Dimitri (Immortals of New Orleans, Book 6) (20 page)

“I know that you’re pretending to be mates to draw out Chaz, but you’re telling me that she’s your mate, as in for real?” the Alpha asked, amused with his friend’s misery. It wasn’t that he didn’t love him like a brother, but karma was a bitch. Dimitri had made fun of him, enjoying every last drip of angst Logan went through when he’d found his mate, so turnabout was fair play.

“You betcha,” Dimitri said, taking a sip of his whisky. He watched Gillian across the room. Dressed in a slinky red number, she threw her head back, giggling at something Wynter had said. Her amber eyes flickered behind her delicate black metal mask. “Look at her.”

“She’s sexy, isn’t she?” Logan answered.

“My mate, not yours.”

“Ah yes, she’s beautiful as well. But what are you going to do with a cat? I think it’s ironic you had a laugh riot over me adopting a kitten and now you’re gonna mate with one.” Logan laughed and slapped Dimitri on his shoulder.

Dimitri waved to his friend, Léopold Devereoux, who crossed the room.

“Here comes trouble,” Logan commented.

“Bonne soirée, mes amis,” Léopold greeted them.

“How’s it going? Where’s your better half?” Dimitri asked.

“Mon amour is on her way over from Kade’s house,” he said, referring to Kade Issacson, who led the New Orleans vampires. Léopold was his sire, and unfortunately, Kade’s fiancée, Sydney, had been turned vampire, in a tragic accident involving a demon. “Sydney isn’t doing so well, I’m afraid. Laryssa feels responsible. The girls have been taking turns, visiting.”

“Sydney’s seeing visitors? That’s progress,” Dimitri noted.

“Perhaps. But she’s not speaking to anyone. Laryssa goes anyway. Sits with her. Reads to her. I’m not sure she’s going to survive the transition. Of course, I haven’t mentioned it to Kade. There’s no stronger medicine than hope.”

“Sorry to hear that, Leo.”

“Not to change the subject, but did you tell him?” Logan asked.

“No, I did not.” Dimitri glared at his Alpha, who was delighting in his predicament entirely too much.

“Our beta here’s got himself a problem.”

“He does?” Léopold mused, trying to read Dimitri’s face.

“Part of being an Alpha is knowin’ when to ask an expert. Leo’s older than both of us tenfold. Perhaps he’s got a solution for your problem,” Logan suggested.

Léopold studied his friend, noting how Dimitri kept his eyes on an attractive redhead at the bar. Listening to his pulse race when she stole a glance at him, he smiled.

“Now this is interesting…a mate for our beta.”

“How do you do that? It’s creepy, ya know,” Dimitri remarked to Léopold. “My Alpha’s been ‘round me since I’ve been a babe. But you…what’s your secret?”

“And look at her eyes…well, now, that is surprising. A lion? Leopard, maybe?” he asked.

“Tiger,” Logan corrected.

“Yep,” Dimitri sighed. “She’s my mate. But we’ve got issues.”

“Does she even know?” Léopold asked.

“What do you think?”

“I’ve heard of this happening before. A hybrid, I assume. Her tiger’s a rare breed. Maljavan would be my guess.”

“Are you making this shit up?” Logan asked with a chuckle.

“Her eyes. Like a cat’s. It’s a trait of her species. She can mate with a wolf, but she could lose her ability to shift. Like Sydney’s transition to vampire, her cat may not survive. May I ask, she’s hybrid, but her mother, was she full tiger or hybrid as well?”

“I’m pretty sure that her mother was hybrid. Her father was an Alpha,” Dimitri replied.

“Here comes the punch line,” Logan warned, waiting on Léopold’s reaction to the next tidbit of information.

“Her brother is Jax Chandler.” Dimitri took a deep draw of the amber liquid in his glass and exhaled. “Gilly said her mom lost the ability to shift after she mated. But Jax thinks she denied her wolf and that’s why she can’t shift. I haven’t met her, so I’m not sure.”

