BLOODLUST

by Phoenix Daniels

  Enola sighed.

  “Shit, I probably would,” she admitted.

  “Not me. Not anymore. I went through the ‘ready to die phase’. Then, I went through the ‘ready to kill’ phase; especially, when I was forced to share custody of my daughter with my husband and his mistress.”

  “Damn! And, now?”

  “Now, I’m here. I’m hoping that being here will take my mind off my pathetic life.”

  Enola wanted to ask her how long she was staying, but she didn’t want to make her feel unwelcome. If Crystal was serious about taking her mind off the things going on in her life, she’d come to the right place. Once she got wind of the vampires, wolves, witches, and voodoo queens of Louisiana, her cheating husband would be the last thing on her mind.

  “Sangria for you,” Stephan said as he approached the table.

  He sat the fruity wine in front of Crystal and turned to Enola.

  “Jameson, on the rocks.”

  “Thank you.”

  “No problem. Enjoy.”

  Stephan smiled and walked away. Crystal indiscreetly watching his tight ass didn’t go unnoticed. Enola laughed.

  “Girl, if you don’t cut it out!”

  “What? You think that boy did all those squats for us not to look at his ass?”

  Enola picked up her drink and took a sip. Even though Crystal was doing a lot of joking, she knew it was a means of masking her pain. She hadn’t seen her in a while, but Enola knew her friend. The jokes were a diversion from her marital woes. So, she said nothing.

  They sipped their drinks without conversation until Stephan returned to the table. He placed a bucket of champagne on the table, along with two long-stemmed glasses. Enola looked at the bucket, frowning with confusion.

  “We didn’t order this,” she told the waiter.

  “Compliments of the lady,” he responded, pointing across the patio.

  For a moment, Enola thought he might have been talking about Alice. Unfortunately, he wasn’t. She looked across the courtyard and concluded that the lord wasn’t in the mood for answering prayers. Because her eyes landed right on Vivienne, her evil twin.

  As soon as they locked eyes, Vivienne stood and walked over to where she and Crystal sat. Enola moved, scooting closer to her friend. She leaned over, blocking Crystal’s view. Stronger or not, her twin was about to feel a world of pain if she placed Crystal in any danger.

  “What’s the matter? I thought the black label Moet was your favorite,” Vivienne snickered.

  Enola wanted to slap the evil grin off of her long-lost sister’s face.

  “It’s not but thank you.”

  Crystal peered around her and looked up at Vivienne.

  “What the fuck? Nola, she looks-.”

  “I know,” Enola snapped.

  “Well, who is this?” Vivienne asked in Enola’s head.

  “Not your concern!”

  Vivienne moved, rounding the table in Crystal’s direction. Enola stood and redirected her with a hard shove. Her sister’s eyes narrowed.

  “Be careful, sister. I’ll shatter your brain into tiny pieces.”

  “Do it fast,” Enola hissed. “Because I’m about to beat yo ass!”

  With the promise of violence between the twins, Crystal jumped up. Ready to defend her, she was sure. But Crystal had no way of knowing what she was up against. Enola quickly pushed her back.

  Vivienne’s maniacal laughter had Enola contemplating homicide. In her peripheral, she could see Alice and Rafa moving in. But she looked around the patio and thought of the innocent customers that would be at risk.

  “Call off your dogs, dear sister. There’s no need for bloodshed in the quarter. Think of the poor tourists.”

  “Bitch, get out of my head,” Enola said out loud.

  Even though Enola didn’t see anyone with Vivienne, she’d bet she wasn’t alone. For the sake of her friend, and everyone around them, she stayed calm.

  “What do you want?”

  Vivienne’s eyes widened in fake innocence.

  “I just wanted to gift you with a bottle of champagne.”

  “Thanks,” Enola clipped. “Anything else?”

  “And...” she added with a sugary grin. “I wanted to know if you got the present I left you.”

  It was clear that Vivienne found sick pleasure in taunting her.

  “Who is this bitch?” Crystal blurted, ready to do battle.

