“Sorry about your luck there, Jasper. Aedan snores.” Lucie giggled, biting her bottom lip.
Jasper chuckled and then glanced at the body on the ground as it was covered. “I think you need to be very cautious, Lucie. I personally think there’s more to this.” He looked back at Hunter and Jester. “To me, it seems like someone is trying to make these killings look like vampire attacks. Someone is trying to drive awedge between our species. Someone who may not want this union to happen.”
Hunter nodded. “Freja and I are already suspicious of this as well. All the more reason we need to get to the bottom of these mysterious attacks.”
Jasper sighed. “If that really is the case …”
“I know, Jasper.” Hunter quickly cut him off. “We already know.”
“We’ll need to discuss this with the Vampire King and Queen, as well as Derrick. But I think we’re all starting to turn to the same page,” Jester said, looking at Freja and Hunter, who both nodded their heads sadly.
“Hi, what book are you reading so I can follow along?” Lucie teased but then noticed their serious expressions land on her. She looked over at Aedan. Well, he looked to be just as lost as she was, which didn’t put her in good company.
“We’re thinking it might be a good idea to move the wedding date up. Maybe even plan for it to be in a couple of weeks. The sooner we form your union, the better. These attacks may even stop on their own.” Freja looked into her daughter’s eyes.
“Oh,” Lucie said quietly. She kept telling herself the wedding was still far away, that she still had until the end of the summer. But now the reality of it all was hitting her. Something she always knew and talked about was now very real. Being the true leader she was, she quickly buried her inner feelings deep inside herself and looked at her parents confidently. “If there’s a chance that moving the marriage ahead will benefit our two species, then do whatever is necessary.”
Aedan scoffed loudly, making everyone look over at him. “If we have an enemy, I’d like to see who it is instead of just making them give up and fade away to come and attack another day. Moving the marriage up may stop the attacks for now, but not inthe long run. I don’t like these tactics. I say we set up a trap for our enemies and flush them out.”
Freja smiled and turned to look at Hunter. She preferred just jumping in and getting her hands dirty too. Find the enemy, slit their throats, and move on. It had been years since she put her huntress clothes to good use, and she wouldn’t mind hunting a new target once again.
Hunter nodded his head toward his son. “I understand how you feel, but I think something like this needs to be discussed among our allies. Your grandparents will be here tomorrow, and we may need to meet with the vampires soon. You must understand, son, that we have allies, and the choices we make could affect them. We may need to reach out to the dragons as well if this continues.” Hunter rubbed his forehead. “I don’t want to make a big deal out of something that might not be. We could be dealing with just one person who is responsible for these killings. I think we should start by trying to gather evidence. Freja and I will go to the area where the attack took place and look for clues.
“Jester, let me know what your brother thinks about this as well. You can send word back with Jasper when he returns. Let’s not make any major decisions until we have more information.”
Hunter gave Lucie a small smile. He’d been getting reports about these strange attacks, which seemed to be happening more often. So while he was on high alert, there was no evidence it was anything large-scale. It could be nothing more than a rogue vampire.
“Why don’t you have Aedan and me do a perimeter run?” Justice asked. He knew the party was basically over after all of this.
Chasen chuckled. “For now, just stay put. I’ll be going out with Hunter and Freja to check things out. You stay here and keep your mother company.”
“Hey!” Jin protested. “Who here is Hunter’s partner? Yep, that would be me. I’m coming too.” Jin giggled and shook her head. All these years together and he was still extremely protective over her. She was a wind demon, and years and years ago, right before the demon war, she’d gifted Hunter with her wind abilities. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
“Justice, you’re staying here with Aedan and Lucie. Destiny, you make sure you call me once you make it to your new place, okay? And you’d better stay in touch.” Jin wagged her finger at her daughter.
“Don’t worry, I will.” Destiny looked up at Harley, who smiled down at her. “Ready to head home?”
Harley grinned widely. “Let’s go home.”
“Lucie, I’ll call you tomorrow so we can have some girl talk.” Destiny waved goodbye to her cousin. It wasn’t a real goodbye, since she could visit whenever she wanted. But it was just that the Black Ice Pack would no longer be her home.
Lucie waved goodbye to her cousin as she left with Harley. The two of them looked so happy together. Harley’s eyes were always following Destiny, as if she were his center.
She knew her duty and would go through with it. But deep inside, she wondered what it felt like to have a fated mate. She couldn’t imagine what it felt like, but she could see what it looked like. And she wanted it.
“Lucie.”
Jasper’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she met his gaze. He placed his hand on her head and smiled down at her.
“I’ll be back for you tomorrow. I’ll bring back the answer on how long it takes for paint to dry, too.” Jasper winked at her and chuckled slightly.
“Safe travels.”
Jasper and his parents disappeared in a blur. They were incredibly fast and could cover great distances quickly. Of course, if she shifted into her lycan, she would be just as fast. She still wasn’t sure how it would be, living among vampires as a lycan. His parents tested her blood once because it was hard to detect her vampire side. They told her that her blood was almost silent. When her blood was spilled, though, there was no mistaking the pure scent from it. Her mother Freja had original vampire blood in her. It remained very strong despite her mixed genetics, and apparently in her children as well. This was one of the reasons Lucie was wanted as the mate of the vampire prince. They wanted to strengthen the vampire’s bloodlines. A child from her union with the prince would create an even stronger vampire.
Aedan walked over to Lucie, with Justice at his side. “Well, Mom and Dad left. What sort of trouble do you want to get into?”
“Oh, you guys didn’t hear?” Gia said as she skipped up to them from a distance.
