Chapter 39 - Time to Think

Luci quickly mindlinked Xavier and told him what was going on. He said he was on his way, but Luci told him not to come into the room because Raymond had Vampire Acid. She could feel Xavier's anger as he ran.

"You don't want to do this. What do you hope to accomplish by using that on me?" Luci was trying to stall so she could think of a way out of this. She had already seen what that stuff did to her father and Nolan; she didn't want to experience it for herself.

"I want you to pay for taking the queen's throne from my daughter. She was to be Xavier's mate, not some bloodsucker like you. How dare you come into this kingdom and accept a princess crown. You're a nobody from nowhere and don't deserve to be here." Luci heard Xavier say he was right outside the door. She wanted to distract Raymond so Xavier and the guards could come in to take him away.

"I'm sorry that Belinda thought she was going to be Xavier's mate, but he's my mate. I don't want to be his mate because he will be king. I want to be with him because I love him. We're mates, and no matter how you feel, that's not going to change." Luci started slowly baking up to put some distance between them. She told Xavier she would say the word vampire when he could come in.

"Do you think I'm the only one who doesn't want you here? Nobody in this kingdom wants you here except the royal family. Everyone is trying to find a way to keep Xavier from taking the throne so you won't be our queen. Don't let the niceties and smiles fool you. They're only doing that in the event there's no way to stop you. I'm not willing to wait. I'm putting a stop to it now so Belinda can take her rightful place as queen." Luci knew she was out of time, so she quickly mindlinked Xavier as she leaped high into the air.

Xavier and five guards burst into the room, and before Raymond could react, they tackled him to the ground. Luci landed on the other side of the room and watched as one of the guards handed Xavier the syringe of Vampire Acid. He stuck it into his pocket and rushed over to her.

"Are you alright?" Xavier looked her over from head to toe, but what worried him was the sadness in her eyes.

"Yes, he didn't hurt me physically." Raymond's words stuck in her head. If no one wanted her here and they were going to try to remove Xavier from the throne, maybe she should leave. She had thought the biggest hurdle was going to be Xavier's family, but it looked like it was the entire kingdom.

"Throw him in the dungeon away from his daughter. They can both rot there together." Xavier watched as the guards dragged a fighting Raymond away. When he looked at Luci, something in her eyes worried him. He could feel her emotions were all over the place, but the biggest one of all was uncertainty.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Xavier kissed her forehead and led her to the couch. He took out the syringe of Vampire Acid from his pocket and hid it in a secret drawer inside the small table next to the sofa. He pulled Luci onto his lap as he sat down.

"Raymond got to me. He said everyone in the kingdom wanted me to leave because I'm a vampire. He even said that if I stayed, they were going to find a way to keep you from the throne. I don't want to be the reason you're not king." Luci leaned her head on his shoulder, taking comfort in his warm embrace.

"Don't listen to him. He's just bitter about Belinda. No one has voiced these concerns to us. We have spies throughout the kingdom, and they haven't reported anything like this either. I promise nothing is going to keep me from being king or you being my queen." Xavier leaned down and kissed her lips softly. Luci felt herself melting into him.

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Despite what Xavier had said, Luci couldn't help but feel like everyone was looking down on her as the days went by. People stared when she, Bexley, Alessandra, and Janie went shopping.

Bexley said it was because they were royalty, but Luci wasn't so sure. When she smiled at a few people, the looks they gave her were chilling despite the smiles on their faces.

While they were in a little shop, Luci found a bag of mixed herbs that said it could hide her scent. Vampires didn't track people by their scent, but lycans did. She bought the bag without the others seeing it and hid it in her purse.

After they were done shopping and heading back to the palace, a group of women passed them. Luci moved over to let them pass, and one of them intentionally elbowed her in the side. It barely affected her, but she turned to the women in anger.

"Oh, I'm sorry, princess, I didn't see you there. Leeches usually stick to the swamps where they belong." Before Luci could react, Bexley stepped in front of her.

"You better watch it bitch. Luci is a princess now and the next queen. If you mess with her, you mess with all of us. Do you want Xavier to throw your sorry ass in the dungeon?" Bexley couldn't believe the nerve of these women. How dare they act this way toward their future queen?

"She won't be our queen; we don't bow to fleas." Another woman came up to the group and glared at Luci.

"Come on, Bexley, you're wasting your breath." Luci didn't want them to see how much they were getting to her, but they were. It was just like Raymond said. No one wanted her there. She needed to be alone to think.

The four women made it back to the palace with no further incidents, but Bexley was fuming. She wanted to tell Xavier what had happened, but Luci stopped her.

"Just let it go. I don't want to deal with it right now. I'm going to go lay down for a while." Alessandra and Janie looked at each other. They could tell Luci wasn't herself, but they decided to let her go to her room alone.

When Luci got to her and Xavier's room, she was relieved to see he wasn't there. She needed time to think and couldn't do it with him hovering over her. She pulled out the herbs she had bought at the shop and played with them in her hand.

Maybe she should leave the palace, which would give her and Xavier some space. Luci didn't want to go; the thought of being away from Xavier made her heart ache. However, there may be no other way. She didn't want to cost him the throne.

Luci quickly made up her mind that she was going to leave just for a little while. She put on some jeans and a sweater before walking out of their room. She left her phone inside her purse on the table and made her way downstairs. She waved at one of the guards as she stepped outside and walked toward the gardens.

Once she was among the trees, Luci took out the herbs to mask her scent and sprinkled them all over herself, hoping she was doing it correctly. Once all the herbs were gone, she leaped up into a tree and jumped over the gates in a place she knew wasn't being monitored.

Once she was out into the forest, she ran away from the palace as fast as she could. Luci felt Xavier trying to mindlink with her, but she blocked him out. She wasn't leaving him; she just needed time to think.