Dr. Luna
The Vampires Promised Bride Chapter 54

Derek led Lucy through the crowd and onto the dance floor. He spun her as the band started playing and pulled her back into him. He watched her with adoration as he twirled her around on the dance floor. Other couples were soon joining around him. Lucy noticed Justice, Aiden and Ryan had escorted women out to dance with them on the dance floor. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves and looked at ease. She looked back into the eyes of her mate. Everything was just... perfect. So perfect that she almost forgot about the witch causing problems. And she maybe could have, had Jasper been there too.

"He's fine, Lucy. I'm sure of it." Derek smiled, pulling her body close to him. "Jasper is really strong and these voidless aren't that formidable." He leaned in and brushed his lips over her forehead.

"That is what is worrying me. There is more to all this. The witch didn't plan all this time to just keep launching wave after wave of weak armies, right? I know she made some weird potion but there has to be more to it."

"Or the armies were supposed to lure you guys out in the open and because of us it hasn't happened. I don't think the witch was anticipating the vampires taking the lead in this." Derek could feel her restlessness over the situation.

"And Wicker?" Lucy sighed as she could see Derek was also not sure about him either.

"He has his own agenda in all of this. But he can't be our problem. There isn't anything we can do about him. That is someone your uncle will have to worry about. All we can do is focus on what we can take care of. And we are doing just that. Once we find this witch our part in this mess will be done." He held their bodies tight together as they slowly swayed to the slow music. His hand played over her back with the tips of his fingers. "No Lucy." He said quietly but firmly.

She frowned and sighed. She looked to the side avoiding his eyes.

"Lucy..." Derek's tone was quiet and low. There was a slight threat in his voice. He was reading her thoughts loud and clear. And on this issue he would not budge.

"We don't even know how that potion would affect me. I'm not like the others..." She snapped her head back at him and listened to his soft vibrations from his chuckle.

"I would never be okay with it. Even more because of the unknowns." Derek watched her frown but could feel she hadn't given up on the idea.

"Lucy... Your parents forbid you and Aiden to fight. And they are right. I also can't allow you to fight Lucy. You are the future here. Even more so now. With our exchange, we could never be with anyone else. Which is the purpose of it. I don't want anyone but you and can never be forced to be with another now. But this is a real problem for the vampires if something happens to one of us."

"Well if that is the case then you shouldn't be going to fight either. And I can see that is exactly what you are planning to do. You are planning to leave me again already." Lucy felt a bit agitated when she just wanted to stay by his side.

"You know I don't want to leave you Lucy. Now more than ever you know it. I need to see this end."

"Keep Jasper with you then." Lucy pinned her gaze against his. "I have Aiden, Justice, Ryan, Abaddon and Mira here around me. I'm safe. So if Jasper is so skilled he should be at your side." She could feel how he didn't like the idea. "As you can tell this is one point I won't be budging on. I'll die on this bridge, Derek."

Soft rumbles reverberated from his chest. "Yes my little mate, I can see that. Okay... but let's not think about that right now, okay? Let's think about how we can escape so I can do what I really want right now." He greedily stared her over like a predator. His fingers trailed over her intimately as his mind began making promises to her.

"My lord." A muscular man said tapping on Derek's shoulder. "May I?" He asked and looked over at Lucy.

Derek inwardly growled but forced a smile over his face, stepping aside to allow him to dance with Lucy. It was customary to dance with other partners at such an event. Especially so they could get to know their royalty. And soon Derek had a line of ladies wanting to dance with him. He gently took one of the lady's hands and began to dance with her. He glanced at Lucy longingly as he watched her being led around the dance floor and away from him.

Lucy smiled happily as Ryan was the next to cut in. She was getting tossed from stranger to stranger and finally ended up in the arms of someone she was familiar with.

"Ready to dance with your fake fiancé?" Ryan chuckled and guided her expertly across the floor.

"So now that you are free are you beating the ladies off with a stick?" Lucy giggled and watched him flash her a wide white smile.

"Surprisingly I had more interest when they thought I was the prince. Shallow creatures didn't want me for my body only for my title." Ryan clicked his tongue in fake annoyance.

Lucy giggled. "Oh, you poor thing not to have women wanting to use you now."

"Thank you for the sympathy. It is a tragic blow but I'll manage. But you know..." Ryan said as he spun Lucy out and back into his hands. "I think what you and Derek have is much more appealing. I want that too... someday. But until I find my mate I might as well be well seasoned for her." "Of course it would be horrible if you weren't, right?" Lucy giggled and he pouted heavily.

"We can't all find this early in life. My mate might not even be alive right now. I want to live and experience my life. There are no guarantees, right? I could be dead tomorrow. I mean no one expected the vampire king to die when he did." "How did that happen by the way? I never pried into the events..." Lucy watched his amber eyes turn sad.

