Trailing Moon Flowers: A NOLA Shifters Prequel Page 12

  “Get a room you two.”

  Mia stuck her tongue out at her twin. He was just coming up the walk and he looked tired. “Rough day at da academy?”

  “Isn't it always?”

  “But you love it.”

  “Yeah, I do. Dis is what I want to do, so it's all worth it.”

  “Dat's what matters, Jules.” Mia was proud of her brother. He pushed himself every day to be better because he was determined to become a police officer and join the New Orleans Police Department. She knew his end goal was to one day become a detective.

  “It is. How's da weddin' plannin' comin'?”

  “We've picked a date. March 18th.”

  “It's about damn time,” Julius teased her. “I mean, after all, you've been engage for two months now. Sheesh, woman, it took you long enough.”

  “Oh, hush you.” Mia laughed. “Mama kept your dinner warmin' in da oven. Go in an clean up, you stink,” she teased.

  “How do you put up wit' her?” he asked Gage.

  “It's a chore sometimes,” Gage said and winked at his mate.

  “Ugh, men!” she teased right back and they all laughed.

  “I'll let you two get back to your cuddlin'.”

  Mia heard the longing in her brother's voice and it made her heart hurt. He wanted so badly to have that for himself, but he was too afraid to really go after what he wanted. Sure, he was determined to follow his dreams, professionally, to become a cop, but when it came to his private life he kept so much of himself hidden from the world. “Jules...”

  Julius waved a hand at her. “No, it's fine, Mia. I'm fine.” He knew he sounded defensive. “Enjoy your evenin',” he added and went inside.

  “I see he's still refusin' to let himself find his own happiness.”

  Mia arched a brow at her mate. “You know?”

  “A'course I know, I've known for years. I'd have to be blind to not see it. What's he afraid of?”

  “Dat it will hurt his chances of becoming a police officer if it gets out dat he's gay. I wish he didn't feel like he has to hide dat part of himself.”

  “Its harder on men den it is on women, when dey're not straight. We're expected to chase pussy and if we don't we're not 'real men'. Dat's how society looks at it and it's hard to overcome dat. Give him time to get his footin' in his career and I'm sure tings will change. He'll be able to embrace who he really is wit'out fear.”

  Mia sighed softly. “I hope you're right.” She curled against Gage as the sun set and the stars came out. This was her favorite time of the day, when night was descending and he was there at her side. “Have I told you today how much I love you?” she murmured quietly.

  “Mm, yes, but feel free to say it again because I'll never get tired of hearin' it.”

  She laughed softly. “I love you, Gage, wit' my whole heart.”

  “I love you too, Princess. More den life itself.”

  They fell quiet then and just enjoyed the stillness of the late summer night.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Lily

  Being a lone wolf wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Okay, so maybe most wolf shifters weren't lone wolves, but there were some and the few she'd met in the two years she'd been on her own acted like it was the greatest feeling in the world. Not so for Lily. She missed the comfort of being with other shifters. She missed the feeling of acceptance and the companionship. If only things had happened differently, she wouldn't have had to flee her home, and her pack, in the middle of the night. But, there was no sense in wishing for something that couldn't happen. All she could do was move on.

  Lily wasn't sure what brought her to New Orleans. She could have gone anywhere in the country. Maybe it was because of her best friend, Emelise. She'd lived in Phoenix for a while after she'd left her home in Montana. While there she'd become best friends with a leopard shifter who was without a Pard. That feeling of disconnect had brought them together and solidified their friendship. Emelise talked about wanting to visit New Orleans some day, so maybe that was why Lily ended up there. It was as good a place as any to start her life over. It had been two years since she'd left home and she was finally beginning to relax. She was no longer looking over her shoulder expecting to see her father coming after her.

  A week after deciding to put down roots in The Big Easy, Lily found herself in a bit of a predicament. She'd just started working at a little coffee shop bookstore when two leopard shifters came in. That was how she learned New Orleans was Black Water Pard territory. She had to meet with their Alpha to get his approval to remain in the city.

  She'd never been on a boat before and her first trip out to the Pard's compound had her gripping the sides of the seat she was on so tightly she was worried she was going to damage it.

