Page 76 of An Enigma for the Lycan Crown Prince

“I have news, too,” Vincent says. “Through all that drama, I almost forgot, but I got word from my kitchen contact today.”

“You don’t say?” I ask. “About the person going through my stuff?”

“Yes. She said she spotted a guard going into your room. When he saw her, he told her he was acting on orders he couldn’t share. She is a cute and bubbly one, so she got him to talk. Something about a letter. She couldn’t get more information from him due to their difference in ranks, but it was clear to her that he wasn’t acting on his own accord.”

“Interesting,” Calvin says with a frown.

“A letter?” Flora looks at me. “Could it be…”

I fall into a deep silence, too stunned to form a coherent sentence. I only have letters Flora wrote to me, and certainly no one looks for them. The only other letter I possess is… “Mom’s letter.”

“Her goodbye letter,” Flora whispers.

“What did she write in it?” Vincent asks. “Sorry for prying. I know it’s awkward to ask that.”

“I never read all of it,” I admit, before laughing. “Whoever is looking for it, is in for a disappointment. I never had it laying around openly.”

“Right,” Flora grins.

“Why? Where is it?” Vincent wants to know.

I smile slightly. “It’s with the person I trust the most.”

Flora doesn’t say anything, just hums slightly while the other two look at us curiously. I handed her the letter long ago, asking her to hold onto it until I was ready to face my emotions concerning my mom’s death. I couldn’t bring myself to read it, no matter how often I tried, so she had kept it all these years.

twenty-four

The Letter

*ELDEN*

Eventually, Flora and I leave Vincent’s place, for one, to let him sleep, and two, to finally face the letter my mom had left me. I feel instantly calm with Flora next to me, and like an idiot for not seeking her out in the first place, when things went down with my father.

“I didn’t mean to cut you out,” I say. “My first gut feeling was to go to you, but I didn’t want to burden you.”

“I know,” she reassures me before halting. She turns to face me. “But it’s not a burden to me, Elden. You are not a burden. You are my mate, and I love you. Please don’t lock me out of your life just because you want to protect me.”

I swallow thickly. “Okay.”

“Then it’s a promise,” she says, entwining our fingers.

“Say,” I start after a while. “What do you think about Calvin?”

“I don’t know,” she mutters. “I can’t say I trust him yet. The false diagnosis doesn’t sit right with me, either. He knows it’s wrong. Why did he never make an effort to change it?”

“I don’t know,” I admit. “Maybe he was embarrassed?”

“I guess I am taking it too personally,” she says. “Elden, did you know Grandma is on the spectrum?”

I halt abruptly. “Hazel? I wasn’t aware.”

“She got the diagnosis very late,” Flora explains. “She told me once that back in the day it was completely overlooked, and she learned to adapt like many women did. I think your mom helped her get the diagnosis.”

“I didn’t know,” I mutter.

“She told me much later,” Flora says. “I am sorry. I didn’t even think I should tell you.”

“You did nothing wrong. Your grandma’s medical history is nothing you need to share with anyone, not even with me,” I assure her.