Shadowed Secret (Daughters of the Vieux Carré)

by Rhys Rowlyn

  I stare at her in amazement, loving the idea of us having privacy. “Yes, that would definitely be doable. It’s getting rather crowded here, and with more of my famille waking up, I see us running out of space soon. Giselle had talked of us buying more houses on the street.”

  Grinning, she lies back down, facing me. “Speaking of your family, how many are there in the boxes upstairs?”

  “There were twelve of us total, and eight remain asleep.” Hopefully to awaken soon.

  “Wow, so I’ve met Bram, André, and Phillipe. What about Giles?” Her fingertips draw circles on my chest, and I’m finding it hard to keep from being distracted.

  “He is a friend of Giselle and Cassie’s who has decided to join our famille.” I grab her hand and kiss her fingers.

  She frowns at me. “So he wasn’t cursed?”

  “No.”

  “What are the names of the remaining vampires?” Her brow arches, and she looks at me expectantly.

  “Well, there is Gabriel. He’s our creator.” I hold my fingers up as I name the rest of my family. “Then there is Etienne, Cullen, Marc, Tristan, Alexandr, Luca, and Nathanael.”

  She leans away from me, her eyes widening. “That’s a lot of vampires to wake up.”

  “I can’t imagine the power it must have taken to trap us all. I do miss my family. They are all good men and were my brothers.” I met the three Irish witches and now know such power is possible, but it still amazes me we were trapped so easily.

  Nyla’s eyes close. She’s got to be tired. I rub my knuckles against her cheek. “Why don’t you sleep, and we can talk more tomorrow.”

  She nods her head and quickly falls into a deep slumber, and I smile, feeling happier than I ever remember being.

  Nyla

  The doorbell is ringing, and it seems no one is around but me to answer it. When I open the door, I’m met with a blast from the past and wonder what I should do. It’s Jenny Hayes, the PR director for my last project before I was taken. She is looking at her phone, and I glance around, looking for a hiding place.

  “Hi, is Fleur here?” She looks up at me, and her mouth drops open. “Nyla, is that you?”

  “Jenny, hi, how are you?” I’m unsure what to do, so I open the door wider, waving her in.

  “Oh, my!” Jenny grips my shoulders and gives me a slight shake. “Girl, where have you been? Everyone thought you skipped town, got offered a better job.”

  “I would never do that. I wouldn’t leave without telling someone.” I can’t believe they would automatically believe the worst about me. I’ve always prided myself in treating people with respect. “I was kidnapped and held captive for almost two months.”

  “That’s awful!” She narrows her eyes, walking around me and looking up and down my body. “You were always fit, but there’s something different about you.”

  I wave off her observations, laughing nervously. “Oh, I don’t know about that. I’ve really tried to beef up my fitness routine.”

  “Uh-huh, how do you know Fleur?” She takes a step closer and sniffs. What the hell is up with her?

  “I actually only met her a few days ago through a mutual friend. How do you know Fleur?” My gaze darts around, and I cross my arms over my chest.

  “We grew up together. I haven’t seen her in a couple months, and we have a lot to talk about.” Jenny tilts her head, her lips drawn in a straight line.

  Joey had told Tara and me that secrecy was of the utmost importance, and now I was part of their world and didn’t know what to do with Jenny. Looking around, I let out a sigh of relief when I hear someone coming down the stairs. I’m hoping they will rescue me.

  Fleur comes skipping down the stairs and lets out a squeal when she sees Jenny. “Jenny! What are you doing here?”

  “Yeah, thanks for the call or the heads-up about everything.” Jenny pulls Fleur into a tight hug, then pushes her back with a frown.

  Fleur’s cheeks turn pink, and she looks down at her feet. “I’m so sorry, but life has been crazy. I take it Devin has talked with you.”

  “Yes, he did.” Jenny grabs Fleur’s arm and pulls her toward the living room. She glances back, giving me an uncomfortable smile. “Nyla, can we talk later? I really need to talk to Fleur, but I still want to know more about what’s happening with you.”

  I wave them off and say, “Sure, no problem.” But secretly, I hope to avoid that conversation. How do I inform a former coworker I’m now a vampire and would she please not tell anyone she saw me?

