Chapter 8
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE’S NO TRACE OF HER?!” Hunter roared loudly at his exhausted trackers. “She didn’t just vanish! I want her back now!” The pack of wolves yelped from the aura of their king and quickly went back out to continue the search.
Freja hopped down from the trees and wiped her forehead.
“They were well trained. Not only did they hide her scent, but they covered their tracks well. If I can’t find a trail, there is no way they can.
Hunter!” Freja raised her voice, snapping his attention to her.
“Call them off. Send them back to the pack to rest. They can’t do anything more than ruin the trail at this point.
” She reached up, cupped his cheeks in her hands, and stared into his gray eyes.
“This is what I used to do, remember? We will find her. There is no one who can escape me. Have faith in our daughter, too. She’s strong.”
Hunter sighed loudly and nodded his head. “I’ll call them back. And we will regroup.”
“I’ll bring her back.” A deep voice snapped in agitation as he came up from behind.
Hunter and Freja looked up to see Jasper storming toward them. “Don’t worry. I’ll find her and bring her back. We have a group of the prince’s men about a day’s run from here. They’re skilled trackers. The best around. We’ll find her.”
“Whoever has taken her seems to be skilled in abductions. They covered their scent and tracks,” Freja said, leaning against Hunter.
“A couple of the trackers among us are the deadliest we’ve ever seen.
They can track the wind that blows and know where it’s traveled from.
They will find her, I have no doubt.” He looked at their tired eyes and gave them a small smile.
“I promise I’ll bring her back. I know you don’t want to hear this, but go get some rest. Give me a few days.
Please. We don’t need a run-in with your wolves to complicate things. ”
“I’ll call off the pack. But Freja and I will continue to search on our end. Aedan will have to watch over the pack for a couple of days. I can’t rest until I have word that my daughter is safe.”
Freja raised her gaze and looked at Jasper. “The moment you find her, have her send a messenger fairy to us. That way we’ll know she’s safe.”
Jasper smiled and nodded. “Don’t worry.” He cast a determined look toward the distance. He was angry at himself for leaving Lucie’s side. A strange feeling had hit him last night telling him he should have stayed with her, and he was right.
Gritting his teeth, he sprinted ahead. He would find her.
Not only was he a mess, but Derrick would be beside himself if he heard she’d been taken.
Honestly, he didn’t know what Derrick would do.
But to find Lucie, Derrick would send the entire vampire army after her.
He knew that as far as Derrick was concerned, she was already his, and nobody touched what belonged to the future King of the Vampires.
Lucie first noticed the scent, then the stabbing pains all over her body.
She turned her head slightly, furrowed her brow, and moaned as aches spread through her.
She was laying on something soft, and then she tensed.
Someone was lying beside her. A warm body shifted, moving closer to her, and the scent hit her like a blast wave.
Her eyes popped open and she turned her head.
Her gaze met a pair of amber eyes. A smile slowly spread across the man’s face as she stared at him in confusion.
A small shudder ran through her, and sparks ignited across her skin.
He had silky-looking brown locks that she was craving to run her fingers through.
His face was gorgeous, and his abs … OH.
MY. GOSH. He was shirtless. And laying right next to her.
Was this a trial to test her faithfulness? Get a grip, Lucie!
Lucie blinked hard and pushed herself slightly away from him. She whimpered from the pain that shot through her.
“Easy, Lucie. It’s going to take a couple of days for those wounds to fully heal.”
She looked up at him in confusion and watched his heart-stopping white smile spread across his face. “Zach and Tonya told me about you … my little mate.”
“Why are you lying beside me?” Lucie forced herself to sound agitated even though she wanted to burrow deeper into his chest.
“You were clinging to me so tightly, I didn’t have the heart to separate from you.” He grinned and winked at her.
Lucie groaned and raised her hand to her forehead. “How unbecoming …”
“Why? I’m your mate. It’s natural you would seek my comfort.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t be your mate,” Lucie said, bringing herself up on her arms very slowly. She felt his hands come up to her shoulders, and she gazed at him as he helped her into a sitting position.
“Well, you can be, because you are.” The man chuckled, looking at her with amusement.
“Hey, Ryan … Oh Lucie, you’re up. How are you feeling?” Tonya asked, entering the room.
“Ryan?” Lucie looked at the man beside her, who smiled warmly. She then looked back at Tonya. “I feel like I have open wounds all over me that aren’t healing.” Lucie looked over her body and smirked. “Well, would you look at that? I do have open wounds all over me that aren’t healing.”
Tonya chuckled. “I like you. We’re going to be good friends. It’ll be nice to have another girl among us.”
Lucie opened her mouth, then bit her lower lip. She shook her head slowly. “I can’t stay here.” She looked over at Ryan. “I’m sorry. I’m engaged already.” She expected him to look angry, but instead, his eyes flickered in amusement.
“But Ryan here said you two are mates,” Tonya said with a frown.
“It appears that we are. And nothing against you, Ryan. But I can’t.”
“Do you love your fiancé that much?” Tonya asked quietly. She was disappointed because she really liked Lucie.
“Well … no … I guess. I mean, I don’t really know him that well.”
Tonya gave her a strange look, and she didn’t dare make eye contact with Ryan.
“I don’t understand. If you don’t have feelings for him and you’ve found your mate, then what’s stopping you?” Tonya looked at Lucie like she was crazy. Who wouldn’t pick their fated mate?
“Well, it’s a long story, but my father …
OH NO … my father is going to burn the world down trying to find me.
I have to get back.” Lucie started to get up, but a set of strong hands landed on her shoulders.
She felt electricity shoot down her spine from his touch.
