Blood Ties (Creole Nights)

by Phoenix Daniels

Gideon walked through the large house. Since he’d been to the plantation countless times, he knew his way around. He continued walking until he found himself on the lanai. It was a mild morning, so he figured that was where Marie would be.

  “Bonjour, Gideon. Please join us,” she offered, waving at an empty seat at the table.

  Gideon walked around the table, but froze when he made eye contact with Marie’s granddaughter. She was staring at him with big, hazel eyes. Unlike the night before, her wild, curly, auburn hair had been straightened. The woman was so beautiful up close that Gideon could hardly breathe. As he stared unabashedly, the fact that her eyes never left him didn’t go unnoticed.

  “Oh my God, Gideon,” Marie breathed. “It’s forbidden.”

  “That’s too bad,” Gideon responded, without looking away.

  “Aw… hell,” Ruby added.

  Gideon walked over to the woman that he would be spending his life with and kneeled next to her. He discreetly inhaled her sweet, heavenly scent. Their eyes locked. She didn’t dare look away. In that moment, no one, other than his future mate, existed.

  Gideon licked his lips before he could stop himself. He was tempted to suck her plump lips into his mouth…both sets. He narrowed his eyes as he studied her features. Gideon smiled and in return, she blessed him with a sweet smile that made him long to hold her.

  “I believe this is yours,” Gideon said, placing her handbag in her lap.

  She looked down at her purse. The excitement in her eyes was pleasing to Gideon. Something deep within him gained a strange sense of satisfaction from making her happy.

  “Thank you so much, umm…”

  “Gideon. Gideon Toussaint.”

  “Thank you, Gideon,” she said as she fiddled through her purse.

  “I figured you might need it.”

  “Yes, I–wait.” Her arched brows furrowed. “How did you know where to bring this?”

  “Roux. Your I.D. says, ‘Roux’. I know your grandmother,” Gideon lied.

  He’d recognized Marie’s other granddaughter, Marguerite. She was under his pack’s protection whenever she partied in the Quarter. In fact, the entire family was under his protection.

  “Oh. Well, thanks again,” she said with a smile.

  Gideon stood and walked around the table to take the empty seat. He sat, still fixated on his woman.

  “Gideon, this is my granddaughter, Nola. Olivia’s baby.”

  The stunning woman was definitely no baby. If so, she was about to grow up really fast.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Nola,” Gideon greeted.

  Although the women in the Moreau line shared a lot of the same features, it was obvious that she was Olivia’s daughter. They could’ve been twins.

  “Ummm…hello? I’m Margo.”

  Gideon chuckled at the interruption and reluctantly turned towards Margo. “Good morning, Margo. It’s nice to meet you,” Gideon greeted, even though he already knew the party animal.

  “Didn’t we see you last night?” Enola asked.

  Gideon smiled. He knew damn well she remembered him from the night before. He could tell that she’d been struck by the same bolt of lightning that had struck him.

  “Yeahhh, we sure did,” Margo agreed.

  Margo obviously had no clue that he and his pack watched her from a distance. They learned that even though Margo seemed wild, she was essentially a good girl. She drank, danced, and partied, but when she was done, she always went home. She handled overly aggressive men well. And anyone she couldn’t handle, someone from his pack would.

  “Gideon, hmm?” she grinned. “That’s a nice name. Nola, ain’t that a nice name?”

  Nola narrowed her eyes at her cousin. “Yes, Margo. It's a very nice name. Gran, are we gonna eat any time soon? I’m leaving after breakfast.”

  “Where are you going, dear?” Ruby asked.

  “Home. I’m going back to Chicago.”

  “What?” Margo squealed. “You just got here!”

  The thought of Nola leaving made Gideon’s heart race. But he was in no panic because no number of miles would stop him from claiming her as his mate. After being attacked by those filthy bloodsuckers, Gideon wasn’t at all surprised that she wanted to leave. Nola clearly had no clue how powerful she was. She’d annihilated a very old, very strong vampire with just a touch.

  “You don’t understand, chér. You can’t just leave,” Ruby told her.