  Jenny closes the door, and I hear her whispering. “Yes, he’s talked to me and told me I’m not entirely human. He also informed me you were a vampire.”

  Ah, so maybe the conversation won’t be as difficult as I thought. I slip past the door, wanting to give them some privacy, and go to the kitchen. Giselle and Cassie are sitting at the table.

  Giselle glances up at me, cocking a brow. “Who was at the door?”

  “Fleur’s friend Jenny.”

  Both women jump up and peek out the door, then slump their shoulders and return to the table.

  “Dang it, they’re in the living room with the door closed.” Cassie furrows her brow, frowning.

  “Why are you so interested in what Jenny has to say?” I join them at the table, folding my hands in front of me. “And who’s Devin? Oh, and what did Jenny mean when she said she wasn’t human? I knew her before I was kidnapped, and she seemed human enough.”

  Cassie leans back, her eyes widening. “How did you know all that?”

  “I heard her ask Fleur through the door.” I lift a shoulder, quirking up one side of my mouth.

  Cassie nods. “Jenny is half succubus and was dating Devin who is a fallen angel. She didn’t know what she was at the time, and André had Devin talk to her.”

  “What’s a succubus?” Holy crap, more things I know nothing about… and did she say fallen angel?

  “A succubus is a supernatural being who derives her power from having sex. They basically can suck their partner dry and need someone very strong to be able to tolerate having sex with them.” Giselle rubs her chin, waggling her brows. “Supposedly, the orgasms are out of this world, but if they have sex with a human, they can ultimately kill them—or the females can, but only after they reach full maturity. Thank heavens Devin came across Jenny before she was fully mature and informed her what she was. She had no clue what she was and could have hurt or possibly killed someone. He’s an angel so she couldn’t hurt him.”

  “Is he going to stay with her? I mean, if she can’t have sex with normal men, and it sounds like she needs to have sex, what’s she going to do?” I frown, really thinking about what I just said. It’s a bit hard to wrap my head around the fact I’m talking about a fallen angel staying with a girl I used to work with so she can have sex.

  “As far as I know, he is for now, but they’re not mates so I doubt he will for long.” Cassie bites her lip, shaking her head.

  I lean forward and prop my chin on my hand. “So do all supernatural beings get mates?”

  “I guess so. I haven’t really thought about it, but it seems we do.” Cassie taps her chin with her finger. “I’ll have to ask Bram. I bet he would know.”

  We all turn when the back door slams closed. “I swear, those women are going to drive me batshit crazy. I have had it!” My eyes widen when Chi Chi LaRue walks in.

  “Chi?”

  He clasps his chest with a hand, his jaw dropping. “Nyla? What the hell are you doing here?”

  Giselle glances from Chi to me and back again. “You two know each other? Wow, I always thought New Orleans was a big city, but I’m finding out it’s actually pretty small.”

  “Yeah, I dated Chi’s older brother, Asher.” I stand and give him a hug. I always liked Chi. He’s fun to be around, and you never know what the man is going to say. He tends to be brutally honest.

  “You have an older brother? I thought you only had a younger sister.” Cassie crosses her arms over her chest and narrow
s her eyes at him.

  “Girl, don’t you look at me like that. My family is complicated.” Chi puts a hand on his hip and waves his other from side to side. “My dad and his wife had Asher and then my mom basically drugged my dad and got pregnant with me. Then my dad and his wife got back together and had Jade, but they split because my dad let my grandmother have Jade.”

  “Oh wow, I hate to hear that. Wait, what do you mean your grandmother has Jade?” I knew Asher and Chi’s family was strange, and I knew they had different mothers, but obviously that only is the tip of the iceberg.

  “Grand-mère says Jade is to be the next witch in line to lead the coven. She insists Jade needs to be trained. Their mother isn’t from our coven and called bullshit. She doesn’t trust Grand-mére, and I have to say I’m beginning to see why. She was always standoffish with me, but she still acknowledged me as her grandson. Now, she has disowned me since I started training with the sisters.” Chi rolls his eyes and waves it off, but I see the hurt that crosses his face briefly.

