Chapter 54
Derrick led Lucie through the crowd and onto the dance floor. He spun her as the band started playing and pulled her back into him, gazing at her in adoration. Other couples soon joined them.
Lucie noticed Justice, Aedan, and Ryan had escorted women out to dance as well.
They all seemed to be enjoying themselves and looked at ease.
She looked back into the eyes of her mate.
Everything was just … perfect. So perfect that she almost forgot about the witch causing problems. And she maybe could have, had Jasper been there too.
“He’s fine, Lucie. I’m sure of it.” Derrick smiled, pulling her close to him. “Jasper is really strong, and these voidless aren’t that formidable.” He leaned in and brushed his lips over her forehead.
“That’s what has me worried. There’s more to all this. The witch didn’t plan all of this to just keep launching wave after wave of weak armies, right? I know she made some weird potion, but there has to be more to it.”
“Or the armies were supposed to lure you guys out, and because of us, it hasn’t happened. I don’t think the witch was anticipating the vampires taking the lead in this.” Derrick could feel her restlessness over the situation.
“And Wicker?” Lucie sighed. She could see Derrick wasn’t sure about him either.
“He has his own agenda in all this. But he can’t be our problem.
There isn’t anything we can do about him.
That is someone your uncle will have to worry about.
All we can do is focus on what we can take care of.
And we’re doing just that. Once we find this witch, our part in this mess will be done. ”
He held her tightly against him as they swayed to the slow music. The tips of his fingers traced over her back. “No, Lucie,” he said, quietly but firmly.
She frowned and sighed, looking away to avoid his piercing gaze.
“Lucie.” Derrick’s tone was quiet and low, with the hint of a threat. He was reading her thoughts loud and clear, and on this issue, he would not budge.
“We don’t even know how that potion would affect me. I’m not like the others.” She snapped her gaze back at him when she felt the soft vibrations from his chuckle.
“I would never be okay with it. Even more because of the unknowns.” Derrick watched her frown but could feel she hadn’t given up on the idea.
“Lucie, your parents forbade you and Aedan to fight. And they’re right.
I also can’t allow you to fight, Lucie. You’re the future here.
Even more so now. With our exchange, we could never be with anyone else.
That’s the purpose of it. I don’t want anyone but you, and I can never be forced to be with another now.
But this is a real problem for the vampires if something happens to one of us. ”
“Well, if that’s the case, then you shouldn’t be going to fight either. And I can see that’s exactly what you’re planning to do. You’re planning to leave me again already.” Lucie felt a bit agitated. She just wanted to stay by his side.
“You know I don’t want to leave you, Lucie. Now more than ever, you know it. But I need to see this end.”
“Keep Jasper with you then.” Lucie locked her gaze with his.
“I have Aedan, Justice, Ryan, Abe, and Myra here with me. I’m safe.
So if Jasper is so skilled, he should be at your side.
” She could feel how he didn’t like the idea.
“As you can tell, this is one point I won’t be budging on. I’ll die on this bridge, Derrick.”
Soft rumbles reverberated from his chest. “Yes, my little mate, I can see that. Okay … but let’s not think about that right now, okay?
Let’s think about how we can escape so I can do what I really want right now.
” His gaze swept over her greedily, like a predator.
His fingers trailed over her intimately as his mind began making promises to her.
“My lord,” a muscular man said, tapping on Derrick’s shoulder. “May I?” he asked, looking at Lucie.
Derrick inwardly growled but forced a smile over his face, stepping aside to allow him to dance with Lucie.
It was customary to dance with other partners at such an event, especially so they could get to know their royalty.
And soon, Derrick had a line of ladies wanting to dance with him.
He gently took one of the lady’s hands and began to dance with her.
He glanced at Lucie longingly as he watched her being led around the dance floor and away from him.
Lucie smiled happily as Ryan was the next to cut in. She was getting tossed from stranger to stranger and finally ended up in the arms of someone she was familiar with.
“Ready to dance with your fake fiancé?” Ryan chuckled and guided her expertly across the floor.
“So now that you’re free, are you beating the ladies off with a stick?” Lucie giggled and watched him flash her a wide white smile.
“Surprisingly, there was more interest in me when they thought I was the prince. Shallow creatures didn’t want me for my body. Only for my title.” Ryan clicked his tongue in fake annoyance.
Lucie giggled. “Oh, you poor thing, not having women who want to use you now.”
“Thank you for the sympathy. It is a tragic blow, but I’ll manage. But you know …” Ryan said as he spun Lucie out and back into his hands. “I think what you and Derrick have is much more appealing. I want that too ... someday. But until I find my mate, I might as well be well seasoned for her.”
“Of course. It would be horrible if you weren’t, right?” Lucie giggled and he pouted heavily.
“We can’t all find this so early in life. My mate might not even be alive right now. I want to live and experience my life. There are no guarantees, right? I could be dead tomorrow. I mean, no one expected the vampire king to die when he did.”
“How did that happen, by the way? I never pried into the events.” Lucie watched his amber eyes turn sad.
