From Pack Slave to Lycan Princess のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 31 - チャプター 40

"Hello, Kleine," a deep, masculine voice says beside me. Aurelia's face brightens at once. Her whole body seems to hum with it.I turn to look at the man in front of us and immediately understand why. Tall, muscular, fair blond hair, a face that belongs on a statue. Even with Julian occupying every corner of my mind, my eyebrows climb toward my hairline when I get a good look at him. Not that he outshines Julian exactly, but he's certainly something to stare at.Julian's beauty is classical, aristocratic, all sharp angles softened by charm, regal and polished but still playful underneath it. This man is different. Beautiful, yes, but harder, severe, unreadable. Warrior energy radiates off him. Quiet. Controlled. Intimidating.Dangerous. There's no pretending otherwise. Not someone you'd want as an enemy.The thought barely finishes forming before I want to roll my eyes at myself. Of course he's dangerous. They all are. Lycans, every one of them. I could smack my own forehead. My brain

"So what'd you get up to today, besides ignoring me?" He merges into highway traffic with an ease that barely registers as effort. I don't answer, staring hard out the window like I haven't heard a word. Arms crossed, sunk back into the red leather seat, committed fully to the silent treatment. "Still not talking, huh?" I catch the smirk tugging at his mouth, that infuriating, knowing curve. I don't usually play this game, mostly because it ends up punishing me more than whoever I'm ignoring. They might enjoy the quiet. Heck, they might love it a little too much, and then not talking becomes the actual torture. Can't risk that when I'm this mad at someone. Still, the situation practically demands it right now. I already chewed him out earlier for spanking me and hauling me off like some caveman, and he had the audacity to claim it wasn't kidnapping since I'm his mate and technically belong to him. I shot back that I never agreed to any of that, mate or not. He wasn't having it. No

"I want something from you in return," I tell him. "Promise me you'll tell me the truth, even the parts you think might scare me off." "I'll be as honest as I can." "That's not enough," I say. "The truth. All of it. Promise me." His sharp, glittering eyes move over my face for a long moment before he finally nods. "Okay. I promise." He takes my hand between his again before he starts. "The most important thing to understand about us is that lycans answer to instinct first. It doesn't matter how refined or civilized we seem on the outside, underneath it we're lycans, plain and simple. "Our instincts, our souls, choose our mates for us. We call them erasthais, it's the closest thing to what werewolves mean by mate. Our souls reach for them, and theirs answer back. That's the pull you feel when you meet one, both sides calling out at once. "An erasthai can be anyone. A mated or unmated werewolf, a faery, a human, married or single, even another lycan. Since the pull is almost alway

"Prince Incredible," I try. He's still visibly sulking, but his jaw loosens slightly in surprise. I smile. Wait, that's wrong, scratch that, "Julian. Prince Incredible," I add, careful to correct myself. "Prince Unbelievable," I tack on in a teasing tone, and I catch him fighting off a smile. I unclip my seatbelt and reach over to cup his cheek, turning his face toward mine. Not sure where this boldness is coming from, but I decide not to question it. I'm starting to figure out exactly how to handle this hot lycan prince. "You have to understand, this is a huge shift for me. The whole idea of turning into a lycan, on top of finding out you're royalty. It's a lot to process all at once." He sighs. "Yeah, okay. Fair point. I shouldn't have pushed so hard, I should be giving you more room to breathe," he admits. "Honestly, you've handled tonight far better than I expected." An almost-apology! I want to make him say it again just to be sure I heard right: "you're right." I doub

The best part of working at the cafe, besides the location, is the flexible scheduling, since most of us are still in school. I clock out at 11:15 this morning since I've got a tutorial at 11:30, followed immediately by a study group. Just as I'm gathering my things to leave, I feel him before I see him, that familiar burn settling on the back of my neck, his presence pressing into the air around me. My heart jumps, stomach dips, skin prickling everywhere at once. Unbelievable how much just his presence does to me. "Oh, Freya! I think your toy, err, I mean your lunch, has arrived," Ivy calls out, way too pleased with herself. "Hot, hot lunch." God, I like Ivy, but sometimes I could genuinely strangle that woman. I sling my bag over my shoulder and head toward Julian, who's waiting near the entrance with a puzzled look. "Lunch?" he mouths. "Ignore her. She's unhinged," I say, loud enough that Ivy definitely hears it. "Hey, Freya!" Ivy calls after me. "Don't toy with your lunch!"