BriIt was time, I was leaving with the same 2 bags. I came only bringing a few changes of clothes and the gifts the boys and my men had given me. I took one more look around the humble room, my throat tight with emotion, I loved this room, this place, and these people. I’d be leaving this simple rough-hewn, loving home. One full of warmth and fond memories. The pain in my chest throbbed. My fingers are fiddling with a thread on the quilt. It wasn't just the people but the land I was leaving. The stress already pulled at every fiber of my being like pieces of myself threatening to be stripped away. A bandaid left on too long and ready to take with it hair, skin, and all the bits of you that were supposed to remain intact. I heard the boys enter the back of the house and swallowed hard. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes and my throat closed in tighter. Wyatt’s form entered the doorway engulfing the space. I looked over my shoulder at him. His eyes softened, he crossed the distance
BriAs the skiff sped over water she let the tears fall and be carried away on the wind. Her burden of sorrow and pain would mark Beau and me for life. Shadows in the embers of the fires of our souls. It was a strange thing how she gasped out a sob as if physical pain had seized her when we crossed the threshold of the territory.Beau tucked her in close, but she pulled herself together as we neared Mabel's dock. Mabel would take the boat back later shepherding the boys to and from school tomorrow while Landry and Mila kept an eye on them and the territory.The girls embraced and said their farewells before we walked to the church and loaded our bags into the truck.When we settled into the truck Bri's emotions had cleared. She sighed. “I think we need food, does Maria sell breakfast?” Beau and my eyes met over her head. This was going to be bad.“You don't want to wait to get to New Orleans and get some beignets from your Maggie?” Beau tried.“No, I'm not in the mood for anything sw
WyattBri had us pull over once we got into the older part of New Orleans. She pulled her hair through the back of a baseball cap and pulled her hood up on Beau’s hoodie. We all followed suit. We followed her as she led us down dark alleyways that stank of piss and cheap liquor. She had steered clear of the garden district where she said the house was. We were on the outskirts of the historic quarter. All manner of shops and living quarters were tangled here like a puzzle of mismatched pieces. Mardi Gras was in full swing even at its end, which was the peak of tourist season. Music and jubilant glee, mingled with drunken chanting and tipsy stumbling on the main street. Bri stopped at a gate at the back alley of one of the row’s rear gardens down the backside of a row of Creole townhouses and approached the rear door after ensuring Beau closed the gate behind him. She gave the backdoor a peculiar knock like it was some sort of code. Lights flickered within. A knock returned, Bri murmu
BeauA few hours later after using Zoey’s dryer to dry our rain-drenched hoodies we changed and found ourselves entering a coffee shop. The scent of coffee, sugar, and pastries assaulted me. Along with the scent of weed and incense. It reminded me a little of how Bri smelt when she first came to us. Wyatt’s glance at me told me he thought the same. We knew where we were, the girls had spoken about it in front of us but for the scent of such a place to be embedded into the essence of our beloved Bri, meant it was special. Much like the swamp had since found its way into her essence, mingling into all the beautiful fibers that made Bri who she was, whatever she was.We kept our heads down on the street but when we got into the building Wyatt and I pushed our hoods back accessing the place for threats. Bri perked up her gaze searching people at the tables and in the small crowd already dancing without music. Then she kept walking right behind the counter and through the door to the backr
IssacThe girls had walked out for a private chat. The two specimens Mouse had been using as play toys came out in nothing but low-slung jeans and rippling muscles. Damn was she one lucky girl. I glanced them over schooling my face from admitting I wanted to know just how large those packages were. A boy could dream, right? Sis better spill every fucking bean! And she would, once I got her talking in that chair it would be like a never-ending array of images I could savour. I just kept up with my pile of french toast to keep my hands busy, both men’s eyes darted to the door, they were silent yet they looked at each other and their facial expressions told a different story. Were they telepathic? Now I bet that was useful in the bedroom.When Mouse and Zoey came in and she approached them the big guy pulled her to him, his focus impeccable as he tilted her chin up to peer into her eyes. “Everything alright Ma Sha?” “Besides the obvious, yes,” he kissed her brow tenderly before envelo
WyattBri had been down there for hours as we paced Zoey’s apartment. She just watched us from her spot on the couch. She made sandwiches for lunch took a few downstairs and when we went to follow, she glared at us and we huffed when she implied that we would see her when she was ready.She brought up a box with clothes from Celeste and we changed and came dressed in leather pants, snug boots, and nothing more, Our hands held the accessories like they were snakes ready to bite us.“You said you would follow her to her revenge, it’s just a costume,” she drawled rolling her eyes. Beau and I shared glances and nodded at each other before we wrapped the black leather collars adorned with long chains around our necks and returned to pacing. A sharp pang in my heart alerted me to Bri’s distress but quickly eased, the only thing keeping me from barging downstairs. It was one thing being away from her knowing I’d soon return to her, it was a completely different one knowing we would soon be p
BeauWhen we came to the warehouse district where the floats were held Zoey started explaining all the preparations they had made for the parade and how everything would go down I just trailed Bri who had Wyatt’s Jacket slung over her shoulders. He pretended it was to protect her from the chill and not the roving eyes of all of New Orleans. She saw through him and placated him by not saying anything. Me, I was keeping my eye on her rear the way her bustle swayed and her tiny heels cracked. I wanted them digging into my shoulders while I pile drove into her. I didn’t get the point of this parade. It was some sort of statement I supposed but I just wanted my woman while I had her.When the floats started lining up Bri went to dump the jacket in Zoey’s car. “How am I supposed to get through this night knowing all of New Orleans has seen her like that?” Wyatt sighed, his eyes trained on her like a watchdog ready to lunge. Isaac who had a foe fur cape and a top hat on along with some pain
Prologue BriMy fingers brushed the smooth stone of the mausoleum. The tips traced the words of the machine-hewn inscription. Sabastian Piere La’ Blanc, Dutiful Husband, Leader, and Humanitarian. The symbol of the coven etched beneath it. A coven raised within New Orleans meshing the world of cajun hereditary witches with the deep roots of voodoo practitioners. My fingers traced the dates from his birth to the day life ended in 1994, ten achingly long years ago. He deserved to have a craftsman etching his stone crypt, not some effortless, heartless machine, chiseling out empty words void of empathy. The pads of my fingers caressed each chip in the stone,I felt he deserved. There was nothing in the inscription, to note the little girl he left behind after his death. The only soul who still visited his grave every weekend, placing flowers in the vases at the door. The only one who still mourned his insurmountable loss. There is nothing here