Chapter 39
Lucie’s eyes returned to her serene green and she plastered a smile over her face.
“You know, Amanda … we can be friends if you want. But if you’d rather instigate problems, I’m happy to put you in your place.
” Lucie started pushing her aura from her body.
It was just supposed to be some minor pressure to show Amanda her strength, but Lucie didn’t think about the fact that she was also now recognized as a fairy princess.
It wasn’t just her lycan strength pushing forward, but her fairy aura radiated invisibly around her as well.
It was enough to make Amanda and Camille wince and take a small step backward.
“Lucie.” Ryan’s hot breath whispered over her ear. She felt him squeeze her deeper into his chest and could feel small vibrations on her back from his laughter. “This side of you makes me even hotter for you.”
Yeah … that shut her down. Gross. She knew they had to pretend, but that made her body shudder, and not in a good way.
She took in a deep calming breath and met with Amanda’s eyes.
“Please don’t say things in an insinuating way about my mate.
It isn’t a wise or healthy thing to talk about … in more ways than one.”
“Forgive me. I was too forward,” Amanda said with a small curtsy.
“Nothing to worry about. I just hope that is something you’ve kept to yourself, for your sake.
” Lucie didn’t like this person, but she supposed she must be important in the vampire kingdom.
She guessed she couldn’t completely blame her if Ryan was fooling around with her.
She probably felt wounded now. This was something she would need to discuss in detail with Ryan later.
A dark, powerful aura soon hit Lucie, and she was shocked as she turned to see the source.
“Lucie, is everything okay?” Jasper’s dark eyes were locked onto Amanda and Camille.
“Everything is fine.” Lucie watched as the two women began to tremble slightly at the sign of Jasper’s anger, more so than when she was asserting her aura.
There was a real fear of Jasper, and all he had were darkened eyes.
She looked up at Jasper curiously. What kind of person was he here to elicit that much fear?
“We still on for roasting marshmallows tonight?”
Jasper turned his gaze from the two women. His eyes were back to his gentle brown, and a small smile rose on his face. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Will you roast my marshmallows for me?” Lucie said with a grin.
“Lucie Chain, you can roast your own marshmallows.” Jasper shook his head smiling. She was always trying to get him to roast her marshmallows because she lacked the patience to cook them how she liked them.
“But Jasper … I can’t cook them like you can. I need that yummy golden cover where the marshmallows are crispy and all melted in the middle.” Lucie pouted, sticking her lip out playfully.
“I’ll cook them for you, Lucie,” Ryan said, rubbing her arm slightly. “Let me show you some real roasting skills.”
She giggled and turned her head up toward him. “If you think you can do a better job …”
“Oh, I know I can.” He winked at her, then turned his gaze toward the women in front of him. “Well, if you will excuse us, I haven’t seen my mate for a while, and we have a lot to catch up on.” He turned and looked at Jasper. “You and Aedan planning on joining us later?”
“Later?” Jasper said, raising his eyes curiously to Ryan. “I thought the plan—”
“To hang out later tonight? Yep, that’s still on. I’m going to take Lucie back and let her get freshened up now. Then we’ll see you guys in about an hour?” Ryan didn’t give Jasper a moment to respond as he tugged Lucie away with him.
Lucie could see her brother’s eyes shoot up toward her.
Lucie …
I’m okay, Aedan. Do your political thing. I’ll see you soon. She could see the minor annoyance in her brother’s eyes as she was pulled out of the room.
When Ryan shut the door to his bedroom, she stepped away from him and looked at him curiously. This wasn’t what they’d talked about. So why was he changing it up now?
“Shit. Okay, Lucie … let me explain about Amanda.”
Oh … so that’s why. She could see real fear in his eyes as he looked at her. She lifted her hand and waved him off.
“You aren’t mine, Ryan. I don’t need to know the details of what you did.
The only problem here is that it’s my mate’s name you’re playing with.
You should have been more careful.” She rubbed her forehead and sighed slightly.
“It should be fine now. After what I just did to her, I don’t think we have to worry about her talking anymore. ”
Ryan chuckled. “That was intense and impressive, princess. I never realized how strong you were. Though you shouldn’t go all out like that.”
“I didn’t.” Lucie said quickly. She looked up at Ryan’s shocked face. “I only pushed a small fraction forward. It just ended up being more intense than I thought. With my increased fairy magic, it seems like even a small push of my aura is strong.”
“That’s very impressive.” Ryan nodded his head in approval. “You’re going to be a powerful asset to the vampires.” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. “Thanks for, you know … Jasper won’t exactly go easy on me over something like this.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not mad, and I’ll deal with Jasper. What you’ve been doing isn’t fair to you either. You’re a young guy and shouldn’t have to act tied down. You’re almost free, right?”
He grinned widely and nodded. “I’m really glad you’re going to be my future queen. I promise as long as I’m around, I’ll always be your person. I’ll always have your back.”