  Sadly, this was a battle that she couldn’t win. Hell, Enola wasn’t sure she could survive a war with her wicked sister.

  “She’s nobody. Come on, sit,” Enola urged.

  “You can go now,” Alice pressed, moving closer.

  “Sure,” Vivienne said with a wicked smile and devilish enthusiasm before turning to walk away.

  Alice and Rafa followed her toward the exit. When she disappeared, Enola exhaled a shaky breath and plopped down in her chair. Crystal looked at her with eyes filled with questions, and there were so many she could have asked. But, to Margo’s surprise, she simply picked up her drink, took a sip, and muttered...

  “Your sister is a bitch.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  ENOLA

  It was nearly 1 AM when Rafa dropped them off at the door. He’d assured he would bring Crystal’s bags inside after parking.

  Tension tightened the muscles in Enola’s shoulders. She was exhausted and grateful to be home. But after their run-in with Vivienne, there was no way she’d be able to rest. To say she was on guard would be an understatement. The thought of Vivienne returning with members of her coven would have Enola looking over her shoulder for the rest of the night.

  “I can never get over how beautiful this house is,” Crystal gushed, looking up at Enola’s ancestral home. “Long way from your condo in Chicago.”

  “That it is. But I gotta be honest, I miss Chicago. Life was simpler there.”

  Enola reached to open the door, but Crystal grabbed her wrist.

  “I know your life changed when your grandmother died, but if you had never come back, you wouldn’t have found the love of your life.”

  Crystal’s expression was serious. Enola could see the pain of her situation in her friend’s eyes. Enola sighed. “You’re right. Everything happens for a reason.

  Crystal couldn’t possibly know what “everything” entailed, and for the little time she was in town, Enola planned to do her best to keep her safe and oblivious.

  “Look,” Crystal said, pointing behind her.

  Enola turned around and cringed at the sight of a box, wrapped in a big, red bow. She was hesitant to pick it up, but she did. Enola turned the knob and opened the door.

  “You’re not gonna open it?” Crystal asked.

  “Naw. It might not even be for me. I’mma see if there’s a card.”

  With all the bullshit going on in her family’s world, there was no way Enola was opening that box in front of Crystal. Vivienne had already alluded to leaving a gift, and she was pretty sure it wasn’t from Bed and Body.

  Enola propped the box on her hip and entered the foyer. Strangely, the house was pitch black. Normally, no matter what time she came home, at least the entrance was illuminated. Enola felt along the wall until she found a light switch. No sooner had she flicked it, she nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Crystal’s blood-curdling scream.

  Ready to do battle, Enola dropped the box and scanned the room for enemies. To Enola’s horror, it wasn’t an enemy she found. A headless woman was hanging from the top of the staircase by her feet.

  Enola’s hand flew over her mouth. She was stuck, paralyzed by fear. Margo was dining with the vampire. The only other woman in their house was...

  “Oh, my God... Ruby,” she realized through a shaky breath.

  As if she was underwater, Crystal’s screams were muffled in Enola’s head.

  “Nola!”

  Her voice was faint, but Enola could hear the terror.

  “Nola! Oh, my God!”

  Enola co
uldn’t scream. She just stood there, staring up at the body, petrified. She felt moisture pooling around her feet. For a second, she wondered if she’s pissed on herself. She looked down and instantly wished she hadn’t. If only it were urine around her feet, Enola would have been grateful. Sadly, it wasn’t. It was blood, leaking from the severed head of Madame LaRue.

  MARGO

  “Marguerite.”

  Bishop slid the sheet from her shoulder and gave her a gentle nudge.

  “Marguerite,” he called again.

  Margo had heard him the first time, but she refused to respond. Exhaustion claimed every part of her body. Once he got her to his bedroom, Bishop fucked every ounce of energy out of her weak human body.

  “Your phone, Marguerite.”

  Margo opened her eyes with a struggle and blinked up at Bishop’s handsome face. He didn’t have the look of a man who’d been to sleep or a man who needed sleep for that matter.

