Moon Kissed

by Donna Grant

  MOON

  KISSED

  A LaRue Story

  DONNA GRANT

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Moon Kissed

  © 2014 by DL Grant, LLC

  Excerpt from Hot Blooded copyright © 2014 by Donna Grant

  Cover design © 2014 by Leah Suttle

  ISBN 10: 1942017049

  ISBN 13: 978-1942017042

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce or transmit this book, or a portion thereof, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author. This book may not be resold or uploaded for distribution to others. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  www.DonnaGrant.com

  Available in ebook and print editions

  PRONUNCIATIONS & GLOSSARY

  GLOSSARY:

  Andouille (ahn-doo-ee) & Boudin (boo-dan)

  Two types of Cajun sausage. Andouille is made with pork while boudin with pork and rice.

  Bayou (by-you)

  A sluggish stream bigger than a creek and smaller than a river

  Beignet (bin-yay)

  A fritter or doughnut without a hole, sprinkled with powdered sugar

  Cajun (‘ka-jun)

  A person of French-Canadian descent born or living along southern Louisiana.

  Etoufee (ay-two-fay)

  Tangy tomato-based sauce dish usually made with crawfish or shrimp and rice

  Gumbo (gum-bo)

  Thick, savory soup with chicken, seafood, sausage, or wild game

  Hoodoo (hu-du)

  Also known as “conjure” or witchcraft. Thought of as “folk magic” and “superstition”. Some say it is the main force against the use of Voodoo.

  Jambalaya (jom-bah-LIE-yah)

  Highly seasoned mixture of sausage, chicken, or seafood and vegetables, simmered with rice until liquid is absorbed

  Maman (muh-mahn)

  Term used for grandmother

  Parish

  A Louisiana state district; equivalent to the word county

  Sha (a as in cat)

  Term of affection meaning darling, dear, or sweetheart.

  Voodoo (vu-du) – New Orleans

  Spiritual folkways originating in the Caribbean. New Orleans Voodoo is separate from other forms (Haitian Vodou and southern Hoodoo). New Orleans Voodoo puts emphasis on Voodoo Queens and Voodoo dolls.

  Zydeco (zy-dey-coh)

  Accordion-based music originating in Louisiana combined with guitar and violin while combing traditional French melodies with Caribbean and blues influences

  PRONUNCIATION:

  Arcineaux (are-cen-o)

  Chiasson (ch-ay-son)

  Davena (dav-E-na)

  Delia (d-ee-l-ee-uh)

  Delphine (d-eh-l-FEEN)

  Dumas (dOO-mah-s)

  Gilbeaux (g-ih-l-b-oh)

  Lafayette (lah-fai-EHt)

  LaRue (l-er-OO)

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  A special thanks goes out to my family who lives in the bayous of Louisiana. Those summers there are some of my best memories. I also need to send a shout-out to my team – Bridgette B, Candace C, Stephanie D, Kelly M, Kristin N, Vanessa R, Shani S. You guys are the bomb. Hats off to my editor, Chelle Olson, and design extraordinaire, Leah Suttle. Thank you all for helping me get this story out!

  Lots of love to my amazing family. Thanks for putting up with my hectic schedule and for knowing when it was time that I got out of the house. And a special hug for my furbabies Lexi, Sheba, Sassy, Tinkerbell, and Diego.

  Last but not least, my readers. You have my eternal gratitude for the amazing support you show me and my books. Y’all rock my world. Stay tuned at the end of this story for the first sneak peek of Hot Blooded, Dark Kings book 4 out December 30, 2014. Enjoy!

  Xoxo

  Donna

  CHAPTER ONE

  Gator Bait Bar

  New Orleans, Louisiana

  Myles looked through the receipts from the night before from his seat at the end of the bar. While he tallied their profits and balanced the books, his younger brother, Kane, was going through their liquor supply to place another order.

  A shout from the pool tables interrupted Myles as he was inputting numbers in his laptop. He turned his head to the side and glared at his other two brothers – Solomon and Court – who were enjoying their daily pool game, making it difficult for him to do his duty as their CPA.

  The games began when Court was barely tall enough to play properly. Solomon was the one to teach Court the game, beating him soundly every time. It was a LaRue trait that once they set their minds to something, they didn’t relent until they had whatever it was they wanted. For Court, that had been beating Solomon. When it had finally happened, Solomon had been unprepared, thinking he still had years of winning ahead of him.

  From that day onward, there had been few things that disrupted their daily games, and that included hurricanes.

  “You’d think they would’ve ended the rivalry,” Kane said without looking up from his clipboard as he wrote down numbers.

  Myles watched his brother closely. After the fiasco with the daughter of the Devil himself, Delphine, and their cousins in Lyons Point, Kane hadn’t been the same.

  Then again, who would be unchanged after being cursed by a Voodoo priestess out to annihilate your family?

  “They’ll be using walkers and still playing pool,” Myles said. He closed his laptop. Kane was tense, too tense. “You know, you’ll have to talk about what happened one day.”

