Chapter 17
“You are a demon! I’m convinced. This doesn’t make any sense. No, wait. WAIT! How the hell did that happen?!” Sabrina growled, turning to Lucie and glaring at her like she was the devil herself.
“I landed on a tweester, so the star changed locations.” Lucie could see the girl’s eyebrow twitching.
“So you mean to tell me, when I was just a few spots away from the star, you moved it?” Sabrina could hear Tonya snickering quietly.
“Yes. That’s correct.” Lucie smiled, biting her bottom lip.
Sabrina sighed and slouched back into the bean bag. “That was going to be my first star. That has to be the cruelest thing anyone has ever done to me. I feel so … so … defeated.”
“Don’t worry, Sabrina. There are bonus stars at the end of the game. Maybe you will get one of them,” Lucie said, trying to cheer her up.
“Really?” Sabrina asked excitedly.
“Yeah, they’re loser stars, though. They hand them out so you don’t feel horrible because you suck at the game.” Tonya grinned as she set her controller down.
“Ugh! That’s it. Let’s play a different game.” Sabrina tossed her controller in front of her with an overdramatic fling.
“I want cookies.” Tonya pouted and looked back to the kitchen.
“Well, go get some.”
“There aren’t any more, and the cooks left about an hour ago.” Tonya sighed loudly.
“Let’s go and make our own, then,” Lucie suggested.
Tonya groaned louder and Sabrina snickered.
“She can’t cook. She spent all her time training to fight. The only thing she can create is charred food.” Sabrina’s eyes glinted as she looked at Tonya, a smirk playing on her lips.
“Shut up! You can’t cook either!” Tonya spat out, her eyes furrowed.
“I know. And I own it. I can kick ass and sneak up on anyone. But when it comes to the kitchen … eh, that’s why we have cooks.” Sabrina held her hand out and shrugged.
Lucie laughed and stood up. “I can cook.” She watched Tonya and Sabrina turn to her with large, puppy dog eyes.
“You can? Like … well?” Sabrina asked.
“I think I’m decent.” Lucie smiled as Tonya’s eyes began to light up.
“Okay, we’ll help you then!” Tonya hopped up and lifted Lucie with a bounce.
“I don’t need any help.” Lucie was thinking that if the girls were as bad as they said, they would do more harm than good.
“Nonsense. You’re injured. We can’t have you doing everything on your own.” Sabrina stood up, more than a little enthusiastic.
It occurred to Lucie that both women actually seemed excited to try their hands at cooking, regardless of what they wanted others to believe. Somehow, she felt like this was going to turn into an interesting cooking lesson.
CRASH
Lucie jumped, startled by the sound of tin bowls crashing onto the floor.
She was right about what making a simple batch of cookies might turn into.
Now each girl was trying her hand at making their own batter.
They had watched Lucie make her cookies and put them in the oven.
That was when they asked if she could teach them to make them.
Lucie looked around the kitchen. When they had walked into the area, it was spic and span.
Now the sink was full of dishes. There were cracked eggshells discarded everywhere and a healthy layer of sugar and flour covered the counters and floor.
She wondered if they were going to have to clean all this up.
“What the hell does a dash of salt mean?” Sabrina asked, shaking her head. “Am I supposed to run with it?”
“Sabrina … you’re joking, right?” Lucie figured she had to have been teasing. But when she looked up at her, she could see she was serious. “You were watching me when I was mixing my batch, right?”
“Well, I tried, but then I lost focus and started daydreaming about a dark-skinned, muscular man lying next to me on the beach …” Sabrina gave her a sheepish shrug.
“Just pinch a tiny bit with your fingers and put it in.” Lucie hoped Sabrina’s fighting skills were better than her cooking skills. Otherwise, the vampire elites might not actually be that impressive.
She looked over at Tonya, who looked determined. She analyzed the batter she’d spooned out on the baking pan and gently eased her pan into the oven.
“Whatever. I’m done with this,” Sabrina said, shoving her batter to the side. She looked over at Lucie’s fresh-baked cookies and helped herself to one. Her eyes widened and she turned to Lucie. “These are amazing! They’re better than the ones the cooks make for us.”
“Are they really?” Tonya asked, grabbing one to test for herself. She bit into the warm, gooey cookie before turning a suspicious eye toward Lucie. “And you can fight, too … I’m worthless,” she whined, taking another bite of the cookie to drown her sorrows.
“Anyone can learn how to cook. But not everyone can be a lethal fighter. You’ve mastered the hard one. Cooking is easy. It’s just a matter of following the directions. The more you practice, the better you’ll get,” Lucie encouraged Tonya, who looked defeated.
“No, these cookies are amazing. Not everyone can make cookies taste like this. They’re incredible.” Tonya shook her finger at Lucie, who giggled at her.
“They’re just chocolate chip cookies, Tonya. And we still have to see how yours turn out.” Lucie grabbed the large bag of flour off the counter to start cleaning up while they waited for Tonya’s cookies to bake.
“Get out of here,” Sabrina said nonchalantly, waving her hand in front of her.
Lucie looked closely and could see her most hated foe hanging from the ceiling.
A large, eight-legged assassin dangled from a single silk string, and his eight eyes were focused on Lucie’s jugular, she was certain of it.