  “Do you sleep?”

  It may have been a silly question, but not in that instance. Margo didn’t know a thing about vampires, not really. Surely, she couldn’t rely on her brief encounters or the movies for her intel.

  Bishop smiled and ran his thumb along her cheek.

  “I sleep, but not as much as you.”

  He raised her chin and kissed her lips.

  “Please, check your phone. It’s been ringing.”

  Margo rolled over and reached for her purse on the nightstand. She felt around inside until she found her phone. When saw that she had 17 missed calls from Gideon, she was smacked with fear. Margo jumped to her knees and slid her thumb across the screen to return his call.

  “Margo!”

  Gideon’s grave tone filled her with dread.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She held her breath and waited.

  “You need to come home now. We’ve been attacked.”

  “Attacked?” Margo panicked. “Nola? My mother?”

  He paused and his silence was crippling.

  “Gideon!” she snapped.

  “Nola’s fine, Margo. But... your mother is missing.”

  Margo gasped, but couldn’t catch her breath. Gideon’s words sent the air rushing out of her. Her heart pounded in her chest like it was trying to get out. In the throes of a full-fledged panic attack, Margo dropped the phone and collapsed on the pillow.

  Chapter Twenty

  GIDEON

  “Drink,” Gideon encouraged.

  Enola shook her head, refusing the water he offered. Gideon frowned and placed the glass on a table next to her. To say his wife was distraught was putting it mildly. When she called, Gideon was in a meeting with his pack. They were discussing the possibility of a new threat. When he answered, Enola was crying hysterically on the other end. The fear in her quivering voice almost sent him over the edge. Had it not been for his brother, Gideon would have shifted and ran off to find her. Thankfully, Gabriel, who remained calm and rational, coaxed him into his pickup truck.

  Gideon clutched the handrail and rode in silence for the duration of the drive. All the while, he could feel the wolf aching to get out. By the time he got to her, Gideon understood that his only job was to make his wife feel safe.

  “And, you say you don’t have cameras in the home?”

  Gideon sighed. He’d almost forgotten that the police were there, a presence that was getting on his nerves. The one that introduced himself as Detective LeBlanc, the lead investigator, was a particular annoyance.

  “No, no cameras,” Gideon told the detective for the second time.

  The red-faced detective, with a Cajun accent that was actually stronger than Gideon’s, seemed to have a hard time believing that they’d found a decapitated body hanging from their staircase, and no one knew why.

  The detective was understandably suspicious. Had Gideon been the detective in charge, he would’ve had similar doubts. But he wasn’t. He was, however, husband to a distraught wife, and he’d had enough of the detective questioning Enola.

  They had to call the police. After all, there was murder, and the murder victim was hanging from their banister. There was no choice except to report it, but there was no way the police were going to solve the supernatural homicide.

  The detective stuffed both hands in the pockets of his cheap, ill-fitting slacks and looked down at Enola.

  “It’s a big plantation,” he pointed out with obvious racial connotations. “I find it hard to believe there ain’t no cameras around here?”

  From their very first encounter, he was rude. And when the cop realized they were married his attitude grew worse. Gideon moved between the detective and his wife.

  “It’s an estate,” he corrected with a hiss. “And, I don’t give a fuck what you believe. You’ve asked all the questions you’re gonna ask today. You and your people need to take that poor woman down and get the fuck out!”

  The detective glared at him through narrowed eyes.

  “Well, now, that ain’t the way this works. Me and my people have to finish processing this crime scene. Then, and only then, will we get the fuck out.”

  “Then get to work!” Gideon snapped.

  The detective’s arrogant grinned was proof that he couldn’t have known how close he was to having his throat ripped out. The feel of Enola’s hand on his reverted his attention back to her. When he turned to Enola, her face said it all. With all that was going on, she didn’t need the extra stress that would come with him killing a police detective.

  “Move!”

  Gideon recognized Margo’s voice without having to look. The bloated detective whipped around with a grimace. Margo entered the parlor with the vampire by her side.