  Kane was in the process of replacing a bottle of Ciroc vodka on the shelf when he froze. There was the slightest tightening of his shoulders before he turned his head and glowered at Myles with his bright blue eyes – eyes that every LaRue had.

  “I’ve done all the talking I’m going to,” Kane stated in a hard voice.

  Myles didn’t respond as Kane turned back around. Everything about Kane was perfectly tailored, from his golden blond hair to his shirt tucked into his jeans down to the laces of his shoes exactly the same size when tied. This was not the Kane of old. That Kane would roll out of bed with his messy hair, throw on a tee shirt and jeans, and flash a smile that stopped women in their tracks.

  This new Kane was too uptight, too...controlled.

  “It’s not your fault.”

  Kane whirled around, his eyes blazing with fury, but there was no shouting from this new Kane. His nostrils flared, his hands fisted. “It’s my fault I caught Delphine’s attention. Wasn’t it bad enough that one of our ancestors screwed with a Voodoo priestess and caused us to be werewolves? Apparently, not for me. I thought I could do whatever I wanted. Delphine wanted to teach me a lesson.” Kane snorted derisively. “She wanted Ava killed, and who better to do it than the cousin of the Chiassons who were protecting her?”

  “You didn’t kill her,” Myles pointed out.

  Kane rolled his eyes. “It’s a good thing too, or Lincoln would’ve skinned me. And I would’ve welcomed it. We know what we are, who we are when we shift, but if I had killed Ava, all of my memories would’ve been wiped. I’d have been a monster. Just like those we hunt.”

  “It’s why we called our cousins, remember? We couldn’t come after you because we’d captured Delphine.” Myles always wanted to scrub himself in acid after he thought of that vile bitch. It had taken almost every trick they knew to confine Delphine, and then it nearly backfired on them.

  Kane braced his hands on the bar and let out a deep breath. “I was reckless, Myles. I didn’t just put our family at risk, I put our cousins’, as well. If Ava hadn’t been with them...” he trailed of
f, unable to answer.

  It was a feeling each of them experienced. Kane was dealing with nearly losing himself to the wolf within, but he had no idea how the events had changed the rest of them. And Myles wasn’t about to tell him.

  It hadn’t been just the curse from Delphine or even capturing her, it was Court sprinkling the goofer dust around them so none of Delphine’s people could get to her. It was Solomon ready to kill every last one of her followers. It was Myles with his fangs around Delphine’s throat, ready to clamp down.

  That night, all three of the brothers had been prepared – and willing – to do anything and everything to save Kane.

  “It’d been too long since we saw the Chiassons. Both sides of the family have been so busy fighting the supernatural that, we forgot each other.” Myles shrugged with a grin, hoping to take both of their minds off Delphine. “You changed all that.”

  Kane shot him a look and tossed a towel at him. The softening of Kane’s mouth was as close to a smile as they would get, but it was enough for Myles.

  Since it wasn’t yet ten in the morning, all four LaRues were surprised when the door to the bar opened and a woman with hair so brown it was almost black walked in. She shoved the long hair over her shoulder as the door shut behind her and looked around the room with bright blue eyes.

  Myles slid off the stool as he realized he was looking at his only female cousin, Riley Chiasson. He stopped in front of her and smiled. “The last time I saw you, you were in pigtails and running roughshod over your brothers.”

  Riley’s smile was slow, showing a dimple in her left cheek. “I wondered if you’d know who I was.”

  “With eyes like that?” Solomon said as he set down his cue stick atop the pool table and walked to her. “There’s no denying our family. What brings you to our neck of the woods?”

  Riley swallowed and looked at each of them until she met Myles’ gaze. “Since you so graciously pointed out that I was a little girl the last time we saw each other, names put to faces would be great.”

  Myles pointed to Solomon. “That’s the jackass who thinks just because he’s the eldest, he can make decisions for us.”

  “Solomon,” Riley said with a nod at him.

  “Next up in the order is me,” Myles said, waiting to see if she would know.

  Riley raised a dark brow. “Then you’re Myles.”

  “Very good,” he said. “The scowling one behind the bar is next.”

  Riley’s smile slipped as she shifted her gaze. “Kane.” They stared at each other for a heartbeat before Riley turned her head to the pool table. “Which leaves the youngest, Court.”

  Solomon crossed his arms over his chest. “Now that that’s settled, why not tell us why you’re visiting.”

  When she hesitated, Myles wrapped an arm around her and walked her to the bar where Kane filled a glass with ice and then water. She sat on one of the stools and closed her fingers around the glass.

  Myles exchanged a look with Solomon. By the way Riley was acting, it was obvious she hadn’t told her brothers where she was.

  “Do you know I was sent away?” she asked, her gaze on the bar. “Vin said he didn’t want me to be a part of the family business.”

  “You’re his only sister. I’d have done the same,” Court said as he joined them.

  Riley shrugged. “I’d have liked to have some say in it. All of my brothers agreed with Vin, even Beau. The day after I graduated high school, Vincent drove me to Austin. I’ve lived in Texas for years. Going to college, working. I wanted to go home.”

