Chapter 19 - Baiting the Lycan Prinice

When Xavier arrived at LaGuardia airport, he had no idea where to start looking for Luci, but he at least knew she was in New York. Vaughn texted him an address where Nolan had a business. Xavier decided to start there.

Xavier received another text as he got into the rental car he had reserved. When he looked down, he expected to see something from Vaughn; however, he was mistaken. It was a picture of Luci.

In the picture, he could tell she had been drugged with something because of the way she was sleeping. What made him see red was the male hand on her bare thigh below her shorts. There was also a message.

*If you want to see your mate again, you will do as we say lycan prince. Go to the hotel you and Luci stayed in recently and wait in the parking garage for further instructions.*

Xavier didn't think Nolan would do this, so who had Luci? He knew that he had kidnapped her and brought her to New York. Was she able to get away, and now someone else had her, or did Nolan give her to someone? Xavier didn't have any answers, so he drove to the hotel where he and Luci had stayed.

Once he arrived in the parking garage, he called Vaughan and gave him the phone number that was used to send him the picture of Luci. Vaughn said it was probably a burner phone, but he would check and see if he could get anything from it.

Xavier was going crazy waiting to get the next message. Zeke wasn't any better. He threatened to take over and tear the city apart until they found their mate. Xavier was almost ready to let him but knew they needed to stay calm if they were going to save Luci.

Xavier got the next text a few minutes later. There was no picture, but the words had the same effect.

*Your mate's skin is very soft. I bet you would like to touch her like we are right now. If you do what we say, you will get to touch her again. Go into the hotel and ask for access to room 1621. You're a prince; I'm sure they'll give you what you want. Once in the room, wait for your next instructions. We're watching you, so no funny business.*

Xavier didn't waste any time. He didn't know their goal, but he would do whatever they wanted if it meant he would get Luci back.

When he walked inside, Xavier went to the front desk and asked the clerk if he could rent room 1621. She said it was available, so she took his information and gave him the key card.

Xavier got on the elevator and rode up to the sixteenth floor. When he entered the room, he looked around, expecting to see something, but there was nothing there.

He paced the room while he waited for another text, phone call, or something. Xavier kept looking at his phone, afraid he had missed their text. When it finally came, he was a little confused.

*Go to the safe in the wall behind the middle painting. The combination is 04-11-01. Take out the contents and go back to your car.*

Xavier went to the middle painting and took it down. There was a wall safe behind it, and the safe opened when he used the combination. He pulled out the contents, which was a small box. When he opened it, there were a bunch of small brown vials with liquid in them.

He had no idea what was in the vials because they weren't marked, but he had a bad feeling. Xavier left the room and went back to his car to wait for the next message. This was taking too long. All he kept thinking about was what they were doing to Luci. The next text came right after he got into his car..

*Drive to the Brooklyn Bridge and park in the Washington Street garage. Stay in your car.*

Xavier was tired of playing their games, but he drove to the Washington Street garage as quickly as possible. After he parked, he looked around but didn't see anything. He would wait as long as needed, but he wanted proof of life with the next text he received.

_____________________

Luci felt like she had been hit by a truck. She tried to open her eyes, but they were too heavy. She could tell she was in a vehicle because she felt it moving.

While her eyes were still closed, she tried to remember what had happened. That's when Luci remembered Mel and the men in the van. She focused and tried to figure out exactly how many were in the van with her.

She heard them talking. Luci recognized Mel's voice and at least three men. She decided she wouldn't sit back and let them do whatever they wanted to her. She was a vampire, so she was able to defend herself. She just had to wait for the right time.

While she was waiting for the van to slow down, she overheard them talking about Xavier. Luci focused on what they said about him as her heart ached to feel his touch. She understood that they were texting him. Luci felt one of the men put his hand on her leg, and she felt like ripping it off.

When she felt the van finally slow down and come to a stop, she knew it was time to move. She opened her eyes and saw no one was looking at her. She grabbed the man beside her and twisted his arm until she heard it snap.

"Get this bitch, Mel. Get another syringe and jam it into her neck." The man was screaming in pain. He may be a vampire, but a broken bone still hurt. Luci saw Mel getting another syringe ready and kicked it out of her hand.

"You're not going to do that to me again. Now move so I can get the fuck out of this van before I kill you all." Luci saw Mel smirk, and that was all she needed to really piss her off.

Luci kicked the man, still holding his wrist in the knee, making him fall to the van's floor. She reached over when Mel tried to get another syringe and yanked her hair. She pulled Mel down and brought her knee up, smashing it into her face.

Mel grabbed her face and yelled as she fell backward. The whole ordeal lasted less than a minute. Luci jumped over Mel and grabbed the handle of the van before anyone else could react. She yanked it open, jumped out and ran in the opposite direction.

Luci had heard them say something about the George Washington parking garage, so she decided to head there, hoping that was where they were meeting Xavier. She ran as fast as she could. As a vampire, her speed was so fast that humans wouldn't even see her.

As she ran to the other side of the city, she wondered why this stuff kept happening. She was almost two centuries old and had led a relatively peaceful life, but the minute she tried to run from Xavier, all hell broke loose. If she had just taken the time to talk to him back in San Diego, none of this would have happened to them.

Luci got to the parking garage and slowed down. She went slowly between the cars looking for Xavier while trying to stay hidden in case the van appeared. As she looked through the cars, she felt someone behind her, and she quickly spun around.

"Luci." Xavier grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. He had seen her looking in the cars and decided to sneak up behind her in case her kidnappers were with her.

"Xavier?" Luci fell against him in tears. She had never been so happy to see someone in her life.

Xavier held her to him as she cried. He felt relief wash over him, having her back in his arms where she belonged. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. Xavier needed to tell her how he felt. After she was kidnapped, he knew there were no guarantees. He leaned back and tilted her face up to look at him.

"I love you. I know you don't feel the same way, but I had to tell you when I saw you again." Xavier kissed her softly and felt her responding to him. When she pulled back, she smiled up at him.

"I love you too and accept you as my mate." Luci threw her arms around him and peppered his face with kisses. Xavier picked her up and swung her around. As they were celebrating, Luci noticed the van out of the corner of her eye.

"Quick, we have to get out of here." Luci pulled Xavier as they ran away. They could hear the men from the van yelling at them as they ran.