When the tour manager found that Danika had disappeared, they went looking for her. Of course they started with Lucian's castle. Louise had called the castle and Alina, who just happened to be at the castle because of Larcon's appearance, answered the phone. Alina had tried in vain to be delicate around the subject of what had happened but the whole conversation turned into a mess. How could she explain it easily? She tried to speak in a clear tone that was calm as she explained that her cousin, a deranged man who wanted the impossible had abducted Danika, held her to ransom and then tried to kill her. After a few minutes of one sister freaking out, a flood of tears and sobs, Alina managed to get in that she was fine. Being a nurse, Louise knew that fine and stab wound to the stomach didn't sit in the same sentence together too well. With a few more gentle words, Alina explained that Lucian did his best to save her, being that he had the ability to heal all sorts of wounds for vampires just by the power of his mind. She waited as the words sunk in, Louise was thinking about the statement. Danika had a stab wound, if she was human there was nothing Lucian could do for her. If she was a vampire, he could repair the wound, so he turned her. By the time that Alina had tried her best to avert her fears and issues, Louise had resolved that everyone was going to turn around at that very moment and return to the castle. They were only a few hours' drive from the place and it wasn't a major detour from their itinerary. It seemed the obvious choice seeing as she was going to be laid up for at least another day and they couldn't go anywhere without her. They weren't impressed that she was unwell, her turn taking a little longer because of the stab wound.

While Danika was resting, Lucian discussed the options with the band members and Louise, taking a tour of the bus that they travelled in. Lucian was shocked when he saw inside the mode of transportation and not just the exterior. He was not impressed that his love was travelling in such a pitiful, untrustworthy contraption. After a lengthy conversation with his mother and Terrance about the options available, a solution was found. Terrance was his usual stuffy self, pacing the boardroom floors behind Alina as he spoke about what should have happened when Danika found out she had to leave. Sensible adults talk about their issues, not yell and throw tantrums. Intelligent adults seek a solution to their issues and if they cannot find anything suitable, they ask for help. And most of all, the future king of Rostonin should be a wise man who knows about a myriad of things. Things ranging from vampires and their methods of transportation, rock faces and clever time management through to varying types of rock faces and the minimum thickness of the stone required for opening a gate. Terrance had stared at Lucian, waiting for him to put the pieces together. Waiting for him to see the solution that should have been so obvious, if he had stopped to think about it. Of course Lucian was drawing a blank. His mother sat opposite him with a wry smile on her face, her hands sitting on the table with her fingers laced into each other, watching her son struggle to figure it out. She's a vampire. How do vampires travel with ease? What could you put inside the bus? Lucian gasped as his eyes widened, figuring it out. Minutes later he was on the phone, ordering exactly what she needed. One custom built bus that had one special addition to it.

Danika just shook her head when she saw the new bus that he had ordered but then she smiled when she saw the extra addition. A door but not just any door, it was a rock wall. She questioned the weight of it on the poor suspension and Lucian told her it was a light weight rock and that the bus had been custom fitted to cope. It was only a thin sliver of rock, the bare minimum that was needed to be usable. This now allowed Danika to travel through to mid-jump where ever she was and within minutes she could be by his side. The boys liked their new bus, it had all the mod cons and there was no cramped bus rides any more. They were fascinated with the rock and watched with gaping mouths as she opened it and departed through it. Danika thought it was only a matter of time before they would ask to be turned, she had been practising her new trick of mind reading on her band mates. It was in their minds, the fascination, the cool tricks, the fact that she ages so very slowly and death is near on impossible. They thought that being a vampire was awesome.

Most days were of the same routine, Lucian would rise from his light sleep and see is his love resting peacefully. She knew instantly when he was watching her, a grin would curl into those perfect pink lips. He would take her hand and kiss the ring that he had given her, Danika loved her good morning kiss. Rarely did he wake and she wasn't in his arms, always holding onto him as if her life depended on it. Or maybe his life depended on it. Either way, he didn't mind, it was a wonderful feeling. To him there was nothing better than rolling into her body, moulding their shapes together and laying in the tranquillity of the morning. They would have their morning breakfast together before Danika parted for mid-jump, to move onto the bus in whatever town it was in. Lucian spent his mornings walking through the new garden, overseeing the building works. Everything was happening at a fast rate now, the castle was in a much better shape and the list of urgent works was almost complete. Even the non-essential list was being knocked over fast. Lucian didn't mind that his home was swarming with builders on a daily basis, he could see the improvements each and every day. By the time they departed through the gate of an afternoon, he would walk around and look at what they had done. Many times, he would have his grandparents and great grandparents with him, walking around and inspecting the repairs. The garden had an overhaul too. The staff no longer feared treading the path and now he sought an Eden for his family. It was being prepared for the future, Lucian had a grand plan for the area, one that would be of great use in coming months.