Lucie smiled at him. “I never doubted your loyalties. I figured for you to be in this position, you must be someone Derrick trusts a lot.”
He smiled. “What I meant was … I’ll always have your back, Lucie. You as in you, not you as in you and Derrick. I just want you to know you can also trust me. And if you ever need anything, I’ll help you, however I can.”
“Thank you. That means a lot to me actually. It seems like I may have irritated some of your nobility, huh?” Lucie bit her bottom lip and smiled slightly.
“Don’t worry about it. Amanda needed to be put in her place. She really was trying to cause trouble. She knows how important this treaty is, and even still, she went there. I need to set her straight and—”
“No.” Lucie’s voice rang firm as she met with Ryan’s amber eyes.
“It’s best for you to avoid her at all costs.
We can’t afford any more rumors or accidents.
After Derrick is back, then you can have your chat with her and let her know how stupid she was being.
Then she can know you as Ryan, and whatever happens then can happen. ”
“No, I’m done with Amanda. Nothing else will happen there.
I can’t ever even entertain someone who would risk putting a wedge in the treaty.
What if you had reacted differently? She wanted you to call it off.
” Ryan shook his head angrily. “But I understand what you’re saying.
We don’t want any more misunderstandings to spread in secret. So I won’t see her privately at all.”
Lucie smiled. “So you wanted to talk about this without Jasper around because you were afraid of his reaction?” She giggled and looked at him curiously. “It seems Jasper has a bit of a reputation here, doesn’t he? The way those women looked and acted … there was real fear in their eyes.”
Something shifted in his gaze. “Jasper isn’t just a strong vampire.
He is lethal. And he’s the prince’s right-hand man.
NO ONE could even insult the prince without him acting.
And I’m not just talking about rebuking.
There’s a darkness to his temper, one you don’t want to know.
There are two things in the world that have brought this darkness forward.
” His gaze held with Lucie’s green eyes. “Derrick … and you, Lucie.”
Lucie remembered Derrick saying something similar back at the cave. He said Jasper had a hard time controlling his temper when it came to who he considered precious. But she didn’t really understand what he meant then … and she didn’t quite get it now.
“So he’s just really protective?” Lucie was trying to understand this better. Aedan and Justice were protective over her too. So what was the difference?
“He almost can’t control himself. It’s like his emotions take over.
” Ryan sighed. “You might as well know. Jasper is so invested in you and Derrick that it isn’t a matter of ‘if’ he will kill for you, but ‘when.’ Someone will cross the line, and heaven help them when they do.
He isn’t merciful. How he is with you … that’s special.
Jasper is a killer, a well-trained assassin.
If someone does something to upset you …
” He looked at Lucie with a frown. “I don’t know if he could control his rage.
” He shook his head. “He can’t control his rage. ”
“Well, if I’m there—”
“Lucie, Jasper would never hurt you. But even if you are there, I don’t know if you can reach him when the darkness takes over.
Derrick has had to physically hold him back at times.
It’s almost like he blanks out and just reacts.
” Ryan chuckled nervously. “That’s why you saw the reactions you did in there, and that’s why—”
“Why you talked to me about this privately first,” Lucie whispered. It was hard for her to picture Jasper in this light. She had seen how quickly his eyes changed colors when it came to her, but he never seemed unmanageable.
“This isn’t just a Jasper thing though. His father, Jester, was like this as well.
Anytime anyone did anything against his brother, he immediately took care of it.
It was like he couldn’t help himself. It was the reason he left for as long as he did.
He knew he was making things harder on his brother, and that was one person he couldn’t bear to hurt.
Somehow he has learned to control his demons better.
I don’t know the details, but he doesn’t react like that anymore.
Maybe it just took him time to learn to adjust? Or it’s something else …”
“If it was time, that took him a very long time, right? Like hundreds of years.” Lucie’s eyes widened.
What if Jasper decided he had no choice but to leave because of his temper?
No. She wouldn’t allow it. She would figure out a way.
If she had to subdue Jasper herself, she would.
He would never leave them like Jester did.
Lucie went to take a shower as she thought about what Ryan had told her about Jasper.
It was weird for him to lose himself so much to almost blank out.
Like the rage was controlling him and taking over, almost like it acted on its own, subconsciously.
It sounded like her father’s blood potion situation only reversed, in protection.
Her chest hurt for Jasper. What an incredible burden he must be carrying, and he never talked to her about it.
He should have told her about it. Was he afraid she would look at him differently?
She would never. He shouldn’t carry this burden alone.
Yes, Derrick knew about it, but she should too, since she was also the cause of his dark anger.
What was the best way to combat darkness?
Light. And she didn’t have just an ordinary light now.
She was a fairy princess. A very special and unique light in the world.
She stepped out of the shower and decided …
she would find a way to help Jasper. She wouldn’t know the extent of it until she actually saw him in action, which she hoped she never would.
But according to Ryan, it would definitely happen at some point.
When it did, she would watch his energy and see exactly what she was dealing with.