Bonus Chapter Memory
A little girl around the age of five was hiding in the nearby bushes. She cupped her hands over her mouth to prevent herself from laughing. A blond-haired boy was searching in the distance and slowly picking up on her trail.
A hand landed on her shoulder, and she jumped, slightly startled. Another boy raised his fingers to his lips and the girl nodded slightly. He grabbed her hand and quickly took her away, deeper into the forest.
“Lucie, you really need to find better hiding places. Jasper will find you here in no time,” a little boy with brown hair and amber eyes said as he continued to pull Lucie deeper into the woods.
“Well, Derrick, if you and Aedan hadn’t left me all alone so fast … you both vanished and I didn’t know where to hide.” Lucie panted as she tried to keep up with the faster boy.
Derrick felt her stumble slightly and he stopped, turning to check on her. “Are you okay?” he asked, concern evident in his voice.
“Of course. I’m fine. I’m just not as fast as you yet. But one day I will be,” Lucie said proudly.
Derrick gave her a smug grin. “I don’t think you’ll ever be as fast as me, but I do think you’re adorable, and you’ll always be more adorable than me.”
Lucie pouted and folded her arms over her chest. “I will too be just as fast.”
Derrick chuckled and stepped forward, patting Lucie on the head. “If you say so, Luce Luce.”
Lucie looked around at the dark canopy of heavy pine trees around them. It looked very gloomy and mysterious. She inched a bit closer to Derrick.
“Don’t be afraid, Lucie. I’ll always keep you safe.” He placed his arm over her shoulder protectively.
“Really?” Lucie looked up at him, beaming.
“Of course, silly. You’re my future wife, and we’re friends too, right?” He smiled down at her green eyes, which shone brightly.
“Well, then I will protect you too. When I get bigger, I’ll be stronger,” Lucie said with fierce determination. “I guess when we get married, we’ll get to play together all the time, huh? I’ll be living here with you and Jasper.”
“It’ll be like one continuous sleepover. It’ll be fun. I promise I’ll always be there for you, Lucie. No matter what.”
“Me too.” Lucie beamed up at him happily. She grasped his hand with her own. “We’ve already formed an alliance.”
“Shh … someone’s coming.” Derrick pulled her closer to a low pine branch. He then released her hand and gently pushed her down to crawl under. “Hide under there, and don’t come out.”
Lucie got on her hands and knees and crawled under the prickly pines. She leaned up against the tree trunk and felt some sap on her back. She looked under the hooded opening, but Derrick was gone. She could no longer see his feet. She heard the sound of footsteps coming closer and closer.
“I know you’re here somewhere, Lucie,” Jasper said as he began tracking. He was naturally a gifted tracker and one day planned to be one of the best.
Lucie pulled her feet closer as she tried to control her breathing. She could hear Jasper getting closer to her location, could even see his feet approaching the tree. Then she heard and saw another set of feet.
“Derrick, where did you come from?”
“You still have to catch me, Jasper.” Derrick grinned and led the chase away from Lucie.
She listened as their footsteps faded farther and farther away. And now she really was alone in the dark. Her night vision still wasn’t developed, and everything looked dark, like it would for a normal human. She gnawed on her lip nervously as an eerie silence came over the forest.
Then something happened that made the hair on the back of Lucie’s neck stick up.
A chill raced down her spine as she felt a familiar sensation.
Tiny legs were crawling over her arm. She glanced down to confirm her fears were true.
A deadly ninja assassin with eight legs was preparing to end Lucie’s life.
She let out an ear-piercing scream and frantically tried to escape the evil murderer.
She tore through the painful pine needles that became intertwined in her hair.
Panic began to set in, and she felt like she was trapped in the prison of needles.
She jerked fiercely to free herself, tumbling out from under the tree and into a set of arms. Her eyes were clenched shut as she shook and rubbed her hands over her body.
“Is it on me? Is it on me? Get it off! Get it off! I’m dead I’m dead I’m dead!” she cried out in desperation, her voice panic-stricken.
“Lucie, calm down. There’s nothing on you,” Derrick said, his voice gentle as he brushed his hand over her.
“I don’t see anything, Lucie. What are we looking for?” Jasper asked as he began to scan the area for the threat.
