Chapter 22
Lucy: The Line Between A Waking and Sleeping Nightmare
The gardens of the Umberian palace were famed for their beauty, and Lucy could see why.
Flowers of every shape, size, and color dotted the paths, winding, twisting, and turning through the growth.
Despite the cool of the fall evening, the flowers were all still in bloom, and she couldn’t help but wonder what spell gave them the power to remain open.
However, she also shivered as a chill ran through her.
Something about this was just not right, and she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.
For a second, Lucy considered going back inside, abandoning her idea to sketch for the relative safety of the palace, but she shook her head.
Her thoughts were all tangled up, anyway, and sketching the gardens would help her sort them out.
Besides, they only had one day left of the competition, as long as they weren’t eliminated.
And once the competition was over, then they’d have to go back to their respective kingdoms. Coming outside could be her last chance to do something like this.
With the thought in mind, Lucy settled herself on the grass and pulled out her sketchbook from her satchel.
Perhaps she’d use the sketches as inspiration for tomorrow’s garments, assuming they remained in the competition.
She smiled at the thought. Yes, an illustration of the emperor’s gardens would surely please the powerful man.
Somewhere in the undergrowth, a twig snapped. She froze. “Who’s there?” she called into the shadows. The paths were well lit, but the unrestrained wildness of the rest of the gardens…
But no one responded to her call. She cocked her head, listening, but the only sound she heard were the birds twittering overhead.
Then, almost as if they’d recognized that she was listening, the birds stopped chirping altogether.
Lucy couldn’t fight back another shiver and she snapped her sketchbook shut.
She’d only felt these instincts telling her to run once, and she’d spent the last two years regretting not listening to them.
She would not make the same mistake this time.
She got to her feet and turned to go back inside the palace. Before she could take a step, something huge and muscular barreled into her. She hit the ground hard, knocking the breath out of her. She lay there, stunned, and then that huge, muscular blur was on top of her.
No. He can’t be here. No! She recognized this beast. It was the same one that haunted her nightmares. The same one who’d attacked her two years before.
“Did you think you could escape me so easily, Lucy lo-lu?” the monster growled. “And don’t even think about transforming, or I’ll break your scrawny little neck, quick as lightning.”
Lucy froze for a millisecond. “Thaddeus?” she guessed.
The werewolf chuckled. “Took you long enough. And here I was, thinking you were smart.”
Lucy thrashed underneath the wolf, trying to force him off of her. “Let me go!” she shrieked.
“Not a chance,” Thaddeus snarled. “I’m going to finish what I started.” He wrapped his claws around her throat, holding her still as he hovered over her, his lupine eyes gleaming with pent-up arousal.
“Get. Off. Of. Me.” Lucy punctuated each word with a sharp kick to the werewolf’s body, but her feeble blows didn’t move him.
“Keep going, little red,” he grumbled. “I’ve decided I like it when you try to fight me.
It will make the surrender all the more sweet.
” He lowered his maw to her jaw and began peppering her face with kisses, moving closer and closer to her mouth.
At the same time, the paw that didn’t have a stranglehold on her neck ripped her tunic to shreds.
Lucy writhed beneath him, trying to force him off, but he merely gripped her throat tighter, cutting off her air supply.
“Mmmh. You taste delectable, lo-lu,” he growled, before pulling her mouth to his.
She tried to pull backward, but he bit down hard on her lip, and she tasted her own blood.
He squeezed her neck a little harder, and her head swam.
Her movements became sluggish as she fought off the call of the darkness swimming at the edge of her vision.
Suddenly, her barely controlled movements caused her hand to brush against the waistband of her breeches…and the knife she’d concealed there. With the last bit of strength she could muster, she whipped it out of the sheath and plunged it into the werewolf’s side.
Thaddeus roared in pain and jerked away, taking her knife with him. “Why, you little bi—”
“What’s going on out here?” An unfamiliar voice slipped into the gardens.
Thaddeus snarled, “This isn’t over.” Without another word, he disappeared into the darkness.
Once she was alone, Lucy felt the sobs rise in her chest, and, at the same time, her stomach churned. She barely had the time to sit up, a wave of dizziness passing over her, before she’d cast up her accounts.
An old woman with black hair streaked with silver came into view. “What in the—oh, my word!”
Lucy lowered her head, trying to cover herself with her destroyed tunic. “I…I’m…”
“You poor dear,” the old woman said, careful to avoid the pile of sick. She began stripping off the outer layer of her kimono and wrapping it around Lucy’s shoulders. “Let me get you to your rooms and then I’ll ring for a healer.”
Lucy shook her head frantically. “No. No healer.” Her voice came out raspy and broken.
The old woman frowned. “Dear, you need a healer. You’ve got cuts and bruises all over, and your pupils don’t look right. This is not up for debate. You’re seeing a healer.”
Tears ran down Lucy’s face. She didn’t have the strength to keep fighting.
∞∞∞
“Where are you, Lucy?” Thaddeus’s voice echoed in the stillness of her childhood home. “Don’t hide from me. You know it doesn’t do any good. I’ll always find you.”
“No. No, leave me alone!” The words wouldn’t come out of her mouth. She could only stand, petrified, as the man stalked toward her, his eyes lit with a strange hunger that she neither understood nor wanted to.
“You can’t escape me this time, Lucy. Your father has given his consent. We’re to be mated in the morning,” Thaddeus growled. “And then you’ll be mine. Forever. You’ll never be able to escape my touch. You’ll never—”
∞∞∞
“Lucy? Lucy!” Someone’s arms were around her, and they wouldn’t let her go. She struggled against their touch, trying to get free, trying to run—
“Lucy! It’s okay. You’re safe.” Sebastian’s voice finally penetrated through the haze of her nightmare. She kept her eyes closed, trying to get a feel for her surroundings. Then, the memory of the hellish night returned to her.
