She was coughing and had tears dripping from her eyes from the dust. But she held her hand up triumphantly. Victory was still theirs, and she felt quite proud of herself. That was, until she heard a familiar snarl pierce the air.
“Put. Her. Down.” The low growl punctuated every word with authority.
She felt herself slide down slowly until she was gently placed on her feet, still wiping her face from the dust.
“Easy, Ryan. I just caught her, that’s all.” Chaz then whispered to Lucie, “Well, at least one of you has a fun personality.”
Lucie giggled and wiped the dust from her eyes. She placed the cord into Chaz’s hands and smiled through a couple more coughs. “I think we were baited into a trap. But we still won.”
“Haha, that we did, little sis.”
“Lucie, are you alright?” Freja looked her over. Her hair was messy, with dust and feathers poking through it.
“I was a victim to a clever brownie trap.” Lucie smiled, but it soon faded as she looked at her mother. “I’m still mad at you. I just had a momentary lapse in judgment due to my triumph.”
“Hope you aren’t mad at me, because I’m your new roommate,” Jasper said with a chuckle. Derrick growled at him, and Jasper laughed some more. “Well, in a manner of speaking.Think of me as your non-werebear guardian,” he said, pumping his chest out slightly.
Chasen laughed at this and slapped Jasper on the back, hard. “Sorry, kid. You’re tough, but not guardian tough.”
“Ouch,” Jasper said, feigning injury.
Derrick remained quiet as he stared intimidatingly at Chaz.
Chaz only chuckled and shook his head. He looked at Lucie as he grabbed the rest of his stuff. “Next time, you can throw me. Maybe then I won’t get in trouble.” He winked at her and started to walk out of the room.
“Chaz,” Derrick said, making him stop in his tracks. “Show them to the spare rooms where they can sleep for the night.”
Chaz nodded his head. “If you follow me, I’ll show you a few modern cave room motifs.” Chaz added in a fake tour guide accent as he waved them to follow him.
Lucie made to follow her parents, but Derrick’s hand shot out as she walked by, grasping her wrist. She stared into his amber eyes.
“I thought … we could talk,” Derrick said softly.
“Talk?” Lucie arched her brow up at him.
“You’re leaving first thing in the morning. I thought you could stay with me.” His voice dropped quieter as Hunter and Freja stopped walking.
“Oh … I see. I can’t stay with you, but you want me to warm your bed tonight? Is that it?” Lucie snorted and glared at him defiantly.
“Now wait a minute. It isn’t like that. I just thought we could talk more, Lucie. We haven’t had time to actually talk.”
Lucie looked into his pleading eyes. She realized she didn’t really know Derrick. Sure, he was her fiancé and her fated mate. But besides the time she played with him as a child, what did she know about him? How had she retained these feelings of love for someone who was now a stranger? She supposed it wasthe soulmate thing. She couldn’t deny how much she wanted to be near him. How even being close now was a comfort to her.Besides, she needed to explain a few things to him herself.
“Alright,” Lucie whispered. She turned to look at her parents and nodded for them to go ahead.
Hunter’s eyes darkened as he stared at Derrick, the warning in his gaze clear. Freja finally managed to pull him along,a faint, knowing smile on her face.
The moment Derrick closed the door to his room, he wrapped his arms around Lucie from behind, leaning his head down against her neck to breathe in her scent.
“Forgive me, Lucie, for being selfish. Don’t be mad. I just want you safe.”
A sweet, tingling spark jolted down her back and spread through her chest. She couldn’t deny how being in his arms felt like home. She sighed and turned in his arms to face him.
“What if it was the other way around, Derrick? What if it was vampires that were being targeted? What if there was a potion that was dangerous for you? In this situation, I would be sending you back, right? You’re telling me that you would just accept this and go while I stayed here to fight. After all, I would only be doing it because I selfishly want you safe.” Lucie had fire in her eyes as she met with his amber gaze. A flash of realization hit him as he finally understood. He wouldn’t go. It was evident in his guilt-ridden face. What he was asking of her wasn’t fair.
CHAPTER 24
Derrick felt the guilt pang in his chest. She was right. He wouldn’t leave her. He was being selfish and just wanted to protect her.
