The Alpha Prince And His Bride
Episode 21

LUCY’S POV:

I sighed , dropping myself onto the bed . I’d spent the entire day trying to comfort Eden but nothing Isabella or I did was enough to make her feel better. After hours of nonstop crying we had finally gotten her to fall asleep . Right after mother had insisted I get some rest as well and so she had assigned me to this room for the remaining of my stay here .

I hadn’t heard or seen Austin ever since the meeting with the council members , it had me restless , I had no idea where he was or what happened with James . I desperately wanted to see him , wanted him near me , wanted to ensure that he was safe .

Footsteps outside the door caught my attention as the room door swung open.

“We need to talk.” Ermanno announced upon entering the room. Under his eyes were dark and he looked like he’d been through hell for the past hours .

I rose up immediately . “What’s wrong ?” I asked studying his tensed frame .

What wasn’t wrong was the question that should have been asked however , for everything seemed to be going in the wrong direction at this point .

“Come with me .”He ordered .

I didn’t waste any time as I quietly followed my brother down the narrow hallway and into another room where the rest of my brothers stood waiting . My eyes immediately connected with deep blue eyes that seeped straight through me … Austin.

What was he doing here ?

Did I miss something?

They were in the same room together and no one killed each other yet ?

“Lucy. ” Marcus started . ” First of all , we owe you an apology . Father was right , just like always we acted without f*****g thinking and made a big mess out of everything .”

“We want to help fix things .” Luthais added . ” We would provide a distraction for you and Austin to leave .”

My brows furrowed at their words . Wouldn’t this put them in danger for having any part in our escape ? I saw how brutal and heartless the council was , I didn’t want to put my brothers in any kind of danger because of me .

“Don’t worry ,we will handle everything from here .” Nolan cut in as he took in my expression , almost as if he read my mind . ” The council is brutal but we are beneficial to them , they wouldn’t give us any punishment we couldn’t handle .”

Austin was leaned up against the wall , his gaze burning into my skin , he hadn’t taken his eyes off me since I’d stepped into the room and it was doing crazy things to my body.

I tried hard to focus on my brothers’ next words but he was making it very difficult to concentrate , he made it seem as though we were the only two in the room , like he didn’t care for anyone else’s presence but mine .

“Lucy .” Ermanno called catching my attention . ” Tonight you are to meet Austin in front of the statue of the dragon , I would already be there waiting for you . I can get you both out of here without being spotted by any of the guards .”

When all of my brothers had finished planning our escape , Ermanno quietly turned to Austin with a pleading look . ” Please keep my sister safe , we’re leaving her life in your hands .”

Austin gave a slow nod . ” She is safe with me … I give you my word .” He promised .

I stared at all the men in the room with a blank expression clouding my face .

What exactly happened while I wasn’t here ? Suddenly they seemed like they didn’t hate each other anymore , what caused the sudden change ?

“Lucy. ” Ermanno said my name with a sad smile .” Once again we would like to offer our deepest apologies for bringing you into this mess , we hope you can forgive us one day . We never meant for all of this to happen , we just wanted to bring our sister home and see her happy and safe amongst her family .”

“Don’t apologize . ” I cried walking into their embrace as they all held me in a warm hug . ” It means the world to me that you wanted me near you so much that you took this big risk , nothing else matters but that you did it out of your love for me ..Nothing .”

A low growl tore from Austin behind us , forcing us to break away.

“Are you f*****g serious ?” Thane grunted . “We’re her brothers , not some random stranger trying to grope her.”

I hid my blush as a scowl formed on Austin’s face .

As I scanned the room looking at the grin on each of my brother’s faces at Austin’s expression , I instantly knew that I was going to miss all of them dearly .

……………………….

I turned to Eden , her eyes were still swollen from all of the crying but she still managed to give me a small sad smile . ” I’m so happy to have been given this precious time with you Lucy , I would treasure it till I get to see you again .”

I returned her sad smile . ” I wouldn’t trade us meeting for anything in the world , please take care of yourself .”

