Chapter 76
Lucie held onto his hand as he became transparent.
Since he was just a soul, there was never a real body.
Finally, his whole body vanished, and Lucie’s hand closed.
Deep down, she was holding on to some sort of hope, which was now gone.
Abe no longer existed in physical or soul form.
Derrick wrapped his arms around her. She turned her head into Derrick’s chest and continued sobbing uncontrollably.
None of this was fair. Abe’s life was too sad, and he deserved better.
“He knew how much you cared about him, Lucie. You showed him how much you trusted and believed in him. You made him happy.” Derrick sifted his hands through her hair.
“I feel horrible. When he first answered my distress call and they offered to break the servant bond, I doubted him.” Myra looked down at the ground sadly. “I misjudged him badly.”
“Lucie had complete faith in him. I didn’t even fully trust him like she did. He really did deserve our trust. His life will be remembered. He protected Lucie, and for that, he will be honored.” Derrick looked up at Jasper and Justice. “How did the fighting go?”
“The werewolves came to our aid and Justice had to fight a dark unicorn. It was intense, but we all managed to …” Jasper was about to say they’d all managed to survive. But given what happened to Abe, it didn’t feel right to talk about.
Lucie gazed at the empty ground. There was nothing to show of his existence, only the memories she had.
“We will keep him alive through our memories, Lucie. And we’ll make sure our child knows about the man who gave his life to protect them and their mother.
They haven’t even been born yet, and they were still someone he was willing to give his life for.
” Derrick frowned. Abe died because he wasn’t sure how the potion would affect the unborn baby.
Perhaps it wouldn’t have hurt the baby at all.
There was just no way of knowing. But the fact that Abe wouldn’t take that chance, knowing the potion would kill him …
he unselfishly threw his life away in order to protect Derrick’s two loves.
He kissed Lucie on the forehead and nuzzled his nose into her hair. He could feel her pain and wished he could comfort her.
“Baby, let’s go home. My parents are anxiously waiting for us.” Derrick stood up, bringing Lucie up with him.
“Is everyone okay here?” Jester’s voice rang out. Irene was by his side, and three other men followed behind them. Lucie recognized one of the men immediately.
“Lucie? Are you alright?” Kyle asked, taking a couple of steps closer.
“I’m …” Lucie frowned. She couldn’t fake being okay right now.
“A dear friend died protecting her. She’s shaken up over everything,” Derrick said quietly while keeping his arms around her.
Kyle nodded his head. “I’m so sorry.”
“What are you doing here?” Justice asked, bringing Kyle’s attention to him.
“I was here for a party. This wasn’t my pack, but I had to join in anyway, especially knowing our princess was out here somewhere.
” Kyle turned back to look at Lucie. “I’m sorry for …
the things I said. I’m sure my words against vampires were offensive.
Especially now. I just didn’t think you could ever be happy among them, but I can see I was wrong. ” He met Lucie’s gaze and smiled.
Lucie gave him a faint smile and nodded her head.
She wasn’t in the mood for small talk and the normalization that was coming.
It wasn’t normal. Normal would be having Abe there, and that couldn’t happen anymore.
Her chest ached and her eyes burned with fresh tears.
She couldn’t help but feel like this was all her fault.
“Lucie.” Derrick rubbed her shoulders. He looked up at Kyle. “Thank you. She does appreciate your apology. I just need to get her home so she can rest.”
“Take good care of her. She will always be our princess, too.” Kyle turned, and the three werewolves walked away together.
“Alright, let’s go home.” Derrick held her close as they walked back toward the castle.
It had been a couple of weeks since the fight.
Since they lost a dear friend. The vampires were in shock over Count Basil and what he had done.
Most of the vampires were not spreading rumors maliciously but in sympathy toward their prince and princess.
It was one of those situations where they were talking about something that wasn’t any of their business.
The king came down on all of them and warned them that in the future, any rumor should immediately be brought to their attention, no matter who they hear it from.
The elite soldiers were now back. They had all taken their rightful place as elite palace soldiers.
Ryan had wasted no time making a move on Sabrina, who was only too eager to accept.
The two of them had been casually hooking up.
It wasn’t anything serious, but they became someone to pass the time with while they waited for their fated mates.
Kyle had stopped by to check on Lucie. After seeing her in the state she was in, he was worried about her.
Instead of just finding Lucie, Kyle found his mate.
A vampire. It was ironic, considering his original feelings for vampires.
His mate just so happened to be Stella. The two were still working out the details in terms of where they would live, but they had accepted each other and seemed to be very happy.
With Derrick’s help, Lucie was healing, though she was still sad. Not a day went by that she didn’t think about Abe. She was still really heartbroken. But today wasn’t a sad day. Today, Lucie and Derrick were going to pick out a guardian for their baby.
Lucie grabbed her black pearl piece and walked over to Justice, Jasper, and Derrick.
The four of them were heading to Elysia today.
Her grandmother had been pestering her to come, finally sending a messenger fairy to tell Lucie that if she didn’t come today, she was going to come and pick her up in person.
