The Lion’s Forbidden Mate

“It doesn’t matter,” Lucy growled, dropping down on to the bed. “If he finds out, then he told me himself he would break everything off with Violet and surrender his title as the future heir to The Pride. He said he didn’t want anything to do with Violet and that it was his parents who had arranged everything. If I tell him, I’m afraid that he’s going to use it as an excuse to give up on Violet and his position and he’ll try to run away with me in disgrace and exile.”

“But he does love you, right?” Becca asked her, the romantic inside of Becca was starting to show. Lucy smiled and that was all that she could do to provide an answer. “He’s the one who has been leaving you all of the letters at the front desk, isn’t he? He’s been trying to contact you, but you’ve been keeping him away.”

“I have to,” Lucy said softly.

“Well, we have to tell him,” Justin said poignantly. “He has to know and regardless of how he reacts to it, it’s a man’s right to know that he might be a father.”

“It’ll ruin everything,” Lucy cut him off. “It’ll stop the tour, ruin The Pride, and it’ll send everything spiraling out of control. It’s already ruined my life, so why should it ruin everyone else’s life? I won’t be the source of all of this strife and suffering.”

“What do you mean?” Becca asked her. She didn’t know about Violet and his brothers. She looked at her with a soft smile. “Does Violet know? Is that why you’re riding in the crew wagon and we haven’t seen around? Oh my God, Violet’s torturing you, isn’t she?”

“She doesn’t know anything,” Lucy said with a shake of her head. “She has some serious suspicions, but she doesn’t actually know anything. I’m sure she’s coming up with all sorts of conclusions and I know that her brothers are here to help her root out her concerns, but I also know that she’s getting closer with every passing day. It’s only a matter of time.”

“Well, she’s a spoiled diva,” Justin said, coming to her aid. “If you tell James, I’m certain he’ll fight for you and make sure that you get some of your privileges back. Just let me get word back to him about all of this.”

Lucy shook her head. “No, I don’t want to cause anymore trouble.”

“Too bad,” Becca said after a moment of thought. “We’re going to tell him whether you want us to or not. I’m not going to have Violet running around treating you like trash. We’ll make sure that we arrange it so that Violet doesn’t know about it. We’ll have it so that she never even catches wind of it.”

“It’s not going to work,” Lucy said bluntly. “She’s going to find out.”

“No,” Justin grinned, “she won’t.”