by Abby Knox
“Wolves,” he corrected.
His voice gave her gooseflesh. It wasn’t the nice kind of gooseflesh. “What wolves?”
He squinted at her ignorance. “You are a DuChamps, I gather, from your reaction? Then you do know your kitty-cat kin is marrying into the wolf clan. It’s kind of a big deal.”
Her stomach dropped. “How did you know who I was? You know about us? About Rosemary? That she’s…that we are…”
He rolled his eyes and tried not to raise his voice, even though he was clearly growing frustrated with the hungover party girl in front of him. “Yes, yes, that y’all are a bunch of fuckin’ panthers, eating up all the prey that by rights belongs to the wolves. But that’s what your people do, isn’t it? Take what you think is yours?”
Chas batted her eyes, not out of flirtation or an attempt to get her way, but to take a moment to clear her head. She told herself she did not need to respond to these accusations about her family that she hardly understood or could be responsible for. Instead she focused on all this new information. Strangers know about us, she thought, and more importantly…
“First of all,” she said, a little too loudly, and pointing a finger in Fu Manchu’s face, “I am from Baton Rouge, and we Baton Rouge DuChamps are wildcats, not panthers. Panther-ism is a New Orleans thing. And second of all, I am severely hungover, dying for some coffee and I’m looking for someone named G.”
“You looking for Gavin?”
“Is that his name?”
“That’s the owner’s name. You know him?”
She drew G’s—or possibly Gavin’s—scent into her nostrils. It was comforting in this exhausting and stressful moment, and it was coming at her from all over this place.
“I might,” she said. “But first I need to confirm something. Do you have a towel or a cape I can use to cover myself while I show you my ass?”
Mustache Man got up and grabbed a large bath sheet for her to wrap around herself and cover up her goodies while she lifted her dress.
Mustache Man took one look at her ass and started to laugh. “That right there is the handiwork of none other than Weisshunt.”
Now she was really confused. “Then what does G mean?”
He crossed his arms. “Lady, if you don’t even know the last name of the most badass wolf in New Orleans, then why do you, prissy little kitty cat that you are, have his first initial on your ass?”
She huffed in frustration and dropped her dress back down over her goodies and folded the bath sheet. “I’m guessing he is not here. Would you have any idea where he might be?”
“He was here just a little bit ago.”
“Really? Oh my god! Which way did he go?”
“Fuck if I know. Probably home to sleep it off. Looked like he had a rough night.”
She gulped. “I was just there, he’s not home. I don’t suppose you have a phone charger I could use for a minute?”
He apologized. “Unless you are a paying customer, I can’t let you use the place like your own personal internet cafe.”
“Come on, man.”
“Sorry, I ain’t the boss.”
“Not even for a girl having a rough morning? You has your boss’s first initial tattooed on her ass?”
“Listen,” he said. “I know you’re used to getting your way, judging by who you are and who your family is. But I can’t just bend the rules because you’re a pretty party girl who can’t remember what happened last night.”
She nodded sadly and pulled herself together. She was not going to cry in front of this tough guy. Besides, she was on the trail of what could be the most important person in her entire life. It would all soon be over, and she would be freshly showered, fed, restored and in his arms again. If he was still into her.
“I am throwing myself on your mercy. I know what this looks like: a walk of shame. But let me tell you something. I woke up hungover, in a strange apartment, not knowing where I was, unable to call an Uber, with only this tattoo and a corner of his face in a photo. My credit card isn’t working and I have no way to get where I need to go and I am desperate to find this Gavin person. Can I please use somebody’s firewire for just a minute?”
Mustache Man stared at her for a second. Then shook his head and said, “OK, lady. Listen. You can plug in over here in the corner. But as soon as a paying customer comes in and needs that chair, I need you to vamoose.”
She nodded.
