Chapter 16
“Well, so much for that.” Sabrina sighed and poked out her bottom lip in a pout.
“So much for what?” Tonya asked.
“So much for adding Ryan to my list of conquests,” Sabrina said with a wry smile.
“Oh goodness, Sabrina. That list is disgusting. You really need to find your mate …”
“Your list of conquests?” Lucie asked, raising a brow at Sabrina.
“Have you noticed how gorgeous your mate is? Who wouldn’t want to break themselves off a piece of that?” She could see Lucie’s eyes darkening as she spoke. She quickly waved her off. “But I never go after mated males. I do have principles, after all. He’s your mate, so I can respect that.”
“Well, he is, but he isn’t. He is my mate, but I’m engaged to your prince—”
“It seems like that doesn’t matter to Ryan.” Sabrina shrugged. “He must feel confident that the royal family will let him keep you.”
“Well, it’s more than just him making the decision here.
But we haven’t been able to have a proper conversation about it yet.
I did explain to him that I wasn’t going to choose him, though.
I have a duty to fulfill the treaty between our species.
” Lucie felt her stomach turn as she said this.
The idea of parting with Ryan was making her nauseated.
Obviously, her body disagreed with what she was trying to convince everyone of.
She needed to convince herself as well that she would not take him as her mate, that when the time came, she would really walk away from the man that made her heart beat.
“Hmm.” A smile spread across Sabrina’s face.
“And you think he’s going to just let you go?
Ryan?” She chuckled and shook her head. “He may act sweet around you, but he is a fierce leader. There’s a reason he can command our band of powerful elites.
He isn’t a pushover. He is dangerous and can be vicious at times.
He can be cold and unfeeling, but he ALWAYS gets what he wants.
And under his leadership, we NEVER fail.
THAT is who Ryan is. And if he has decided you will be his, then you already are. ”
“I hear what you’re saying. But if I choose to leave, Ryan will be in for the fight of his life if he tries to stop me.
It isn’t just me. My parents will come for me before too long, if they’re even waiting as it is.
If they know Jasper has come for me, they may be waiting.
If not …” Lucie sighed and rubbed her forehead.
“My family can be pretty scary. And if the whole family gets involved, I don’t care how strong anyone is.
They can’t fight off my family.” It really did come down to this, too.
If Lucie was held against her will, her family would crush anyone who stood in their way.
They were not an ordinary family, after all.
Heck, if her Aunt Reiya asked her Uncle Levi to, he could wipe out the vampires.
This was why the other deities had always been cautious of their relationship.
A god can easily bend the world to their will with their power.
But Reiya would never ask Levi to use his powers like that. Lucky for the world …
“Sweetie, Ryan wouldn’t have to fight anyone to keep you.” Sabrina giggled and waved her hand at the silly idea.
“What do you mean?”
“He could just simply take you. He could take you and disappear with you. He wouldn’t have to fight with the vampire royalty or your family.
He could just hide you away somewhere. There are so many places around the world where he could keep running and hiding.
Deep, maze-like caves he could hide you in.
Just think of the possibilities.” Sabrina shrugged and held her hand out.
“He wouldn’t do that.” Lucie said confidently.
“And what makes you think that? You barely know him.” Sabrina was curious where this faith in Ryan came from.
“Well for one, if he wanted to, he could have marked me, and he hasn’t. And two, I can sense that he doesn’t have bad intentions.”
“And on that note, let’s go and sit down.” Tonya lifted Lucie up. She gave her an apologetic smile when Lucie shot daggers at her. “Sorry Lucie, but Ryan’s orders. I will say, I think your faith in him would make him cry blood in happiness, though.”
The group of stealthy vampires dashed through the treetops in silence, hurrying to get to Jasper before he did something reckless.
They had a plan in the works to take down Beryl, but they had been waiting for one thing all this time.
They were trying to find the location of an ancient evil, one that hid its true character, and time had a way of telling its secrets.
They have been tirelessly searching for Wicker, a dangerous witch doctor …
well, that was what he wanted everyone to believe.
Wicker was not a witch doctor at all. He just used that label as a disguise so as not to get caught.
He was even more sinister and dangerous.
They just needed to find his location and where he met with Beryl.
Once they did, they would be able to give this information to the Chains so they could end him.
Wicker was not someone their group of vampires could take out.
In fact, if their suspicions were correct, he was not someone any of them could take out.
They would need a tier-one deity in order to put an end to him because he was that dangerous.
It would be easy to assume he was an original demon, but that wasn’t the case.
Wicker was also a tier-one deity … Ryan was almost certain.
He wasn’t sure what the deity’s real name was, but he went by Wicker in the darkness.
He lurked in the shadows and assisted the demons.
