Under A Voodoo Moon (Darkin World Book 4)

Chapter Eight

"I have hired staff to deal with menial business matters," the Seine Alpha groused.

"It's a special order, and I only want the best to fill it."

"Merde," Brassard cursed. "Fine. You've stroked my ego and piqued my curiosity. What is this special order that only I, the Great Henri can fill?"

"The sarcasm is unneeded." Gideon's complaint was voiced without any bite. "I need a large bouquet delivered to an apartment in the twentieth arrondissement."

"Only one? I expect a larger order if I'm to send someone into such a rough neighborhood."

"Fine. You were a pirate in a previous life, weren't you?" Gideon asked. The French alpha could be old enough to have lived a life on the high seas; he had no idea how many years the other man had seen. Henri had been alpha since before the war fifty years ago, so he was at least seventy, for all he looked to be in his late twenties.

The flowers were an offering to entice Remi away from Trystan. They were a way for Gideon to protect her from whatever the man was or had become. The reasoning fell flat within him. He knew they were because he wanted to bring her joy - to see her smile because of him.

Henri's somewhat sinister chuckle floated across the line. "I'll never tell," he intoned before switching back to the previous subject. "How about we say you order five large bouquets?"

"Can your greenhouse handle such an order?"

"Of course," the confident alpha was quick to reply.

An unfriendly smile split Gideon's features. "Very well, I'll need five large arrangements sent to the twentieth arrondissement." Pausing briefly, he took time to savor his next words. "They'll each need to contain flowers of all the colors of the rainbow."

A few quick keystrokes were heard on the other end of the phone. "I'll need the address, so I can have these three, large rainbow arrangements delivered."

Swallowing back his guffaw, Gideon gave Remi's address to Henri. After he hung up with the Frenchman, he wondered if he should call the little mystic to see if she was home. Sighing, he decided it was too much of a temptation. He'd want to stay on the phone with her for hours. The flowers would have to be the last contact he told himself firmly as he put his mobile back in his pocket.

Calling his beast to the fore, Gideon became a wolf once more. All of his personal belongings went back into the mystical void to wait to be pulled out again when needed. This change was a little delayed from his previous transformations. Switching forms so often was beginning to have repercussions.

Heading back to Remi's apartment, Gideon found himself hoping she was home. And that she'd let him in after his display at the bar. Going to the fire escape, he called forth his human side and repeated his ascending journey from earlier that day. Unlike previously, his cloaking magic petered out halfway up. Conscious of his visibility, he pushed the wolf forward. It struggled to come, but once it did, he quickly leaped up and gripped the next set of stairs with his teeth. The beast's weight exceeded that of most humans, so they came down easily. It was an awkward trek, but eventually, he made it to her window.

Looking inside, Gideon spotted Remi sitting on her couch. She'd changed into sweats and had her feet propped up on the coffee table. On her lap, being stroked, was the black cat.

A massive paw rose, and Gideon scratched at the window. Head whipping around, Remi spotted him. The look she flashed him was anything but welcoming. Persevering in the face of such hostility, he pressed his nose to the glass and huffing out a humid breath. When she dislodged Damballah from her lap and walked toward him, he wagged his tail.