Moments later her phone was beginning to juice up and she had a mental glimmer of hope. As she waited for it to have enough of a charge to call for a car, she closed her eyes. She was desperate for coffee and food and some nice warm slippers. But when she closed her eyes, something in the back of her mind was giving her a different kind of comfort. A memory from last night.
She hated the way that memories from wild nights sort of fell into place in dribs and drabs throughout the day, either making her laugh or giving her near-panic attacks. This was none of that. When she closed her eyes, there was only warm skin, deep, intense brown eyes, his soft hair brushing against her cheek. Pillowy full lips claiming her mouth. That really happened. This time, she got the good kind of gooseflesh rising all along her arms and chest. The fact that he may be a wolf? Not what she wanted to hear. But as with most forbidden things, that just made it all the more tempting.
She could almost feel Gavin’s breath on her neck. Social constructs, like felines and canines not being made for each other, fell away. There were no embarrassing, regrettable drunk moments about it. She could tell, in her hazy brain and muscle memory, that he had been kind and gentle with her…but then there was no resolution. Maybe they were so drunk they had both passed out. Or maybe she had shapeshifted in front of him and chased him off…
“Time to go, ma’am.” It was the Mustache Man interrupting her thoughts. She opened her eyes and looked down at her phone. There was about a five percent charge on it. Yay! Just enough juice to call a car and check her text messages.
Before she headed out the door, Mustache Man called, “Listen, if he’s not at home, then you might check the coffee shop or Bobby’s Tavern on the next block. That’s all I can tell you. And hey, be careful. If you don’t understand what he is yet, then it’s not too late for you to walk away. For your own safety and his.”
Chapter 6
Gavin, 9:15 a.m.
There was no sign of her at his apartment except her lingering scent from moments ago.
He texted her again at 9:20 a.m.:
“Where are you? Dammit, woman. Stay put. I’ll sweeten the deal. As soon as I find you, I’m gonna kiss you so hard. I don’t remember what you look like, I don’t know your name. I could not care less if you are a stick insect or look like a Mack truck. Because you left me ruined for anyone else. I need you and I’m going to find you. Please text me back. Or, you know, get a restraining order if you need to because that’s how serious I am.”
Gavin put on a fresh shirt and his back-up pair of motorcycle boots. He could at least do Ash that much of a favor before he showed up at the fancy brunch at the mansion. He still wasn’t going to shower, as he needed this woman’s scent on him to help find her.
Besides, he really, really liked knowing she was all over him.
His only option now before swallowing his pride and heading to the DuChamps mansion was to check the tattoo shop for clues.
Manny was there just finishing up with a customer. She had not been there this morning, that much Gavin could tell.
“Hey man, did I come in late last night or early this morning and did you let me get a tattoo on my hip?”
Manny crossed his arms and then rubbed his mustache. “Dude, did you get a fuckin’ tattoo on your stupid ass?”
Gavin swallowed back the desire to punch his number one employee in the face, turned around and dropped his pants. “No. My hip.”
Manny laughed maniacally. “You sure did, you big dumb ox! Holy shit, it’s a heart, even! Who the fuck is ‘C’? She must be a hot piece of—”
Gavin fastened his jeans again and pointed in Manny’s face. “Man, you better shut the fuck up and don’t say another word about her. Has she been in here this morning?”
“Naw, man. And I sure as fuck didn’t give you that art. That’s your calligraphy right there and you know it.”
Gavin sighed. “I know. I gotta go. Listen, if she comes in here, will you please text me and tell her to stay put? Take care of her? She’s probably hungover as shit.”
“Will do, boss.”
And now C’s coffee was getting cold. He decided to hit Bobby’s Tavern and get some fresh beignets to add on to the coffee.
Up the street at Bobby’s there was no sign of his other wolf buddy. No surprise there. They all had to be as hungover as shit. And of course, this would have been the first place Ash had checked. Maybe Bobby was already at the mansion for the brunch. The brunch that Gavin wanted to go to less and less as the morning wore on.