  “Oh, but I can. I’m outta here. Gran is fine. Ain’t nothing wrong with her.”

  “Nola, you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!” Ruby snapped.

  “That’s enough!” Marie intervened. “Now is not the time! We have a guest!”

  That was Gideon’s cue. Even though he never got to enjoy breakfast, he stood, ready to leave.

  “A discussion between family is clearly needed. So, I’m going to excuse myself.” He turned to Nola and grinned. “If you decide to stay a little longer, I would love to have you for dinner. Show you my New Orleans.”

  Enola looked up at Gideon, smiled gently and said, “It was really nice meeting you, Gideon. Thank you again for returning my purse.”

  Gideon nodded before leaving the lanai. He smiled as he exited the house. If Mademoiselle Roux thought that this was their end, she was terribly mistaken.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Enola did her best to get through breakfast without arguing with her family. She didn’t need to be a mind reader to know that they were upset. The weight of their disappointment was weighing heavily on her.

  In Enola’s defense, she hadn’t asked for such enlightenment. She was perfectly content with believing that monsters didn’t exist. However unfortunate for Enola, in less than twenty-four hours, she not only found out about the existence of monsters, but she found out that she was one of them.

  Enola was going home, back to her small condo in Bronzeville, and back to her job as a dispatcher for the Chicago Police Department. She wanted to return to her normal routine. Yes, she would miss her family, but she was accustomed to living away from them.

  “You can try, but you can’t cheat fate. You’re only gonna get stronger,” Ruby mumbled, breaking the silence. “You say that Mamma is fine, but you’re wrong. The stronger you get, the weaker she gets.”

  “What? Why?” Enola questioned.

  “It's just the way things are. Your strength is growing because it's your turn, Nola.”

  “My turn to what?” Enola bellowed. “To be eaten by vampires!”

  “Enola, you blew up a fucking vampire! Do you have any idea what that means?”

  “Nope, and I don’t care. Y’all can have this Voodoo shit. I’m outta here.”

  “Ughh!” Ruby grunted, but it sounded more like a growl. She leaped out of her chair and kicked it across the floor.

  Enola wrinkled her brow at her aunt’s reaction. “Why, are you so emotional? I mean…what’s wrong with you?”

  “She’s an empath,” Marie offered.

  “A what?”

  “She absorbs, feels, and reacts to the feelings of others.”

  Enola was ready to go, but she really wasn’t that angry. Margo seemed to be okay. So, Enola turned to her grandmother. It had to be her anger that was emanating from Ruby.

  “Gran, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to make you mad. I just want to have a normal life.”

  Marie’s eyes turned sad. “Oh, bebe, I know. But…” When she paused, Enola knew that she was going to say something she didn’t want to hear. “Your life will never be normal again. I’m so sorry, chér, but this is your life now.”

  Enola closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath. How could her gran expect her to just forget the life she’d built for herself? As if she could just uproot her entire life, even if she wanted to. She had a job, a home, and a few friends.

  “Gran, I don’t choose this.”

  “None of us chose this, chér. This is our destiny.”

  Feeling the onset of a migraine, Enola massaged he
r temple.

  “What about her?” she asked, turning to Margo.

  “Margo has yet to display her gifts. But know this, Nola, we have been waiting for “the promise” for generations. You, my dear, are the promise.”

  “No. I’m the curse. That’s what you meant, right?” Nola scoffed.

  Marie roughly ran her fingers through her hair and let out a frustrated groan. “Nola, sweetheart, just do what you feel is best. Unfortunately, you will learn the hard way that you cannot run from who you are.”

  * * * *

  Gideon walked through the rose-filled courtyard of the home he shared with his brother and inhaled a deep breath, something he did every time he entered. Since roses were Auriette’s favorite, Gabriel insisted that the courtyard be covered with the thorny flowers.

  “Welcome home, brother,” Gabriel shouted from the balcony.

  Gideon looked up at his grinning brother. Since they were twins, they were connected on a deeper level mentally.

  “Gabriel,” Gideon acknowledged, not ready for the conversation they were sure to have.

