The Lion’s Forbidden Mate

Chapter 5

Her life got to a point where it was a routine and she could handle all of it. It was a strange feeling, but with every concert and every venue they played and every time she marked something off of her list, she felt a sense of accomplishment that made her happy. It made everyone happy to tick another location off of the list on the back of the T-Shirts that they sold. Through the whole month of May, they would stop in a city, camp out and play a couple venues for a few nights, and then pack up to travel to another city. It was the kind of strange life that Lucy couldn’t imagine herself ever getting into.

But here she was and soon enough, she was part of the crew. People loved her and they called her Little Lucy, everyone gave her the respect that her position deserved and no one ever gave her grief. She suspected that Becca had a little to do with this. But, she made sure that she never made anyone angry and that she was kind to everyone who was missing something in their containers or one of their charges went missing. She was there to take care of them and help them find it.

People liked her for her cheery mentality and the goodness in her heart that she projected onto her tasks. Lynn began to trust her more and she was given more and more responsibility, along with more jobs she wasn’t used to getting. But she liked that she was getting to a higher point of prominence in the group. She liked having a purpose, like this was the family she never knew she needed.

After the first night, there were no more of the crazy parties like the one that they had celebrated after the first night. Things became a little more low key, even though there were still celebrations. The crew usually hung out together with whatever group they were a part of, scouting out a bar or a club for them to hit and raid like locusts on a farm.

She usually joined Justin, Becca, and the head of the wardrobe department, Claire, as they visited a local bar and hang out together for a few hours, talking about problems or just talking shop. Sometimes other people would meet up with them, like Duke who was in charge of the sound department, or one of the band members. One time, James had hung out with them and the entire time, she could feel his foot against her leg, gently brushing her and reminding her that he was there. She had liked that night most of all. As they made their way down the east coast, Lucy became part of the gang. Everything was adventurous and exciting to her. Every day, there was a different problem and she came up with a different solution for it. There was really nothing that scared her anymore.

After they finished up in Philadelphia, she headed back to the hotel with Becca and Justin, listening as Duke told them about some chick that he was going to meet up with later. Lucy said goodbye to him and headed to the front desk where they all asked if there were any messages.

Just like every night, there was one message waiting for Lucy and it was in a single envelope that she immediately recognized. She smiled and took it from the lady waiting at the desk for them.

“Who keeps leaving you those?” Becca asked her with a smile on her sweet face.

“My mom and dad,” Lucy answered.

She took the message and waited to open it until she got back to her room. It was a blatant lie, but Becca would never be able to tell the difference and she would never know it was a lie. She didn’t dare tell her that every night, James somehow got a message to her, telling her one fact about himself or something he’d thought about that day. She loved his little messages and they made her smile. She would stuff them in her luggage, binding them together with a rubber band and hiding them away so no one could ever find them. She didn’t want to incriminate him if someone ever found them. That was the last thing she wanted to do.

They made their way up the stairs since they’d resolved never to take the elevator after suffering the never-ending elevator rides at their headquarters. They reached their floor and were passing the elevator just as the doors were closing and Lucy got a look at the people who were inside the elevator. At first, she didn’t think she recognized the woman standing there with her baggy clothes and her enormous sunglasses, but it hit her like a cannonball the moment the elevator doors were shut.

“That was Violet,” Lucy cried, staring at the doors in a baffled confusion.

“Yeah, she’s from Philadelphia,” Justin said after a moment, reaching the top of the stairs and looking at the closed doors with Lucy. “Her brothers just showed up and they’re coming with us. Big bas*ards. I didn’t think they made men that large, but there they are.”

“Why are they coming along?” Lucy found that oddly suspicious.

“Extra protection,” Justin said with a disgusted tone in his voice. “I don’t know what it is Violet thinks her brothers are going to do if someone tries to get to her, but she’s in a hotel full of Shifters. You’d think that would be protection enough for the little princess, but I guess not.”

“She’s only one of the most popular and powerful divas in the world,” Becca said; oddly enough, she was siding with the woman that Lucy had pretty much vowed to be the mortal enemy of.

She realized there would never be a day when the two of them got together and had a fun, laughing time. In fact, there was a day on the horizon where they were going to get together and all there was going to be were tears. There would be no happiness, no joy, and no friendly remarks. That was the truth of the matter and Lucy was just fine with that. By the cruel hands of fate, Violet was given the rights to the man that Lucy knew she was destined to be with. There was something wrong with that but she wasn’t going to be forgiving about it.