Enola stood on shaky legs and searched for Gideon. She sighed with relief when her eyes landed on her husband’s, black wolf, and the rest of his pack. They were a few feet away, ripping through every vampire that dared to come near their incapacitated family.
Margo looked up and shouted, “You good, Nola?”
Enola cleared the frog from her throat.
“Yeah, but what the hell was that?”
Margo shrugged.
“Nola, we need Gran. I ain’t never seen no shit like this.”
Enola’s dropped her head.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” she admitted. An overwhelming feeling of defeat flowed through her.
“I know. Me either. But we got my mother and the mean ole lady gang. We’ll be okay. But, for now, let’s just get the fuck outta here.”
Enola looked around at the knock-down-drag-out surrounding them, wondering how they could escape. But the only way they were getting out of the coven alive was by killing every witch and spellbound vampire in sight.
Ruby and the older women joined them.
“The hatred in this room is covering me like a blanket,” Ruby warned.
“Child, your husband and them wolves ain’t gonna be able to hold them vampires off,” Madame Belfour pointed out. “Why don’t you just burn them up or something?”
“I haven’t exactly perfected this fire thing. I don’t wanna mess around and kill my husband and his pack.”
“All you have to do is concentrate on a specific target,” Madame Belfour encouraged.
Enola shook her head. “It doesn’t always work like that for me.”
“You’ve done it before,” Margo pointed out.
It was true. In the French Quarter, she’d targeted and killed the vampires that attacked them. And she had done it again when the vampires attacked them at her grandmother’s home, but she had no idea how. It was a mixture of anger and fear that created the perfect storm that fueled her.
“Well, you better do something, child!” Madame LaRue snapped. “Or we’re all dead!”
Their spell wasn’t working. The wolves were outnumbered, and the vampires were unrelenting. Her family was depending on her. Enola had to do something. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to drown out the horrific sounds of the deathmatch happening around her and concentrate on their enemies.
Enola quieted the noise in her head, prioritizing her enemies; the first being the witches. After all, they were the ones who compelled the vampires to kill. Enola searched with her mind’s eye and found nothing. It was like a wall separating the witches from the rest of them. Then, suddenly, a bomb of excruciating pain went off in her head.
Enola clutched her skull and fell to her knees. She would have screamed, but the pain left her mute.
“Nola!” Margo cried, grabbing her shoulders.
Unable to find her voice, Enola could only shake her head.
“What happened, baby?” Ruby’s voice was clouded with anxiety.
It was a question for which Enola had no answer. She had no idea what had happened. When the pain subsided, she stood with the help of her cousin.
“Can you try again?” Margo asked.
Enola hesitated. It would be painful to revisit the experience. A yelp from one wolf gave her no choice. She closed her eyes, ready to zero in on the targets, but was startled by a frightening roar that shook the room. Her eyes flew open and landed on their host.
Bishop’s, normally blue eyes had turned jet-black. He snarled, displaying long, sharp fangs. At the speed of light, he positioned himself between the vampires and the wolves. As if stalking his prey, Gideon’s wolf growled and paced in front of the vampire, ready to pounce.
The vampire by Bishop’s side, the one they called Basile, advanced toward Gideon. Bishop held him at bay with a hand to his chest.
Bishop looked from Gideon to Enola.
“Break the spell!” he growled.
Enola shook her head frantically.
“I don’t know how!”
“No, she doesn’t,” came from the feminine voice that caused all the chaos.
Some words were recited, maybe in Latin, that calmed the savagery surrounding them. Then it was silent. Wide-eyed, extremely confused, vampires looked around the disheveled room. While they were trying to figure out what had happened, assessing the damage, Enola was busy searching the room for the mysterious voice.
All of a sudden, perplexed partygoers parted like the Red Sea. In the middle emerged a small group of whom she would bet were her family’s generational enemies. A coven of witches walking through a sea of befuddled immortals was strange, but it was the group’s leader that made Enola’s jaw drop.