  I’m about to ask who he’s talking about when Jean Pierre walks into the room, putting his arm around my waist.

  “Chi, this is Jean Pierre. He’s from the boxes upstairs.” Cassie points at my mate, grinning.

  Chi’s face turns red, and he stomps his foot. “What?! And you didn’t call me? What the hell, Cassie? I told you I wanted to know when we got a new one.” Chi runs his hands down his body, taking a deep breath, and looks Jean Pierre up and down. “My, my, he may be the best one yet.”

  “Back off, tiger, this one’s mine.” I step between the two men, narrowing my eyes at Chi.

  Jean Pierre squeezes my shoulders, laughing. “Mon Cherie, he’s a man.”

  “Yeah, but he prefers men, so back off.” My statement silences Jean Pierre, and I laugh at his blank look.

  Chi slaps my arm. “Oh, silly, it never hurts to look. Besides, I take it you are mates, which means he only has eyes for you.”

  I bite back the retort I want to spout off, tilting my head to the side. “So where do you fit in with all this?”

  “I’m a witch, and the girls next door have decided I’m their pet project.” Chi turns toward the others in the room. “Which reminds me, I came over here for a reason. They want y’all to come over. Circe has had a vision and needs to discuss it with you.”

  “Circe?” Did he say witch?

  “She’s one of the three witches who live next door.” Cassie loops her arm through mine and drags me to the door.

  I shake my head, trying to clear it. “Geez, things just keep getting better and better.”

  Chi lead us to the house next door, where three beautiful women are standing in a circle with their hands linked. They all look similar but have different-colored hair. They are mumbling words I don’t understand, so I move closer to Jean Pierre.

  After a few moments, they stop and look up, stepping away from each other.

  The redheaded one approaches me with a smile. “Hello and welcome, you must be Jean Pierre’s mate. It is so good to meet you. My name is Cara. These are my sisters, Ciara and Circe.”

  “Nice to meet you.” I smile back tentatively.

  Giselle taps Cara on the shoulder, drawing her attention away from me. “Cara, Chi said you wanted to see us.”

  “Where are the men?” Cara looks behind us as if expecting them to appear. “I was hoping to tell everyone.”

  “They decided to check out the warehouses on the riverfront. There was some reports of strange activity, and they wanted to see that everything was okay. It’s fine. We’ll tell them what’s happening.” Giselle smiles encouragingly.

  Cara takes a deep breath and nods. “Circe had a vision of an old evil coming to town, one known to the men in your family. She brings death and needs to be stopped.”

  “Great, do you know who she is?” Giselle pinches the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes.

  Cara shakes her head but points at my mate. “Jean Pierre does.”

  Jean Pierre’s brow shoots up to his hairline. “What do you mean?”

  “I saw the evil surround you like a cloud.” Circe grabs his forearms in a tight grip, meeting his gaze. “You must be very careful, and remember to be strong. Trust in your mate.”

  “Who is it? Tell me what you know,” he begs.

  “I don’t know who it is, only that you will need all your strength to fight it.” Circe paces the length of the room, gripping her hair in her fists. “I’ve told you all before, much darkness is headed our way. This is only the beginning. We must not fall or stray. It is part of the reason we were sent here.”

  Jean Pierre’s phone buzzes, and he walks off to the side. I follow him, wanting to know what’s going on.

  “Phillipe, are you all right?” He listens intently, his brow furrowing. “Yes, I’ll tell the girls and be right there.”

  “It has begun,” Circe whispers, and I can’t stop the shiver that travels through my body at her ominous words.

  Jean Pierre rejoins the group and nods at Giselle and Cassie. “Phillipe called and said they found a dead woman in one of the warehouses. André is on his way back to be with Fleur, and he asked if you could meet Bram and him at the club.”

  “What about the woman?” Cassie asks.

  “Nyla and I are going to meet Giles and take care of the girl. Phillipe wants to make sure the club is safe and there is no trouble that can come back on us.”

  “Let’s take my car and Nyla can drive the two of you from there to the riverfront.” Cassie nods decisively as she leaves the room, and Giselle follows closely.

  Jean Pierre’s eyes widen, and he stares at me. “Nyla, you can drive?”

