Chapter Forty-nine
On the morning of our party, I took Samson out with me for a run. We ran along the main road and turned into the woods on a path I wasn’t too familiar with. After a couple of miles, I saw a female twenty-five yards ahead of me standing under a huge oak. Samson started to bark and growl, but like Liam, one glance from her silenced him. Her long dark hair blew around her body as she moved gracefully down the winding path. Her violet gaze took me in without a hint of emotion. I could smell the magic of Faerie all around her.
“Jacqueline Crawford Cuvier, I am Kaera, a representative of the Fae Council. You and your mate, Garrett Cuvier, are invited to Faerie to be the guests of Lord Caelen and his family on the evening of June 19th. You are invited to dinner and then to a meeting of the Fae Elders where various topics will be discussed pertinent to our alliance. An escort will arrive at your home in Crescent City at dusk on the day of the meeting to guide you to the Cascade Sidhe. You will stay with us until dusk on June 22nd. Liam, the son of Lord Caelen, will also be accompanying you.
“Lord Caelen and Lord Kennet have both extended invitations for you and your mate to join them at Midsummer on the evening of June 20th.” She’d made a face when she said Kennet’s name, making it clear who she thought we should join. “All correspondence between us can be through Liam.” She handed me an envelope. “Good journey, Jacqueline.” She nodded and dissolved. Poof.
I ran home clutching the envelope. Liam read the invitation quickly.
“I will, of course, accompany you. Don’t allow yourself to worry over Lord Kennet. My father can arrange it so you never have to see him the entire time you are there.” I was relieved I’d told Liam about my encounter with Kennet. I’d also confided in him about my fractured emotions regarding Antoine’s death. My healer/warrior nature was something only he could relate to. We were becoming more than teacher and student. I felt a strong friendship growing between us.
He took my hand, smiling. “Tonight you will enjoy your party. Tonight you will laugh and dance and take pleasure in the company of your friends. Tonight Master Garrett and you are sealed as lifemates in the eyes and the hearts of all the people who love you and whom you love.”
As Liam predicted, the party was a glorious event. It seemed at least a third of the shifter population of Crescent City showed up along with quite a few of their human partners. The wolves: Aaron, Catherine, Franklin, Tony from Sacramento and at least fifteen others, barbequed enormous amounts of ribs, steaks, chicken, and burgers, and then spent the rest of the night throwing each other into the Smith River and flirting with the shifters. Aaron managed to toss Garrett into the river, but Garrett got his revenge later when some of Sinc’s chocolate mousse cake ended up in Aaron’s face and down his shirt. Of course that prompted another shove.
We’d hired a local shifter DJ who kept the night hopping while Ethan and Sinc encouraged everyone to dance, showing off the latest moves. They managed to attract a crowd when they danced, mostly because they were a spectacular couple and moved like professional dancers. Peter and Kyle were glued together all night and I couldn’t help but smile when I heard Kyle laugh heartily over something Peter had whispered in his ear. Kyle seemed so much happier since Eleanor’s death.
Aaron and Catherine tore up the dance floor with some ballroom salsa. Very hot stuff! Garrett managed to get me to dance some of the slower dances, the only kind of dancing I was any good at. He held me close and led me gracefully and people started to clap like it was a wedding. I looked into his radiant blue eyes and knew he was all I needed. No fancy wedding would change anything. We were completely committed to each other and would be forever.
Maya, Brad, and Sylvia arrived together and enjoyed themselves kayaking and socializing with friends. Rob showed up a little late, but insisted we follow him to a quiet table near the river. Maggie and Justin Crawford were there. At first I was shocked, but then I ran to them and we hugged and kissed. They apologized over and over and I forgave them over and over. They seemed so pleased for us and we promised to call often. Before they left, I asked them about my birth parents, but they could only give me the names of the lawyer who’d handled my adoption and the social worker who’d represented the state.
I had a chance to meet Ethan’s parents, who hugged me and thanked me for looking after their son. I told them what a great guy he was and they beamed with pride. Ethan and Sinc seemed closer than ever so I guessed maybe he’d taken my advice and opened up to her.
My favorite part of the evening was when Garrett grabbed me away from a conversation with Catherine and sat both of us down near the dance floor. He whispered in my ear. “This is for you, mon ange.” He kissed me sweetly on the lips.
While the DJ was on a break, a drum set had mysteriously appeared in the corner and a wolf from Aaron’s pack took his place on the stool behind it. To round out the band, Garrett walked out carrying his violin, Aaron appeared holding a small accordion and finally Peter showed up with an acoustic guitar. All of our guests had gathered around, chatting excitedly, some of them pairing off and moving out onto the dance floor, ready to move with the music when it started. Garrett tapped his foot and bobbed his head in four rhythmic beats and they began to play … Cajun music!