The barmaid, also of the wolf clan, knew Gavin personally and let him go behind the bar to help himself to a pour from the tap. “That shit is stale, it’s from last night, still.”
Gavin walked around the bar with the mug of stale ale and shook his head. “I don’t care, I just want to hang for a minute to wait for Bobby. I need information.”
“I haven’t seen him since the party ended last night. I’ve been cleaning and I’m getting ready to close up and leave,” she said.
“Have you seen any women in here? Young, I think? Cute? Smells good?”
The barmaid looked at him like he’d grown a second skull. “Dude, go home and sleep it off. There was a crowd of tight-ass bitches in here last night after that bachelorette party merged with the bachelor party at about 1 a.m., and I have no idea what happened after that.”
Gavin nodded. “Shit. No worries, just a shot in the dark. Hey, do you think you could fire up the fryer and make some beignets real fast? I know Bobby’s got some dough back there in the freezer. I need to suck up to a girl. I just have this feeling she really likes those.”
She shrugged. “Gonna cost you.”
Gavin nodded and reached into his back pocket and slapped two twenty-dollar bills on the bar. Of course, he realized there was also a strong possibility that C, whoever she was, had headed back to the mansion, if in fact she was one of Rosemary’s bridesmaids. And if she was, that meant some bad news, she was likely a feline shapeshifter, just like Rosemary.
As he was about to fold up his wallet again, he saw a glint in it. He moved around some receipts. He really needed to clean out his wallet. There it was. A key. He reached in and picked it up. It was a brass key. It looked like a house key. Had he scored a key to this girl’s house or apartment, with no clue where it was? He gripped the key in his hand, closed his eyes and concentrated. She was still all over him, but now he could see something.
A memory from last night surfaced into his mind. He could not see her face, but he saw dark hair, a curvy little body. Smooth, flawless skin that responded with heat to his touch. And breasts. They were real, and just as beckoning as her scent. She had dark rosy nipples that came to attention at the touch of his hands, his lips. Everything about her was soft and inviting and intoxicating. He felt a woman’s fingers in his hair. Legs wrapped around him. And her sex was unbelievably hot and wet for him, just as he’d always hoped for in his first time. Only, even better than he’d hoped for.
He was getting hungry for her again and knew he had to find her. Fast.
And then, his guts turned to mush as a memory of shifting came back. Yes, that’s right. He had started to shift right there in front of her, and that’s why he’d found himself alone, naked, in the woods, without her. He had somehow lost control of his emotions and fled, for her safety.
Just then, the rumble of the GTO came within earshot. Gavin looked up and saw Ash parking right outside the bar.
Gavin decided he’d better make nice with Ash. Because if his girl turned out to be a feline, then Ash would be his one and only ally on that front. As much as Gavin appreciated expanding the gene pool of eligible mates, it would be a hard sell for some people in the wolf clan. He shoved the key back into his wallet and stood up.
“Find Bobby?” Gavin asked his friend.
“No, man. And listen, I’m sorry for being a douchebag back there. I’m just super freaking out about the wedding. Rosemary’s got me…well I am not going to go into details, but let’s just say blue balls don’t help my attitude.”
Gavin put up his hand. “Come on, man, too much information about your balls.”
Ash sighed. “Fine, no more talk about balls. I just came here again because I’ve been everywhere and I can’t find him. But I’m glad you’re here because I’m gonna ask one more time if you’ll come with me to the brunch. I need at least one dude from my wedding party there, or Rosemary and her mama are gonna freak the fuck out. I don’t need yet another hoop to jump through before my wedding night.”
“The fuck are you talking about, brother?” Gavin asked. Now he was genuinely curious about what was going on between Rosemary and Ash.
Ash shook his head. ‘Forget it. Will you come?”
Gavin agreed, only after warming up C’s coffee and sticking it into a double-walled Yeti cup of Bobby’s that he took out of the kitchen. And he bagged up some of the hot beignets that the barmaid had grudgingly thrown in the fryer for him.
