by Angel Nyx
“That woman has a damn good head for business when it comes to a jazz club, that’s for sure,” Declan agreed. He spotted Remy headed their way and cocked a brow. “What’s up?”
“Dere you are. Caine sent me to find you, someting’s goin’ on downstairs. Emelise looks upset,” Remy said once he reached Lily’s side.
Lily frowned. “Someone better not be trying to ruin Eme’s day or I’ma have to hurt them,” she growled and headed to the stairs.
Declan gave Remy a questioning look but the Cajun shrugged to indicate he wasn’t sure what was going on. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath and followed his mate.
“Eme? What’s wrong? What’s going on?” Lily asked the instant she was at he friend’s side.
Emelise
When Lily reached them Emelise turned to her. She knew she was pale, she could feel it, but she couldn’t fill Lily in right then. “I need you to take over greeting people for a bit. I...I need to go to my office.” Her eyes begged Lily to not ask any questions right then.
“Okay, sure, Eme, whatever you need. But I hope to get an explanation later.”
“You will,” Emelise promised before she moved away from the bar. “Follow me,” she said to the man who she was almost certain was right when he suspected he might be her father.
Eme kept hold of Caine’s hand until they were in the hallway leading to her office. Once there she moved closer so she was tucked under his arm until they reached her office door. Once she was sitting behind her desk and the couple were seated across from her she turned her attention to them. “Why do you think you might be my father?”
“How old are you?” the man asked in response to her question. “You’re, what, twenty five? Going on twenty-six?”
Eme nodded. “Yes. Oh Gods, you’re the reason Mama left New Orleans.”
“I don’t understand. Why is Derrick the reason your mother left here?” the woman asked. “I know about Adelaide, we don’t have any secrets. He knows who my first love was too.”
Eme wished she could have talked with Caine about this beforehand but that wasn’t an option. She had no idea if he was comfortable with people knowing about the Pard’s existence because, while people knew in theory that shifters existed, their reactions when they met one were sometimes a bit unexpected. There wasn’t any way to check with him first so she just had to go with it. “If you’re like most people, you know, in theory, that humans aren’t at the top of the food chain, but you’ve never really given it a lot of thought because you’ve had no reason to.” She felt Caine move closer to her and when he rested his hand on her shoulder she knew he supported her decision to be completely honest with them. “Unless you were faced with the physical proof, you could dismiss the claims that humans weren’t the Alpha species as just conspiracy theorist bullshit someone made up because they don’t want to live in the real world and instead prefer to live in a fantasy world where all manner of creatures exist. The truth is, however, that it’s not conspiracy theorist bullshit. Shifters exist. We come in various types, wolves, bears, leopards,” she said and motioned to her and Caine. “When my Mama started dating you, she knew she wasn’t supposed to. She knew that her Alpha, the leader of the Pard, that’s what leopard shifters call their group, wouldn’t allow a real relationship with a human but Mama didn’t care. She liked you, came to really care about you. I think you were her first love, too. That’s not to say all shifter groups have a rule against humans and shifters dating, or even marrying, but her Alpha was, to be blunt, a prejudiced bastard. He felt humans were lesser and as such relationships with them weren’t allowed.”
The woman shared a look with her husband before she turned her attention to Emelise.“So, are you telling us that you two turn into animals on the full moon like in the stories?”
Emelise laughed. “No, not just on the full moon. But yes, we can turn into leopards. Haven’t you wondered why, every now and then, there are echoes of what sounds like big cats in the bayou?”
The man looked at his wife before he nodded. “I have, yes, but this is a bit much to believe.”
“Allow me, cher.” Caine moved away from the desk and removed his shirt. “Don’t worry, I’m not strippin’,” he said with a wink. He didn’t need to. As an Alpha, he could change just part of his body if he so wished, and that was what he did now. Fur flowed over the upper part of his body, his hands turned into paws, and his face shifted to that of his animal.
“Sweet baby Jesus,” the man said, eyes wide. “That...and your mother could do that?” he asked, voice a little breathless from the spike of fear that went through him.
“Not that, no. Only an Alpha can change just part of their body and Mama wasn’t an Alpha anything. But that’s why she left. See, when she realized she was pregnant she had to run away. If her Alpha had known he would have made her get rid of the baby, and if she’d ever brought me back here, he would have killed me because I wasn’t ‘pure’. When a shifter has children with a human there’s no guarantee their child will be able to shift and he, well, like I said, he was a bigot.”
“What he was was a cruel, sadistic bastard who cared not’ing for his Pard. Dat’s why he’s no longer here,” Caine growled once he’d put his shirt back on.
“That too,” Emelise agreed.
“Why didn’t she tell me? Did she really think I would abandon her and our child?”
“I don’t know. Mama was young, she was scared, maybe she wasn’t sure how you would feel about being a daddy so young, or how you would react if I shifted in front of you without her there to explain everything. Mama never really talked about that and now that she’s gone I can’t ask her any questions.”
Emelise knew she’d just dropped something very heavy in his lap. She could tell, from his stunned silence, that he was trying to wrap his brain around everything he’d just learned. That was why his next words startled her
“Would you...be open to getting together to talk sometime? You have some siblings, three half brothers and a half sister, I’m sure they’d love to meet you too.”