“Jax’s father’s been dead for a while. Jax and I became friends when he took over several years ago. But he never mentioned a sister,” Léopold commented.

“Family secrets run deep, I guess. After what went down in San Diego, she went to him for help.”

“Any news on Chaz Baldwin?” Léopold inquired.

“He’s not in NOLA,” Logan replied.

“Yet. It’s just a matter of time,” Dimitri said.

“If you mate with her, he can’t have her,” Léopold told him.

“If is the optimal word in that sentence. And even if I manage that, he’s still comin’ for her. What I don’t get is why he wants her so badly. Why would an Alpha force a mating on someone who wasn’t all wolf?”

“It’s rumored that she’ll give a gift to the one who mates her,” Léopold speculated.

“What?”

“A gift,” he repeated. “Not sure what it is, but it appears it’s worth killing for. Jax’s father probably knew. Therefore Jax knows. And your pretty little pussy cat, mais oui, she definitely knows.”

“She didn’t say anything,” Dimitri grumbled.

“Secrets, secrets…we all have them. Do not judge her harshly, my friend. She’s vulnerable,” Léopold said, touching his shoulder. A shiver ran through him, and he grimaced.

“There’s got to be a way to mate without killing her cat…I can’t do that to her.”

“Perhaps. Jax is a wise leader. It’s very likely that if she’s half wolf, her wolf will emerge. If she can go to wolf, then maybe she can also call on her cat. I imagine the transition is similar to Sydney’s in that you have to want it to happen. The mind is a powerful influence. You both know this.”

“I guess that gives me something to work with.” Dimitri’s lips tightened as he caught sight of a man watching Gillian.

“Now that we have that settled, let’s discuss what in the hell’s wrong with you. Does he know?” Léopold pinned his eyes on Dimitri, his tone growing serious.

Perpetrating deceit bored a hole in Dimitri’s chest. It was time to share the truth.

“I won’t ask how you knew…it’s only been a few days since I saw the witch.” Dimitri took a deep breath and blew it out. “My wolf. Something’s still got a hold of me. Ilsbeth gave me this tonic. But it’s not enough. Strange part is that when I’ve been with Gilly, I felt a little better. You know she healed me.”

“She does have gifts,” Léopold observed.

“For real. I was near death on that beach. My wolf wouldn’t surface,” he recalled. “But the witch. She wants me to move in with her.”

“What the fuck?” Logan blurted out.

“Yeah, that’s about it. I told her no, of course, but she kissed me. And ya know, she was already pissed that I wouldn’t date her anymore. She’s still holding a grudge. Not sure how the news of my mating’s goin’ to fly.”

“I imagine she’ll continue to be put out, but she won’t hurt you,” Léopold assured him.

“I’m not so sure about that. You and I both know she’s one scary bitch. Gorgeous, but scary.”

“That she is, mon ami, but she will find a way to fix you.”

“Leo’s right, D. Ilsbeth knows full well she’s not your mate. She may be bitter but she’s not stupid. If she wants the symbiotic relationship between the vamps, wolves and witches to continue, she’s gotta get over it. It’s the only way. In the meantime, I suggest you talk with your woman about you know…your mating status,” Logan suggested with a wicked grin.

“Really? Hello, Logan. Pot meet kettle. I recall you marking your mate without even telling her. How soon we forget,” Dimitri snorted.

“Oh, I don’t forget. It was a little difficult.” Logan smiled. “But hey, it all worked out just fine.”

“Okay, must be nice rewriting history.”

“Ah, I do enjoy a spirited debate,” Léopold chuckled. “But in the interest of time, because my sweet Laryssa’s going to be here soon, let’s just all agree that you’ll tell her. I understand you don’t want to kill her tiger, but I’m going to side with Jax on this one. If she wants to shift after the mating, she’ll do it as a wolf. It’s hard to tell from this distance but she seems made of strong stock. You must engage in preparation to make it happen.”

