about…”
“She’s tougher than you think, Jacques.”
“I know, but she wasn’t raised in the bayou, she doesn’t know our rules and traditions. She might not even choose to be mated to me.”
Jacques said the last part of his statement nearly to himself, but his mother’s hearing was just as good as his.
“Not choose to be mated! She doesn’t have a choice. She’s your mate! You and I both know full well what will happen if the two of you don’t mate. You have from February fourteenth to March first. That’s it.”
Jacques knew the stakes. There was a very strong possibility his family could lose their sovereignty if he and Angel didn’t mate.
“I know what’ll happen, but I won’t force her. She has to be willing or…”
“Or what? I’ll see my grave before I let that slimy bull, Philip Boucher from the Acadia pod, reign sovereign over the Lafayette pods. It’s bad enough your father allowed him to sit in Acadia as sovereign in the first place.”
“Well, it was either that or continue to fight him. We’ve been battling them for nearly a decade, and it hasn’t done any good. Better to call a truce than to keep losing shifters. There used to be hundreds of thousands of us in the U.S. and now look at us, we number less than one hundred and fifty thousand. Since Katrina, it’s important that we stick together, and that included making a truce with Boucher.”
Jacques stood his ground. He didn’t like Philip Boucher nor did he trust him, but his father always said it was better to keep your enemies close.
“Nobody knows how devastating that hurricane was better than me, but that man’s certifiable.”
“Let me guess, we must be talking about Philip Boucher.”
Jacques watched his brother Charlie walked into the room. He was just a bit smaller than Jacques and had long, dark brown hair. His attitude was playful and laid back. They always joked that Charlie was a lover not a fighter. He was the fun loving joker of their family. His mate had been one of the ones who’d lost their lives in Katrina. They hadn’t had a chance to get engaged. Charlie seemed to have taken it well, but Jacques saw loneliness in him every now and then.
“You guessed right. That man…”
Jacques’s mother didn’t get a chance to finish because Charlie spun her around and gave her a big hug and noisy kisses. Jacques watched in amusement as he teased her out of her tirade.
“You were saying.”
“Charlie, you know good and well I can’t remember a thing when you act like a clown.”
“Good. We only need good thoughts for tonight. How’s our guest?”
“Resting,” his mother offered.
“She looks just like Sofia but with Thomas’s dimples. She’s very pretty.”
“Looks like you lucked out, Jacques.” Charlie slapped palms with him and gave him a half-hug.
“Mom’s right, she’s a beauty, but I’m just a bit worried that all of this is going to be too much.”
“Don’t worry, bro, she’s with family now.”
Charles patted him on the shoulder in reassurance.
“He’s right. We won’t let anything go wrong tonight. The bayou takes care of its own.”
Chapter Seven
Angel checked her appearance in the mirror once more. To say she was a nervous wreck was an understatement. She’d purchased the red sheath dress because it reminded her of poppies and Chinese New Year. It was one of those dresses that you walked past the store window and then turned back around to stare at. It was definitely more daring then the neutral-colored clothing that made up the bulk of her wardrobe. However, since she’d donned the clingy, raw silk number, she’d second, third, and fourth guessed her appearance. On top of her nerves, she’d begun to perspire; the ceiling fan was on high, and the room she’d been assigned to hadn’t been overly warm to begin with.
Angel dabbed her upper lip, trying not to wipe off the thin layer of face powder she’d put on for her first meeting with her parents. Her
“She’s tougher than you think, Jacques.”
“I know, but she wasn’t raised in the bayou, she doesn’t know our rules and traditions. She might not even choose to be mated to me.”
Jacques said the last part of his statement nearly to himself, but his mother’s hearing was just as good as his.
“Not choose to be mated! She doesn’t have a choice. She’s your mate! You and I both know full well what will happen if the two of you don’t mate. You have from February fourteenth to March first. That’s it.”
Jacques knew the stakes. There was a very strong possibility his family could lose their sovereignty if he and Angel didn’t mate.
“I know what’ll happen, but I won’t force her. She has to be willing or…”
“Or what? I’ll see my grave before I let that slimy bull, Philip Boucher from the Acadia pod, reign sovereign over the Lafayette pods. It’s bad enough your father allowed him to sit in Acadia as sovereign in the first place.”
“Well, it was either that or continue to fight him. We’ve been battling them for nearly a decade, and it hasn’t done any good. Better to call a truce than to keep losing shifters. There used to be hundreds of thousands of us in the U.S. and now look at us, we number less than one hundred and fifty thousand. Since Katrina, it’s important that we stick together, and that included making a truce with Boucher.”
Jacques stood his ground. He didn’t like Philip Boucher nor did he trust him, but his father always said it was better to keep your enemies close.
“Nobody knows how devastating that hurricane was better than me, but that man’s certifiable.”
“Let me guess, we must be talking about Philip Boucher.”
Jacques watched his brother Charlie walked into the room. He was just a bit smaller than Jacques and had long, dark brown hair. His attitude was playful and laid back. They always joked that Charlie was a lover not a fighter. He was the fun loving joker of their family. His mate had been one of the ones who’d lost their lives in Katrina. They hadn’t had a chance to get engaged. Charlie seemed to have taken it well, but Jacques saw loneliness in him every now and then.
“You guessed right. That man…”
Jacques’s mother didn’t get a chance to finish because Charlie spun her around and gave her a big hug and noisy kisses. Jacques watched in amusement as he teased her out of her tirade.
“You were saying.”
“Charlie, you know good and well I can’t remember a thing when you act like a clown.”
“Good. We only need good thoughts for tonight. How’s our guest?”
“Resting,” his mother offered.
“She looks just like Sofia but with Thomas’s dimples. She’s very pretty.”
“Looks like you lucked out, Jacques.” Charlie slapped palms with him and gave him a half-hug.
“Mom’s right, she’s a beauty, but I’m just a bit worried that all of this is going to be too much.”
“Don’t worry, bro, she’s with family now.”
Charles patted him on the shoulder in reassurance.
“He’s right. We won’t let anything go wrong tonight. The bayou takes care of its own.”
Chapter Seven
Angel checked her appearance in the mirror once more. To say she was a nervous wreck was an understatement. She’d purchased the red sheath dress because it reminded her of poppies and Chinese New Year. It was one of those dresses that you walked past the store window and then turned back around to stare at. It was definitely more daring then the neutral-colored clothing that made up the bulk of her wardrobe. However, since she’d donned the clingy, raw silk number, she’d second, third, and fourth guessed her appearance. On top of her nerves, she’d begun to perspire; the ceiling fan was on high, and the room she’d been assigned to hadn’t been overly warm to begin with.
Angel dabbed her upper lip, trying not to wipe off the thin layer of face powder she’d put on for her first meeting with her parents. Her
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