“Fine, let’s go,” he said. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”
And then he texted C one more time.
Chapter 7
Chas, 9:45 a.m.
She knew she could call a car before even thinking about checking her text messages, but she was just too tempted to address the double digits on the little red dot.
So, of course, she tapped it.
Messages from Rosemary were at the top of the list.
You look like you’re having fun. Just be warned, Gavin is not like us. You know that, right? He’s like Ash.
And then, two minutes later: You are expected at the house in the Garden District in the morning, so please check in. And be careful.
And then again: Seriously tho, I just heard you were hell-bent on losing your virginity tonight. Jeebus. OK, but do you have BC? Condom?
OK, girl, do what you want, but just remember, watch out for those claws.
I am not your mama, but do you know what you’re doing? Not because he might hurt you, but you might, I don’t know, eat him alive.
OK, I don’t mean eat him alive in that sense. I mean, literally take a bite out of him. You’re still young and wild and you don’t know how to control it when you get emotional. Just because tonight’s not a new moon doesn’t mean the panther won’t come out. Like when you’re drunk and horny, your mom and dad told you about that, right?
Actually, they had not. And it was no surprise to Chas that her parents had not schooled her on this little detail about her sexuality. Purity Ball dads were not that forthcoming about empowering their daughters, shapeshifters or non-shapeshifters.
She read on. More texts from Rosemary. Give it up, girl. Sheesh.
You do know that cats are unpredictable. Until you learn how to control it you probably shouldn’t be doing it at all with a person who doesn’t know what he’s getting into.
OK, listen. I feel responsible. Mama told me to watch out for you and I should have had you back at the mansion in lock-down about two hours ago. Please text me asap.
Finally. Rosemary sure had gotten uptight in this bridezilla phase of hers. She typed back and sent:
I’m OK. Trying to find a ride back to the mansion.
And then, she took a deep breath and tapped on the name G.
If she thought Rosemary was long-winded, she had nothing on this guy.
She read them all in order after she’d made her way over to a bench along Freret, a park bench for which she was exceedingly grateful. Her feet were finally starting to hurt. She had to scroll up quite a ways to get to his first message.
If she wasn’t already falling for the guy, she was falling flat on her face with her heart outside her body with his very first text to her.
Hey, this is Gavin. Friend of Ash. I heard you were a bridesmaid. I think you’re cute. I got your number from…well I’m not gonna throw any of your friends under the bus. And then a wink emoji.
About five minutes later, the second text.
Hey, I saw you dancing on the table. Do you need a ride home?
Sweet.
I sent you that drink, which maybe I should not have done. I’m the big dummy in the corner with the long brown hair and the beard, but I’m way less scary than I look.
Chas smiled dumbly at her phone and scrolled down. She was vaguely aware of dancing at Bobby’s last night and having drinks. So many drinks. Too many. God, she smelled coffee and beignets coming from somewhere.
Press on, girl.
The next one was interesting. It had been sent two hours after the first one. All it said was:
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You have no idea. You’re perfect. If I’m not there when you wake up, I’m sorry. I’m so, so, so sorry. I wanted to wake you with breakfast in bed. Just know that. I had to leave. I feel like a jerk, but trust me when I say it’s better that I left. You’ll understand later. I know my place is a hovel compared to what you might be used to, but please, whatever you do, don’t leave.
Why had she left? Hadn’t she known as soon as she’d woken up that she should stay and wait for him? Should she go back now?
Then the next one, which was a couple of hours later, shortly after she’d woken up:
Hey, it’s me. I feel like a jackass. I’m not totally sure what happened, but I need to see you so we can sort this out. Please stay wherever you are. Are you at my place? Let me know.
Note to self: always have a charger with you, at all times, when you are out raising hell with your cousins in New Orleans.
She looked up and stretched her neck from side to side, which was stiff from staring at her phone. It was then that she saw the loud, black, classic GTO that she was pretty sure belonged to Rosemary’s fiancé.