  “How the hell did you get in here?” bellowed the detective.

  Margo hurried over to them, giving him not a second of her attention; an action that had apparently fueled his ire.

  “Look here, gal!”

  He reached out to grab Margo’s arms, which would have been an astronomically poor decision. Gideon took a step, ready to take his arm off. Margo blew out a frustrated breath and rolled her eyes. She turned to the detective and raised her hand to halt his attempt.

  “Go away!” she gritted.

  The detective’s lips trembled, but he said nothing. And, of course, because Margo said so, he had no other choice but to comply. With no other words, he walked away. Gideon stared at his back with amazement until he disappeared from the room, thinking how much they could’ve used her power of compulsion an hour ago.

  “My mother?”

  Enola jumped up from the chair and pulled Margo into her arms.

  “I-I don’t know?” Enola admitted. “I’ll find her,” she promised.

  “How do you even know she’s missing,” the vampire asked.

  Gideon still wasn’t sure whether the vampire was friend or foe. They’d definitely been enemies in the past. So, he wasn’t about to answer to him. But to Margo, he said, “When we discovered that she wasn’t here, I called her phone. She answered, and I heard sounds of distress. Then, we got disconnected. I called her back, but her phone went straight to voicemail, and keeps going to voicemail.”

  “Oh, my God! We gotta find her now!” Margo exclaimed.

  Gideon shushed her and pulled her closer. The last thing they needed was local authorities knee-deep in their shit.

  “Margo, let’s get them outta here first,” Gideon whispered to her.

  Understandably frustrated, Margo blew out a heavy breath and looked around the room.

  “Where’s Benjamin?” she asked.

  Gideon shrugged. “No idea. He wasn’t in the house. We called; he didn’t answer.”

  “Shit!” Margo blurted. “This can’t be happening. What about Gabriel?”

  “He took Crystal to the hotel.”

  Having Crystal stay in their hotel was the only decision to make. That way, they could keep her safe and uninvolved with their supernatural feud.

  “Once we get the cops outta the house, we
can strategize.”

  “Strategize?” Margo questioned with a frown. “I have a strategy. We do a location spell and find that bitch!”

  “And, then what?” the vampire interjected.

  Margo looked up at him like he’d offended her.

  “What do mean, then what?”

  Bishop pulled her closer and looked down at her with an affection that could have only come from a lover.

  “She’s magically tethered to your cousin. We can’t kill her without killing Enola,” he pointed out logically.

  Gideon frowned when the Vampire King ran his thumb along her cheek and kissed her on the forehead.

  “We need a plan,” Bishop told her.

  To Gideon’s surprise, Margo nodded in agreement before asking, “What do we do?”

  Margo, of all people, was humbly asking someone what to do. In a couple hundred years, Gideon had never met a woman more stubbornly uninterested, but her enemies had poked the bear when they took her mother. She had a formidable gift, and it seems...

  An extremely powerful ally.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  ENOLA

  The sun had risen by the time Madame LaRue’s remains were removed from their foyer. The medical examiner, crime scene technicians, and most of the police personnel had left. But, for some reason, Detective LeBlanc was lingering.

  Margo was getting more and more agitated with the detective. She wanted him out so they could get to the business of finding her mother. For that, they need magic.

  ‘I’m about to make him leave,’ Margo warned telepathically.

  Enola nodded. Boone called. He was on his way back with Madame LaRue’s granddaughter. To Enola’s surprise, he said she insisted on coming. So did Madame Bennett’s son and daughter. She’d only just met them at her funeral. Apparently, grief would have to take a back seat to anger. The Voodoo tribe of New Orleans wanted vengeance.

  ‘You might have to... Yeah, go ahead, get him outta here.’

  Ready to send him on his way, Margo abandoned her spot on the sofa and walked over to Detective LeBlanc. He turned her way, pink-faced and smug. The way he conducted himself was proof he gave less than a damn about the poor black woman who was murdered. The detective wanted to make trouble, not seek justice.