  “Relax, cher. Da boat's not gonna tip over.”

  She glared at Remy Delacroix. “This is the first time I've been in a boat and this thing isn't exactly large.”

  “It wouldn't move smoothly in da water if it was. You're safe enough.”

  She snorted. “I'll feel better when I'm back on solid ground, thanks.”

  Soon enough they pulled up to the dock and she followed Remy to his Alpha's home.

  “So, you're da wolf Remy and Gage told me about. Come on in. Would you like a drink? Water or maybe someting a little stronger.” Caine cocked a brow at the female.

  “Water's fine, thank you.” Lily sat in the chair he indicated and folded her hands in her lap until he returned with a glass of ice water for her.

  “Remy tells me you're here by yourself. Dat true?”

  She'd only given Remy and his brother, Gage, the barest of details but sitting across from their Alpha she knew she had to go more in depth. “Yes. My father is the Alpha of the Crescent Peak Pack, in Slatefall, Montana. Two years ago he gave me an ultimatum. He wanted me to settle down with a fellow Pack member and start having babies in hopes of me having a son he could pass leadership of the Pack to. The problem was, I wasn't the least bit interested in either of the wolves he'd chosen. He told me I had one week to chose between them or he would do it for me. I ran away that night. I've kept on the move since then, only staying in the same place for a few weeks or months at a time. I'm tired of being constantly on the move. I'm tired of having to look over my shoulder to see if I'm being followed. I want to put down roots and I'd like to do that here, in New Orleans, if you'll allow it. If not, I'll understand and I'll leave.”

  Caine listened to her tale. He heard what she was saying and he heard the honesty in her voice. She wasn't lying about being a lone wolf. He also heard what she wasn't saying. She was lonely. She wanted a place she could belong. “You can stay in New Orleans, Lily Harper. Da Pard will keep an eye on you, make sure you're not harmed.”

  Lily blinked. “I can't ask you to do that.”

  “You didn't. I offered. You're a wolf. Wolves, even more den leopards, need others of dere kind to feel safe. We might be different species, but we're still shifters. Your wolf will find da safety it longs for here.”

  Lily felt tears in her eyes. “Thank you.”

  “Remy'll take you back to da city.”

  Lily thanked him again and slipped out of his house. She spotted Remy talking with Gage and another leopard, a little redheaded female who was leaning into Gage, and headed their way.

  “How'd it go, cher?” Remy asked when she got close enough.

  “He's letting me stay.”

  “I had a feelin' he would, once you told him why you were in New Orleans.”

  “Hello. Since dese two have forgotten dere manners, I'm Mia.”

  Lily blinked and laughed a little. “I'm Lily. It's nice to meet you.” She tipped her head at Remy. “Can I get a ride back to New Orleans?”

  “Why don't you stay for dinner?” Mia offered. “From what I hear, you've been on your own a while.”

  “I have. I kind of miss being around other shifters,” Lily admitted.

  “Den it's settled. You'll stay for dinner and we can g
et to know each other.”

  Lily could have argued with the other woman but she decided she didn't want to. She wanted to stay and talk with someone she didn't have to hide part of herself from. “Alright. Dinner sounds good.”

  That was the beginning of her friendship with Mia and her acceptance in the Pard as one of them despite the fact she was a wolf.

  “Are you sure you want me to be your maid of honor?” Lily was stunned. She'd been in New Orleans now for three months and she and Mia had become extremely close. The younger woman understood her need to sometimes just slip her human skin and run solely for the sake of running.

  “A'course I'm sure. I wouldn't have asked otherwise.”

  “But...you don't want one of your sisters to be maid of honor? Or another member of your Pard? I mean, you've known them you're whole life. You've only known me a few months.”

  “Lily Harper, you're my best friend. A'course I want you to be my maid of honor.”

  Lily bit her lip. “Before I agree, you should know...Harper isn't my real last name. It's actually my middle name, but I had to change my name when I left home.”

  Mia waved it away. “I figured dat. It doesn't matter. You're still Lily Harper.”

