Dr. Luna
The Vampires Promised Bride Chapter 40

him down.

As Lucy finished getting dressed she heard yelling from outside of the room. She heard Jasper's sharp voice and she quickly opened the door. She looked into the room to see Jasper growling in Ryan's face. Aiden had his hand on Jasper's shoulders trying to calm "What is going on?!" Lucy said angrily as she stormed over towards the guys.

"I want to know what that crap with Amanda was about?!" Jasper snarled again as Ryan looked away avoiding eye contact with him.

"Ryan and I already talked about it, Jasper. It's all worked out. So no need to shout. We can talk about it civilly." Lucy watched as Jasper's gaze stayed focused on Ryan. She cleared her throat and gave Jasper a wry smile. "That part was said as your friend... Do I need to give you an order as your princess?" That did it. She watched Jasper's eyes return to normal as a wide smile spread over his lips. "You going to start ordering me around princess?" Jasper chuckled with a wide grin on his face.

"It might be fun, yes? Though I would much prefer you listen to me as your best friend, right? Of course... I don't know if you deserve best friend status after the crap you pulled." Lucy watched his face go from angry, happy to now that of a wounded puppy. It seemed like his emotions were more connected to her than just anger.

"Lucy I..." Jasper started but she held her hand out and grabbed his hand.

"Jasper, see? Even you made a mistake, right? And I am not going to punish you for it. You are my closest and dearest friend even if you do screw up sometimes." Lucy smiled. "So have a seat and we will talk about this whole Amanda issue."

Aiden chuckled and plopped down on the couch. "Better do what mom says or you're going to get hurt."

Jasper smiled. "Alright, Lucy. I'm calm. You can let go of my hand now."

Lucy pulled him over to the couch and kept holding on to his hand. "No, I don't think I will. If you don't control your emotions then I plan on breaking your fingers."

Ryan busted out laughing. "You are way more interesting Lucy than I ever imagined. Derek is getting a fun one, for sure."

"You'd really break my fingers?" Jasper gave her a wry smile.

"Would you care to put it to the test?" She challenged back and listened to Jasper chuckling beside her. She was just doing some minor tests of her own now. The hand connection wasn't to break his fingers... though she felt like it was an extremely clever idea. But what she was doing was trying to feel his energy. She was hoping she would notice something different when he got agitated. Something she could use as a sign in the future.

She looked up at Ryan and smiled. "So we don't need the details... as I have already told Ryan. He isn't my Derek so I don't care what he does. He made a mistake since his face is the prince's face. It is something that isn't going to happen again. And I don't think we will have to worry about Amanda saying anything anymore either. Not after I made my stance clear and after she saw you..." Lucy looked up at Jasper tilting her head to the side with a faint smile. She could see the shades of his eyes going from brown to dark to dark brown. She couldn't feel anything different in his energy level but he was definitely trying to control his anger.

Jasper's eyes were fixed onto Ryans. "Do you realize what could have happened here? What if Lucy hadn't met the real Derek? The implications alone... and the rumors?! Damnit Ryan." His tone was growing lethal as he grit his teeth.

"I'm really sorry. I have no excuse. I drank too much and-"

"Like I said we don't need details Ryan." Lucy pinched Jasper's hand directing his attention to her. His eyes turned back to his golden brown and she smiled at him. "And I told you I already handled this, right? Now would be a good time for you to decide where exactly you are ranking me at here. Am I still the werewolf princess where this isn't my business? Or am I your prince's mate and your vampire princess?"

"Yeah but Lucy..."

"No buts Jasper. I let him off the hook. He understands and is sorry. We aren't going to rehash it and dwell on it. We are moving forward fresh. Now... who is roasting me my marshmallows." Lucy watched as Jasper relaxed. He never seemed out of control there and she never noticed anything different. She would have to witness one of these dark moments herself in order to assess it better. But for now, he was just Jasper, the guy who was like a brother to her.

Time was going fast, surprisingly, and all too soon the day of the celebration was upon them. Lucy really missed Derek but she was kept fairly busy. She was able to meet the banshee, Mira, who always joined her at night. It was a way for her to be able to stay in the royal chambers that wouldn't be inappropriate. She took the bed while Ryan stayed on the couch.

To Lucy's surprise, she found that banshee's belonged to the fairy family. Mira instantly took to her as the fairy princess and prince's future bride. She got the feeling that something was being kept a secret from her but she couldn't figure out what it was. And Jasper... he never had any black-out anger moments. Maybe he had it more under control than everyone thought?

Lucy walked out into the courtyard holding Ryan's arm. There were hundreds of tables set up to accommodate all the guests. When they walked out together the people stood clapping and cheering loudly.

"See nothing to it." Ryan said quietly winking at Lucy. "Now comes the worst part... mingling..." He frowned and silently groaned. This was always the part he hated the most.

Lucy could see Jasper and Aiden sitting together near the back. They seemed content to stay out of the spotlight but still keep her in their sights. She agreed with Ryan... this part was the worst. They went table to table greeting everyone before Ryan left her with a group of young ladies while he went to talk with some younger men.

