Prologue
1884
New Orleans, Louisiana
The crowd parted like the Red Sea, giving Gideon and his brother, Gabriel, a clear path to the woman that was bound by thick rope to a tall wooden stake. Gideon stood with a small group of weeping brown women as angry whites shouted accusations of witchcraft.
If Auriette Moreau was afraid, she didn't show it. She appeared dispassionate and unemotional. Her hazel eyes burned red as she urged her followers, in French, to stifle their tears. Auriette held her head high and glared defiantly at the crowd, intentionally avoiding eye contact with Gabriel. Bright rays from the sun caused her dark skin to glow, making her appear almost angelic. Her thick, curly mane, draping her slender shoulders, blew wildly in the wind. Even then, she was beautiful.
Auriette pursed her full lips thin as Father Batiste approached. The pasty, white skin on his neck wrinkled over a white collar that was meant to symbolize one’s devotion to God. But not even the clerical collar could disguise the clergyman’s evil intent.
“Auriette Moreau, you have been tried and found guilty of witchcraft. Having whored yourself to Satan, you are sentenced to death!”
Hatred lasered from Auriette’s burning irises as the hypocrite shouted, more so to the crowd than to Auriette. For the priest, it was definitely a performance.
“Before you burn at this stake, I implore you to confess your sins and repent so that the fire may purify your tainted soul.”
Auriette narrowed her eyes and struggled against the rope. “I will confess my sins, priest!” she spat. “When you confess to your unholy affection for little boys!”
The priest clutched his bible and nodded angrily to the executioner. As the executioner placed his log in the small bonfire, Gideon could hear the thunderous beat of his twin’s heart. When Gabriel’s breathing hardened, he turned to his brother and stilled him with a look. Sorrow washed, empathetically, over Gideon as his brother struggled, painfully, to watch the woman that he loved helplessly tied to a stake. He placed his hand on Gabriel’s shoulder, urging him to exercise patience.
“Witch, since you have no remorse, I condemn your soul to hell!” the priest bellowed over the mutterings of the crowd.
“As if you have the power to condemn my soul, corrupt priest,” Auriette chortled.
The bottom of her tattered smock danced in the wind as the executioner placed the burning log into the timber that surrounded his brother’s lover. A distinctive howl reverberated from a distance, signaling the time to strike. Within seconds, Gabriel had snatched the coat from his body, and Gideon could hear the cracking and reforming of his brother’s skeleton as he shifted. His clothing was ripped from his body as he turned to beast. Because of the need for opposable thumbs in order to free Auriette from her ties, Gideon remained in human form. It was Gabriel’s choice to shift. He had a strong desire to rip those that he considered transgressors to shreds.
Gideon’s pack tore through the onlookers as he and Gabriel sprinted towards Auriette. No one would be left alive, but the priest would be given a special death; one with unimaginable pain.
Black smoke surrounded Auriette as the twins raced to her. Gideon leaped towards her, but slammed into an invisible wall. The yelp from his brother’s wolf indicated that he had run into the barrier as well. Gideon attempted to break through by force, but the shield was impenetrable.
“WHAT MAGIC IS THIS?” Gideon roared as he punched against the forcefield.
“Gabriel!” Auriette screamed as the flames grew. “I love you, Gabriel! My love will live long past me!”
Gabriel’s canine cries resonated through the air as he scratched against the invisible wall. Gideon pounded against the wall, ignoring the screams of the crowd as his pack tore them apart. Just as the fire began to overtake, Auriette screamed, “Hypocrites, whores, and demons, all of you! Je déclenche le feu sur vous tous! I unleash these very flames upon youall!”
Auriette’s curse echoed for miles.
Gideon watched, helplessly, as his brother’s lover burned. He inhaled a deep breath. The smell of burning flesh invaded his senses. Gideon turned to find his brother lying naked in the dirt. He wept as a man whose soul had just been ripped from his body, a wolf that had lost his mate. Gideon dropped to the ground and pulled his brother into his arms. A tear fell from his own eye as he held his broken twin.
CHAPTER ONE
Present Day
Enola reluctantly opened the door and allowed Antonio, her cheating ex, to enter her condo. She pointed to the box filled with things he’d left at her place.
“Damn, babe, can we talk for a minute?”
Enola folded her arms and looked at him like he was crazy. “What we got to talk about?”
Antonio threw his hands up as if he had the right to be frustrated. “Nola, baby, how many times do I have to say I’m sorry?”
“To be honest, Antonio, I wish you’d stop it. I don’t need, nor do I want your sorry ass apology.”
“So…that’s it, Nola? It’s over? You’re just gonna walk away from everything we had?”
“Yes, it is, and yes, I am,” Nola said plainly.