When I’d first seen the violin, I assumed he played classical music, but this was so much fun. Peter sang with a strong voice in a language kind of like French but not exactly: the meaning always clear in the music. Kyle ran over to me and pulled me out onto the dance floor, explaining Peter had taught him how to do the Cajun two-step. After looking like an idiot through the first song, I started to really get into it, turning under his arm and dancing side by side with my funny, lively friend. Ethan danced with Sinc, so the four of us switched partners a few times, bumping into each other and giggling hysterically. I guess if any of our enemies had seen us this night on the dance floor laughing together, they wouldn’t have thought the four of us to be much of a threat. They’d have been wrong. It was more obvious to me than ever before our team of rogues was going to kick ass … just not tonight.
According to Kyle, the four musicians had spent many years in Lafayette, Louisiana, which was a Cajun stronghold in the south. They’d learned to play this warm-hearted soulful zydeco music when they were fairly young, in supernatural years, and continued to get together to play whenever there was a nearby gathering of shifters or wolves. After four songs, the drummer left and Peter handed Aaron his guitar. Garrett and Aaron played an amazing Irish reel as a tribute to their mothers who were sisters, off the boat from Ireland. The music started slow and then got faster and faster and soon the whole crowd was hollering and clapping. Garrett watched me enjoying the upbeat music, clapping along with everyone else and then running to hug him when he finished. He grabbed me up and kissed me in front of everyone, which brought on another cheer from the crowd.
Around 2:00 a.m. the party started breaking up. Garrett and I spoke to everyone we could, thanking them for coming and also supporting us in our battle with Eleanor and Antoine. The wolves and some of the shifters had already cleaned up the mess, but we stayed until everyone had left. As we were pulling away in the car I caught a whiff of fae magic, so I hoped it was Liam and not Lord Kennet who’d been observing the festivities.
We’d invited Liam of course, but he felt having a fae present would put a damper on the festivities, since so many shifters feared the fae. Francois also declined the invitation because someone had to keep an eye on Garrett’s nest. I put aside all thoughts of Kennet and the new nest and leaned against my handsome vampire for the ride home.
As we walked hand in hand up the path to the home we shared, I pushed my hip playfully into his. “How do you feel?”
“I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, all because of you, little cheetah.” He played with my hair, running his hand down my arm to come to rest on my hip. He arched an eyebrow, the imp making an appearance. “How do you feel tonight?”
“Deliriously happy,” I sighed as h
e unlocked the front door, “and a little excited to see what’s coming next.”
“What would you like to happen next?” He pulled me into the foyer, kicked the door closed behind us and kissed my ear, which he knew would send tiny shockwaves down my body and get me thinking about where else I wanted him to kiss me.
I decided to start with something serious which had been on my mind for a long time. I took his hands in mine and stared into the glorious eyes that had worked their magic on me all those weeks ago. “I’d like to look for my birth parents.”
“I’ll do anything for you. We’ll find them together.” He buried his nose in my hair and took a long deep breath, pulling away to kiss the mark Francois had cut into my wrist. Our matching symbols had healed well, taking on a rich luster—more like a tattoo than a simple carved outline. We’d chosen the shape of a cheetah’s eye with its black tear stripe weaving its way down our hand to disappear beneath our index fingers. When we’d shared our magic that evening, mine had taken on my rich green hue and Garrett’s his sapphire blue, mimicking our eyes when we shifted. We’d both agreed unusually powerful magic had definitely been at work here.
I wanted to tease him a little so I ran my hand through his silky auburn hair as I thought about how else I could answer his question. “Next week, I think we should take a few days off. Maybe we could drive north to Oregon or Washington, to hunt a little?” I brushed my hand down his sculpted chest to rest on his hard stomach. He closed his eyes and made an encouraging sound, so I started to back up toward his bedroom, drawing him willingly along by pulling on his belt. “Tomorrow we should take Samson to the groomer, he needs a bath and he’s hard to manage in the tub.” Garrett’s stomach jerked under my hand as he started to laugh.
I had my back to his bedroom door, my left hand turning the knob. He whispered in my ear. “And what about tonight, angel?” I bit my lip as I thought about how I should answer.
Tiny silver specks danced in his amazing eyes, a universe of stars all for me. I lifted my finger to trace along his full lips. “Tonight there’s you and me.” Garrett gently kissed my finger, sucking it into his mouth and allowing it to scrape along one of his fangs as I drew it out. I shivered in a good way.
His mouth twitched at the corners. “And lifetimes together, my love.”
“Lifetimes might not be long enough.” I threaded my fingers in his hair, pulling his face even closer, angling it just right. He smiled, loving the more confident me. Finally alone with my mate, I breathed Garrett into my soul and kissed my dark angel, opening my mind and my body and letting in the magic.
Rebirth - Book 1 Rogues Shifter Series Page 49