“What the fuck?” Margo cussed through a harsh breath.
MARGO
“Sweet Jesus!” Madame LaRue gasped.
Almost everyone in the room was glaring at the woman with confusion. She was taller than average with flawless, copper skin and eyes on the lighter side of brown. Her thick curls bounced free as she walked, and her full, glossy lips were curled up into a snide grin. She was uncannily identical to Enola.
“What is this?” her mother question through a breath. “Who the hell are you?”
The woman’s smile grew wide. “Vivienne, my name is Vivienne Page.” Like her face, her voice was an exact match to Enola’s. “And you must be my Auntie Ruby?”
It was so quiet that Margo could hear the click-clack of her heels on the floor as the woman... Vivienne moved closer to Enola. When she looked her up and down, Margo took a gigantic step that placed her closer to her cousin’s side. Vivienne rolled her eyes with a condescending chuckle.
“No worries, cousin. I couldn’t hurt my dear sister... not even if I wanted to.”
She raised a brow at Enola. “You see, we’re connected.”
Enola was still and speechless. She was obviously stunned. Margo. too, was shocked, but speechless, she was not.
“I ain’t your cousin! And I don’t know what kind of witch magic this is, but you need to back the fuck up!”
Vivienne threw her head back in an irritating fit of laughter that fed Margo’s fury. She stole eye contact with a random vampire. “Kill that bitch!” she raged.
With the absence of any resistance, and with hyper-speed, the fang baring vampire leaped toward her. With a simple wave of her hand, Vivienne drove a flying fireplace poker right through the vampire’s eye.
A collective gasp sounded throughout the room. Margo had just unwittingly compelled the vampire to his death.
Gideon snarled, baring his long fangs, and sprinted toward her. He seemed to have every intention of tearing Enola’s doppelganger to shreds. But a quick chant from her entourage placed an invisible wall of protection between her and anyone who would do her harm. He roared with frustration when he bounced off the wall.
Vivienne giggled obnoxiously.
“Now, sweet brother-in-law, you don’t want to do that. You see, I’m magically tethered to this... this weaker version of myself. You kill me - my dear sister dies too.” Vivienne waved toward Enola.
“But, alright, alright,” she said, throwing her hands up in feigned surrender.
“Since we’ve finally been properly introduced, I’ll be going.”
Vivienne chuckled and turned her back to them.
“Gonna go find a real party,” she muttered over her shoulder as she left.
Not one person, wolf, or vampire tried to stop her. She’d left everyone stunned. And as soon as she disappeared through the doors, all eyes moved to Enola, who, herself, seemed to be in a state of shock. Not only had she just find out she had a sister but said sister had just magically shitted on her.
“Gideon,” Enola whispered with a shaky voice.
With no more words, her black wolf seemed to understand her needs. Gideon growled and pushed through the small crowd of their people, creating a path for his wife to exit. With her head lowered in shame, Enola followed him, flanked by Gabriel a
nd Boone. Margo glanced over at Bishop as she and the rest of her tribe took in step behind them.
“I’ll see you soon,” he shot at Margo’s back.
Soon, they were piling in their SUV. It was only when they were secure inside did Margo finally exhale. They took off, and for fifteen minutes, it was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. But Margo was antsy. Unable to help herself, she looked over at her cousin.
“Soo... a sister, huh?”
Enola cut her eyes at her with an unspoken warning. She clearly wasn’t ready to talk about her newly discovered blood ties.
“Margo,” Ruby chastised in a low tone.
Margo threw her hands up. “She said-.”
Enola rolled her eyes. “Margo, would you shut the fu-.”
“That’s enough!” her mother scolded.
“What?” Margo scoffed. “Looks like a twin, right?”
An agitated huff from everyone in the vehicle warned that it was time for Margo to shut up, so she threw her hands up and zipped her lips.
