Gideon stood and walked around the table to take the empty seat. He sat, still fixated on his woman.
“Gideon, this is my granddaughter, Nola. Olivia’s baby.”
The stunning woman was definitely no baby. If so, she was about to grow up really fast.
“It’s nice to meet you, Nola,” Gideon greeted.
Although the women in the Moreau line shared a lot of the same features, it was obvious that she was Olivia’s daughter. They could’ve been twins.
“Ummm…hello? I’m Margo.”
Gideon chuckled at the interruption and reluctantly turned towards Margo. “Good morning, Margo. It’s nice to meet you,” Gideon greeted, even though he already knew the party animal.
“Didn’t we see you last night?” Enola asked.
Gideon smiled. He knew damn well she remembered him from the night before. He could tell that she’d been struck by the same bolt of lightning that had struck him.
“Yeahhh, we sure did,” Margo agreed.
Margo obviously had no clue that he and his pack watched her from a distance. They learned that even though Margo seemed wild, she was essentially a good girl. She drank, danced, and partied, but when she was done, she always went home. She handled overly aggressive men well. And anyone she couldn’t handle, someone from his pack would.
“Gideon, hmm?” she grinned. “That’s a nice name. Nola, ain’t that a nice name?”
Nola narrowed her eyes at her cousin. “Yes, Margo. It's a very nice name. Gran, are we gonna eat any time soon? I’m leaving after breakfast.”
“Where are you going, dear?” Ruby asked.
“Home. I’m going back to Chicago.”
“What?” Margo squealed. “You just got here!”
The thought of Nola leaving made Gideon’s heart race. But he was in no panic because no number of miles would stop him from claiming her as his mate. After being attacked by those filthy bloodsuckers, Gideon wasn’t at all surprised that she wanted to leave. Nola clearly had no clue how powerful she was. She’d annihilated a very old, very strong vampire with just a touch.
“You don’t understand,chér. You can’t just leave,” Ruby told her.
“Oh, but I can. I’m outta here. Gran is fine. Ain’t nothing wrong with her.”
“Nola, you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!” Ruby snapped.
“That’s enough!” Marie intervened. “Now is not the time! We have a guest!”
That was Gideon’s cue. Even though he never got to enjoy breakfast, he stood, ready to leave.
“A discussion between family is clearly needed. So, I’m going to excuse myself.” He turned to Nola and grinned. “If you decide to stay a little longer, I would love to have you for dinner. Show youmyNew Orleans.”
Enola looked up at Gideon, smiled gently and said, “It was really nice meeting you, Gideon. Thank you again for returning my purse.”
Gideon nodded before leaving the lanai. He smiled as he exited the house. If Mademoiselle Roux thought that this was their end, she was terribly mistaken.
CHAPTER NINE
Enola did her best to get through breakfast without arguing with her family. She didn’t need to be a mind reader to know that they were upset. The weight of their disappointment was weighing heavily on her.
In Enola’s defense, she hadn’t asked for such enlightenment. She was perfectly content with believing that monsters didn’t exist. However unfortunate for Enola, in less than twenty-four hours, she not only found out about the existence of monsters, but she found out that she was one of them.
Enola was going home, back to her small condo in Bronzeville, and back to her job as a dispatcher for the Chicago Police Department. She wanted to return to her normal routine. Yes, she would miss her family, but she was accustomed to living away from them.
“You can try, but you can’t cheat fate. You’re only gonna get stronger,” Ruby mumbled, breaking the silence. “You say that Mamma is fine, but you’re wrong. The stronger you get, the weaker she gets.”
