Freya's POV
Sitting in the car, I stared out of the window, feeling a sense of boredom creeping in.
Suddenly, Kingsley's cell phone rang. I glanced at it, and the caller ID once again displayed "Tracy".
Unconsciously, I clenched my hand. Kingsley pressed the answer button, but the person on the other end seemed at a loss for words.
He frowned, then hung up the phone and raised his eyes to say to me, "You should go in first. Joyce will meet you at the entrance; she has an invitation."
I regarded him with a cold stare. Kingsley's voice was faint as he continued, "I need to attend to something urgent."
I averted my eyes and let out a mocking smile.
Urgent matter? Anything related to Tracy was probably an emergency in his eyes.
The car quickly arrived at the venue of the party. Joyce was standing by the entrance, clearly annoyed as she saw me stepping out of the car.
Upon entering the hotel, a group of people came over to exchange pleasantries.
"Joyce, you look stunning today."
"I was just thinking that. When you entered, I almost didn't recognize you."
"Weren't you on a graduation trip?"
These girls engaged in a mutual praise session for Joyce.
She basked in the flattery and proudly remarked, "This dress is from a global limited edition. My brother had it specially ordered for me."
"I wish I had a brother like that!" At the mention of Kingsley, several girls' eyes lit up.
"Joyce, who's this?"
One of them examined me from head to toe before inquiring.
Joyce glanced at her and casually said, "Oh, this is Freya, my brother's mate."
Perhaps oblivious to our strained relationship, a girl with narrow eyes smiled and commented, "She is quite pretty."
Joyce shrugged dismissively and hummed with disdain, "What's the use of being pretty? A person with a deceitful nature and a cunning heart can be much more infuriating."
Catching the sarcasm in her words, I chuckled lightly and retorted, "I'm glad to see you know yourself so well."
This was a party hosted by the Lycan King, surrounded by acquaintances from various ethnic groups. Joyce didn't dare to show anger here; she simply gave me a cold look.
"Excuse me, I need to use the restroom. Could you accompany me?" Suddenly, Joyce turned to me.
I couldn't help but roll my eyes, understanding that she might be harboring negative thoughts to confront me once again.
However, the determined werewolf gene within me wouldn't allow me to back down. I nodded and said, "Sure."
To my surprise, Joyce didn't turn against me, which was unlike her.
It struck me as a bit strange, but I had no choice but to wait for her outside.
After waiting for over ten minutes without seeing anyone come out, I was just about to call out for Joyce when a sudden scream echoed from the restroom.
I frowned and approached the door, knocking on it gently. "Joyce?"
No response came from inside, but I could hear some rustling sounds.
Raising my voice, I repeated, "Joyce, don't play dumb. Answer if you can hear me."
Still, there was no reply from within.
Without further hesitation, I pushed the door open and entered. The restroom contained only three stalls, all tightly shut. The sound of flushing was constant from one of the stalls.
"Joyce—"
Suddenly, a force shoved me from behind.
I stumbled forward a few steps, my cell phone slipping from my grip. When I turned around, I saw that the restroom door had been closed from the outside.
Oh, no!
A sense of foreboding washed over me as I hurriedly rushed to the door, attempting to pull it open. But it was indeed locked from the outside.
That childish ghost, Joyce!
I clenched my teeth and pounded the door panel vigorously. "Joyce, are you sick? This kind of prank isn't funny at all! Open the door!"
I attempted to call the staff for help, only to realize that my phone had been broken in the fall.
Despite the restroom's clean and even fragrant atmosphere, the time spent there was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.
Shit!
As boredom set in, and I absentmindedly fiddled with my phone, I suddenly heard a faint cry for help emanating from one of the restroom stalls. "Help!"
Startled, I questioned my ears, thinking I might have misheard.
Soon, the voice sounded once more, even more urgent than a moment ago.
"Help me!"
"Could it be a ghost?" I wondered.