Isabella took my hands in hers .” Sister , you truly have shone light into our lives with this one visit , nothing compares to the happiness we felt having you by our side . We love you so very much and always will.”

“Thank you for your sweet words Isabella .” I whispered wiping the tears on her cheeks .

I swallowed , unsure of how to say goodbye to my mother , she didn’t look okay , in fact she looked as though she would faint any minute now . “I don’t know why Lucy but this goodbye is even more difficult that the first … It’s selfish of me but I wish there was some way you could stay here .”She cried pulling me into her arms . ” I love you my beautiful daughter , you’re everything I always knew you would be and much more … I’m so proud of you .” She whispered as I felt her tears drop onto my shoulders . I held her closely as she continued to sob.

“Nothing in this entire world could have made me happier than getting to see you after so many years .” I whispered , my eyes brimming brightly with unshed tears . ” Please take care of yourselves and know that I love all of you more than anything .”

As she let go of me , I turned to scan my surroundings once again , have been doing so for the past twenty minutes .

My father was no where to be found , apparently he didn’t even care to say goodbye to me . It hurt but at least I was given the love of everyone else in my family , that is all that should matter . It just didn’t feel complete without him being here , he hadn’t spoken a word to me since my arrival and it seemed like I would also leave this place without hearing anything from him. It hurt.

I held in the tears that threatened to fall , I didn’t want to say goodbye to my family , the little time spent with them filled a part of me that I didn’t even know was missing , I didn’t want to lose them once again . Wished there was some way I could take them back with me , wished there was a way they could be close friends with Austin’s family once again.

If only it were possible , but I knew as long as the council was involved , those dreams would never come true .

………….

The knock on the door caught me by surprise , I wasn’t supposed to meet Austin until the next hour , so who could be at the door?

My feet started to move of their own accord , hoping that it was indeed Austin coming to greet me instead of I having to meet him by the statue .

I opened the door to come face to face with a very tall muscular man with scary dark brown eyes that seemed to see straight through my soul .

I shivered.

Vampire.

I hadn’t seen him around before and for some reason he gave me the chills .

“Lucy ?” He asked .

As soon as I nodded I instantly regretted it as a creepy smile formed on the vampire’s face , he quietly closed the door behind him , never taking his eyes off my face .

My heart sped up as my nerves exploded .

“What are you–“

I didn’t get to finish as he grabbed me and shoved a cloth over my face , covering both my nose and mouth. I struggled against his hold , my feet hitting against the table next to me as it crashed to the floor , throwing other appliances down with it . I continued to fight against his hold , trashing from side to side and throwing down other things in the process . A whimper escaped my mouth , my cries muffled against the cloth as I fought to be free. Nothing worked however , the vampire was too strong for me .

My mind crying out to Austin was the last thing I remembered before darkness completely engulfed me .

…………

AUSTIN’S POV:

Where the f**k was she ?

My wolf was on alert , even he sensed that something was wrong . Lucy was supposed to meet me over twenty minutes now , we were scheduled to be out the palace by now but there was no sign of her anywhere . I’d searched the entire arena but got nothing , not even her sweet f*****g scent was anywhere around.

There was only one place I hadn’t searched yet and was heading there now , my feet pounding against the floor impatiently .

I pivoted and made my way into the room she was supposed to be staying in , my heart rate accelerating at what I saw . The room was in a f*****g mess , showing clear signs that someone had put up a strong fight . What the f**k happened in here ?

I continued to scan the room anxiously , searching for anything that could possibly give me clues on what happened . Something folded neatly on the bed caught my attention … a note . I grabbed the small piece of paper and impatiently unfolded it , my heart turning to stone at the words written there in black ink.

‘ Come to the northern woods , near the cliff , we have Lucy . Do not come in your wolf form or we harm the girl.’

Sweat broke out on my forehead . Fury lashed through me like a whip as the words sunk into my brain , panic overtaking my entire body in strong waves made it difficult for me to breathe .

I struggled to keep a clear mind as I rushed out of the room , crashing into everything that was in my way , I had to get to her , had to get to my Lucy… before it was too late.