  “We really need to talk. Of course I can drive.” I pat his shoulder, shaking my head slowly.

  Chi bursts out laughing. “That’s funny. Do you know what this woman does for a living? She’s a stunt woman. Driving is the least of her accomplishments.”

  “What does he mean?” Jean Pierre frowns, furrowing his brow.

  “He means I know how to handle myself in most situations.” I smile at him over my shoulder as I follow Giselle and Cassie out the door. “Like I said, we really need to talk.”

  Jean Pierre

  Giles meets us at the entrance of the warehouse. “The woman is over there. I’m going to go get the van from the club, and I’ll be back shortly. Workers will be here in a few hours, and we need to have everything cleared before they arrive.”

  “Stay here.” I move forward cautiously and close my eyes briefly as I crouch. The poor woman didn’t stand a chance. Her throat is ripped apart. Whoever did this showed no mercy.

  I whip around when I hear a gasp and find Nyla leaning over my shoulder, a hand covering her mouth and her eyes wide. I stand and I pull her into my arms to hold her tightly.

  “Who could have done this?” she murmurs against my chest, her fists gripping my shirt.

  “I don’t know, but we’ll find out.” I rest my chin on the top of her head, hating she had to see this. If I could, I would keep her locked away from all the horrors of the world.

  A sound has me spinning, placing Nyla behind me. Two vampires jump in front of us and hiss. I don’t have a weapon, and the best I can hope is to get Nyla away without injury.

  “I see you found our scraps,” one of them sneers, and before I can stop her, Nyla flies out from behind me.

  “You bastard.” She jumps through the air and lands a kick to the man’s head. The other vampire and I stand in amazement for about two seconds until she flips around and knocks his legs from under him.

  I shake myself out of my stupor and rush to grab the stunned vampire she kicked in the head. I grab his head and am about to twist it off his shoulders when I notice a tattoo on the inside of his forearm. Cold chills run up my spine, and I rip the vampire’s head off with a shout, turning him to dust. I’m stronger than most vampires and learned long ago how to simply rip a feral’s head off if I didn’t have a weapon. It helped save my life. />
  Nyla gasps, staring at me. “Won’t you go crazy?”

  “No, why?” Wrinkling my brow, I frown at her.

  She points at the pile of ash at my feet. “You killed him.”

  “Oh no, he was feral. We’re allowed to kill them—I think because they have lost their souls.” And as far as I know, it’s the only thing we’re allowed to kill. I guess it’s a tweak to allow us to do away with our own problems.

  “Oh, okay.” She nods, moving toward the remaining vampire, and his eyes widen. He jumps up and runs out of the warehouse. Nyla moves to follow, but I stop her. I need to get my mate to safety. Although, she looks as if she can handle herself.

  “It could be a trap. Besides, we need to take care of the poor girl. We’ll hunt him down.” But not before I know all the details. I will not take any unnecessary chances with my mate’s life.

  A white van pulls into the warehouse, and Giles jumps out. He looks from the pile of ash to the two of us. “What happened here, mate?”

  “A couple of feral vampires attacked us.” I link my fingers with Nyla’s, needing to touch her and keep her close.

  Giles crouches by the pile of ash but glances back at me quickly. “They were working together? That’s strange.”

  “Yeah.” I stiffen, giving Nyla’s hand a squeeze without thinking.

  “You know something. What is it?” She moves to stand in front of me, placing her hands on my chest. “No, don’t keep this from me. What is it?”

  I turn away from her, running my hands through my hair. “I’ve only seen this one other time, and the vampire I killed had a distinctive tattoo on his forearm—one that means he’s following a certain vampire whom I hoped was dead.”

  Giles stands, crossing his arms over his chest. “Who?”

  “Minerva,” I state flatly.

  Giles’s eyes widen, and he steps back. “Surely not.”

  Now it’s my turn to be shocked. “You know her?”

  “Yes, and she’s pure evil but not feral. That bitch caused havoc about a hundred years ago in New York. It’s the reason I settled there.” Giles paces in front of us, rubbing the back of his neck. “She killed one of my best friends, but I decimated her army, and she ran away with her tail tucked between her legs. I wonder what she’s doing here.”