"It isn't a pretty story Lucy..." Ryan's voice was quiet and he pulled Lucy closer to keep the conversation more private. "The previous king and queen were a marriage of convenience. The queen was of pure blood so the king chose her to be his queen. One day though the queen met her fated mate. She originally dismissed him and kept a secret of his existence. But soon the temptation of her mate became too much. And they began meeting in secret. Alaric and Jester were young adults at this time. The king and queen had fulfilled their obligations to one another. But the king really adored the queen. Even though she wasn't his fated mate she was still his and he loved her."

He looked at Lucy and sighed quietly. "The king ended up catching the two of them together and in a rage, he killed her fated mate. He was hurt but loved the queen so much that he gave her benevolence. He pushed the betrayal away and even defended her publicly when the secret was leaked out. Alaric and Jester had a hard time with the news and their relationship with their mother became strained. I think the pain of losing her fated mate became too much for the queen... One evening she turned on the king while he was asleep and killed him to get revenge for her lover. Then she killed herself."

Lucy gasped and felt tears threatening her eyes. Ryan gave her a gentle smile. "Like I said it isn't a pretty story and one that the kingdom isn't proud of. That was a long long time ago though. Alaric has been the long-standing ruler for centuries now. And the kingdom has flourished under him."

"You know this is the first time a soul-mated couple will ever be taking over as rulers to the kingdom. I can feel it..." Ryan looked around him with a faint smile. "Everyone has high hopes for the two of you. And already because of your bond and your blood bond they are all at ease. I guess you can probably understand the worry about Derek taking you as a bride. They were all afraid that you would end up finding your fated mate. That what happened in the past would be repeated. They are comforted with your connection to one another. It makes for a strong kingdom."

"What about Willa and Alaric? Are they...-" Lucy was interrupted by Ryan mid-sentence.

"Alaric refused to take a queen unless she was his mate. I guess after what happened with his parents he wouldn't risk it. But he found her. And together they also exchanged blood binding them to one another. I guess he wanted to be extra cautious so that she could never cheat on him. But then she couldn't conceive. Which was a big problem for the kingdom. Usually, the king would find a suitable substitute to procure a future heir. But with their blood bond, it was impossible not to mention Alaric could never have done that to Willa. Luckily with a bit of fairy magic, we were given our prince." Ryan looked off in the distance where Derek still had a line of ladies waiting for their chance with the prince.

"I thought it wasn't unheard of for the king to have a mistress? I have heard this several times."

Ryan chuckled. "That isn't how things are here. But there is another vampire kingdom on the other side of the world that is run very differently. The king keeps a harem of women at his disposal. And it wouldn't have seemed wrong for Alaric to take a mistress when Willa couldn't conceive. No one here would have batted an eye at it. An heir is the most important thing and all that matters. So it isn't unheard of. It just hasn't happened here during the last two generations."

"It wasn't going to happen now even without the blood bond," Lucy said with a small shrug. "I don't share. Before I knew we were mates I already knew that he wasn't someone I would share. I'm worth more than that. I am not just a breeding machine." "You are worth more than that. You both are. Honestly..." Ryan glanced around before dropping his voice to a quiet breath. "Derek was worried about it. He was afraid you wouldn't want him and it terrified him. He has loved you since you were kids and the idea of you not feeling the same way had him anxious... You know... It was a very tough decision for Alaric and Willa to arrange the marriage between you and Derek. Because of what happened in the past. This weighed heavily on them. But it was a necessary gamble. Let's face it, it is only a matter of time before our two species come to a head and the outcome... it would be devastating both ways. You and Derek being together was a necessary risk. The relief of you and Derek being mates was felt among a lot of us. And I know Alaric and Willa are incredibly relieved."

"Well maybe if you men weren't morons we could have known a long time ago that we were fated mates." Lucy smirked as a gentleman tapped Ryan on the shoulder.

"Guess my shift is up." Ryan said with a slight bow to Lucy. He turned and eyed the man curiously as he watched him begin to dance with Lucy. He didn't recognize the man.

Lucy stared at the face in front of her. She studied his facial features looking from his brown eyes to his sleek white hair that was pulled back. Realization hit her as he gripped her tighter.

"Shhh shh shh... such a clever girl but you wouldn't want me to kill everyone, do you? Just behave and I'll spare their lives." A crisp light baritone voice came out from his smiling mouth as he showed his experience on the dance floor. He danced with her beautifully and gracefully.

Lucy tried to control her heart rate as she watched the man in front of her. The man she wished she had the power to kill for what she saw him do to Alexis. Why was he here? What did he want with her? He had such confidence about him even being in the midst of the vampire kingdom. This man was powerful. And according to Derek, he was just as strong as her Uncle Levi, the deity Leviathan. If this is the case he could easily destroy everyone here. With determination, she gazed into his eyes and faced evil head-on.