Wicker was clever, cautious, dangerous, and never seen.
In all the years they’d been on this case, they were never able to sniff him out.
It was beginning to get discouraging, and soon, he was going to have to abandon finding out more information on him.
They would have to take out Beryl and the pests she’d created along the way, and all they would be able to do is pass the suspicions along to the Chain family.
He hoped to have more than this to present to the King and Queen of the Vampires, though.
Ryan wanted to have something. A location, a motive, the overall plan …
something. But all he had was a hunch and his suspicions.
This all stemmed from whispers he’d heard from the creatures of the shadows.
Demons who hissed that his blood was not their own.
But why would a deity lurk among demons?
It was almost as if this deity was seeking to cause chaos by any means necessary, just to cause chaos.
Ryan suddenly halted, and the rest of the vampires immediately froze as well.
The scent of blood wafted in the air, the strong smell of iron getting heavier as the wind carried it toward them.
The tiniest vibrations reached him as he listened closely.
It was the sound of fighting off in the distance.
His eyes flashed over to Zach, and there was no need for words.
Another scent hit their noses. It was blood again, but it was a scent they all recognized. It was Jasper.
Speed was now more important than stealth as the band of vampires sprinted through the treetops. At first, Ryan felt relieved they were heading away from the forest where the witch’s trail went. That was until he came across the scene below him.
Jasper was dripping with blood, both his and foreign. He was holding off a small, vicious army of creatures with pale, clay-like skin, the only color on them being the crimson liquid that was splattered on their bodies.
Ryan landed at Jasper’s side, followed by Enzo, Lenny, Zach and Chaz.
“What the hell are you doing, Jasper?” Ryan growled as he took a fighting stance next to him.
“I came out here to invite them to my tea party and they just got hostile. Some people have no sense of culture,” Jasper panted out as he wiped a trickling red drop from his forehead. He then looked around nervously. “Where is Lucie?!”
“She’s safe, which is more than I can say for you. You can’t fight an army of the voidless all on your own.” Ryan shook his head angrily as the zombie-like army fixed their empty gazes on them.
“Oh they have a name now?” Jasper grinned and shot a glance at Ryan, who looked less than amused. “We have to take care of them. They’re heading for the Slate Pack.”
Ryan groaned and gritted his teeth. “Let’s make it quick and get back. I don’t like being away for too long.”
Jasper looked at Ryan curiously. “I want to finish this up too. I need to see Lucie for myself.” His eyes met Ryan’s, a sharp look passing between them, one they didn’t have time to interpret since the voidless suddenly charged into their group.
Chaz leaped forward and crashed into a blob of white creatures like a bowling ball knocking down pins. Zach and Enzo quickly began relieving the enemies of their heads while Lenny grabbed the heads and bodies, piling them up to burn.
“You can relax, Jasper. We can handle the rest,” Ryan said, sprinting forward. As he went to slash at one of the voidless, it suddenly fell over. Its body went one way while its head went another. Jasper shrugged and grinned.
“You’ll have to move faster than that. And here I thought you were an elite soldier.” Jasper gave Ryan a cocky grin and dove into more voidless.
Ryan scoffed. “I’ll show you why I’m considered elite.
” He bit the tip of his finger, creating a string of blood.
The crimson strand hardened under his touch and turned into a blood whip.
He raised it up and snapped it forward. A loud crack echoed through the air, and five heads of the voidless went rolling across the ground.
Jasper turned and quirked a brow at Ryan.
“Really? You’re going to use noble moves?
So petty, just to try to win.” He turned around with a frown.
The voidless were already wiped out, none left to show off his own moves.
“I guess I’ll have to show you up next time.
” He let out a big yawn and rested back on his heels. “Man, I am exhausted.”
Ryan watched as Lenny torched the bodies and heads of the voidless.
These were creatures that had started appearing more and more and were responsible for the recent attacks on werewolves.
They attacked with claws and fangs similar to vampires, only more savage.
It was enough for the blame to be easily shifted to vampires.
The fact that this small army was heading toward werewolves was not a coincidence.
“Okay, let’s head back. I need to see Lucie. She almost stopped my heart,” Jasper said, shaking his head.
“Before that, we need to talk … privately.” Ryan pinned his gaze on Jasper, his face and tone serious.
Jasper narrowed his eyes at Ryan. “Lucie isn’t hurt, is she? If something happened to her—”
“She’s okay. But we do need to talk about her.”
Jasper straightened and stared into the amber eyes in front of him.
What is it? Jasper asked through their mindlink. The best way to keep it private would be this way. No chance of someone eavesdropping. And from the look on Ryan’s face, it was a serious conversation.
Jasper, Lucie is my mate.