Page 114 of An Omega for the Lycan Prince

He nods. “A bunch of wolves came at us. We killed them. And these-” he points at the three male wolves and Lauren, "are the remainders of them."

“Some of my warriors are checking the situation outside,” I hear a well-known voice. Turning my head, I realize it’s Celine. She came! Elden is accompanying her, his gaze lingering on my face for a moment. He doesn’t say anything, but he looks pissed.

“Goddess, Annie,” Celine whispers when she sees me. After the beating I took from Alpha trash, I must be quite a sight.

“I’m all right,” I mutter.

By the looks I receive, I assume they don’t quite buy it. I don’t quite buy it either. My body feels tired and limp like it doesn’t belong to me anymore. And my face must look horrible.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” one of the guys mutters pathetically. I remember him clearly. He was looking very excited when Alpha trash promised they could take turns with me. So now suddenly he pretends he didn’t want to rape me!?

With Celine’s help, I tug the remaining restraints off my hands. Then I walk towards the guy and hit him across the face with the remains of the ties. The silver cuts through his skin, and he howls in pain. “But I meant to hurt you now,” I huff.

Vincent laughs. “I like her,” he hollers. “Good thing we are keeping her!”

Elden furrows his brows at him while Liam shoots him a glare, but Vincent seems to be pretty unfazed. He does bow his head politely, but when they turn their backs to him again, he winks at me. I have to suppress a giggle. He looks like he could be the villain of a horror movie, but he seems to be quite nice.

“What now?” Dante asks.

Harmony comes inside, too, now. I guess she came with Celine. As her Beta, she obviously doesn’t leave her side. I'm so relieved to see my sister.

Elden looks me over again, anger flashing in his eyes again, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he exchanges a gaze with Liam. Harmony, however, looks even more furious, and she doesn’t hold back. “You dirty scumbag,” she spits out at Lauren. “How dare you lay a finger on my sister!?”

“All right,” Elden says before everything can escalate further. He looks at me in all seriousness. “Annalise,” he says. “It’s your decision what happens to them.”

My decision? “A-Are you sure?” I stutter. I can feel Liam’s hand on my back. His touch feels so soothing and grounding.

“Yes,” he says earnestly. “We took out the direct threat already. Only these four surrendered and remain at our mercy. You were the one they hurt the most.” He still looks angry, but there is also something else in his eyes… he looks a bit… proud. “Vincent told me that there was already a dead body of a wolf down there when we arrived. None of us killed him. I assume you put up quite the fight there. You definitely deserve to have the last word in this.” He smiles warmly at me.

To have Alpha Elden allow me to make such an important decision is a true honor. I can feel Leah inside me swelling with pride that a Lycan Alpha allows us to have the last word, that a Lycan Lord praised us for fighting. I look at Liam, and he gives me an encouraging nod.

I take a deep breath. Honestly, my first instinct is to tell them to rip all four of them apart and then leave. But that’s not right. Death is an easy way out! I also want to know who else is behind the attack. Dead wolves can’t answer questions.

It dawns on me that this might be a test for me… to see if I can see the bigger picture. “We won’t slaughter anyone right here, not yet,” I say, taking Liam’s hand into mine. I gather all my strength to push the effects of whatever drugs they gave me to the back of my mind and to remain upright, despite my body wanting to give in. I can feel blood running down my belly and through my pants. “We will take the male wolves to Silverlake pack. Once there, Alpha Elden will lay down the law. I want to know who is behind all of this.” I turn to face my perpetrators. Especially Lauren. I feel angry, a feeling I hardly felt before. Because I lacked confidence, I thought I should just let Lauren’s bullying happen, thinking she would come around. But she won’t. Lauren is too far gone to be reasoned with, and honestly, I have had enough. I stand up straight, looking Lauren directly in the eye. She flinches. “Whether you like it or not, I'm Prince Liam's mate. The Moon Goddess chose us for each other, and your opinion, frankly, isn't worth shit. When the time comes, I will be the Luna of the Silverlake pack. I have neither the time to deal with your petty attitude and your childish jealousy, nor do I want to. It’s a pity you decided you use your brains for such a ridiculous reason. Next time you cross my path, I will kill you myself. As for now…” I look at Celine. “You are a part of Moon Blood pack. It’s on Celine and Alpha Cedric to decide what will happen to you. If you are lucky, you will rot in a cell.”

“You bet,” Celine huffs.

“I respect Annalise’s decision,” Liam states. “I don’t usually like to invade a pack’s autonomy, but I would like to have a word with her too.” I can see his jaw tensing in fury when he looks at Lauren.

“Of course. You are Annie’s mate.” Celine nods her agreement. “We failed you last time,” she says, although it’s really not her fault. She was the only one who tried to have justice served after Lauren hired Marc and these young teenage wolves. “It’s only right that you are there to receive your answers.”

Liam seems to be content with her answer.

When I turn around, I see a smile curling Liam’s lips, and his eyes look at me full of pride. Dante’s gaze is similar, okay, definitely a lot less lovestruck, but he looks pleased. I’m beyond relieved. It seems I did something right.

Elden nods at me contentedly. “So be it,” he states. “Warriors, you heard your future Luna!”

“With pleasure,” Vincent growls. “Can’t wait to question them.”

“Oh,” one of the other pack warriors smirks while he puts silver cuffs around their wrists. “You might want to share the pleasure with Aryanna. I hear she's raging.”

“Really?” Vincent sneers while he tugs one of the guys with him. “Then you are in for a wild ride. And I mean that in the worst way possible.”

When they are gone, it’s only Lauren remaining. For the first time, she looks seriously scared. Elden turns to face Celine. “I appreciate your swift cooperation in this, Alpha Celine. You always act decisively with an air of resolution around you. Alpha Cedric must be proud of you.”

“He is,” Alpha Cedric’s voice comes from behind us. I didn’t even know he was here too. “We will take this matter very seriously; I can promise you that much.”

“Keep us up to date,” Elden commands. “And involve my son in your plans.”