The Lion’s Forbidden Mate

Lucy hadn’t thought about it like that. There was something sad and disheartening about all of this. She had really liked the man that she met last night; in fact, she wanted to know more about him. She wanted to know why he laughed, what made him cry, and what captivated his thoughts during the day. She couldn’t help but feel like a romantic around him. She couldn’t help but be attracted to him. As she watched him walk, she wondered what it was that Violet had that she didn’t. She supposed, that was the blessing of having a powerful family or clan. Lucy didn’t have anything close to that. Instead, she was from a small town that didn’t matter.

Maybe it was the romantic inside Lucy, but she didn’t believe that parents could pick up true love. She also didn’t believe true love came in the form of a political maneuver. In fact, the more she thought about it she knew true love could only come from the heart. God, she really wanted to be proven right. But, that was what the legend said. The legends claimed that mates had an unshakable bond. It was a bond forged in iron and gold. It was something that was made to last. Of course, she wondered if those who were stuck with political mates thought differently.

From the time she was a child, she’d heard stories about mates. Even if children’s tales about smitten lovers were supposed to make children swoon, that’s not how it really worked, according to Lucy. There was no way parents could pick up on true love. She knew better than that. The world knew better than that. But, she knew that that didn’t stop people from making arranged marriages for mates. She hated that. She hated that sense of feeling helpless and she wanted what she wanted, but that didn’t change the world around her.

She knew she was better than this and there was no reason to make any of this personal. There was an unshakable bond and that was something no one could ever argue about or could ever question. You just left mates alone and as she thought about it, all she could think about was how angry she was at James that he had lied to her about this. He had tricked her and he had deceived her. Why had he done that? What kind of a man did that?

“I could never look as good as Violet,” Becca said with a heavy sigh.

Lucy remembered seeing Violet White on television a few times, but she was so out of touch with music that it was impossible for her to remember what the woman looked like. Lucy bet she could look that stunning too, so could Becca, of course they would just need the army of stylists and make up artists that Violet White had at her beck and call all the time. Oh and they’d need the trainer and the nutritionist, and the fashion expert that made sure that they always looked cute. Yeah, anyone could look that good if they had all of that at their disposal.

She was cynical and as they both let out a heavy sigh, they both tried to pretend like they didn’t hear each other and tried their hardest to kill the awkward moment that had suddenly appeared between them. She looked at Lucy and gave her a smile.

“Get to work finishing up those boxes and meet me at the first venue. I know that this is all really a lot to take in, but in no time, you’re going to have it all down like it’s second hand.” Becca gave her an assuring smile and touched her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry and don’t be scared. We’ll make it through this together.”

“Thanks,” Lucy said with a grin.

Her next two days were spent consolidating a mountain of data and information that she never really understood what it was about. It was her job to make it simple to find someone who sold certain oddball items they might need, like the little screws that could only be used to keep the inflatable beach together for Violet’s concert section or the filters for the lights for when James and the Pride went up onto the stage. It was a lot of senseless, mind-numbingly dull work, but when she ordered room service and charged it to the tour’s expenses, she felt pretty good about herself. She could get used to all of this. In fact, she was getting used to feeling like she knew what was happening in the first place.

All she needed now was to scrub her mind of the terror that was lurking in there that she was pregnant with a cheater’s child. She supposed that she had time to figure everything out and right now, she just needed to act cool and keep it together for the time being. All she could think about were the files in front of her and the boxes that she needed to get rid of. Everything else just sort of faded away. The only time she would look up was when she ate, slept, or answered her phone to keep Lynn updated. Now, all she needed was the concert to get here.