Chapter Twelve
ENOLA
With Gideon’s help, Enola stepped out of the Escalade. She walked over and stood next to her family. After a deep breath, she looked up at the gothic, ivy-covered church. Enola grew up with an appreciation for the Lord, but she hadn’t been to church since her grandmother’s funeral.
All of her life, church folks claimed that the practice of witchcraft and Voodooism was the work of the devil. Since her gran’s death, she’d been intent on learning everything she could about her ancestor’s magic. She found nothing that disproved it was the devil’s magic. Yet, to protect her family, Enola had no choice but to perfect her craft.
“You okay?” Margo asked with a nudge.
“Yeah, I’m good,” Enola lied.
She wasn’t okay. Walking into a church was the last thing Enola wanted to do. Irrational or not, she felt like, after all the hoodoo she’d been dabbling in, crossing the threshold would bring forth the wrath of God.
Gideon grabbed her hand, giving her a bit of comfort. Still, dread filled her when he urged her toward the entrance of the church. Gideon must’ve noticed her hesitation because he turned to her with a wrinkled brow of confusion.
“What’s wrong, darlin’?”
“Nothing,” she said with a forced smile.
Enola took a step, but her feet were like lead. Her steps were hesitant, but she pushed on. With one heavy foot in front of the other, Enola reluctantly entered the cathedral. As she prepared to pay her respects to Madame Bennett, she was also thanking God for not striking her down.
Chapter Thirteen
ENOLA
“This is not working,” Enola grumbled with frustration.
She tossed the clay pot, filled with bay leaves and cedar ash, on the table.
“Stick with it,” Madame Belfour encouraged. “You see that locater spell worked. At least we know where to find Vivienne.”
“So?” Enola said with a huff. “Madame Belfour, let me ask you, what good is knowing where to find her if we can’t beat her?”
Madame Belfour offered a sympathetic smile and covered Enola’s hand with hers.
“Please, why don’t you call me Ann? I’d like for you to call me Ann.”
Enola shook her head and chuckled nervously. That wasn’t the way she was raised. Calling the elder by her first name just wasn’t the southern way.
“How about, Miss Ann?” Enola offered as a compromise.
“Fine, child. That’ll be just fine.”
Madame Belfour nodded and freed Enola’s hand. She crossed the room, grabbed a jar from a tall shelf, and brought it back to the table.
“Here’s a question for you. Are you sure you want harm to come to your... um... Vivienne? She is undoubtedly part of your family.”
Enola blinked over at the older woman with a frown on her face.
“Yeah! Family or not, she’s a threat. If I knew how, I would put her down without a thought.”
A thoughtful expression crossed Madame Belfour’s face.
“But, she’s definitely a Roux.”
Enola shrugged. “I don’t know her.”
“Excuse me, Nola,” Benjamin interrupted. “Monsieur Delacroix has arrived.”
“Thanks, Ben.”
Madame Belfour washed her hands and followed Benjamin from the room. Enola used a paper towel to wipe off the leftover residue from her failed experiment. She tossed it in the trash, turned off the light, and left the room.
On her way to the parlor, Enola ran into Gideon. As soon as her eyes landed on him, her anxiety melted away. She saw beyond his ridiculously handsome face and tall, muscular physique to the beauty within. Gideon was her anchor. He was her rock, her warrior, the complete love of her life. He was all of that. Falling in love with him was so unexpected, but very gratifying. Enola never thought for one minute that she could love a man as much as she loved him.
“Well, hello, handsome. Where have you been?”
“Pack meeting at the hotel.” Gideon’s tone concerned her. Exhaustion bled through his voice. He seemed tired.
“What’d you come up with?” he asked.
Enola chuckled. “Not a damn thing. You?”
Gideon slipped an arm around her waist and lifted her chin with his finger. She smiled, feeling secure in the safety of his loving gaze. Enola stood on her toes until her lips touched his. A soft sigh escaped as his kiss righted all the world’s wrongs.
“I love you, girl.” Gideon’s southern rumble sent sparks to everything that made her a woman.