“Oh boy, I’m excited! I get to be like the Uncle Grayson now.” Justice grinned, bouncing on his feet. “Oh Lucie, I forgot. I got a message from Destiny today. She’s pregnant too. We’re going to have two new babies in the family.”
Lucie giggled. “I know. She sent me one too.”
Justice’s face fell. “She better have told me first!”
“This is my first trip to Elysia,” Derrick said, wrapping his arm around Lucie.
“Me too. This is great! I feel like I’m part of an elite club.” Jasper grinned.
Lucie smiled. These guys always ended up putting a smile on her face. Maybe she would plan a trip to visit Aedan and Deeana. She hadn’t been up to it after everything, but she needed to go soon. Plus, there was a dragon party coming up that they were all supposed to attend.
“Alright. Let’s go.” Lucie opened a portal and the four of them walked through. They appeared right outside the fairy castle on a neat and clean, light tan cobblestone path. Both sides of the path were covered in flowers. Very fairy-like.
Jasper and Derrick looked around, taking it all in.
“Ahhh! It’s my Luce Luce! Come here, Toots!” They heard a high-pitched squeal, and Lucie was caught in a hug. She turned and grinned at Kristen, her grandma Lita’s best friend and grandpa Asher’s cousin, returning the hug.
“I can’t believe it. I can’t believe you’re having a baby. It won’t be long before my own grandkids are having babies. Oh gosh, I’ll be a great-grandmother. I feel so old.”
“You are the hottest grandma I know,” Garrett said, wrapping his arms around Kristen. “It’s good to see you, Lucie. Your grandmother has been expecting you.” He gave Derrick a hard look.
“This is my mate, Derrick. Derrick, this is more of my family, Kristen and Garrett.”
“Pleasure to meet you both,” Derrick said politely.
“I haven’t decided yet. For now, I’ll withhold my judgment. But if you hurt Lucie—” Garrett started, but Kristen elbowed him in the stomach.
“Take good care of our Lucie.” Kristen smiled. “Lita is up near the back garden.”
“Thank you.” Lucie giggled as she watched Garrett still giving Derrick the once-over. She gently tugged Derrick along. “I’ll see you guys later.”
Kristen gave Justice a quick hug and pushed him off to follow Lucie. They had just seen Justice not too long ago, when he came to become a guardian. They would plan to meet up with them later. But right now, Lita was growing impatient, so they needed to hurry.
As they approached the garden, Lucie spotted her grandparents, and a soft warmth bloomed in her chest at the sight of the others scattered around them.
Grayson, of course, was there. Caspian and Merida sat together near the back, and she smiled at the sight of them, remembering how Caspian had taught her to skip stones as a kid while Merida pretended not to laugh at her terrible aim.
Their daughter Renee was mated to Sam, her father’s beta, though Renee wasn’t here today.
A little further down, she spotted Caden and Rosa.
Caden, who had been Asher’s beta back in the day, and whose son Sam had stepped into the same role under her father.
Caden had lost his wolf in the demon war.
It had taken him years to come out on the other side of that grief, and Lucie still remembered the quiet stretch of time when he barely spoke.
He looked settled now. Rosa’s hand rested on his arm like it always did.
And there, at the far end, sat her great-grandparents. Alice and Nathon. The sight of them always made her throat catch a little. Living history, the two of them, still holding hands like they had all the time in the world.
“Lucie! It’s about time!” Lita stood and walked toward them.
“Hi Grandma.” Lucie gave her a small smile as Lita gently took her hand.
“Look, it’s an old man retirement home.” Justice chuckled, looking over his extended family.
“This old man can still run circles around you,” Grayson snorted with a smirk.
Caden stood up and walked over to see Lucie. “How are you doing with everything? You know, if you ever need to talk about the shifting thing, I’m here for you.”
“Thank you. I’m okay, honestly. How about you? You sure you still don’t want Dad to give you another wolf?”
Caden chuckled and shook his head. “I already had the best partner ever. Even though I wouldn’t be replacing him, I don’t want to have to start over with that relationship. Maybe if I was a young pup, but not now. Not in my retirement days, right Justice?”
“Just calling it as I see it.” Justice grinned widely.
“So this is your mate?” Caden turned his gaze to Derrick.
“Yes, this is my Derrick.” Lucie smiled proudly, leaning into Derrick’s side.
“Yes yes yes. We can have small talk later. Now, are you ready? This is such an exciting day. I remember when I picked out Brody and Chasen. One of the best days of my life.” Lita smiled. “You’ll just feel it deep inside. Let the energy guide you. When you find the right cub, you’ll know.”
Asher chuckled and walked up next to Lita. “Take your time, and don’t force it. Lita and I immediately knew that Brody and Chasen were ours.”
“And if you don’t find one from this bunch, then we’ll keep looking. Your guardian is already matched. We just need to find the one.” Lita turned in excitement. “Okay, follow me. It’s time to choose the next guardian.”