  Lily smiled at her friend. “Well, okay then. It looks like you've got yourself a maid of honor.”

  Mia squealed a little and hugged her. “Thank you. Maybe one day it'll be your turn to get married and I'll get to be in your weddin'.”

  Lily rolled her eyes. “I doubt it but one never knows, right?”

  “Exactly!”

  They spent the rest of the day looking at dresses. Mia had finally settled on her wedding dress but now she needed dresses for her maid of honor and bridesmaids. When her younger sisters, Adele and Constance, joined them it turned into quite the endeavor before they finally settled on a dress they could all agree on.

  “You're going to be such a beautiful bride, Mia.” Lily hugged her friend before she headed back to the city and her job at Gathering Grounds. Now that she'd agreed to be Mia's maid of honor she was really looking forward to the upcoming wedding.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Mia

  The morning of March 18th, Mia was awake before the sun had even begun lightening the sky. Even though the wedding wasn't for hours yet, she was too wound up to sleep any longer. She headed out to the front of the house and arched a brow when she discovered she wasn't the only one up.

  “You're up early.”

  Mia snorted. “Says da wolf who is awake before me.”

  Lily shrugged. “I don't sleep so well most nights.” She'd finally stopped looking over her shoulder but she still had trouble sleeping. She was usually up early, and when she did sleep it was light. She hoped that would change in time.

  “You know Caine wouldn't let someone force you to go back to Montana.”

  “I know. That doesn't stop me from worrying, though. At least I've finally stopped looking over my shoulder.”

  “Dere is dat.” Mia fixed herself a cup of coffee and sat across from her. “I can't believe dat I'll be Mrs. Mia Delacroix by da time da sun is settin'.”

  “Feels like it's been a long time coming, doesn't it?”

  “You don't know da half of it.” Mia sipped her coffee. “Dere was a time when I thought I'd never be in Gage's arms. He was a bit of a...player when we were in high school. He was an idiot cuz he thought I only saw him as a friend when he wanted more but he was too afraid to say anyting. He came dis close to losin' me.” Mia held her hand up with her fingers barely an inch apart.

  “With as happy as you two are, I find that hard to believe. What happened?”

  “It was da week before my first gallery showin'. He was da one who kept encouragin' me to show my art and I finally decided to follow his advice. I went to see him at Tulane, to tell him about it, and I caught him gettin' head from some girl. It broke my heart all to pieces. See, da year before dat, I was drugged by a date and Gage saved me from bein' raped. He became so attentive dat I thought it was because he wanted to be wit' me, so when I saw him wit' dat girl...It nearly destroyed me. I let myself get drunk and did some stupid tings myself dat I regretted da next day. It took some time but we worked past it and now, here we are. I've loved him my whole life and now I get to spend da rest of it in his arms.”

  “Wow. He's lucky you gave him the chance to make it up to you.”

  “Honestly, I couldn't do anyting else. I love him dat much.”

  “You have no idea how lucky you are, Mia, to have that kind of a connection with someone. It reminds me of the bond my parents had, before my mother was killed. I'm envious, I really am, but I'm also so happy for you. Okay, enough of this depressing talk. Today is your wedding day and we still have so much to do to get you ready for it.”

  Mia groaned. Lily was right. There was the trip into the city to the spa, then she had to get her hair done, then her makeup, then they had to get back to the compound and start getting dressed. Since her entire bridal party was getting their hair and makeup done as well, it was going to be a really long day.

  Eliza Lafluer looked at her daughter as she adjusted the flower wreath that encircled her head. Mia had decided to not wear a veil and instead had flowers weaved into her curly locks. The sleeveless bodice of her wedding dress clung to her and was decorated in lace. The under layer was silk with a tiered sheer lace outer layer that flowed around her when she walked. Two strips of lace curled around her upper arms, leaving the impression of low-slung sleeves. Paired with the flowers, she was a vision of loveliness. “You're beautiful,” Eliza murmured and finished with the wreath.

  “Thank you, mama.” Mia blushed at her mother's soft murmur.

  Lily stepped forward. “Your mom's right, you're beautiful, Mia. However, there are a few things missing. In true wedding tradition, your mother has the 'something old' covered.”