I took two steps back and bent down to peer through the crack beneath the cubicle door panel.
Inside, I saw what appeared to be a young girl, paralyzed on the floor.
Suddenly, she looked over at me, extending her hand urgently. I noticed her eyes had turned red, realizing she was on the brink of losing control due to stress response.
Yes, like all animals, under extreme fear, werewolves could have a stress response, especially the young ones. In severe cases, it could even lead to death.
I hurried to the door and knocked, trying to calm her down.
"Are you alright? Can you speak?"
The young girl inside continued to make constant flapping noises, as if frightened by something.
The cubicle door was locked from the inside; I couldn't even pull it open.
If this continues, the girl inside might not be able to hold on until someone arrives.
Quickly, I moved to another cubicle, using the toilet and the bag shelf as support. I climbed up the partition wall.
As I reached the girl's side with a leap, I noticed she had started to turn blue. A feeble whimpering sound emanated from her throat, reminiscent of a distressed puppy begging for help.
"How are you feeling?"
The little girl clutched my hand tightly, trembling incessantly. Glancing around, I understood.
"Could you be claustrophobic?"
I guessed. Swiftly, I bent down, helped her stand, and guided her outside.
Then, I hurriedly opened the restroom window. Sitting beside the girl, I wrapped my arms around her, patting her back, waiting for her to calm down.
Her wolfish growling subsided beneath my touch, and her tense, rigid body slowly relaxed.
After a few minutes, her symptoms alleviated. Her complexion improved slightly, and her consciousness gradually returned. However, she still couldn't speak.
"Did you bring your cell phone?" I asked.
The girl merely gazed at me, her eyes wet, and gently shook her head.
By now, her eyes had reverted to a light amber color. Her puppy-dog eyes quickly melted my heart, and I couldn't resist petting her head.
Glancing out the window, I assessed my surroundings, then turned to the girl and said, "Wait here. I'll hop out and see if I can get someone for help. Could you watch my clothes, please?"
The girl blinked in response. I proceeded to disrobe, handing the clothes over to her to look after. With that, I transformed into a white wolf.
As my paws met the ground, I agilely leaped out the window.
The cool breeze outside lifted my spirits as I stepped onto the extremely narrow platform beyond the window.
After gauging the distance, I crouched down and leapt onto the adjacent ledge.
Peering in through the window, I found someone inside – fortunately. Unfortunately, it happened to be the men's restroom.
At that moment, I was perched on the window ledge in a rather unconventional manner, observing a man relieving himself inside.
The situation was mortifying; thankfully, I was currently in my wolf form.
The man emitted a soft chuckle, then calmly pulled up his pants and proceeded to the sink to wash his hands.
He then approached me with an air of familiarity.
"Hey, it's you," he remarked, as if he recognized me.
As he drew nearer, I realized with a jolt that it was Finley!
In a burst of excitement, I tapped my paw against the window, exclaiming, "Hey, you! How did you recognize me?"
"It's your scent. I remember your scent," Finley explained.
"Great. Come help then! Hurry up!" I implored eagerly.
Finley came closer and opened the window, asking, "What's going on?"
My voice trembled as I hurriedly conveyed, "Quickly, call someone to unlock the women's bathroom door. There's a girl inside who's claustrophobic and on the brink of distress."
Finley extended his hand toward me and whispered, "Let me help you in first."
At this point, I was still in the form of a wolf, and Finley's posture resembled that of a good man rescuing a dog trapped high in the air.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, I replied, "You go ahead and rescue, I can jump in myself."
Admittedly, the truth was that after standing on the platform so high in the air for such a long time, my legs were actually starting to grow weak.
However, Finley didn't retract his hand; instead, he spoke in a warm voice, "Your safety is important too. Come on, place your... Well... paws on me."
For a brief moment, my heart was warmed to its core.
Not wanting to further delay, I followed Finley's guidance and extended my front paw. In the next second, Finley circled around me and effortlessly carried me inside.