  Gideon walked up the stairs and entered the lounge. In need of a stiff one, he headed straight to the bar. He was pouring a good amount of cognac when his brother entered.

  “I missed you at the budget meeting this morning. It’s not like you to miss work.”

  “I had a breakfast.”

  “A breakfast?”

  “Yeah. That’s that meal right before lunch,” Gideon quipped.

  “Ha-ha, brother. You’re a comedian now, huh? Okay, funny man, what happened to you last night?”

  Gideon turned his back and gulped most of the brown liquor from his glass. “What are you ta—”

  “Don’t do that brother,” Gabriel interrupted. “I felt something. Was it pain? What happened?”

  “I ran into my mate,” Gideon said softly without turning around.

  “Mate? Seriously? Good shit, brother! Congratulations!”

  Gideon took another swig and turned to face his brother. Gabriel’s brow wrinkled, and Gideon could see the question in his eyes.

  “What is it?” Gabriel asked. “What’s wrong?”

  “She’s a Roux,” Gideon blurted before he could lose his nerve.

  Gabriel paled instantly. Gideon could feel his brother’s sadness.

  Gabriel sighed. “It’s forbidden.”

  “By whom?”

  “This was a rule that you made!”

  “Aaand, I’m gonna be the one to break it.”

  “It was a mutual agreement between the pack and the Moreau line.”

  Gideon slammed his glass on the bar a little harder than he intended. He poured himself another shot and knocked it back.

  “Gideon, the consequences of getting involved with the Roux will—”

  “Gabriel!” Gideon roared. “I’m a fucking wolf! Why are you speaking to me as if I have any control over this mating shit?”

  Gideon slid the glass across the bar and left the room before Gabriel responded with something that would surely piss him off. Why his brother was behaving as if he didn’t understand his situation, Gideon didn’t know. But the one thing he did know was that, rules be damned, he was going to have Enola Roux.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “You’ll be back.”

  Enola thought of her grandmother’s last words as she dragged her roller bag through O’Hare Airport. To visit her gran, she would be back, but she wouldn’t be entertaining her family's supernatural bullshit.

  It was nearing midnight in Chicago, and she had endured a long day of travel. Since she’d changed her return flight, she had to catch a flight with two connections. She was exhausted and couldn’t think of anything better than her bed.

  Enola passed through baggage claim, thankful she hadn’t checked any luggage, and exited the airport. She pulled out her phone and summoned an Uber. She inhaled the night air, grateful that it was a little chilly. Coming home to Chicago felt kind of like removing the heat blanket that was the New Orleans weather.

  As Enola waited, not so patiently, for her Uber, she was suddenly cocooned in warmth. Her skin tingled, nerves on edge, and a familiar scent floated through the air. Enola took a second to enjoy the aroma before searching the area for its source. She scanned one end of the airport, then the other, but she didn’t notice anyone that was familiar. Before she could further investigate, a Toyota that was surely her Uber was pulling over in front of her. Enola rolled her bag over to the driver, and took another quick look around before hopping in the back seat.

  * * * *

  “I am sooo glad you’re back. I need to crash here for a couple up days.”

  Enola sidestepped out of the doorway so that Crystal and her little girl, Dania, could enter. Crystal kicked off her shoes, crossed the room, and plopped down on Enola’s sofa. Enola lifted Dania onto her hips and kissed the two-year old’s fat cheek.

  “I’m watching that!” Enola shouted when Crystal reached for the remote.

  “Well, damn. Okay,” Crystal murmured.

  Enola sat next to her on the sofa and crossed her legs.

  “How was New Orleans? Is your grandma gonna be okay?”

  Enola really didn’t know how to answer that. Her grandmother didn’t seem like she was dying to her, but her Aunt Ruby has said something about her grandmother getting weaker as she got stronger. If that were the case, her gran would live a long time. Enola had no plans on doing a thing to cause her powers to grow.

  “She’s weak, but she’ll get stronger.”

  “So…why they say she was dying?”

  “Girl, you know black folks be exaggerating.” Enola chuckled.

  Crystal giggled, shaking her head. “You ain’t lying about that. Well, did you at least get to hang out in the French Quarter?”