  With that Eliza lifted an antique lace choker from a small box. “Dis was my mama's. She gave it to me on my weddin' day, and now I am passin' it on to you.” The lace looked delicate but given it's age, it was still rather sturdy. In the center was a silver filigree with an oval shaped opal. On both sides of the filigree and just beneath it lay a single teardrop shaped opal with another, much smaller one dangling from the very bottom of the choker.

  “Oh.” Mia touched it with her fingertips once her mother clasped it behind her neck. “It's beautiful,” she hushed and blinked back sudden tears.

  “Next, we have something new. This is a gift from your soon-to-be- husband. He asked me to give it to you since he wasn't allowed to see you before the wedding.” Lily opened the small, velvet box to reveal a white gold bracelet that had a filigree look to it. It was encrusted with diamonds.

  “Oh my god.” Mia had no idea how Gage had managed to get her such a lovely piece of jewelry. She knew the diamonds were real and she was stunned.

  Lily helped her put it on before continuing. “The next is something borrowed,” she said and stepped back to let Mamere Eulalie move close to Mia.

  “Dat wreath is pretty, but someting is missin',” Eulalie said before she showed Mia the set of filigree hair combs she had in her hands. Each one had a large opal in the center. She used them to help hold Mia's hair back from her face then nodded. “I expect to get dose back later, cher.”

  “A'course, Mamere. They're lovely. Thank you for lettin' me wear dem.”

  Eulalie kissed her cheek. “You're welcome.”

  Lily cleared her throat. “Last, but not least, we have something blue. This is from all of us,” she said and motioned to the bridal party. Again she opened a velvet box. Inside lay a pair of pale blue topaz earrings. They were encased in an intricate silver design with diamonds.

  “Oh. Dese...dey're beautiful,” Mia said after a moment. “Da color reminds me a bit of Gage's eyes.”

  “That's why we picked them out,” Lily admitted. She helped Mia put them in then nodded. “Perfect. Now you're ready.” Almost as if it was waiting for those words,
the music began indicating it was time for the wedding party to take their places.

  Eliza and Eulalie left and found their seats before the bridesmaids were escorted up the aisle followed by the maid of honor. Then the wedding march began and all eyes were turned to the archway Mia would step through.

  Gage

  He was in purgatory. That was all there was to it. After going out the night before for his 'bachelor party', not that he'd paid that much attention to the festivities, Gage was anxious to get the wedding over with so he could sweep his bride up in his arms and be alone with her. This day was dragging on and on and he was ready to just say fuck it, track Mia down, and elope. But he couldn't do that to her, or their families. She deserved the wedding of her dreams so he kept a tight reign on the urge.

  By the time the music finally began, he was a nervous wreck. His hands were shaking, his palms were sweaty, and his breathing was a little rough. The moment Mia stepped into view, all breathing stopped. He could do nothing but stare at the ethereal vision she presented as she glided up the aisle on her father's arm.

  “Breathe before you pass out.”

  Remy's hiss in his ear brought him out of his stupor and he sucked in a lungful of air. When Mia reached his side and her father offered her hand to him, he took it, fingers curling around hers.

  “Today, we gather to witness the joining of two hearts and two souls into one. If there is any here who believes this joining should not take place, speak now.” As neither of them were overly religious, they'd found an officiator who was a pagan Priestess with the legal authority to perform marriages in Louisiana to perform the ceremony for them. The Priestess paused to give the attending guests the opportunity to speak before she continued. “Mia and Gage have chosen to recite their own vows. Mia will go first.”

  Mia looked up into Gage's eyes and smiled softly. “Gage, we've had some bumpy roads along da path dat brought us here today. Dere were dark moments dat sometimes felt like dey were never goin' to go away. But lookin' back, I wouldn't change a ting. All da trials we faced, dey made us who we are today. Dey made you da man I love wit' my whole heart and my whole soul. Not just for today, not just for tomorrow, but for da rest of eternity.” There were tears in her eyes when she finished speaking and the Priestess motioned for Gage to recite his vows.