Chapter 32 - Italy

When Luci heard Janie say the word popcorn, she felt sick. She had hoped she was wrong and Janie was fine, but that wasn't the case. Her friend was in trouble, and Luci had to help.

"Where are you?" Luci tried to keep her voice calm while talking because she didn't know if anyone else was listening. Xavier rubbed her back as they waited.

"I'm in Italy with Sam. Are you planning on coming here anytime soon? I know we had talked about it before I left." Luci assumed by the way Janie talked that she wasn't alone, but no one else could hear Luci on the other end.

"I've met my fated mate, and he and I are coming to Italy to see you. We'll be there no later than tomorrow. I'll call you as soon as we land." Luci heard Janie take a sigh of relief.

"It will be good to see you, and I'm glad you met your mate. I can't wait to meet him. Bye, Luci." Janie disconnected the call, and Luci stared at the phone in her hand.

"We have to help her." Luci turned and wrapped her arms around Xavier as she cried.

"We will. Let's talk to my parents and let them know what we found out. After that, we'll head to Italy." He kissed the top of her head.

"Thank you, not just for this, but for everything. I love you." Luci kissed him, letting his strength give her the strength she needed so she would be able to help Janie

"I love you too." They walked down to the king's office, where he and the queen sat at the desk.

"What's wrong, son?" The queen walked over to Luci and put an arm around her.

"We interrogated Silas. He gave us all the information we needed, so we decided to let Nolan rot." Xavier went on to tell them everything Silas had shared and about Luci's conversation with Janie. Malik and Reina agreed that they should go to Italy.

The king said he was not letting them go alone because they would be bigger targets now that Xavier had found his mate and they had crowned Luci a princess. King Malik called in four of the royal guards he trusted the most. He instructed them to stay with Xavier and Luci at all times.

Xavier typically would have argued that he didn't need the guards, but this time, he let it go because he wanted to ensure Luci was safe. They returned to their room to prepare to leave.

While Xavier began packing, Luci went next door to tell her mom what was going on. Bexley was with Alessandra as they had become good friends, sharing their love of fashion. They both told her to be careful. Luci was glad her mom had Bexley there so she wouldn't get bored or lonely in the palace.

When Luci returned, Xavier was done packing his things, and she quickly packed a suitcase with some of the clothes Bexley had given her. She figured anything else they needed, they could get in Italy. She was too worried about her friend to think about the little things.

Xavier called his pilot, and they left for the airport with the four appointed guards. Luci sent a text to Janie asking where in Italy she was staying. Janie responded, saying they were close to Florence. Luci told her they were on their way and would let her know when the plane landed.

She fidgeted the entire trip to Italy. Xavier sat with her across his lap, rubbing her back and kissing her from time to time. He hated seeing her worried and would do anything to make her feel better.

They landed in Florence about ten hours after they had taken off. Before they tracked down Janie, Xavier talked Luci into going to a hotel to freshen up. He requested the penthouse that had two bedrooms, so if needed, they could bring Janie back with them. Two guards came into the room with them, and two stood outside by the door.

Xavier led Luci to the bedroom and ran a hot bath for her while she texted Janie to let her know they had made it. Janie responded with her address and asked if they could come in two hours.

"Come, take a bath and relax a little. Do you want me to send one of the guards to get you some blood?" Xavier was worried about her. She had barely spoken since they left the palace.

"I don't need any blood right now. What if we can't get Janie away from him? I don't want Sam to hurt her." Luci let Xavier undress her and help her into the tub.

"We won't let that happen. I may not be the prince over vampires, but I still have some pull. We'll get her away from him and make sure he pays for what he's done." Xavier cupped his hand on her cheek, and she leaned into his touch.

"Will you get in with me? I want to feel you against me." Luci looked up at him, and he understood she needed to feel the comfort of the mate bond.

Xavier quickly removed his clothes and got into the bathtub behind Luci. He pulled her to him so she was between his legs with her back against his chest. He massaged her shoulders to help ease the tension he could feel in them.

"I promise we'll get her out of there. Even if we pretend to be going for a walk or taking her out somewhere, the first thing is to get her out of the house. Once we leave there, we can come back here and make a plan. I'm sure he'll come looking if she's gone too long, so we need to find out if they have already marked each other. If they haven't, we can take her without too much trouble. If they have, it will be hard on her even if she's not his fated mate."

Luci listened to what Xavier said and hoped they hadn't marked each other. She had a feeling they did because Janie had been excited to find her mate. She wouldn't have hesitated like Luci did.

Xavier and Luci stayed in the bathtub for about an hour. When they got out, they got ready to go see Janie. Xavier wore blue dress slacks with a white button-up shirt. Luci put on one of the more modest dresses that Bexley had given her. It was a dark violet. It fit her snuggly to her knees and had a halter collar covering her cleavage but leaving her arms bare.

Xavier looked at the dress Luci put on, and he felt his heart race. She looked so beautiful and classy. Somehow, with her breasts completely covered, it made them even more noticeable. He cleared his head, reminding himself now was not the time to fantasize about peeling that dress off her. They had to get Janie first.

They left the hotel room with all four guards in tow, and Xavier glared at any man who risked a look at his mate. She wasn't even aware of all the admiring glances as they walked to the car. Her mind was only on her friend. Xavier gave the driver the address of Janie's house, who looked at them in surprise.

"Are you sure that's the address, sir?" The driver asked with a bit of fear in his voice.

"Yes, why? What's wrong with the address?" Xavier asked. The driver swallowed, not sure if he should say anything.

"It's common knowledge that the occupants of that address are not good people. Everyone stays away from that place." Xavier looked at Luci and saw the fear in her eyes.

"We'll be okay; please take us." He mindlinked the guards following in another car to let them know what the driver said. They agreed to be on extra alert.

There were guards at the gate in front of the massive house, but they let them through without any issues, saying they were expected. Xavier had a bad feeling about the place and wanted to get Luci and Janie out of there as quickly as possible.

"Whatever happens, don't leave my side. I don't like this." He said. Luci squeezed his hand. She felt something was off as well.

When they pulled up to the house, Janie was waiting on the steps for them. Luci gasped when she saw her friend. She looked paler than usual, with dark circles under her eyes. Janie tried to smile, but it looked forced. Luci jumped out of the car and ran to her, wrapping her arms around her.

"It's so good to see you. I've missed you. This is my mate Xavier; he is the lycan crown prince." Luci introduced Xavier, who had walked up to them. Janie looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Prince Xavier, it's nice to meet you." Janie held her hand out to him, still not believing that Luci had accepted a mate and he was a prince.

"Please just call me Xavier. It's nice to meet you, too." He looked past Janie and saw a few people walking out. He felt Luci's terror as she started to back up, and he looked at her in concern. Her eyes were wide, and she was shaking her head.

"Well, look who it is. Prince Xavier and Luci. I think you have something that belongs to us, prince. Oh, let me introduce myself; I'm Mel. I was one of the people who kidnapped Luci and had you get my supply out of the safe. I hope you have it with you, or neither of you will be leaving." Mel whistled, and ten giant men came out of the house behind her.