For the second time that night, her stomach churned. She pushed Sebastian away and dashed for the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before what little she had left in her stomach made a reappearance. She leaned her head against the toilet and let the tears run down her face.
She was vaguely aware of Sebastian’s approach.
He knelt beside her, gently pulling her away from the toilet.
“Shhh. It’s alright. You’re safe,” he whispered, rubbing her back.
She felt his eyes on her still-bruised skin, and, for the first time, she regretted that she’d sent the healer away without letting him look at her.
She took a deep, shuddering breath as she tried to convince herself that she didn’t need the healer’s pity or help. If she could just—
Sebastian’s hand on her shoulder tightened, and he repeated, “You’re safe. I’ve got you.” After a moment, he picked her up, cradling her body close to his. She buried her face in his neck, feeling the rumble of his voice as he said, “Come on, love. Let’s get you back to bed.”
“No.” Her voice was even raspier than before. “No, I don’t want to go to bed. I don’t want…”
“Shh. Okay.” Instead, he carried her to the window seat and sat down, keeping her in his lap. “It’s okay, love. We’ll stay up a bit longer.” He leaned against the glass panes. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Lucy shook her head, letting the tears stream down her face. Sebastian simply hummed and began rubbing small circles on her back. She leaned into his comforting presence.
“Why was the healer here earlier?” he asked after a few moments. “I saw him leave just before I came in.”
“It was…I…” Lucy couldn’t find the words to say. She buried her head into his neck.
“Lucy.” Sebastian caught her chin and looked into her eyes. “There is nothing you could say to me, now or ever, that will make me see you as anything less than you already are. I will keep your secrets, love, but I can also help you bear your burdens if you’ll let me.”
Lucy stared into his dark eyes. “I…I know that, but…”
Sebastian continued rubbing her back. “Why don’t we start small? Who brought you to see Robin?”
Tears welled up in Lucy’s eyes, and she couldn’t speak for the lump in her throat. Sebastian frowned, but stayed silent, waiting for her to speak or to send him away. At last, she forced out a single word. “Thaddeus.”
She felt Sebastian stiffen under her. “Wilde?” he asked, his voice tense.
Lucy nodded against his chest. “He…he left the pack a little after he brought me home. I never…never knew why. But…”
Sebastian stilled. “Lucy…was he the one who attacked you? Who broke the locket’s chain?”
Lucy shuddered again, the memory of that horrible night crowding with the terrifying moment just an hour before.
She forced herself to nod. “After he took me back to the glade…after you…after you sent me that letter, saying you didn’t want me, Thaddeus was…
he was always there. Touching me, saying things. Somehow, he knew about your letter."
"Letter?" Sebastian repeated, trying to meet her eyes.
Lucy nodded. "He kept reminding me that there was no way that I could ever convince you to want a…a defective werewolf bi—”
“Don’t say that.” The anger in Sebastian’s voice startled her and it was only the soft grip of his hands that kept him in place. “Don’t let that son of a jackal’s words mar your tongue.” He rested his forehead on hers. “I want you. I’ve always wanted you, Lucy.”
“Then why did you send me that letter?” Lucy wondered.
Sebastian shook his head. “I’ll tell you once you finish your story. Go on.”
Lucy swallowed hard. “It was the night of Judah’s first transformation. All eyes were on him and the new pups. No one was watching me. I’d gone for a walk, and a werewolf surprised me. He would have…he would have…”
“You don’t have to say it,” Sebastian assured her. “You said Judah pulled him off of you, though.”
“He did. Judah pulled him off and brought me to my father and the other pack leaders.” Lucy shuddered at the memory. “I couldn’t identify the wolf, but it didn’t matter. My father tried to protect me. He sent guards with me everywhere I went in the Moonwood Glade again. I thought I was safe.”
Sebastian nodded. “So what happened?”
Lucy shrugged helplessly. “Gran and Shiloh got sick. We needed money. I came to the city, but no one was hiring. I didn’t want to ask Oliver, because I knew I’d have to see you at the same time.
And then Thaddeus found me. He…he pretended he’d changed.
He got me an interview with Robin and his men. And you know the rest.”
Sebastian pulled her a little closer. “I never wanted to leave you,” he whispered.
“Thaddeus…he told me your pack had forbidden you to marry an outsider. His words crushed me. I thought you’d just seen us courting as…
as a kind of dalliance. I wrote you a note, asking whether you were willing to fight for us, and I gave it to Thaddeus to give to you. ”
Lucy frowned. “That’s not what your letter said. You said you’d changed your mind—”
“I never changed my mind.” Sebastian’s tone was fierce. Seeing the spark of fear in her eyes, his voice softened. “Thaddeus…he must have forged the letter.”
Lucy’s eyes widened, her lower lip trembling once more. “After he lied to you. There are no constraints about marrying outsiders. For Starkind’s sake, Eden’s going to be the next leader of the pack, and she’s marrying a human.”
Sebastian shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.
I’m here now, and I’m not letting you go.
I will spend the rest of my life proving it to you.
” He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
“Now, get some sleep. We’ve got another day ahead of us and you’ll need your strength.
I’ll see if Avelar can tend to your injuries in the morning. ” He got up and settled her in the bed.
Lucy stared up at him, fear in her dark eyes. “What if—”
“Shh.” Sebastian cupped her chin. “It’ll be okay. I promise.”
“Stay with me? Until I fall asleep?” The childish question popped out before she could stop it.
Sebastian merely smiled. “It would be my honor.”