"So what is the prince like? We don't really know him on a personal level he keeps to himself." One of the young ladies asked.

Lucy smiled politely. "He is a great guy. He's fun, has a good personality, and honestly everything I could have ever asked for." The girls around her all gushed over what she was saying.

"Sounds like you found a boyfriend as awesome as mine." A shorter girl with dark raven black hair said. She had deep green eyes and ivory skin. And was honestly gorgeous.

"Geez Stella... no one wants to hear about your perfect boyfriend again." One of the other ladies pouted. "I feel so lonely all of the sudden."

"Don't worry I'm sure you will find your mate soon enough," Lucy said sweetly.

"Stella hasn't found her mate either. They are just exclusively together until they do find their mates."

"Oh. Sorry about the misunderstanding." Lucy bit her bottom lip and smiled.

Stella giggled. "Don't worry about it. It's an easy mistake. We don't always find our mates right away so a lot of us pair up with a steady partner until then. We both know once we find our mates it is over... but it is nice to have someone to belong to now." She brought out her phone and began flipping through pictures. "See." She said turning the phone to Lucy. "This is me and my Ryan."

Lucy felt the air get knocked out of her. It was a selfie picture of Stella with... Derek... HER Derek acting as Ryan. She watched as she flipped through some more pictures.

"This is my cousin Sabrina. She is the one who introduced me to Ryan and we both just hit it off." Stella gushed over a couple more pictures.

"Please spare our princess the intimate details that you weren't kind enough to spare us." One of the women said with a groan.

Stella blushed and waved her hand over her face. "Stop, you're making me blush thinking about it."

Lucy tried to rationalize what she was hearing. This girl didn't know that it was Derek. So she had nothing to gain by saying what she was saying. She had no idea that he was Lucy's mate. She needed to go somewhere and think. A picture is worth a thousand words... but there are also so many unspoken words there.

She felt her body feel sick. Inwardly she was a mess but outwardly she continued to hold a composed posture as she listened to Stella gush over how sweet Ryan is. It didn't make sense. She asked Derek outright if there was anyone. He could have easily admitted it then right? Did she trust Derek or not? The problem was why would this girl lie about it? She also had pictures of them together. They were smiling looking at the phone... their heads were close together. Of course, their heads were close Lucy. It is a damn selfie. She scolded herself inwardly as her emotions raged against herself.

Why would Derek lie? Maybe because he was ashamed he didn't wait? Or that he wanted to keep Stella as a mistress as accustomed. Her blood boiled thinking of that. In that situation... maybe she could m**m the prince. Nothing major. Just enough that he would have to eat from a straw for the rest of his life. Yes, something minor like that.

Then there was Stella... she knew nothing about her but why would she lie? She even had pictures and from the sound of it a couple of these other ladies seen them together too. This was getting confusing. And honestly, she couldn't listen to Stella going on and on about Ryan, who was HER DEREK.

She has been having the feeling that something was being kept hidden from her. Was this it? Was this the secret? That Derek had Stella? He had a girlfriend even though he knew he was promised to her? And what about all the stuff about him being in love with her since they were kids? Was it all a lie? Did she want love so badly that she became that naïve wimpy fool she hates so much?

"Well, it was nice talking to you ladies. I'm sure I will be seeing you again." Lucy felt her chest squeezing tight as she struggled to breathe. Images of Derek popped into her head. The precious moments they had shared together. Then the pictures she had seen from Stella.

She walked through the crowd trying to escape. She had to escape. She needed away from everyone. Princceeeeeessssssssss.

A voice slithered in her head. This way princessssssss. Quickly go into the garden passage while no one is looking.

Okay. The first rule of thumb. Creepy voices in your head are people you shouldn't listen to or follow. They rarely have good advice and more often than not it is a trap. However, with the mood Lucy was in, bring on the trap. She slipped pasted a waiter whose back was turned and she entered between two parted pushes.

She looked in front of her. Tall green leafy bushes surrounded paths that led off in various directions. It was like a maze. This was too much like something she would have seen in a movie where she was shouting at the lead to turn their a*s around. Are you coming princceeeeessssss?

The voice hissed into her head making her shudder slightly. There was something deep inside of her that wanted to run. But an even bigger part wanted to know who this person was. Besides if this person wanted a fight she would give it to them. She could feel her fairy blood tugging on her to turn back. Almost as if warning her not to continue. But her lycan felt bloodthirsty and wanted a face with the voice.

She followed one of the paths and walked through the twists and turned of the maze. Finally, she reached an open area where a fountain spit water up into the air. There, by the fountain, was a wolf... a dark charcoal color with white ticking. Finally... Princessss.

Lucy looked at this wolf curiously. A strong breeze blew her way and with it the smell of licorice. There was something familiar about a wolf with the scent of licorice. She furrowed her brows as she tried to recall the stories. The stories of a half-demon wolf who hunted the fairy princesses for his own and he smelled of licorice. But he was dead. Her aunt killed him. They took his heart out of his chest. This couldn't be him... it could not be...

The wolf's tail wagged slowly as he took a small step forward.

We haven't meant but we have a history together. I am Abaddon.