After his morning stroll, Lucian would set about doing his new found duties, being king. He would have liked to have been married first, so that when he was crowned as king, Danika would be by his side as his wife. But of course Terrance wasn't prepared to wait for the year to pass and it had to be done. His only consolation on the subject was that at least she was at the ceremony. She watched alongside his family, chatting and engaging with them. And what shocked Lucian the most was that Terrance broke with tradition, the service wasn't in a church as what was usually done, this was done in the ball room. It didn't make any sense to Lucian until he walked in and saw his grandparents and his great grandparents sitting among his family, their billowing figures floating over their seats. It was perfect and he felt like hugging Terrance for it. Not that he would, that would be a bit much.

To add to his inner peace, Lucian spoke with Ariella. It had started off rather awkward but by the end of it, both of them had decided that Lucian was an idiot and had deserved many things. But that was in the past and they both wanted it left there. He apologised, knowing it should have been said a very long time ago but they both knew that Lucian had truly feel sorry first before it could ever be said. She forgave him for his lies and the cheating and wished him well, not just for his future and his new kingdom but for his love. Ariella told him that she had always wished for him to find his mate, knowing how good the love is. She too knew the pain of waiting for them to turn up in their life, but in the end they both agreed that it was worth the wait. Lucian looked over at Danika who was having a rather pleasant conversation with Ariella's husband. Lucian had always detested Zane, thinking that if he wasn't around he might have stood another chance with Ariella. But he knew that this was for the best, Ariella wasn't the woman for him.

In the evenings if he didn't have a council meeting on, Lucian would join Danika at her concert, quite frequently he would have Marinya with him. She loved the fact that she would soon have Danika as a sister in law. Suddenly Lucian wasn't the ogre that she had always seen him as, now he was the best brother on the planet. Lucian noted with much discomfort that Spencer was hanging around, a lot. In particular, around his sister. There wasn't much he could do, she was an adult and her life was hers to decide. That didn't stop Lucian from having words with Spencer about behaving himself and treating her right. After all, Lucian knew all about the world of not treating women right and he didn't want that for his little sister.

********************

Lucian sat at his desk staring out the window, trying to ignore the mountain of paperwork in front of him. He wondered if he needed help, it was common for a king to have a personal assistant or a secretary. Gone were the days of Jonah being around to help him, and he needed a brilliant mind like his too. Lucian pursed his lips at the thought of an assistant, if Jonah hadn't volunteered for being the director of the farm he could have easily convinced him to come here and be the assistant he clearly needed. The alternative was to hire someone but that made Lucian feel very uncomfortable. He knew that Danika trusted him when it came to other women but he wondered if that trust was wise. Lucian didn't want temptation near him every day. Sure he had mated love with Danika but he wasn't prepared to risk losing her again. He saw his grandparents floating past the window. Lucian couldn't help but smile, it was an odd concept to share a house with four ghosts but he loved it. The staff had become more at ease now that they knew what was out there and that none of them were going to harm them. Now the four ghosts freely roamed the yard and the castle. No longer were they restricted to the mausoleum or in his great grandparent's case, the scary garden. Lucian jumped to his feet, taking great strides to the window. As he opened it, they looked to him with smiles.

'Good morning grandson.'

'Good morning, can I bother you with a question?'

'Of course.'

Lucian waited as they floated through the wall, taking a seat in front of his desk. He grinned as he walked past them, they acted as though they were still alive, sitting on seats even though they didn't need to.

'I think I need help.' he gestured to the paperwork 'I know that I can consult all of you in regards to many things but there are some things that I uh...'

'Need a physical presence?' Nicoleta grinned at him.

'Yes.' Lucian let out a pained laugh 'I would have ordinarily employed an assistant but I fear the temptation of a woman in my company for too long.'

Nicoleta looked at her husband and then back to the younger Lucian.

'Darling you and Danika have mated love, you will be able to fight temptation no matter how great it is.'

'But I do not want her to worry about it, I do not want to stress her with thoughts of my fidelity. Mated love is a new concept for her, she doesn't fully understand it. My past will always haunt me, she would look back and think that one woman could not fulfil my need but she does.'

'Lucian, you should tell her that.'

'Darling.' Nicoleta chided him 'Understand how she may perceive things. Our grandson speaks of his past where it has contained many women, am I right?'

Lucian nodded woefully.

'So even if she does understand the concept of mated love she may still worry for him. She may not see herself worthy or even able to keep hold of him. I understand this pain Lucian, I worried for the many women that looked at you.'

'But you had no reason to my love, I was only ever interested in one woman.'

'I know that darling but that doesn't mean that my mind wouldn't have niggling thoughts. What I am trying to help you to understand is that Danika may think the same as I once did. She may have those niggling thoughts too. It only takes one flutter of the eyes from a pretty woman and those thoughts start to creep in.'

