CHAPTER 11
Ryan smirked at Lucie. He found her anger cute. The way her cheeks reddened slightly and how she folded her arms in front of her. He let his eyes wander over her and frowned as he looked at her wounds. She was strong. There was no denying that. But she fought dangerously. She fought to the brink. His chest squeezed in pain when he thought about her injuries. He couldn’t have her getting hurt again, or worse. He would take care of Beryl so she wouldn’t have to. She was his to protect, and he was going to protect her now.
He hadn’t had a moment alone with her besides when she was unconscious. They had a lot to talk about. His eyes drifted to her lips, and he groaned inwardly. They had a lot not to talk about too. She was recovering, but her lips weren’t injured. He wanted to taste them, bury himself in her intoxicating scent, and show her just how serious he was about taking care of her. It was obvious that she was trying to restrain herself and fight offthe mate pull. There was no need to fight against what nature had intended. They were meant to be. She did everything for her people. She was always thinking about them first. But he could tell this was something she wasn’t doing for herself. He wanted to ask her what she really wanted … for her to say to hell with everything and for once just answer what it was that her heart really wanted.
He couldn’t express the amount of pain he felt when she talked about Derrick. Seeing her sad expression tore him apart, and he didn’t want to see that look on her beautiful face ever again. He would take care of her and be who she needed him to be, but he needed her to also choose him. This needed to be a real choice for her for once.
“I’d like to speak to you privately,” he said, his eyes meeting her pooling emeralds.
Lucie returned his gaze. He never said anything when she mentioned not solidifying the treaty. Instead, his amber eyes darkened slightly, wandering over her body. Going to ‘talk’ with him privately? Yeah, he wanted to do more than talk. And what scared her was that she didn’t trust herself to be alone with him. For once in her life, it was herself she didn’t trust. She did want to get to know him better. She was curious about him and his life. But this would only hurt her more in the long run. It was best to try to close herself off from him.Right?
She was still irritated by how he spoke to her when he asked her what was more important to her, taking out the witch or the treaty. She knew that the treaty with the vampires was more important for the werewolves because Beryl would get taken care of. But she wanted to prevent any more loss of life, and maybe she could take her out herself. It actually was a big risk, because if something did happen to her, there would be no treaty. But she wasn’t going to admit it. She couldn’t stand to give him that satisfaction.
A sweet scent floated in the air from the kitchen, her nose detecting the smell of chocolate chip cookies. She could definitely go for one of those right now.
“I’d rather not.” Lucie finally spoke, quickly standing up on her own. She held out her hand to stop Ryan’s advances, making sure not to wince from the pain. “I’m perfectly capable of walking by myself. I have a couple of wounds, but I’m not lame.” She stared at him fiercely, challenging him. She could see it in his eyes that he was not about to allow her to walk. If he tried to lift her up, he was going to have a fight on his hands. She needed some space, away from his intoxicating pheromones.
Suddenly she felt herself being lifted from behind. She glanced up in shock to see Tonya winking down at her.
“Come with me, Lucie. Let’s go and see if those chefs need any help in the kitchen. You know, being helpful and all. Maybe they need some taste testers.”
Lucie smiled at Tonya in appreciation and nodded her head. Tonya looked up at Ryan and smiled sweetly. “Don’t worry. I’ll carry her. I’m sure you have other things you need to attend to.”
Lucie could see Ryan’s eyes flicker as he stared at Tonya. He was visibly upset with her, but when his eyes settled back on Lucie, they softened. He took a deep breath and nodded.
“There are a few things I need to take care of. We’ll have that talk later, Lucie. It isn’t an option, so prepare yourself for it.” Ryan’s gaze sharpened on her before he turned and walked away.
Tonya walked the opposite direction with Lucie and smiled. “That was a close one.”
“Thank you for upsetting your leader for me.”
“I could see you needed a break. The mate bond is intense, and I can’t imagine how hard it is trying to fight it.” Tonya’s eyes drew serious. “He’s not kidding, you know. He has no intention of letting you go.”
Lucie frowned. “You can put me down now. He isn’t here.”
Tonya laughed. “Sorry. I wish I could. But he threatened that if I let you walk on your own, he would break my legs and stab me with vervain.”
Lucie’s eyes widened in shock. “He wouldn’t.”
“Ryan’s a good guy, but he’s protective over his team, and now you. The moment I interfered, I placed a target on my back. If I don’t extend to you the same attentiveness that he would, I’ll be punished.” Tonya chuckled and shrugged. “He’s a frustrated male vampire mate right now, and that makes him more dangerous. We’re animals in a sense, and just like how other wild animals get more ferocious when a female is ready to mate, our males go through something similar. However painful it is for you, it will be worse for him. Fighting against instinct is hard.”
Tonya placed Lucie in a chair at the table and grabbed some cookies and milk for them. She sat across from her and smiled, raising up a cookie.
Lucie raised her cookie with a grin. “Totally worth it.”
“Lucie … I’m sorry about all the pressure that’s on your shoulders. I have a hard time thinking that your parents would want you to reject your mate, even for the treaty’s sake. Would they?”
Lucie held the warm cookie in her hands, studying it quietly. “I know they would want my happiness no matter what. They wouldn’t force me to be with Derrick. In fact, they’ve always told me this was my choice.” She let out an airy laugh. “Let’s be honest, though … what kind of choice is it really? ‘You don’t have to do this, Lucie, but if you don’t, there won’t be a treaty with the vampires. And this could lead to a devastating war down the road.’” She raised her brows. “Some choice, right?”
“I’m sure Ryan has a plan. Maybe hear him out? Ryan also has pure blood lineage. Maybe the two of you could bargain your own child?”
“And pin this burden on my own child, knowing what it’s doing to me?” Lucie shook her head. “I couldn’t do that.”
“Maybe they will accept the treaty with you two as mates?”
“Derrick isn’t going through all this trouble to make sure my family is protected only to not take me as his chosen mate and bride.”
Tonya nodded her head slowly. “That is true. The prince is going through a lot of trouble, even sending his elite soldiers out here. He must care then. You wouldn’t go through all of this if you didn’t.” She smiled at Lucie weakly, trying to offer up some silver lining.
