let’s focus on finding Janice.” I turn to Jace. “Any news?”

“She is feeling better now. Just too weak to break out of her restraints. She says she can hear water nearby and birds.”

“A stream?”

“No, she says, it’s calmer.”

“Then it’s a lake or pond.”

I take out the map we always have with us when driving, open it and go through the possible places she could be at. “It’s either here or here,” I say, pointing at the two places. “Both are close to a pond, and close enough to be reached in under two hours.”

Vincent gazes at the map. “We are close to the second spot. Let’s go there first.”

However, we aren’t even there yet, when Jace intervenes. “No, this is not it. She is not here. I would have felt her presence.”

“Got you,” Vincent says, steering the car in a different direction. “The other place it is.”

We drive mostly in silence. Jace looks both hopeful and anxious. I try to keep up a cool façade while my emotions are in a turmoil. I try to reach out to Flora again, pushing further and further, but I can’t reach her. I can only feel her lightly. Vincent tosses a glance at me. “We will find her,” he says quietly. “I promise you, I will rip my leg off to find her.”

“Let’s not go that far,” I mutter. If anything, I am going to be the one to rip my leg off to find her.

“Just saying.” He grabs the wheel firmly. “She is my luna,” he says. “And your mate. She is a friend, and I will do everything to help you find her. That’s a promise. And I know that Calvin is doing everything, too. Maybe his reasoning differs, but I know he is doing everything to find her.”

“Thank you, man.”

*FLORA*

I startle awake with a gasp. I had the weirdest nightmare ever. I was hanging out with Janice, and then heard her talking with someone. She sounded stressed. When I wanted to help her, we were knocked out cold. I frown, trying to regather my senses. Sometimes, when I am dreaming very vividly or visiting my mother, it takes some time to find my sense of orientation again, but this time, nothing alike happens. Instead, I find myself in a small room with the bare minimum of furniture. I am lying on a small bed, and I know for a fact that this is not a place I have ever been before. For a couple of minutes, I just stare at the wall, piecing together that I probably didn’t dream it, but that someone indeed captured me.

On my neck, I can feel a collar out of silver, and I am still feeling drugged from too much wolfsbane.

Celeste,I try to reach out to my lycan, but she is silent, just as silent as Elden when I try to reach him. My connection to Elden and Celeste is completely blocked.

Just fantastic! I can’t believe it!

Maybe the normal thing would be to feel panic now, or fear, but I just feel annoyed. These imbeciles, I bet Elden will kick their asses when he finds them, or rather, I will kick them. They better hope that Janice isn’t hurt. Speaking of… she is nowhere to be seen, so I hope she managed to escape. My stomach sinks when I think about her, realizing how many things could have gone wrong, but I refuse to believe it did. Janice did not die! They did not kill her!

Obviously, she is well and with Jace right now, and if anyone calls me delusional for my thoughts, it’s on them. Janice is fine, as long as proven otherwise.

I hear noises at my door, immediately sitting up in the bed, and brushing through my hair to make it look tidier. It’s long and slightly curly, giving me the perfect angelic look. I usually hate my damsel-in-distress look, but now it’s going to come in handy. Like my grandmother used to tell me: Weaponize it!

The door opens and two men and a woman step through. I make sure to flinch backward, looking at them through panicked eyes. They don’t look scary at all. The woman is wearing a brown dress, and looks more like a kind nanny than anything else. And the men look completely misplaced. One of them clears his throat.

“I know you must be scared, but as long as you behave, no one will harm you.”

Scared? I scoff inwardly. I am beyond pissed. But to keep my persona, I look at him through big, innocent eyes. “I don’t understand,” I whisper.

“How old is she again?” the other guy mutters, clearly sounding uncomfortable.

“I don’t know; it was said that she is eighteen.”

“Doesn’t look like it. She looks younger. I swear if we were done dirty-“

I press my hand to my heart. “I am always causing trouble,” I mutter sadly.