In a way, she was a caged bird, watching the world take flight. Caged, loved, and pampered, but no one noticed that she always watched the sky, wishing to spread her wings like everyone else.
Aedan noticed the look on her face as she stared at the horizon.
“Hey Luce,” Aedan said quietly as he stood beside her. “I know you’ve made your decision. But if that ever changes, don’t think you’re stuck. You aren’t stuck. You have a big support group who are behind you. You know that right?”
“I know.”
“Come on, princess. We’ve got a graduation party to attend.” Aedan draped his arm around her shoulder again and slowly corralled her back to the house.
Lucie smiled and pushed the negative thoughts from her mind. Tonight, they wouldn’t think about the bad. They would have a celebration and enjoy the time with their family and friends. She would try to enjoy this fleeting moment in her life and soak up as much of this as possible, so that she could always hold on to the love and memories deep in her heart.
CHAPTER 2
Atall, broad-shouldered young man jogged up to Aedan and Lucie. He moved with the kind of easy confidence that came from knowing exactly how much space he took up. Dark green hair fell across his forehead, a shade or two deeper than his eyes, which carried a mischievous gleam. His arms were thick with muscle, and when he folded them across his wide chest, the fabric of his shirt pulled tight at the shoulders. A lopsided grin spread across his face as he looked at his cousins.
“I’ve been looking for you two … well, specifically Aedan. No offense, Luce, but hanging around you is like wearing girl repellent.”
Lucie giggled and shook her head. Aedan and Justice were naturally close. In fact, Justice had taken on the unofficial role of Aedan’s guardian.
Guardians were only for fairy royalty. Their lineage was a long story, and she often just left it out because people didn’t understand. But they were descendants of fairy royalty. In fact, her father was the fairy prince before he became the King of the Werewolves. In fairy lore, it is the queen and princess who hold all the power, and it is their children that get the royal titles. Since their father was the fairy prince, neither of them would be considered fairy royalty. Her cousin Alexa was, though. She was the fairy princess, and one of her best friends.
Justice’s dad, Chasen, was her father’s guardian. This was where Justice got the idea.
Lucie looked at her awkward cousin. He was always a character to have around. But if a fight broke out, you would want him on your side. He and his sister Destiny were part werebear and part demon. But what was remarkable was how similar their powers were to each other. It was almost as if they had become their own species. Neither one could shift, but they had very unique powers. They could materialize special swords from thin air when they needed them. These swords harnessed their powers.
This wasn’t just true for them. Their other cousin Raine also had a similar sword. She was part kelpie and part werebear, but her powers were similar to those of Destiny and Justice. Her parents and relatives always insinuated it was the work of the Moon Goddess, and they believed this was planned for the future. But who really knew?
Lucie and Aedan were part werewolf, fairy, witch, and vampire. But because their father was the Werewolf King, their wolves reigned supreme. They had extra abilities but were basically just very dangerous shifters.
She smiled as she watched Justice animatedly talk about these ‘hotties’ that came from another pack. He was getting Aedan all amped up and begging him to help fix him up for thenight. Ugh. Men. Or boys? She couldn’t decide what they were. Man-boys? They were somewhere in between.
“Hey,by the way, Dessy is leaving the pack TONIGHT! She decided she was ready for Harley to claim her and he doesn’t want to wait another night.” Justice grinned. “Momma is excited for her and is of course a blubbering, jumping, excited mess. But Dad took Harley to the side and is having a nice little chat with him. I’m guessing it’s along the lines of ‘I killed two hellhounds during the war, and if you mistreat my daughter, I have no problem adding you to that list.’ Blah blah blah. Though, according to Uncle Grayson, Dad only killed one hellhound.” Justice chuckled.
An ongoing bone of contention in the family was how many hellhounds his dad and two uncles had killed during their battles with demons, before and during the demon war. Brody and his dad claimed two, but their Uncle Grayson dealt the final blow on the last one, so he added it to his list, making his total four hellhounds killed.
“Uncle Grayson only says that to tease your dad, and Harley knows it. We all know how much your dad respects and depends on Harley.” Lucie shook her head, smiling. “But you males always have to put on a show, which I think is really your inner insecurities crying out.”
“Inner insecurities?” Aedan smirked and slowly turned to look at his sister.
“Is that what she said?” Justice smirked at Lucie too as both man-boys faced off against her.
“I didn’t stutter.” Lucie planted her hands on her hips and tilted her head. A half smile spread over her face as she waited for them to make a move.
“Hmmm. I think I need to show you my poor, insecure strength,” Aedan said as he pumped his chest out with an exaggerated, fake, manly laugh.Maybe they really were just boys.
Justice fake pounded his fist in his hand. “I say we make her beg for mercy.”
“Touch my future princess and you’ll be the ones begging for mercy.” A soft baritone voice sounded as a blur planted itself at Lucie’s side.
“Jasper, whose side are you on?” Aedan furrowed his eyebrows at the vampire. “She told us that us males are insecure.”
Jasper quirked a brow at Lucie. “Is that right, Luce?” he said, taking a step away from her and standing next to Aedan’s side. “Well then, I do think a punishment is in order.”
Lucie rolled her eyes. They were like a couple of yappy little dogs … all bark but no bite. At least when it came to her.
Jasper was vampire nobility. His father was the Vampire King’s brother. In other places, he would be considered a duke, but vampires didn’t use those titles. He was just considered higher ranked among the vampires. Jasper was fun, goofy, and considerate. And with his pale skin, blond hair, and brown eyes, he was quite the lady’s man, and he knew it.
His parents were close to her family and always tried to make it for special events. It was their way of staying in close contact with Lucie, since she was to be their princess. And Lucie was glad to be so close to Jasper, since she wouldn’t feel as homesick having a good friend like him around.