Eme swallowed. Did she want to meet them? She thought about it, thought about how lonely her childhood had been growing up, and nodded. “I think I’d like that.”
“Great. I’ll make sure you have both our numbers and you can let me know when you’re up for it. We’ll do this on your time.”
“Maybe we should introduce ourselves,” the woman said, because she’d realized no names had passed between them.
The man gave his wife a sheepish look. “Right. Sorry, I’m Derrick Winton, this is my wife, Angie,” he said and offered his hand to his long lost daughter.
“Emelise Rousseau. This is my mate, Caine Bordeaux,” she replied and shook hands with him. It all felt so surreal to her.
“We’ll go and give you some space,” Derrick said. “I’m so glad to meet you and...I’m so sorry your Mama died. I’m guessing when you said ‘now that she’s gone’ you meant your mother passed away. She was something special. That night we spent together, I never once regretted it. I loved your mother, as much as a seventeen year old boy could love a girl, anyway.”
“Thank you for that,” Emelise replied and watched them go.
Caine
The entire time they were talking Caine kept close to his mate. He could feel her shaking, could hear the pain and fear in her voice when she talked about her mother, and all he’d wanted to do was wrap her up in his arms and protect her. This was one thing he couldn’t protect her from though. This was her past, a past he knew had left an indelible mark on her life. The only thing he could do was offer his silent support.
In any other situation, had a member of the Pard shared the truth with humans about what they were without first getting his approval, there would have been hell to pay, but this wasn’t a normal situation. Emelise didn’t have time to take him aside and discuss it with him first. Telling her father the truth was the only option she’d had available to her if she hoped to have any sort of
a relationship with the man, and clearly she did.
As soon as the door closed behind them Caine pulled Emelise into his arms. He felt her body shaking in silent tears and just held her. His hand moved in little comforting circles on her back and he nuzzled her hair. A soft rumbling echoed in his chest in an attempt to soothe her. His heart was hurting for her.
Emelise
To say she was in an emotional turmoil would be putting it lightly. Her entire world had been thrown completely off kilter. She’d known, theoretically, that there was a chance she might run into the man who’d helped bring her into this world, but she’d never really given it concrete thought. In a city this big, she could got her entire life without ever seeing the same person twice unless they happened to move in the same circles or live in the same area. Plus, there was no guarantee he’d stayed in the area; people moved away from their hometowns all the time. Yet, on one of the most important nights of her life, the man who’d fathered walked into her life and turned her world upside down.
She kept it together until her office door closed behind them. The instant Caine pulled her into his arms. The tears started. She couldn’t stop them. Her body shook and she wasn’t sure if she was crying for all the lost years or if it was just because her emotions were overwhelmed.
Caine scooped her up and moved to sit on the small leather sofa she had tucked into one corner of her office. There he held her on his lap and continued to soothe her until her crying slowly subsided.
Eme wasn’t sure how long he held her like that before her cries quieted and the tears stopped. When she looked up at him she knew her makeup was ruined. “Thank you.”
“Anytime, Angel. Anyting you need, I’m here, cher.”
Eme rested there in his arms a moment longer before she reluctantly pulled away, She used the bathroom in her office to fix her makeup and was grateful she didn’t look too bad. Some of their guests would know she’d been crying but she didn’t have to explain that to anyone until she felt ready to. “I need to get back out there,” she said and squared her shoulders. “This is my grand opening, I can’t hide in here all night.”
Caine chuckled. “Dat’s my girl,” he said. “Always so stubborn,” he teased and offered his arm to escort her back out front.
Emelise was feeling a little... fragile as Caine escorted her back out into the club. She plastered on a smile for the benefit of her guests but inside she was still shaky as they made their way to were Lily and Declan were. She could see the worry on Lily’s face and it made her smile, just a little.
“Hey, you okay?” Lily leaned over and gave Eme a quick hug. “Do I need to kick someone’s ass?” she teased.
Lily’s comment when she hugged her caused Eme to burst into laughter. “Oh my Gods, girl, how do you always know just what I need?”
“Because we’re besties, duh,” Lily countered. “Tomorrow, lunch, you and me,” she said and left it at that.
“Definitely. Let’s go to that new little cafe that just opened up, Little Eden Cafe.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Lily replied. “Now, let’s go enjoy this fantabulous music.” She looped arms with Emelise so they could move closer to the stage.
Eme laughed softly. Lily knew exactly what to say or do to pull her out of a funk. She was so grateful for her friendship.
Chapter Twelve
Lily
“Okay girl, start talking.” They’d decided to meet at the cafe a little after one and she’d managed to hold off until they’d both ordered sandwiches and taken a seat at one of the outdoor tables the cafe offered.
Emelise had slept a little fitfully because the conversation she’d had with Derrick and Angie, her father and, well, stepmother, kept replaying every time she drifted off. As a result she was a little grumpy but it wouldn’t be fair to take it out on her best friend. “Where do I start?”
“The beginning?”
