Chapter 8

Chapter

Eight

H otel Musique, Desire Area

New Orleans, Louisiana

The host, who had been most cooperative until now, was reluctant to leave the flophouse where they'd taken up residence. It was in a seedier neighborhood in New Orleans. No one noticed their comings and goings, but their near miss with the old wisewoman's granddaughter had the host spooked. Not only had he missed the opportunity to kill her, but in the process the Alpha of New Orleans and his spawn had become aware of its return. No matter. It would dispose first of those at Rivière Du Loup and then it would wreak havoc on the Crescent City.

The main problem was that it needed to feed, and that was more easily accomplished with the host. At first this host had seemed compatible, and reveled in the violence, sex and death of their victims. But failing to kill the old wise woman's granddaughter and barely evading the police had made the host lose his nerve.

There was a knock on the door, startling the host. It couldn't see who it was, but it could sense a lack of conscience and detect the presence of evil—not on its scale, but still useful. It used its control of his will to have the host get up and unlock the door. It was open barely a crack before a hand thrust through and grasped the host by its throat, squeezing hard as it barreled into the room.

The host grabbed onto the fingers of the hand that was choking his windpipe, trying to pry them away.

"I am your servant, Dark One," rasped the hulk of a man.

The current host's mind and vision began to darken as death descended. The Darkness used that moment to attack, destroying his vital organs and feeding on the man's lifeforce and fear. It consumed as much as it could before exiting through his mouth, preventing him from screaming. It left behind a mostly desiccated corpse. It felt the attacker sucking in air, trying to draw the Darkness to him.

"Take me," the killer implored.

It swirled in a black mass all around the killer as it dropped the previous host and acquired its new one. Icy tendrils of malevolence wrapped around the heart of the killer, and it took possession of his soul.

The massive male dropped to one knee. "Bend me to your will."

It released its hold and the brawny host stood and headed out the door, locking it behind him. The new host left the city and entered the surrounding bayous. It eventually found its way to a mound of dirt deep in the swamp where a large rock altar had stood undisturbed for more than two hundred years. This was the very spot where it had been captured and contained by its mortal enemy, Jean Lafitte.

The stone altar was large with a smooth top and sides that were still rough and craggy. The circle of protective salt that normally surrounded it had been wiped away and a naked woman was in four-point restraints, tied down tightly to four iron stakes driven into the ground. Her body was taut with her spine being bowed by the rock and the restraints. She was completely exposed and vulnerable.

She was tied face up, her eyelids taped open so that she could miss nothing. Both the Darkness and its host fed on her fear and pain. Their victim had been gagged and violated repeatedly but was still breathing. Her eyes still portrayed her terror and combined with her muffled sobs and pleas, she was delicious.

The host removed a knife from his boot and inserted the tip just below the hollow of her throat and cut downward. He didn't penetrate any vital organs but opened up her skin and muscles so he could peel them back. The host reached inside her body cavity and ripped out her still beating heart. He held it greedily to his mouth and then consumed it whole as the light left her eyes.

The Darkness absorbed her lifeforce and reveled in the gluttony it felt.

After he was done, the host dumped what was left of her in a burlap sack and then made his way back to the flophouse, where they'd left the mummified corpse. He posed the two bodies on the bed in a lewd fashion, laughing as he left.

R ivière Du Loup

New Orleans, Louisiana

She made it back up to her room without being seen. Once inside, she shifted back and locked both of the doors leading to the balcony and the one that led into the hallway. She walked into the bath, stepped into the shower, and turned the water to cold. Gasping as the icy water hit her skin, she stepped in and closed the glass door behind her. What had she done? What had she allowed him to do?

She could still feel his hands and mouth on her. It had been more amazing than all of her fantasies combined. There were no two ways about it, she was still crazy about Rémy Gautier. Turning her back to the showerhead, she let the water pound all along her spine while she considered beating her head against the tile wall.

What was wrong with her? He shouldn't be able to make her feel this way, especially after he'd given her an orgasm. But instead, she still ached for him. Why wasn't the water doing its job? It should be cooling her off—literally and figuratively—but it wasn't. Her body was still alight with the pleasure he had given her, and greedy beast that it was, she wanted more. She wanted Rémy in a way she'd never wanted anyone, and now had a keen understanding of what she'd been missing out on. It was almost more than she could bear.

She'd been so wet, and she was certain her climax had drenched his sweatpants. Piper couldn't believe she'd run away from him like she had. But she'd had to save herself to keep from wrapping her legs around his lean waist and begging him to fuck her.

