Page 46 of An Enigma for the Lycan Crown Prince

“Having you and Jace around would be enough for me,” Elden says.

“We need to add more people,” I muse. “And plan something fun. You are turning eighteen, after all!”

“I guess I could invite Janice. She is nice, and you like her,” he says.

“Come on.” I giggle. “Don’t act like you didn’t just make a friend.”

Elden looks flustered at my words. “Friend is a stretch,” he mutters. “I barely know him. It’s just…”

“Just what?”

“The fact that he stepped in to defend these omegas without knowing them shows a lot about his character. That, and he is confident,” he pauses. “But, other than that, I don’t know him yet.”

“You didn’t know me and instantly befriended me,” I point out.

Elden chuckles. “We were kids, back then. Things were different when I was a child.”

I stay quiet for a while, before stopping abruptly and making Elden halt with me. “You are scared of letting anyone in,” I say quietly. He looks like he wants to argue, but I wrap my arms around him and hug him. “Sometimes it’s worth the risk of letting someone in.”

“I don’t know how to do that,” he admits. “And I don’t know if it’s worth it.”

“It is worth it,” I say. “Look at how awesome Jace and I are. Wasn’t it worth it to let us in?”

He hugs me back but doesn’t say anything. Sensing his tension, I decide not to push him further. He has always had difficulties trusting others. I just hope he will give Vincent a chance. Seeing him actually laugh and tease another person like that was a completely new experience and a new side to him. I want him to be happy.

“How are we getting home now?” he asks. “Take a cab or run?”

I spread my arms and twirl around. “You know my answer to that. I will take my lovely Regis over any cab.”

I must have struck a nerve because something in Elden’s eyes flashes. Soon enough, Elden has shifted to his lycan form, and I collect his clothes before climbing onto his back. It’s probably going to take us at least an hour, if not longer, to reach Silverlake, but I love to sit on Regis and run through the forest like that. It makes me feel so free, and like the only two people who matter are Elden and me.

fifteen

Connections

*ELDEN*

Flora’s advice sticks in my mind for the whole next week. She hasn’t pushed it. Maybe she thought I would get mad at her, but seeing how angry my father gets whenever someone has a different opinion, I’ve sworn to myself that I would never treat my mate and my future children that way. They are allowed to have an opinion and disagree with me, without me hitting or lashing out at them.

Flora is right. It sucks that my father has messed me up so much that I can’t make friends. Whoever approaches me for a talk or just for a project in school already looks suspicious to me. They are in for my rank, for my position, for my name, but not for me.

Why the fuck am I so messed up?

Everyone always keeps saying that Flora is the odd one, but that’s not true. I’m the weird one.

“Hey man,” Vincent pops up next to me and hands me a bottle of water. “So, did I make the cut for your sparring partner?”

By now we have sparred almost daily with each other, so he pretty much knows the answer already, but I still appreciate him for asking. Vincent is strong, has well-placed movements, and is also creative. Even Samuel approves of him.

“Well,” I say. “Seeing how the other contestants didn’t show up, I guess I am stuck with you.”

Vincent grins. “Coming from your mouth, I take that as a compliment.” He gazes at his watch. “Oh shoot, I need to head to work.”

“Another job?” I ask. Vincent amazes me; he has like a hundred jobs. He works as a guard for the pack, has his animator work for children’s birthdays, and sometimes jobs at a bar as a bouncer… with his fake identification card. I have no idea where he got that one from, but it helps him to get jobs despite being under twenty-one years old. We now know that he dropped out of school a while ago. Samuel thinks he should return to it, but we can’t force him.

“Yes, I sometimes help out in the nursery here,” he says. “I don’t know what it is, but those ankle-biters seem to like me.”

I stay quiet, lost in my thoughts, while he eyes me curiously.