Enola wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed her fingers through his wavy hair. “I know, babe. I love you too.”
Gideon gave her a squeeze and a sweet peck on her forehead.
“Come on, darlin’. Folks waitin’ on us.”
Enola dropped her head on his chest and groaned. His laughter vibrated against her cheek. After a gentle pat on the ass, he took a step back and grabbed her hand. Enola acquiesced and together, they went to meet their guests.
By the time they made it to the foyer, Margo was hopping down the stairs. She was wearing black and yellow leggings, a black sports bra, and running shoes. Her long locs were wrapped into a tight bun at the top of her head.
Even with no makeup, Margo was extremely pretty. Shapely legs and impressive abs that Enola only dreamed of, proved that she worked out regularly. Still, if it weren’t for the tiny beads of sweat on her chest and forehead, Enola would assume she was wearing the skimpy attire to entice the good-looking vampire. But the look on Margo’s face when she ran into Bishop revealed that she had no idea he was coming. She seemed a bit embarrassed by her appearance and probably had no idea just how beautiful she really was. For a second, Margo looked like she was going to turn and run back up the stairs, but Madame Belfour’s voice seemed to freeze her in place on the landing.
“Where’s your mother?” the older woman asked.
Margo rolled her eyes.
“I don’t know. Let me check,” she retorted sarcastically, patting imaginary pockets on her leggings.
“Margo!” Enola scolded in her mind.
“What?” Margo blurted out loud. “I just got here. How am I supposed to know where she is?”
Madame LaRue narrowed her eyes at Margo.
“Careful, child. I’ve been doing this a lot longer than you. I will turn yo fass ass into a frog.”
Enola laughed at the shocked, almost fearful look in Margo’s eyes. Smartass or not, she knew that Madame LaRue was not lying. She had more experience than all of them, except maybe Ruby. Her aunt was no novice when it came to magic. She knew her shit. Their gran made sure of it. Had it not been for her mother whisking her away as a child, her gran would have made sure that Enola had perfected their family’s craft. Her grandmother did her best before she died, but sadly, she ran out of time.
Margo frowned and marched into the parlor. Enola noticed she was making a conscious effort to avoid Bishop. Yet, he hadn’t taken his
eyes off of her. He watched Margo’s ass from the stairs until she disappeared inside.
With a protective eye on the vampire, Gideon placed a palm on Enola’s lower back and nudged her along.
“After you,” he urged irritably.
MARGO
“What’d ya come up with?” Gabriel asked as soon as Bishop and Basile entered the room.
“She’s a Roux,” Basile confirmed.
“Tell us something we don’t know, genius,” Margo muttered cynically.
“Careful, chéri.” Bishop rumbled.
Margo shrugged off the warning and reached into the mini-fridge behind the bar. She grabbed a bottle of water and leaned over the marble counter.
“Okay, she’s a Roux. How?” Enola asked. “Is she my mother’s child?”
“She’s your mother’s child,” Basile confirmed. “Your twin, as you probably guessed.”
Enola flopped down in a chair and dug her fingers into the leather. Had Gideon not been so attentive, Margo would’ve moved to comfort her cousin. Enola looked up at her husband and whispered, “How is that possible?”
She shook her head with disbelief and stared down at her fingernails. “Where was she?” Enola asked, to no one in particular. “All this time... where was she?”
“Okay, she’s her sister,” Margo interjected. “Why is she trying to kill us?”
“She sees you as the enemy,” Bishop responded.
“Again, with the fucking obvious!” Margo blustered.
Faster than expected, Bishop crossed the room. Though she seemed a bit startled, Margo glared defiantly into his eyes.
“Why this disrespect?” Bishop questioned. His voice cracked as if struggling for patience.
“You know what? Where the fuck were you when your brethren tried to eat us?”
Bishop’s marine eyes turned dark with anger. He cupped the back of her neck and pulled her face even closer to his.
“I have asked you to watch your language,” he gritted through his teeth.
BLOODLUST Page 10
