Page 151 of An Enigma for the Lycan Crown Prince

“Can you try to make them leave before we come?” I ask, not trusting Regis to keep his cool, and I am not so sure about staying cool myself. But I trust Flora’s judgment, and if she wants me to let these people get away, then so be it.

“I will try. There are three other human men here, though, maybe more. I will make sure to stop them, so that we can imprison them. I am pretty sure they are traffickers.”

“We need to ensure they never hurt anyone again,” I say firmly.

“And then…” Flora says wearily.

“I will deal with everything else, afterwards,” I say firmly. “Your safety comes first! Be careful, please!”

“I promise I will only play with them a little bit,” she says, her eyes darkening slightly. “I don’t take kindly to people who use and hurt others.”

forty-seven

Out for Blood

*FLORA*

My chest clenches whenever I recall my talk with Elden. I could see the pain in his eyes. He tried to sound calm and composed, but his eyes gave him away. He looked so hurt. He always says nothing can surprise him, but deep down, I think he hoped he would be wrong here.

Fuck this!

I need to make sure to get Cindy, her husband and her brother out of here, and be prepared for when Elden comes. I think he will need me more than ever. I use my Goddess-given powers to reach out from my room into the house, noticing how Cindy is alone in the kitchen. Hank and Gary are in the living room. All three of them look scared and exhausted. Desperate peoplesometimes do terrible things. Does that make them terrible people? I don’t know. But seeing how I am their victim, I feel like it’s on me to either let them fall or help them up again. And I choose the latter. I want them to have a second chance and never be so dumb again.

The other group of men is outside in the garden. Safe enough for me to do what I need to do. Reaching out my hand, I touch the doorknob. It’s not laced in silver, which makes it even easier for me to open it. Channeling my powers towards the door, I hear it click and open it easily. Without further ado I hurry to the kitchen.

Cindy looks surprised and a little shocked when she sees me. “You-“

“Cindy,” I say earnestly, dropping my innocent act completely. “You need to leave. Take your husband and brother, and leave.”

“But-“

“You have no idea what you got yourself into,” I say. “But despite everything, you were nice to me, so I am going to return the favor. They-“ I point outside. “-are counting on you being killed. The man who is looking for me, my mate, is a royal lycan, an alpha wolf. They know that, but they probably didn’t tell you.”

She stares at me. “But he told me it’s just a rich boy who has some disposable income, and-“

“They lied, and you need to leave,” I press. “If you die, who will look out for River?”

She stares at me, tears in her eyes. “There is no special treatment, is there?”

“Not one your cousin knows about. You need to be there for little River. He needs his mom and dad, and his family. Take the money you got and keep it to get the best possible treatment for him.” She wants to argue, but I stop her. “I know who hired your cousin. Believe me, just take the money. He is not worth having a bad conscience for.”

Cindy looks at me, and for a split second, I am scared she will refuse to leave, that she will not believe me, but then she takes my hand. “You are an angel,” she says quietly.

“I am not,” I say. “I am just a lycan wolf with peculiar powers.”

“I know, I was stupid,” she admits quietly. “The moment I agreed to help my cousin, and I realized what it entailed, I knew it. But I didn’t know how to get out of it anymore. I just wanted to save my child.”

“River’s fate is still open. He might die, but he might also live,” I tell her. “You don’t know the outcome of his illness and how he will respond to treatment. I don’t know either, but I just know that he needs you. And please, don’t ever get mixed up with something so shady again!”

Cindy hugs me swiftly, much to my surprise. But it’s not an unwelcome gesture. “Thank you. I still don’t understand what’s going on, but I know you could have easily lumped us together with Robert and the others. Thank you.” She looks at me. “To me, you still are an angel,” she utters.

“Good luck with everything,” I say. “Make sure to get away, now. We will deal with your cousin. They won’t bother you ever again. You can be sure about that.”

She nods, squeezing my hand once more before hurrying to the living room. I hear her talk with Gary and Hank, and I decide to trust that she will convince them to leave. Meanwhile, I have my own problems to deal with, namely Robert and his goons. I am still not sure what exactly, their occupation is. I told Elden that I think they are traffickers, and I strongly believe that’s true, but we will need to do some more research to know exactly what they have been doing.

I hope Samuel and Geneva can help us bring them to justice in the human world. How we will do that, I have no idea yet, but we will find a way.

Without overthinking what I am going to do, I step outside through the front door. Behind me, I can hear another door opening and closing slightly, followed by light footsteps, indicating that Cindy, Gary and Hank have left.