Page 86 of An Enigma for the Lycan Crown Prince

She gently pats my head, before I can feel a well-known tug at me that is sending me back into the real world, back into Elden’s arms. She smiles warmly at me. “Ersa,” she says. “My name is Ersa.”

twenty-seven

The Birthday

*FLORA*

“Ersa,” Elden repeats her name once more. As I woke up from my dream, the sun was already rising. After waking Elden up, and greeting him with lots of birthday kisses, I told him what happened. “Something rings a bell,” he mutters for the nth time.

We had his birthday breakfast at my place. Grandma and I prepared it, and we invited Oliver and Vincent to it. I made an extra effort to dress cute. Grandma bought me a brand-new petticoat dress, with a matching hairband. She helped me do my hair, and without trying to be vain, I look fabulous. Elden thinks so too because he has been complimenting me ever since he saw me. I can feel his gaze following me around all morning,boosting my confidence even more. I’m not particularly voluptuous. I never grew really tall; I have tiny boobs and a small ass. On the street, people sometimes still mistake me for a middle schooler.

If Elden thinks I’m hot, it’s enough for me though!

“Let’s stop wondering about Ersa for today,” I say, while we are waiting for Vincent to grab the car and pick us up. “Today is your day. Tomorrow, I will throw myself into my research. Okay?”

“Got it,” he says. “I am dying to know where you are dragging me to.” He gazes at me. “Such a pity you changed your outfit,” he sighs. “That dress looked amazing on you.”

I twirl around in front of him. “You don’t like my jeans?” I ask. It’s a pair I recently thrifted and upgraded with little sparkly stones. The jeans are loose, but I made sure to wear a cropped top and bomber jacket above it.

“I love your jeans,” he says. “You look hot! But that dress was otherworldly. Makes me want to put more effort into my clothes too. Or everyone will see me as the ugly beast, who is lucky his stunning mate hasn’t dumped him yet.”

I laugh. What a silly thing to say. He has so many admirers, and always looks handsome.

Elden shows me his wrist. “But this already makes me look better, doesn’t it?” he asks.

Goddess, he is wearing it! I made us two ‘couple bracelets’, one for me, one for him. I hate handicraft, and suck at it, but I put my all into this, borrowed half of the books in the library about how to make jewelry, and the outcome was actually pretty decent. I just wasn’t sure if it’s something Elden would like though.

Elden touches the wristband with his finger. “It’s beautiful,” he says fondly.

I reach out my hand, so that our wrists are next to each other. My own bracelet is more delicate and smaller, but it’s still thesame style. “We match,” I say. “I wanted to give you something personal. A symbol of my promise to always be by your side.”

Elden doesn’t say anything, but he hugs and kisses me.

When Vincent returns with the car, Elden takes the front seat next to him and I climb into one of the back seats. We are running late to pick up Jace and Janice. The best thing about having a beta now is that no one forces a guard onto Elden, because Vincent is with him anyway.

Our two friends are already waiting at the border of their pack, both of them waving when our car approaches.

“Finally,” Janice chuckles. “It was getting cold.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Jace asks. “I would have warmed you with my body.”

Janice groans and smacks his shoulder. “You,” she mutters, but there is a hint of pink coloring her cheeks. She climbs into the car and squeezes herself between Jace and me. “You look so cute, Flora! Loving that jacket.”

“I like yours too,” I say. It’s a jean jacket with a fancy flower pattern sewn into it. “Is it new?”

“Yes, grandma got it for me,” she says.

She and I both have such lovely grandmothers. We are truly lucky.

“So, are you finally telling me where we are going?” Elden asks curiously.

“Yes,” I say. “First, we go to the bank to get the deposit and the stuff from the safe your mom had prepared for you.”

“I’d love to,” Elden says. “But I need certain documents for it. Mom said the letter and key are proof of who I am, but I need some more documents and-”

I reach forward and hand him a folder. “Grandma and I prepared everything. Don’t worry, I didn’t share it with anyone else. She is the only one who knows. With that you should be able to retrieve everything.”

“There is even the proof of identity for Mom,” he says, stunned. “That’s amazing!”