“Are you sure? Check my hair again. It could be anywhere.” Lucie shuddered and braced herself for the spider’s bite.
“Lucie, I promise there is nothing on you. You’re safe.” Derrick reached down to pluck the pine needles out of her hair gently.
“What’s happening?! I heard Lucie’s scream.” Aedan crashed toward them. He looked at his sister and glanced around the area. “Seriously, Lucie …” Aedan shook his head.
“You didn’t see it, Aedan!” Lucie spat out, defending herself.
“I’d like to know what IT is.” Jasper grinned as he looked over at Aedan.
“I’m betting it was a spider,” Aedan said in annoyance.
Derrick and Jasper turned to look at Lucie, who stared back at her brother defiantly.
“It was going to kill me.” Lucie looked up at Derrick. His lips were curving upward, and then all the boys began laughing loudly.
“Here we were worried something was wrong, and it was over a spider?” Jasper laughed loudly, planting his hands on his knees to brace himself.
Lucie furrowed her brows and pouted. She felt Derrick’s hand land on her shoulder and she lifted her gaze to him. She could see the amusement in his eyes as he smiled down at her.
“I’ll be your spider slayer, Lucie. It’s okay. But what you’re most in danger of …” he said, touching her hair. “Is this sap in your hair. It’s pretty tangled.”
Lucie reached up and felt the mess of sap and pine needles in her hair.
“Come here.” Derrick pulled her behind him and knelt down. “Hop on. I’ll give you a lift back.” She climbed up on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Okay, Lucie, hold on tight!”
He took off running as she squealed happily.
When he first met Lucie as a baby, he wasn’t sure what to expect of his future wife.
But the more he got to know her, the more he liked her.
She was someone precious to him. He was still young and didn’t completely understand the magnitude of having a mate.
What he did know was that he really enjoyed Lucie’s company.
She was fun to be around, and he was already very protective of her.
It was his goal to make her smile whenever he saw her.
Whatever he was feeling for her … he liked it.
He never wanted to lose it. He always wanted to keep her close.
Derrick opened his eyes and looked at his mate sleeping peacefully next to him.
He stared at her closed eyes with a smile on his face.
That dream was a very pleasant memory he had with Lucie when they were young.
It was the earliest time he could remember feeling the budding feelings of love forming for her.
A grin formed on his face as he remembered how terrified she was of the spider at that time.
It was something he had forgotten about until he met her again as an adult when he was pretending to be Ryan.
As soon as she told him what she was panicking about, it all clicked.
It made perfect sense. But more than that …
she was still his same, sweet, precious Lucie.
While he had to be separated from her, he’d wondered about her and her personality.
He had Jasper report back to him all the time so he could feel connected to her.
Secretly, he was incredibly jealous of Jasper during those times.
He was able to freely spend his time with Lucie.
Because of that, the two of them grew close and had a tight bond.
He worried she may end up feeling more for Jasper than for him.
One of his biggest regrets was distancing himself from Lucie.
He wished he could go back in time and inform her of everything.
Maybe then he could have snuck in some precious time to visit her as she grew.
He knew he was lucky. The girl he fell in love with was the woman he now had lying beside him.
Few people got to experience such a sweet love.
He reached out and brushed her hair away from her face. Her eyes immediately popped open, and he gazed into them. He watched a sweet smile reach her lips as she stretched slightly.
“Good morning, my love.” Lucie smiled as she went through his thoughts. “Really? That’s when you remember starting to love me?” She giggled and pushed her face into his hand.
“I don’t remember exactly when, but that memory …
I remember the way I felt with you. And from that point on, it only continued to grow.
I would get so excited when it was time for us to meet again.
Up until … well, until I turned fifteen, and then everything changed after that.
Being away from you then was incredibly painful.
I missed you so much, Lucie.” He shook his head.
“I don’t even want to think about those days.
I just want to take the now in. I’ve never felt as much happiness as I do when I wake up next to you. ”
“These are my happiest moments too.” She smiled and looked up at the ceiling as she thought about that day.
She began recalling certain memories so that Derrick could also see what she was thinking about.
She started thinking about something that happened later on but during the same day when she had come to play with Derrick.
She remembered a sweet moment she had with her father later that evening . ..