Chapter 11
Ryan smirked at Lucie. He found her anger cute.
The way her cheeks reddened slightly and how she folded her arms in front of her.
He let his eyes wander over her and frowned as he looked at her wounds.
She was strong. There was no denying that.
But she fought dangerously. She fought to the brink.
His chest squeezed in pain when he thought about her injuries.
He couldn’t have her getting hurt again, or worse.
He would take care of Beryl so she wouldn’t have to.
She was his to protect, and he was going to protect her now.
He hadn’t had a moment alone with her besides when she was unconscious.
They had a lot to talk about. His eyes drifted to her lips, and he groaned inwardly.
They had a lot not to talk about too. She was recovering, but her lips weren’t injured.
He wanted to taste them, bury himself in her intoxicating scent, and show her just how serious he was about taking care of her.
It was obvious that she was trying to restrain herself and fight off the mate pull.
There was no need to fight against what nature had intended.
They were meant to be. She did everything for her people.
She was always thinking about them first. But he could tell this was something she wasn’t doing for herself.
He wanted to ask her what she really wanted …
for her to say to hell with everything and for once just answer what it was that her heart really wanted.
He couldn’t express the amount of pain he felt when she talked about Derrick.
Seeing her sad expression tore him apart, and he didn’t want to see that look on her beautiful face ever again.
He would take care of her and be who she needed him to be, but he needed her to also choose him.
This needed to be a real choice for her for once.
“I’d like to speak to you privately,” he said, his eyes meeting her pooling emeralds.
Lucie returned his gaze. He never said anything when she mentioned not solidifying the treaty.
Instead, his amber eyes darkened slightly, wandering over her body.
Going to ‘talk’ with him privately? Yeah, he wanted to do more than talk.
And what scared her was that she didn’t trust herself to be alone with him.
For once in her life, it was herself she didn’t trust. She did want to get to know him better.
She was curious about him and his life. But this would only hurt her more in the long run.
It was best to try to close herself off from him. Right?
She was still irritated by how he spoke to her when he asked her what was more important to her, taking out the witch or the treaty.
She knew that the treaty with the vampires was more important for the werewolves because Beryl would get taken care of.
But she wanted to prevent any more loss of life, and maybe she could take her out herself.
It actually was a big risk, because if something did happen to her, there would be no treaty.
But she wasn’t going to admit it. She couldn’t stand to give him that satisfaction.
A sweet scent floated in the air from the kitchen, her nose detecting the smell of chocolate chip cookies. She could definitely go for one of those right now.
“I’d rather not.” Lucie finally spoke, quickly standing up on her own.
She held out her hand to stop Ryan’s advances, making sure not to wince from the pain.
“I’m perfectly capable of walking by myself.
I have a couple of wounds, but I’m not lame.
” She stared at him fiercely, challenging him.
She could see it in his eyes that he was not about to allow her to walk.
If he tried to lift her up, he was going to have a fight on his hands.
She needed some space, away from his intoxicating pheromones.
Suddenly she felt herself being lifted from behind. She glanced up in shock to see Tonya winking down at her.
“Come with me, Lucie. Let’s go and see if those chefs need any help in the kitchen. You know, being helpful and all. Maybe they need some taste testers.”
Lucie smiled at Tonya in appreciation and nodded her head. Tonya looked up at Ryan and smiled sweetly. “Don’t worry. I’ll carry her. I’m sure you have other things you need to attend to.”
Lucie could see Ryan’s eyes flicker as he stared at Tonya. He was visibly upset with her, but when his eyes settled back on Lucie, they softened. He took a deep breath and nodded.
“There are a few things I need to take care of. We’ll have that talk later, Lucie. It isn’t an option, so prepare yourself for it.” Ryan’s gaze sharpened on her before he turned and walked away.
Tonya walked the opposite direction with Lucie and smiled. “That was a close one.”
“Thank you for upsetting your leader for me.”