  “Did you tell Vin that?” Solomon asked.

  Riley shook her head. “I thought it would be okay to go home since Vin was marrying Olivia, and Lincoln and Ava were together.”

  “You just showed up, didn’t you?” Kane asked softly.

  Riley looked up at him. “Olivia and Ava knew what I had planned. They told me how Beau had met Davena. There were three women at the house now. I figured that meant Vin wouldn’t keep me away.”

  “But you didn’t know about everything that’d happened,” Myles guessed.

  Riley snorted and said, “The Chiassons and LaRues have been fighting the supernatural since before I was born. My mother had five children and still fought beside her husband. I should be able to go home.”

  “Your brothers just want what’s best.” Solomon took the stool on her left. “Surely you understand that.”

  “I do, but I haven’t seen my home in over four years. They always seemed to have some crisis or another around my breaks that prevented me from returning.”

  Myles saw the desolation and unhappiness in her gaze, a look he recognized all too well in Kane’s eyes of late. “So what happened when you showed up?”

  “There was no big, happy family reunion as I’d hoped,” she said with a laugh, her lips in a tight smile. “Vin was furious. He and Olivia got in a huge fight because she tried to convince him to let me stay. It didn’t take long for all of them to begin arguing. That’s when Vin told me to go back to Texas. I told him to kiss my ass and I stormed out to my car. Then I started driving. Before I knew it, I was here.”

  Court leaned his forearms on the end of the bar. “I spoke to Christian yesterday. He filled me in on Delphine’s appearance in Lyons Point. These are dangerous times, Riley.”

  “They’re always dangerous. Riley’s a Chiasson. She knows how to fight,” Kane said to Court. He then turned his gaze to Riley. “What’s your plan?”

  She tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’d like to stay here a couple of days to figure out what I’ll do next. If that’s okay.”

  “Next?” Solomon repeated. “You’re not going back to Austin?”

  Her smile was sad. “I graduated in June. My brothers don’t even know. All the times I called home, they didn’t have time to talk because of something they were hunting. I had no family in attendance. I even remained for a few months thinking they might realize their mistake, but there’s always something to keep them from remembering me.”

  Kane covered her hand with his. “They remember. Trust me. You had a chance at a normal life, Riley. They didn’t. Neither did we.”

  “Of course,” she said too quickly.

  Myles wasn’t fooled. Riley was hurting, and she needed someplace to lick her wounds. “You’re welcome here for as long as you need.”

  His brothers were nodding in agreement before he finished talking.

  “Thank you, but I can only accept on one condition,” Riley said.

  Court shrugged, not understanding. “Name it.”

  “None of you can tell any of my brothers or their women.”

  Riley might be beautiful, but she had a sharp mind. At that moment, Myles realized the trap she’d led them into. If they didn’t allow her to stay, they couldn’t keep an eye on her, and as hunters–and her family–that was their duty. By making them agree to her terms, she ensured that she wouldn’t have her brothers descending upon her to get her back to Texas.

  “I never saw that coming,” Kane said, one side of his lips lifted in a grin.

  Myles caught Solomon’s and Court’s gaze. Perhaps Riley was just what Kane needed to help him remember to smile and laugh again. Kane could look out for her, which would help him heal.

  “You do know the full moon will be here in a few days?” Solomon asked her.

  Riley looked at him as if he were a simpleton. “I’m a Chiasson. Of course, I know. So don’t bother trying to lecture me. I know the divides in New Orleans where vampires, witches, demons, werewolves, and djinn are housed. I also know enough to stay away from Delphine and anything to do with Voodoo.”

  “She’s a Chiasson, all right,” Myles said with a grin.

  Riley was a breath of fresh air and seemed to be just what the LaRues needed. Vincent might lament having a sister because of the worry it took to keep her safe, but Myles wondered how different the LaRues’ lives would’ve been if they’d had a sister among them.

  “I’ll get her settled
,” Kane said as he came around the bar.

  Myles, Solomon, and Court watched the two of them walk from the building with Riley talking and Kane nodding his head.

  “I don’t know if this is a good idea,” Solomon said.

  Court ran his hand through his chin-length butterscotch blond hair. “It’s done now. She knew we couldn’t let her leave.”

  “She got Kane to smile. That’s a vast improvement over the last few weeks,” Myles pointed out. “He needs something to do, and Riley just gave him the opportunity.”

  Solomon slid off the stool. “Let’s hope you’re right, because when Vin discovers Riley is here, we may well have the entire Chiasson clan on our asses.”

  “Think how we could clear out New Orleans with all of us,” Court said. “No more pacts with the five houses. New Orleans could be clear once more.”

  Myles knew Court had been joking, but it made sense. “We can’t bring Delphine and her followers down by ourselves. With four more, we’d stand a really good chance.”

  “Especially with Beau’s woman being a witch,” Court pointed out.

  Solomon pinned Myles with a look. “First, we make sure nothing happens to Riley, because Chiasson or not, she’s not been hunting like we have. If anything happens to her–”