Page 145 of An Enigma for the Lycan Crown Prince

“I don’t like this either,” the woman says. “I know we need the money, but they told us she was a young woman. Look at how terrified and young she is.” She comes closer to sit down next to me. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. No one will harm you. Just like Gary said, you don’t need to fear anything. The plan is not to hurt you.”

The plan is not to hurt me?

I tap my lips in a seemingly innocent and thoughtful gesture. “So, you need money from me?”

“No, dear, we got money from…” she pauses, not continuing further. I secretly peek at her and the two men. I didn’t see my kidnappers well, but I saw enough that I know it wasn’t either of them.

“From the bad men, right?” I ask, before taking her hands and giggling. “I know it wasn’t you. It can’t have been. You are so nice.”

“My God, she is so cute and innocent,” one of the men says. “Cindy is right. I don’t feel comfortable with the situation either.”

My God.They are human?

I make sure to look as pitiful as possible. “Do you know what they will do to me?”

“You are supposed to stay here for a couple of days only,” the woman, Cindy, hurries to reassure me. “Then, they said they want you to return.”

What? They want to keep me here like I am on a vacation and then just return me? How does that make any sense?

forty-five

Human Traffickers?

*ELDEN*

Vincent hasn’t even parked the car yet, and Jace already jumping out of it, dashes to the small hut. “She really is there,” Vince mutters, completely stunned.

“Yes,” I say, looking at him with what I hope is an insistent gaze. “I will see if Jace and Janice need help.”

Vincent smiles at me. “Sure, meanwhile, I will do stuff here, like… arrange the seats of the car. Erm… check the area? I have picked up some tricks from Calvin, so maybe I can find something. Is that okay with you?”

“Sure, that’s fine.” Relieved that Vincent catches on so fast, I hurry to the hut. Inside are Jace and Janice. Jace has freed her from her restraints and her collar and is hugging her tightly.They both startle away from each other when they hear me entering the building, then look relieved the moment they see it’s just me.

“I am so relieved,” I say quietly. “Please don’t mind my presence. Vincent is staying outside to look for possible traces.”

Jace touches her face gently. “I am so glad you are unharmed, dear.”

“Thanks for finding me,” she says with an almost bashful smile.

“You aren’t hurt, are you?”

“No,” she says. “They did nothing. Just knocked me out with something and when I awoke, I had that collar around my neck.”

“Can you remember anything?”

“They were humans,” she says. “But they clearly knew what Flora and I were. On our way here, I woke briefly, and heard them discussing what to do with me. Then, I lost consciousness again. I can’t remember the options they discussed, but they said the order was NOT to bodily harm anyone.”

Jace and I stay quiet, neither of us sure what to say.

“It’s okay,” Janice says. “I thought the same. It’s weird. So weird. Nothing about it makes sense.”

“They were after Flora,” I say. “That’s what we figured out already. But why humans? No one usually gets involved with them like that. They are usually unaware of our existence, and all shifters know it’s dangerous to draw attention to us.”

“I don’t have an answer to any of these questions,” Jace admits.

“If this weren’t so serious and Flora wasn’t still missing, I would believe it’s a prank,” I say.

“It almost feels like it,” Janice admits. “A prank that went way too far, though. I see where you are coming from.”