“It isn’t a pretty story, Lucie.” Ryan’s voice was quiet, and he pulled Lucie closer to keep the conversation more private.
“The previous king and queen were a marriage of convenience. The queen was of pure blood, so the king chose her to be his queen. One day, though, the queen met her fated mate. She originally dismissed him and kept his existence a secret. But soon the temptation of her mate became too much, and they began meeting in secret. Alaric and Jester were young adults at this time. The king and queen had fulfilled their obligations to one another, but the king really adored the queen. Even though she wasn’t his fated mate, she was still his and he loved her. ”
He looked at Lucie and sighed quietly. “The king ended up catching the two of them together, and in a rage, he killed her fated mate. He was hurt, but he loved the queen so much that he gave her benevolence. He pushed the betrayal away and even defended her publicly when the secret was leaked out. Alaric and Jester had a hard time with the news, and their relationship with their mother became strained. I think the pain of losing her fated mate became too much for the queen. One evening, she turned on the king while he was asleep and killed him to get revenge for her lover. Then she killed herself.”
Lucie gasped and felt tears threatening her eyes. Ryan gave her a gentle smile. “Like I said, it isn’t a pretty story, and one the kingdom isn’t proud of. That was a long long time ago, though. Alaric has ruled for centuries now, and the kingdom has flourished under him.
“You know, this is the first time a soul-mated couple will ever be taking over as rulers to the kingdom. I can feel it …” Ryan looked around him with a faint smile.
“Everyone has high hopes for the two of you. And because of your mate bond and your blood bond, they’re already all at ease.
I guess you can probably understand their concern about Derrick taking you as a bride.
They were all afraid that you would end up finding your fated mate.
That what happened in the past would be repeated.
They’re comforted with your connection to one another. It makes for a strong kingdom.”
“What about Willa and Alaric? Are they—” Lucie was interrupted by Ryan mid-sentence.
“Alaric refused to take a queen unless she was his mate. I guess after what happened with his parents, he wouldn’t risk it.
But he found her. They also exchanged blood, binding them to one another.
I guess he wanted to be extra cautious, so she could never cheat on him.
But then she couldn’t conceive, which was a big problem for the kingdom.
Usually, the king would find a suitable substitute to procure a future heir, but with their blood bond, it was impossible.
Not to mention Alaric could never have done that to Willa.
Luckily, with a bit of fairy magic, we were given our prince.
” Ryan looked off in the distance where Derrick still had a line of ladies waiting for their chance to dance with the prince.
“I thought it wasn’t unheard of for the king to have a mistress. I’ve heard this several times.”
Ryan chuckled. “That isn’t how things are here.
But there is another vampire kingdom on the other side of the world that is run very differently.
The king keeps a harem of women at his disposal.
It wouldn’t have seemed wrong for Alaric to take a mistress when Willa couldn’t conceive.
No one here would have batted an eye at it.
An heir is the most important thing and all that matters, so it isn’t unheard of.
It just hasn’t happened here during the last two generations. ”
“It wasn’t going to happen now, even without the blood bond,” Lucie said with a small shrug. “I don’t share. Before I knew we were mates I already knew that he wasn’t someone I would share. I’m worth more than that. I’m not just a breeding machine.”
“You are worth more than that. You both are. Honestly …” Ryan glanced around before dropping his voice to a quiet breath.
“Derrick was worried about it. He was afraid you wouldn’t want him, and it terrified him.
He has loved you since you were kids, and the idea of you not feeling the same way had him anxious.
You know, it was a very tough decision for Alaric and Willa to arrange the marriage between you and Derrick, because of what happened in the past. This weighed heavily on them.
But it was a necessary gamble. Let’s face it, it was only a matter of time before our two species came to a head, and the outcome would be devastating for everyone.
You and Derrick being together was a necessary risk.
We all felt the relief of you and Derrick being mates.
And I know Alaric and Willa are incredibly relieved. ”
“Well, maybe if you men weren’t morons, we could have known a long time ago that we were fated mates.” Lucie smirked as a gentleman tapped Ryan on the shoulder.
“Guess my shift is up,” Ryan said with a slight bow to Lucie. He turned and eyed the man curiously as he watched him begin dancing with her. He didn’t recognize him.
Lucie stared at the face in front of her, studying his facial features, from his brown eyes to his sleek white hair that was pulled back. Realization hit her as he gripped her tighter.
“Shhh shh shh … such a clever girl, but you wouldn’t want me to kill everyone, would you? Just behave and I’ll spare their lives.” A crisp baritone voice came from him as he smiled, showing his experience on the dance floor. He danced with her beautifully and gracefully.
Lucie tried to control her heart rate as she watched the man in front of her.
The man she wished she had the power to kill for what she saw him do to Alexa.
Why was he here? What did he want with her?
He had such confidence about him, despite being in the midst of the vampire kingdom.
This man was powerful. And according to Derrick, he was just as strong as her Uncle Levi, the tier-one deity Leviathan.
If that was the case, he could easily destroy everyone here.
With determination, she gazed into his eyes and faced evil head-on.