Rémy's cock had felt huge, and it had been a long time since she'd indulged her need to feel a man's cock inside her. Even so, she had been sure her pussy would have stretched to accommodate his size.

Like many she-wolves, she only trysted with non-shifters. She'd always known she was a tempting target—a catch, as it were. She had money and position and more than one wolf had come sniffing around her tail. Some behind her father's back and some at his invitation, but the result was always the same. Piper sent them all packing.

She had to shut those thoughts down. She spun around so that her back was against the tile and slid down until she was sitting on the shower floor, hugging her knees to her chest. She'd never quite managed to convince herself she didn't want him, but she wasn't going to allow herself the indulgence of the tears that were threatening to start. She'd wept buckets for him when he'd left, but she wasn't going to start again—she feared if they began again, they might never stop.

Closing her eyes, she relived the sensations evoked by his hands and mouth. She remembered the feel of his fingers pinching one nipple while he suckled the other. His hands were large and rough, and she'd never felt anything so right before in her life. Her nipples pebbled and she could feel her pussy quivering at the memory.

Sliding her hand down to her clit, she recalled the feel of his hand and moaned. Somehow, he'd known just what to say to get her to give over. He'd gotten her to follow his lead, instead of demanding equality in their coming together. There had been no awkwardness, no vying for power. He had commanded and she had acquiesced… and it had been wonderful.

He'd kissed her like a starving man with a feast laid out before him. Years had gone by since they'd last seen each other and they'd only kissed that one time—the time before he left her. For years she'd been dreaming of the kiss he'd given her in the gazebo, but her fantasy had been nothing like what had happened tonight. She had given herself up to him and reveled in the feel of being in his arms.

Rémy's kisses had been soft and seductive at first but had turned dominant the instant he'd felt her respond. His tongue had slid into her mouth, tangling and dancing with hers. Her body had come alive under his touch as if she'd been merely existing up till that point and now he'd sparked a sense of awareness that she couldn't control.

Piper shook her head and got to her feet. This was indulgent and stupid. So he'd given her an orgasm, so what. She could do that for herself anytime she wanted one. She needed to keep her distance from Rémy. He had the power to send her entire life up in flames if she wasn't careful, but more than anything—in that one moment—she'd wanted nothing more than to bask in his warmth.

R émy chose to shift back to his wolf self and finish his run. She'd given over to him. For that very brief interlude, she'd forgotten how he'd hurt her, how he'd left her. He'd apologized, but he knew it was going to take more than one apology or one orgasm to bring her around to his way of thinking.

Charging along the path, he inhaled all the sweet scents of his childhood home, but none had smelled as sweet as the aroma of Piper's arousal. He galloped up to the bluff where generations of alphas and their mates had been interred. He glanced at the gravestone that had once marked his father's grave—only Jean-Michel hadn't been dead, only assumed so. He'd eventually returned after ensuring Ramon DeMoncada was in the ground once and for all.

Rémy could still remember his father swinging his mother up in his arms upon his triumphant return, but it hadn't been all sunshine and roses. Even though his father had put his mother through hell, she had found a way to forgive him and their commitment to each other had become stronger than ever as a result. Could he and Piper ever have something like that? Could she find it in herself to forgive him for doing what he thought had been right at the time?

"I thought I might find you up here," said his father.

At the sound of his father's voice, Rémy shifted back to his human form, not overly concerned about being naked in his father's presence. "I couldn't sleep."

" Oui . It seems a great many of us are restless this night. However, I sense that it is not the Darkness that vexes you, but rather a beautiful red-headed cowgirl."

"Yes and no. I don't believe we can just wing it and defeat the Darkness, like Skylar seems to think we can. But you are correct, it's my fated mate who is causing me the most concern."

"Did you really expect her to welcome you back with open arms?" Jean-Michel asked, tossing him a pair of jeans.

Rémy laughed as he pulled on his Levi's. "No. In that regard I'm doing better than I thought. I half expected her to break my nose or render me incapable of siring our children. But how did you get Mama to forgive you when you came back from fighting DeMoncada? She used to come up here and weep where no one could see her, you know."

His father sighed heavily. "I am not unaware of my shortcomings where my mate is concerned. I broke her heart and her trust, like you have with Piper. The difference is by the time I did it, we had been together for many years. I had merely to remind her of what we had been before. Of course, I had to dodge my share of knives being thrown at me."