Eme stuck her tongue out at her then rubbed her brow. “Okay, so, you know the older couple I was talking with last night? He knew my Mama,” she said. She lifted her gaze to Lily’s as she continued. “He’s my biological father.”
Lily stared at Emelise. “Oh, wow. Eme. That’s...damn, that’s got to throw things really off kilter for you. I mean, you weren’t really expecting to ever meet him, were you?”
“Not really. I mean, I knew theoretically it was a possibility, but people move away from their hometowns all the time, right? And New Orleans is a big city. I mean, what are the fucking chances that he or his wife would be such jazz fans that they’d make a special trip to come to my grand opening?”
“I’d say, not very high, and yet that’s exactly what happened.”
“Yeah, I know. And I don’t know how to feel about it. He said he loved my Mama, as much as a seventeen year old boy can love a girl, and that it had upset him when she took off. That doesn’t really mesh with what Mama told me, but then Mama also was mistaken about the reason why her Papa told her she wasn’t welcome back here.”
Lily listened and tapped a finger on the table. “Have you opened that locked chest yet? I remember you saying you needed to figure out how to get into it without damaging it.”
“No, I haven’t. Why?”
Lily grinned. “Gimme a sec,” she said. “Oh, by the way, have you heard the news? Your mate gave Declan part of New Orleans for his own pack’s territory. We’re officially the Ghostpoint Pack, and it consists of me, him, and his team. For now. Until we can get other misfit shifters to join.”
Eme blinked. “No, I didn’t know that. That is fucking awesome girl!”
“I know, right? Declan and I are looking into buying a house since my apartment is in Pard territory, meaning we’ll have to move. It’s okay though because I think I found the perfect house. Anyway, gimme a sec. I’m going to call Echo, she’s one of the jaguars in our pack who infiltrated the Red Moon Clan in order to find out what they were up to. Declan says she’s amazing with locks. You name it, she can open it, no matter what it is or how tight the security on it.”
“That could come in handy,” Eme said with a laugh.
“Like now,” Lily said with a cheeky grin before she made the call. “Hey, Echo, it’s Lily. I’m good, you? That’s great. Listen, I have a favor to ask you. Emelise has this big locked chest her Mama left that she doesn’t have the key to. She wants to see what’s in it but she doesn’t want to damage it. Could you open it for her?”
“Can a soprano hit a high note?” Echo asked loud enough for Emelise to hear. “Of course I can. Just text me when and where you want it done and I’m on it.”
“Thanks, Echo,” Lily said and hung up.
Emelise snickered. “I like her she’s funny.”
“She is. She’s also deadly and wicked faithful to her team and her Pack.”
“Hey, let’s get this to go so we can go see what my Mama felt was so important it had to be locked up.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Lily replied.
Emelise
Emelise was trying to be patient. They were waiting for Echo to arrive so she could unlock the chest for them. It wasn’t extremely heavy but at the same time she knew it wasn’t empty because she could hear things moving in it when she picked it up.
“Eme, pacing isn’t going to make her get here any faster.”
Emelise gave her a dirty look then laughed. “I know, I can’t help it. I’m just so curious to find out what’s in it.”
Lily’s phone beeped and she grinned. “Well, you’ll know soon enough, Echo just pulled up.”
Emelise met the jaguar at the door. “Hi, you must be Echo. Emelise,” she said and offered her hand.
“Nice to meet you. Make sure you keep that man of yours on his toes, can’t let them get too complacent,” she said with a snicker.
Eme laughed. “No, we can’t.” She motioned her in and closed the door behind her.
“Oh, this’ll be easy,” Echo said and sat down in front of the chest. She pulled a small case out of her po
cket and took two thin tools out of it. Within a minute she popped the lock. “There you go. I haven’t seen an old chest like this in years. The older locks can be tricky because they get a lot of build up in them. That one was a peace of cake.”
“Thanks,” Eme said. “I really appreciate it.”
“No problem,” Echo replied. “I’ll head out and give you some privacy to see what’s inside.”
Eme watched her go before she turned to the chest. She swallowed before she lifted the lid and stared down into it. As she started pulling things out her eyes filled with tears. There were photo albums she’d never seen and when she opened them she realized they were ones her mother had put together before she was born. There were some little keepsakes in it, and the yellow blanket she’d taken Emelise home from the hospital in.
Then, on the bottom, beneath the baby blanket, she found a small bundle of letters. One was addressed to Eulalie, one to Buford, one to Eliza, there was one for Eme, and on the bottom of the list was a letter for Derrick. Eme looked at the front of each one before she set all but hers aside. With shaking hands she opened the envelope and removed the paper inside.
‘My sweet girl,
If you’re reading this then I know I am no longer here with you. I don’t know why I am gone, or how long I was with you before I left this world, but that matters not. There are so many things I should have told you when you were growing up, things you needed to know, but I was afraid. Afraid to let my secrets out, afraid to cloud your view of the world.
For a long time, after I left New Orleans, I lived in anger and hurt. I lashed out at my parents by refusing to tell them about you until you were much older, and by letting you believe they never wanted you. I didn’t think about the pain that might cause you. It was selfish of me, my sweet angel, and you didn’t deserve that.