“As much as I love punishing Lucie, there are a few ladies back at the party who were looking a bit lonely. And with Jasper as our wingman, I think we have an in,” Justice said.
“Hey, what about me?” Aedan huffed out.
“Jasper is way smoother with the ladies.” Justice chuckled. “Well, you in, Jasp?”
“I don’t know … I came here to hang with Luce.” Jasper looked over at Lucie with a guilty, hopeful look.
Lucie giggled. “Get out of here, you morons. And let’s hope those girls don’t have any brains. Otherwise, you’re all out of luck.”
“Ouch, Luce. My heart.” Aedan pouted, clutching his chest.
“Eh, I hope they are shallow, because that’s our in. Between our good looks and our titles, we have an in.” Justice shrugged. He didn’t care. An in was an in. He graduated and he was ready to celebrate.
Jasper winked at Lucie and the three boys strolled off together, laughing and pumping up their egos. Like she said …insecure. Lucie smiled and shook her head. Ah well, she loved them and their obnoxious ways. A small part of her was jealous of them too. They could all go off and flirt with random girls. None of them had mates and were free to enjoy their youth, while everyone knew Lucie was spoken for.
She walked toward the packhouse and the party in the back. Destiny would be attached to Harley somewhere, and that was who she usually hung out with. But maybe Raine and Alexa would show up. Their families had these unique pearls that would let them teleport to the location of the other pearl. There were a total of four of them, and one piece would be going with Lucie when she left the Black Ice Pack. But she wasn’t sure if they were coming, since they had just come to visit the day before for a smaller, family celebration. Today was bigger, one for the other packs to feel involved.
She immediately saw her father Hunter when she walked around the corner of the house. He was always busy speaking to the different pack members that were present. Most alphas didn’t miss the opportunity to meet with their king, so whenthere was a party, they knew a lot of packs would attend. This meant her dad didn’t have a lot of extra time during these parties.
“Sorry. I need to steal my husband for a bit.”
Lucie watched her mother save her father from whatever boring conversation was going on. Her mother was an amazing person. Not only was she wise, but she was incredibly strong. Once upon a time, she was called the huntress. She was a well-known demon hunter but was now an amazing queen to the werewolves.
Her parents made their way over to her. “Lucie, my baby girl. Where’s your brother?” Hunter asked, wrapping his spare arm around Lucie and pulling her against his side.
“I think Aedan is with Jasper and Justice right now. They’re trying their luck with some of the fresh meat available.” Lucie rolled her eyes and laughed.
Hunter sighed. “He really needs to start getting more involved in these political talks.”
“You can barely stay awake during them. Don’t torture our son with them already.” Freja elbowed him, smiling.
“Are Grandma and Pap Pap coming?” Lucie asked.
“You just missed your grandparents. They stopped by for a bit but couldn’t stay. There’s some flower blooming ceremony that your grandma has to bless, since your aunt Reiya hasn’t taken over her responsibilities as the fairy queen yet. They plan to come back tomorrow.”
Hunter noticed his beta Sam walking toward them. “No no, Sam. No more.”
Freja giggled, listening to her mate whining over his duties. “And you wanted to burden your son with this. Look at you.”
Sam chuckled. “Sorry, Alpha. There are two packs disputing territory lines, and it’s starting to get heated.”
Hunter rubbed his forehead and sighed. He grinned at Freja. “This one sounds like a job for my queen.”
“You don’t want me to handle it. If I start handling these entitled alphas’ pack problems, we’re going to have less and less packs to worry about.” Freja gave him a crooked grin.
“Hmm.” Hunter pretended to consider what she was offering.
“I’ll go with you and give you a hand. For some reason, they seem to behave better when I’m around.”
“That’s because your deadly reputation precedes you, my dear.” Hunter kissed the top of Freja’s head. “Alright, Sam. Lead us to them.”
“Lucie.” Freja glanced at her daughter. “Go. Enjoy yourself. You don’t always have to act like the perfect princess.” She winked at her daughter as she walked off with Hunter. Lucie always behaved as expected. But she wanted her daughter to have a bit of fun and experience life. If only they could blend Lucie and Aedan’s personalities together. That would be perfect. Aedan was always more wild and had a tendency to get himself in trouble. But soon he would be burdened with a lot of responsibility, so she was fine with him enjoying himself for now.
Lucie walked over to an isolated bench away from the party commotion and sat down. Enjoy herself? Hard to do when everyone was afraid to approach her. Between her family and being already promised to another, most people politely avoided her. Well, most men did.
“I see I’m not the only one looking for a quiet place to escape.”
Lucie looked up to see a set of baby blue eyes looking down at her. The man had a dazzling white smile with cute dimples, and he didn’t hide the fact that he was openly checking her out. Hercheeks flushed slightly. No one had ever been this bold with her. He must not have known who she was.