  Yep, and I got attacked by vampires, turned into an angry firebird, and rescued by a werewolf.

  “Naw,” she lied.

  Surely, the lie would go over much better than the truth.

  “Why do you need to stay here?” Enola asked, changing the subject.

  “Girl, Ray went out of town. You know I’m scared to stay in that house by myself.”

  Crystal was tough as nails, except when it came to being home alone.

  “You’re such a scaredy cat,” Enola teased.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know. By the way, your ex called me.”

  Enola rolled her eyes. The last person she wanted to hear about was Antonio.

  “Nola, he is such a fucking weirdo.”

  “Oh, lord. What did he want?” Nola sighed.

  “That, ‘can you talk to Nola for me?’ bullshit. Blah…blah…blah.”

  Nola couldn’t believe Antonio’s nerve. He’d cheated on her, assaulted her physically, and remarkably, he thought that he still had a chance in hell with her. Enola hopped up from the sofa and looked back at Crystal.

  “Antonio can go fuck himself,” she muttered as she walked into the kitchen.

  “Don’t be fucking cussin’ in front of my kid!” Crystal scolded, as if her sweet little girl wasn’t accustomed to her mother’s foul mouth.

  “Wine?” Enola shouted from the kitchen.

  “Have we met? Of course, I want wine.”

  Enola pulled a bottle of white wine out of the fridge. She was thinking about how bad she needed to organize her drawers as she searched for the corkscrew.

  “Girl, he said you burned him,” Crystal shouted from the living room.

  Enola, half hearing what Crystal said, found the corkscrew and opened the bottle. She grabbed a couple of glasses from the cabinet and went back to the living room.

  “He said what?” Enola asked, plopping down on the sofa next to Crystal.

  “He said you burned him.”

  Enola whipped her head around to glare at her friend. “What? He trying to say I gave him something?”

  “Naw.” Crystal chuckled. “He said your skin burned his hand.”

  Enola squinted, trying to figure out
what her friend was talking about.

  Then it hit her.

  At the time, she’d had no idea that she was a Phoenix. Too bad Antonio had to find out the hard way. Maybe he’d think twice about putting his hands on another woman.

  “Girl, Antonio is an idiot,” Enola dismissed.

  “I didn’t like him from the moment I met him,” Crystal admitted.

  Enola glared at her friend in wide-eyed disbelief. “Really, bitch?! You introduced us!”

  Crystal fell back against the sofa, laughing. “My bad!” she screeched.

  “Yeah, your bad,” Enola scoffed.

  Once Crystal was over her laughing fit, Enola grabbed the remote and turned on the television. It was time for Power to come on.

  “But you gotta admit…” Crystal started.

  Enola turned with narrowed eyes, waiting on her friend’s revelation.

  “Antonio was one fine ass Puerto Rican papí, mamí.”

  “Whatever,” Enola dismissed, turning back to the television.

  An hour after two bottles of wine, and a healthy dose of Omari Hardwick’s sexy ass, Enola was tucked comfortably in her bed, ready to meet the sandman. She rolled over, cocked one knee up, and hugged her pillow. When she closed her eyes, the gorgeous face of her grandmother’s breakfast guest popped into her head. If she was remembering correctly, his name was Gideon.

  Enola was gazing into Gideon’s striking gray eyes as if he were two inches from her face. He was tall and more than fit, and Enola longed to see the muscles that his shirt couldn’t conceal.

  “Enola Roux,” he called out in a whisper.

  The deep rumble of his alluring voice taunted her senses. His eyes roamed her eager flesh. Paralyzed under his scrutiny, she melted against her pillow. Enola wanted more than anything to feel his hands on her body.

  Gideon must have been in the mood to grant wishes.

  He reached out and ran his warm finger down Enola’s cheek. “Beautiful,” he whispered.

  Enola couldn’t blink. She was simply unable to take her eyes off of him. Gideon slowly ran his finger down her jawline, down her neck, and over her shoulder. He slipped his finger under the spaghetti strap of her nightgown and eased it off her shoulder.