"She never stopped loving you, not even for a day."

"Nor has Piper stopped loving you. Piper is strong, capable, and passionate. She has an alpha's sense of pride and duty. You didn't just break her heart when you left her, you damaged her pride and she clung to the remnants of that for dear life. It was her pride and her stubbornness that allowed her to carry on. My friend Cameron will not thank me for what I am about to say, but if you think to woo Piper with soft words and sweet caresses, I don't much like your chances for bringing your fated mate to heel."

"Unfortunately, I haven't been given a mandate by the Ruling Council to run her to ground, drag her off to my bed, and claim her."

"True enough. But you are a Gautier of the New Orleans pack. We have never let little things like a fated mate's reluctance to be taken in hand deter us. She needs a show of your strength and your commitment to her. Reveal to her your passion and your willingness to admit you made a mistake."

"I already told her I apologized and that I know I fucked up," Rémy explained.

"Then do it again, but I suggest the next time, you have her tied to you. She-wolves can most easily be dealt with when they are in no position to argue. You do have an advantage I did not."

"What's that?" Rémy asked,

"Piper knows you to be her fated mate, n'est-ce pas? And she was willing to walk away from everything to fulfill that destiny. There have been numerous wolves who have tried to convince Cameron to let them take her to mate, but he allowed her to reject them all because he knows she belongs to you."

"I still have nothing to offer her," said Rémy, painfully aware of the truth.

"You have everything Piper has ever wanted—you. I think you'll find that once you have claimed your fated mate, there is nothing you cannot do. Now, my son, I will return to your mama's bed before she wakes and discovers me gone."

"Afraid she'll go looking for trouble?" Rémy teased.

" Non . To this day it distresses her to wake to an empty bed. I try to ensure it will never happen again."

"I only hope that someday Piper and I have what you and mama have."

"I have no doubt that you will, my son. It just might take a little more time. Now, go seek your own bed and tomorrow we'll see if we can't come up with a more tangible plan to destroy the Darkness once and for all."

Rémy stood for a long while considering his sire's advice. Turning back toward the mansion he removed his jeans, shifted, grabbed them in his mouth and ran. Rémy knew he'd make better time as a wolf than a man. Just outside the door to the kitchen, he shifted and pulled his jeans on again before entering the house.

He walked through the door of the stately mansion his family had called home for more than three hundred years. He was painfully hard, and yet oddly satisfied. Both his encounter with Piper and talk with his father had put him in a better frame of mind. He wandered into the kitchen and found Skylar and Travis waiting for him. The rest of the house was still peaceful and quiet.

"Care to join us for a late-night snack? You look awfully pleased for a wolf whose mate galloped past here not long ago looking as though she feared the devil himself might be coming after her," said Travis.

"Piper is not his mate," snarled Skylar.

"Not yet, my sweet sister, but she will be," replied Rémy.

Skylar growled at him and scowled.

"We need to talk," she started.

"About what?"

"I got a phone call from Tom Shadburn. He's the head of the forensics unit in the city."

Rémy sat down at the table with them. "Not a social call, I take it."

"I wish. Once we knew that the Darkness was back in the States, I asked him to keep an eye out for any odd murders or crime scenes. This morning at the Hotel Musique they found a desiccated male corpse posed with a young woman who'd been violated and had her heart ripped out."

Rémy nodded. "That would certainly qualify as odd."

"There was no wallet, passport, or any other ID."

"Don't hotels require some kind of identification?" asked Rémy.

"Most do, but for places like the Hotel Musique, their stock and trade are anonymity. Tom thinks he can rehydrate the skin of the male corpse's fingers in order to get fingerprints. At that point we should have confirmation that the Darkness has acquired a new host," replied Skylar as she leaned into the side of her mate, who wrapped his arm around her, holding her close.

"Which means we have no way of knowing what face the Darkness is wearing right now," Travis said, rubbing Skylar's shoulders.

Rémy got up to make a cup of coffee. "We'll need to update everyone in the morning."

"Agreed. But before then, we wanted to talk to you. We went to your room and when you weren't there, Sky figured you'd gone for a run."

"But this discussion is moot if Piper isn't on board," said Skylar.

"What are you talking about?" asked Rémy.

"The discussion that needs to be had about the obvious solution. And we need to come up with a plan that will work," said Travis.

"I really do want to be there when you tell your mother that she's too old to take on the Darkness," quipped Skylar.