The wind stirred by Sabrina’s hand as she swatted at the little slayer made it sway back and forth. With the next swat, chaos broke out.
It all happened so fast. In a moment, Lucie’s life flashed before her eyes.
Sabrina’s hand collided with the spider, who was sent flying in the air straight for its target.
Lucie screamed, throwing her hands up to shield herself, and the flour bag in her hands flew into the air.
In seconds, all that could be seen was a big cloud of white.
This was the second time that day that Lucie’s life had been in peril.
She’d overcome so much in her short life.
She’d trained just as hard as the men. She studied and did well in school.
She’d made herself well-rounded as a person and was also able to bake.
All for what? For it to come to an end right now, under the cover of flour, his murderous intent fixed on her.
The grim reaper held her life string in his hands, ready to cut it.
Nothing could be done. There was no hope.
All was for naught. She coughed as she breathed in some of the flour and curled backward into the counter.
Then she felt herself lifted into an electrifying embrace. Sweet sparks revived her body, giving her the energy to continue on. She looked up, and through the falling white cloud was able to make out the most beautiful amber eyes.
“Lucie, are you okay?” Ryan asked as he looked over her with concern.
“Is she okay? She attacked me with flour.” Sabrina coughed as she walked away from the white cloud.
“Well, what did you expect? You sent that spider right for her. Disgusting little thing was going to land right on her.”
“It probably is on her.” Sabrina said innocently, making Lucie squirm as she looked over herself frantically.
Ryan chuckled and leaned his head down to breathe in Lucie’s scent. “We’re going to have to do something about these spiders, I think,” he whispered against her skin.
Dark smoke began wafting in the air, mixing with the flour.
“My cookies!” Tonya cried as she ran to the oven to bring out a sad tray of darkened cookies.
“Like I said … charred,” Sabrina said.
“It’s okay, Tonya. We’ll keep trying. You’ll get it.” Lucie smiled at her.
“Well, at least I have your cookies to eat.” Tonya grabbed another but it was slapped out of her hand.
Ryan had sprinted over to the tray with Lucie in his arms. “You made these, Lucie?” He watched her nod her head slowly, confused. “Then they’re not for anyone else to eat but me.” Ryan possessively began bagging the cookies up.
“No, please! I’ll do anything, anything! Just don’t take her cookies away,” Tonya cried dramatically.
“Ryan, give her some!” Lucie scolded, giving him a feigned stern look.
“Fine.” Ryan reached into the bag and took one cookie out. “There. I shared.”
“I better be getting one of Luce Luce’s cookies too,” Jasper said, laughing loudly. Lucie was covered in a layer of white flour. It was all over her body and in her hair. “Halloween came early, huh Lucie?”
“Jasper!” Lucie squealed and wiggled to get down from Ryan. She felt him reluctantly lower her and she jumped into Jasper’s outstretched arms.
“I told you to stay put and wait for me.” Jasper sighed into the top of her head.
“You know I don’t listen to men.” Lucie smiled up at him. He stepped back and looked her over. When his eyes landed on her wounds, he frowned.
“What happened?” he asked, kneeling to look at the worst wound on her leg.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m fine. It’s just taking me longer to heal because of the vervain. Really, it hardly bothers me.” Lucie watched as his eyes flickered at her angrily.
“It shouldn’t have happened, Lucie. What were you thinking?! How could you leave the pack borders? I can’t believe you would be so reckless.” Jasper said in a low tone, pressing his lips together disapprovingly.
“Who do you think you are lecturing? I let myself get caught so I could—”
“YOU LET THEM TAKE YOU?!” Jasper shook his head dramatically. “Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Do you realize what could have happened?!”
“I was trying to get answers. When I heard they were after the Black Ice Pack, I knew I needed to protect my people.”
“Yeah, I can see how being dead would really help them,” Jasper said, rolling his eyes.
“Am I dead? No, I’m not.”
“She saved us, Jasper. She saved me and Zach from our cell. We weren’t able to escape like we’d planned.” Tonya said quietly, making sure to give Jasper the respect he deserved.
“I’m glad she was able to help you two. But her life … she is someone whose life shouldn’t be risked.” Jasper frowned and sighed. “Everyone was so worried, Lucie. I’ve never felt so much fear. I thought …” His voice trailed off in a whisper.
Lucie smiled at him. “I understand you were worried. But you don’t have to yell at me, right? You know when you yell like this it makes me want to rebel more.” She listened to him chuckling and walked back into his arms, hugging him gently.
“Alright, that’s enough.” Ryan grabbed Lucie and pulled her back into his chest.
Lucie turned and looked up at him. “What’s your problem?”
“My problem is my mate is hugging the wrong man,” Ryan said with an almost adorable pout.
“Ugh, Ryan, we’ve been over this,” Lucie said, rubbing her forehead.
Jasper stared at Ryan for a moment before lowering his gaze to Lucie. “Let’s go and talk. We have a lot to discuss.”
“Yes … we do,” Ryan said quietly, his eyes never leaving Jasper’s. He lifted Lucie gently against his chest and slowly carried her out of the kitchen, with Jasper trailing right behind him.