“I could see you needed a break. The mate bond is intense, and I can’t imagine how hard it is trying to fight it.” Tonya’s eyes drew serious. “He’s not kidding, you know. He has no intention of letting you go.”
Lucie frowned. “You can put me down now. He isn’t here.”
Tonya laughed. “Sorry. I wish I could. But he threatened that if I let you walk on your own, he would break my legs and stab me with vervain.”
Lucie’s eyes widened in shock. “He wouldn’t.”
“Ryan’s a good guy, but he’s protective over his team, and now you.
The moment I interfered, I placed a target on my back.
If I don’t extend to you the same attentiveness that he would, I’ll be punished.
” Tonya chuckled and shrugged. “He’s a frustrated male vampire mate right now, and that makes him more dangerous.
We’re animals in a sense, and just like how other wild animals get more ferocious when a female is ready to mate, our males go through something similar.
However painful it is for you, it will be worse for him. Fighting against instinct is hard.”
Tonya placed Lucie in a chair at the table and grabbed some cookies and milk for them. She sat across from her and smiled, raising up a cookie.
Lucie raised her cookie with a grin. “Totally worth it.”
“Lucie … I’m sorry about all the pressure that’s on your shoulders. I have a hard time thinking that your parents would want you to reject your mate, even for the treaty’s sake. Would they?”
Lucie held the warm cookie in her hands, studying it quietly.
“I know they would want my happiness no matter what. They wouldn’t force me to be with Derrick.
In fact, they’ve always told me this was my choice.
” She let out an airy laugh. “Let’s be honest, though …
what kind of choice is it really? ‘You don’t have to do this, Lucie, but if you don’t, there won’t be a treaty with the vampires.
And this could lead to a devastating war down the road.
’” She raised her brows. “Some choice, right?”
“I’m sure Ryan has a plan. Maybe hear him out? Ryan also has pure blood lineage. Maybe the two of you could bargain your own child?”
“And pin this burden on my own child, knowing what it’s doing to me?” Lucie shook her head. “I couldn’t do that.”
“Maybe they will accept the treaty with you two as mates?”
“Derrick isn’t going through all this trouble to make sure my family is protected only to not take me as his chosen mate and bride.”
Tonya nodded her head slowly. “That is true. The prince is going through a lot of trouble, even sending his elite soldiers out here. He must care then. You wouldn’t go through all of this if you didn’t.” She smiled at Lucie weakly, trying to offer up some silver lining.
Lucie nodded. “I think Derrick and I really need to have a heart-to-heart conversation about what we want and expect out of this relationship. I think it will be better once we lay everything out on the table.” She raised the warm, gooey cookie to her mouth and bit into it. “Oh my gosh, this is sooo good.”
“I know! You would never know they were cooked with human blood.”
Lucie’s eyes widened, and she stopped chewing. She stared at Tonya in shock and even quit breathing for a moment. Eeewww. She was eating human blood and was enjoying it. Her stomach turned at the thought. Sure, she had vampire in her, but she never drank blood. She didn’t have to.
Tonya burst out laughing, tears pooling from her eyes.
Her loud laughter filled the air as she waved her hand in front of her.
“I’m teasing. You should have seen your face!
Hahaha! I’m sure you know that we don’t do the whole blood thing like before.
We have our human village, who offer their blood to us since it is our preferred taste, but I’m sure you’ve seen the humans there.
They’re happy, and they like being under our protection.
Of course, some choose not to drink human blood.
As you know, we’ve evolved, and now even eating a rare steak is sufficient for most of us. ”
Lucie sighed in relief and grinned. “You really had me for a second. I always make it a point to visit the village. Everyone loves their life there. I think it’s a really nice setup for both of your kinds.
” The vampires had a human village right next to their kingdom, secluded from the rest of the world but still with all the modern conveniences.
These humans knew about the supernatural world.
They weren’t forced to live in the village but chose to because they liked being under vampire protection.
