“What about Stella?” Jasper blurted out.
“Stella? You mean Sabrina’s cousin? What about her?” Derrick shook his head angrily.
“She told us, Derrick. She said you two were a couple. She had pictures of the two of you, and videos …” Jasper trailed off quietly as he watched his prince’s eyes turn almost black.
CHAPTER 48
Derrick’s dark eyes met Jasper’s. “And?”
“And?!” Jasper coughed out angrily.
“Yes, and?” Derrick’s eyes raged war against the brown eyes of his cousin.
Jasper set his jaw and glared angrily at Derrick. “You better elaborate. Because your ‘and’ sounds like?—”
“AND are you an idiot?” Derrick said coldly. “Do you believe her? Do you believe Stella or me?”
Jasper shook his head. “She had pictures and videos.” He looked at Derrick and felt guilt hit him like a knife stabbing him in the gut. The pained look in Derrick’s eyes from being doubted hurt him more than he imagined. “I’m sorry. I?—”
“Jasper kept telling us to believe in you,” Hunter said simply. He was batting for the young vampire now. “But we needed to hear from you about this situation.”
Derrick shook his head and shrugged. “I don’t know about any video. Nothing I could have ever done would make it appear I was unfaithful. I took a few pictures with her, but we all did. Stella was taking selfies with everyone who was part of the elite force. It didn’t mean anything. It was just a picture.”
“She hugged you in the video and you told her to wait for you, and you said that you love her.” Jasper watched as Derrick’s eyes bulged open.
“You saw me say this? I would never ever say such a thing to her or anyone. I never did. I’ve only ever told one person that I love them like that, and that’s my Lucie.” Derrick’s expression turned crestfallen as he looked at Jasper. “Does Lucie believe this too?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t get to talk to her. A lot of things have happened …” Jasper trailed off quietly.
“Like she has a master-servant relationship with a djinn now.” Hunter clicked his tongue in agitation.
Derrick eyed Jasper suspiciously. “The djinn inside you is gone. Who took on this new role?”
Jasper’s eyes flickered nervously to those around him. “Well, she made an agreement with your half-demon soul servant.”
“YOU LET HER DO WHAT?!” Derrick roared.
“Now wait a minute … the words ‘let’ and ‘Lucie’ don’t belong in the same sentence. Lucie does what Lucie wants.”
Hunter chuckled and nodded his head. “Jasper’s right. Is this half-demon dangerous?” Hunter asked, and Derrick shook his head.
“Not anymore, and if he is bound to Lucie, he could never harm her. But …” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, we took this servant before my family knew your family. Before we knew your history. The thing is, you have history with this demon. It’s just his soul that is the servant, since your family already killed him. But you would know him by the name Abaas.”
“Lucie …” Hunter breathed out sharply through his teeth. “We’ll discuss this later. Look at me.” His voice was commanding as he set his gaze on Derrick. “You give me your word that you will treasure my daughter.”
“Above everything else. She is more important to me than anything,” Derrick answered resoundingly.
“You’ll need to complete the mating process and seal the bond with her. This should stop her pain.” Hunter looked over at Xander and Levi, who took a more relaxed posture. They weren’t planning on killing Derrick anymore. For now.
Another deafening scream echoed through the cracked door, and that was the last straw. Derrick blurred past them. He wouldn’t be delayed any longer. He needed to get to his mate.
“Xander, you left the door open?” Levi asked, raising his brow.
“Gramps left it open first, so I just followed his lead.”
“Ho ho ho. Nothing like hearing your mate in pain to show the truth in one’s eyes.” Grandpa Sage said with a glint in his own. There was no denying how Derrick felt about Lucie. Everyone could see how much he treasured her.
Lucie sensed Abaas’weakening energy, and she looked up at him. He shouldn’t be exerting himself at all. What would happen when his energy ran out? Was he draining his existence by helping her?