Gosh, she wanted him. She turned to meet his amber eyes.
“You can’t go anywhere in your condition. Not to mention we can’t disclose our location. We can’t risk going out right now because it’s too dangerous,” Ryan said, rubbing her shoulders gently.
“You don’t understand. My parents are not your typical parents. He’s going to be so hard on the pack. Ugh,” Lucie said, rubbing her forehead. “Oh! I know.” She started looking around the room, searching for a sign. “Is there a room where things get moved or go missing?”
Tonya quirked an eyebrow. This girl was a weird one. “Actually, that does happen, in the main room. But I think it’s just the men being forgetful.”
“Perfect. I need to go there.” Lucie started to sit up but was once again confined by a set of large arms.
Ryan chuckled. “You’re such an eager one. You’re going to make those wounds worse.” He slid over and scooped Lucie into his arms, against his chest. She squirmed a bit in protest but quickly stopped when he gazed at her. “I’ll take you out there, but you are not walking.”
Lucie blushed as he held her against his bare, sculpted chest. His sweet scent made her heart beat faster, her body being pulled to him.
The mate pull was so intense in a wonderful way.
Well, it would be wonderful, if she could actually enjoy it.
She hadn’t done anything wrong, but it felt like she was being unfaithful to Derrick.
Her body was definitely being unfaithful.
It desired this man, and her heart rate was cheating on Derrick for sure.
Her eyes widened as she looked out into the open room. It was like a well-decorated cave. The stone walls had pictures hanging, even lights. The only thing the place lacked was windows.
“What is this place?” Lucie said in awe as she took in the sights.
A large brown fuzzy rug was laid in the middle of the room surrounded by long couches.
A television hung on the wall where a couple of guys were playing a video game while they sat on bean bags.
Her eyes lit up in amusement as she watched them, remembering her brother and Justice playing games.
She frowned slightly, thinking of Aedan. He must be so worried.
“This is our hideout, in a manner of speaking. We are in a modernized, underground cave,” Ryan said as he stared down at her.
She went from awe to smiling to frowning.
He was curious about her emotions and what was going through her mind.
“It has a barrier in front of it to keep it undetectable and hidden. Plus, there is a strong illusion that makes the cave look like a dead end.”
Lucie nodded slowly as she continued to look around the room. It was amazing that this was all created in a cave.
“Are you kidding me? You just happened to get a seeker shell on the last lap?!” one of the guys growled near the television. A glass of water tipped over next to the other guy, spilling over them both. “Now look what you did!”
“What I did? You tipped it over!”
“Don’t you dare. Stop right there!” Lucie narrowed her eyes and pointed her finger in the direction of the two guys.
They both lifted their fingers and pointed to themselves.
Lucie giggled and shook her head. “I figured you had a cave brownie in here. Lower me down, please.” She looked up at Ryan, who was staring down at her with fascination.
The way he was looking at her made her feel a bit self-conscious.
It was like he was staring into her soul.
Slowly, he lowered her to the ground but leaned down behind her to support her body.
Lucie swallowed hard and shook her mind of her impure thoughts.
She reached her hand out. “Well … come here.” She smiled as the small, furry creature bounced over to her.
It climbed into her hand, and she giggled at it.
“Are you having fun in here, causing trouble?” She stroked its back.
“I need you to do me a favor, little friend. Can you find me a messenger and direct them here? I need to send a message to my parents.” The furry creature spun around in her hand and jumped off, ran to the stone wall, and disappeared into it.
Brownies were cute but troublesome, especially for those who couldn’t see them.
“What were you doing?” Tonya asked, stepping in front of Lucie to look at her.
“You had a cave brownie in here. That’s why your things get moved and go missing. Or why water gets mysteriously tipped over.” Lucie giggled and looked at the two guys near the television. “But I asked him to bring back a messenger fairy so I can get a message to my parents.”
“A cave brownie? I didn’t see anything,” one of the guys near the television said.
“You can’t see them unless you have fairy vision.” Lucie smiled.
“You have fairy vision?” Tonya asked, surprised.
“Um … yes. I have fairy blood in me.” Lucie watched as Tonya looked at Ryan in confusion.
“How can you be part werewolf, part fairy, and have pure vampire blood in your veins?” Tonya marveled at this mysterious girl.
“Part witch too,” Lucie said quietly.
“Who are you exactly?”
Lucie opened her mouth to answer, but the messenger fairy had already arrived.
“Oh perfect. That was fast,” she said, redirecting her attention to the little speedster.
“You know who I am?” She watched the fairy nod its head as it hovered on hummingbird-like wings.
“Tell my parents that I’m safe and I’ll come back to them soon, but that I’m hiding until it’s safe.
” She wasn’t about to let her parents know she was injured.
“Also, it’s important to let them know that Meryl’s granddaughter Beryl is up to something.
They will want to alert the covens and maybe even Aunt Reiya.
Okay now, be quick, little friend.” The fairy zipped out in a blur.
They could travel fast and would get to her parents within the hour.
She sighed. At least they wouldn’t have to worry about whether she was okay or not.
A low grumbling sound came from Lucie’s stomach and her cheeks heated in embarrassment. Ryan chuckled behind her, lifting her up once again.
“Let’s get you something to eat. By the way … you are adorable.” Ryan smiled as he cradled her into his chest.
“Please don’t think like that about me. I told you. I’m engaged.” Lucie had to choke the words out. She didn’t want to have to deny her mate. And already, she found herself thinking about being his instead of being Derrick’s promised bride.
Ryan chuckled as he carried her. She was his. The one who was made for him, and he knew she knew it, too. Still … it was cute watching her try to fight it.