Lucian agreed with his grandmother. Just one little thought could send his happy world into a spiral.

'So what to do.' Nicoleta hummed as she thought about it 'She studied at university, is that correct?'

'Yes.' he frowned 'Well, kind of. She got half way through a law degree which has to include vampire law.'

Nicoleta turned to the elder Lucian with a smile, he laughed and shook his head.

'Grandson, this is our suggestion. Tell your bride to be of your need and your concerns. Have an open and honest conversation about anything that needs to be covered in relation to your need for an assistant. Ensure that she understands that it is imperative that you have one. Then suggest to her that you either employ someone who is qualified for the position or she return to university, complete her education and become the assistant you need. Let her decide who will fill this role.'

Lucian's eyes lit up, it was a brilliant idea.

**************************************

Lucian had been pacing back and forth past the rock face, waiting for his love to come home. He was eager to have the conversation about the assistant with her, wanting to know her thoughts on the subject. Lucian would love to have her by his side every day but he wouldn't force it on her. If she wanted to continue her music career and was happy for him to have an assistant, then he would accept it. He sighed as he looked at his watch, she was taking longer than he expected. There wasn't a concert on tonight, it was just a few interviews and then she would be back at a reasonable hour. At least that's what he thought. When the door cracked open and she walked through, the look on her face was one of horror.

'Lucian, why aren't you ready?'

'Ready for what?'

'Oh my god, seriously? The awards ceremony is tonight.'

She let the rock door slap shut and pushed him into the castle, much to his protests he was going to the ceremony.

Danika flicked through his clothes, finding an outfit that was reasonably suited to what she was wearing. Lucian looked at it with a raised eyebrow but said nothing. Tonight was about his beloved not him. He flicked on his black jeans and sat on the edge of the bed to put his boots on. Danika was still deciding between two shirts. Lucian narrowed his eyes at one of the shirts, it was that shirt.

'Could it not be that one please?' Lucian muttered. 'Anything but that.'

'I like Scarlett's music.'

'That's great, really it is but remember that there are some things that are best left to rest and I fear wearing that shirt may make people ask questions. Do you want them snooping into my past?'

'Lucian, your past is out there already, there is no snooping. Put this one on then.'

She tossed the black shirt with a skull on it and waited for him to put it on. He stood and lifted the shirt over his body, Danika couldn't help but watch as his body moved and contorted. The muscles twisted as he pulled the shirt down, making his hair scruffy. Lucian looked at Danika, she was leaning on the wall biting her bottom lip, looking at him as if she wanted to forget the ceremony and rip his clothes off. He chuckled as he sauntered over, pressing her into the wall.

'Something wrong my lovely?'

Danika gulped at his words, his voice was smooth and sultry, echoing a soft whisper through her mind of pure lust.

'Maybe we could stay here.'

'We could.' Lucian grinned with humour in his voice 'But then we would miss out on the ceremony and we can't have that, can we?'

Lucian stepped away from her body and took her hand, dragging his disgruntled and bereft fiancée out of the bedroom and to the rock face.

'I want to discuss something with you.'

Lucian tapped the bus gate into the computer in mid jump.

'Oh?'

'I need an assistant; I am struggling with... everything.' he sighed.

'I know.' she said softly.

'My grandparents have suggested one of two options and to let you decide so as not to be forceful upon you or create jealousy.'

Danika raised her eyebrows at him, wondering what might cause jealousy. The door to the bus swung open to the sounds of the boys playing a video game. They stepped through and let the door shut, making their way to the front of the bus away from the noise. Lucian could see they were drawing closer to the hotel where they boys would be staying. They sat on the seats as the city flicked past them slowly, the bus catching nearly every red light.

'They suggested that you decide if I hire an assistant or if you become that assistant.'

Danika looked at him and said nothing, unsure of how to respond.

'I don't want you to get jealous if I hire an assistant, we have mated love and it means that our fidelity is really strong.'

She nodded quietly as he toyed with her fingers, playing with the engagement ring.

'Then there is the alternative, become that assistant. You are more than capable, I know it. Even from what Phabel has said of your studies, I know that I could rely on you to be good at this role. You were studying vamp law; you love our world.' Lucian sighed 'I don't want to take your music away from you so that is why I am asking for you to make this decision.'

'Alright.'

Lucian looked at her, the delicate eyebrows were pressed inwards as she frowned, her eyes looked down at her lap.

'You want to get the old pro's and con's list happening again?' Lucian smiled at her.

Danika laughed and nodded her head.

'How about you give me a decision at the end of the tour?'

'Sure. I can do that.'

Lucian chuckled as he pulled her into his embrace, wrapping his arms around her.

'Are you going to win tonight my love?'

'Absolutely.'