They offered their blood up willingly, so why would anyone object?
It made sense to Lucie, since it worked out for both species and was a very civilized way for most vampires to get the blood they craved and needed. They didn’t have to hunt or chase down humans to drink their blood.
She saw that it wasn’t like human-raised cattle.
The vampires appreciated and cared for the humans.
Some even took them as mates, and if a human wanted to change into a vampire, they obliged them.
A bite from a vampire to drink blood was different from a bite to claim your mate, and if a human wanted to become a vampire, they would also need to drink vampire blood in addition to being bitten.
This arrangement made sense to her and to them.
They all consented, so it was no one’s business to change how it worked.
The two girls laughed and talked about various things.
Tonya talked about how when she first met Zach she didn’t know they were mates.
The two of them were always at odds in the beginning and competitive with one another, especially since they were both aiming for a spot among the princes’ elite soldiers.
One day, he stopped competing with her. He’d even started to go easy on her at times, which really aggravated her since she thought he was treating her as if she was weak.
It wasn’t until a year later when she finally felt the pull that she understood.
The relationship immediately fell into place, and they both earned a spot among the prince’s elite.
Talking with Tonya now was just what Lucie needed, though hearing about Tonya and Zach did make her wonder about her and Ryan.
She wondered what kind of life they could have had together.
She knew then that if she wasn’t promised to Derrick, she would accept Ryan as her mate.
Not only was the mate pull strong, but she was also starting to like him as a person.
She liked the things she heard about him and how respected he was.
It hurt to want something so bad, something she couldn’t have.
She realized now, more so after listening to Tonya, how much she really wanted a mate …
her mate. How cruel was life that the summer she was to be married she would meet her fated mate?
Couldn’t he at least be an asshole so it would be easy to reject him?
But all of his actions and reactions had been out of concern for her.
Lucie sighed, but it turned into a big yawn.
“Your body is working overtime trying to heal itself. Would you like to rest?” Tonya looked at Lucie’s tired eyes and could see she was worn down.
“A nap sounds wonderful.”
Tonya carried her up to the bedroom and placed her on the bed.
“Get some rest. I’ll be back to check on you periodically.
The bathroom is through those doors, and there is a mini fridge against the wall if you need anything.
Um … oh, yeah. If you need me before I come to check on you, you’ll need to open the door and call for me.
The room is soundproof, so I won’t be able to hear you.
I’m sure you wolves have soundproof bedrooms too, since we all have exceptional hearing. ”
Lucie felt her anger rise inside her, and she couldn’t control the bitterness in her tone. “Does Ryan have many overnight visitors?”
Tonya cackled. “I think you just froze the room there. A little jealous, huh?” She winked at Lucie, who bit her bottom lip as her cheeks reddened.
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell. And that is a normal reaction.
But as for your question …” She walked toward the door and looked back at Lucie.
“Never.” She gave her a very serious look.
“He has never had a visitor or any other woman around him like that. I think he’s a firm believer in the mate bond and its sanctity.
Not to make this all harder on you, but he’s been waiting for you.
And being a young, attractive, virile vampire male in his prime …
” Her eyes met Lucie’s. “He has shown great restraint. I’ll also add this.
He has many fans among our kind. There are a lot of females …
hell, there are even some males who are interested in him.
But he’s never shown them any interest beyond friendship, which really makes this whole situation even more of a shame … Anyway, get some rest.”
Tonya closed the door, and Lucie pulled a blanket around herself as her heart sank.
Well, she felt like shit now. In fact, her heart was now hurting more for Ryan than it was for herself.
The idea that he was waiting and saving himself for her only to end up being rejected made her stomach churn.
He sounded like everything she’d ever wanted in a mate and more.
Deep down, a part of her hoped she could be with her mate.
Just maybe there was a way it could work out.
It was dangerous to think this way. She knew she was only hurting herself more in the long run, but a tiny flame of hope and want ignited inside her as she drifted off to sleep.