“Jesus, Leo, you make it sound so clinical. Holy shit, this sucks,” Dimitri huffed.

“Life has not promised us easy, only love.”

“I love it when he goes all philosophical on us,” Logan commented.

“He’s almost as old as Socrates,” Dimitri joked.

“Hardly. You’re off by a thousand years,” Léopold sniffed, grabbing a flute off a passing waiter’s tray. “Speaking of ancient, I do believe the witch has arrived.”

All eyes turned to the petite woman whose customarily blonde hair had been dyed turquoise. Her stunning appearance captured the attention of everyone in the room, her emerald-green velvet dress trailing several feet behind her. Smiling as if she were the queen of New Orleans, her face drew tight as she caught sight of Dimitri.

Gillian found the Alpha’s mate, Wynter, welcoming, introducing her to members of the pack. But she felt disingenuous pretending that she belonged to Dimitri. Sooner or later, they’d suspect the truth. Animals were not easily deceived. Yet as she met one wolf after the other, she grew certain about her feelings for the beta. She might not be his true mate, but she wanted to be.

She blinked over to Dimitri who smiled at her. He talked with his friends, while he protectively watched her from a distance. She smoothed down the fabric of her dress, taking in the sight of her stylish wolf. He wore black dress pants, his white dress shirt unbuttoned so that she could see a hint of the tattoos on his chest. His black leather mask did little to hide the fire in his eyes.

Wynter left Gillian’s side to address another pack member when a stranger sidled up to her at the bar. She hardly noticed him as all eyes fell to an attractive woman entering the ballroom, who appeared to glide across the floor, her hair tied up in intricate braids. Her silver mask sparkled underneath the black light, illuminating her ice-blue eyes.

Amazement turned to jealousy as Gillian watched Dimitri turn his focus to the beautiful woman. Her tiger hissed as he embraced the blue-haired beauty. Dimitri took her by the hand, leading her to a secluded corner of the room. Gillian’s eyes flared in anger, her heart pounding blood through her veins. Did he have a mate? Was everything he’d told her, the way he’d made her feel, all a lie? Was it all part of their hoax? Rage coursed through her. She went to cross the room to confront him, when the stranger spoke to her.

“You’re new here,” he commented. “Can I get you a drink?”

“Yeah,” she responded mindlessly, unable to take her eyes off of Dimitri.

“My name’s Alex. I’m visiting my friend, Seth, for Mardi Gras. I live in Chicago,” he explained, extending his hand.

Gillian smiled, attempting to be polite.

“You wanna dance?” he asked.

“You’re human?” she asked, her thoughts distracted.

“Yeah, pretty crazy, right? The Alpha said it was okay, since I was in town on business. Seth and I go way back. You a wolf, too?”

“Yes.” Who Seth was she had no idea and wasn’t about to ask. Gillian found it difficult to concentrate on his questions.

“You wanna dance?” he asked again.

What Gillian really wanted was to forget, to run away. The woman stroked her hand over Dimitri’s forearm, and Gillian thought she’d be sick. She’d never been a jealous person before, but she could hardly contain the green-eyed monster that threatened to throttle the woman touching her man.

“Um, what did you say?” she asked.

“Let’s dance,” he said, taking her hand.

Gillian glared at Dimitri, but he didn’t even notice as Alex led her out onto the dance floor. He was preoccupied, infatuated with another woman, someone who was possibly his mate. She glanced at the human, reasoning that he couldn’t hurt her. Dimitri didn’t seem to even care. It was just one dance.

But as the stranger wrapped his hand around her waist to lead her in a waltz, she felt nauseous and attempted to pull away. Alex held tight, yanking her flush against his arousal and her head grew dizzy at his touch. Before she knew what was happening, he’d spun her around, making her lose sight of her wolf. The stranger’s hand fell to her bottom and her tiger roared, warning the stranger to free her. She lost control, and her claws emerged.

“You’re looking well,” Ilsbeth noted, the corners of her lips curled upward.