The streets were filled with an array of cultures that blended together in a mesh pool of intrigue and sin. The excitement from the humans and the vampires alike could be felt on every block as each species plotted out their nights very differently. The masks hid their faces, concealed their truths, and blurred their boundaries as liquor flowed freely and the shared drugs gave free rein to their darkest of fantasies. With each drink, the idea that God’s eyes could not penetrate their party was only reenforced further.
After the warehouse debacle, Dominic had decided to take them on one last pit stop before finishing their trip to Lucius the following day and Mardi Gras seemed most fitting for the time and place they found themselves. He intended to make sure each one of them had fun as he was uncertain whether or not they would all make it out of Lucius’ mansion together or even alive. He felt he owed it to each of them to spend one more night of joy in each other’s company.
Part of him wanted to call off the trip before it was too late but he knew the decision would be a selfish one. He simply didn’t want to lose any members of his pack, his family, and the task of trying to keep them all safe had started to wear on him. Dominic feared the outcome of the trip more than he had ever feared anything.
He glanced backwards at his pack as they followed him through the crowded streets of the French Quarter. A quick scan told him they were all deep in thought and he tried to guess where each of them sat inside of themselves. They’d dressed comfortably in the garb they normally tried to conceal; black capes blew backwards with each gust of wind and all five jaws expanded to house the hungry fangs they usually kept hidden.
Creole spices wafted toward them, a silent and mouthwatering invitation to dine on crawfish stew, jambalaya and shrimp Creole. Dominic stopped to assess the crowd and allow his pack to begin their dinner preparations. As the humans lined the concession stands in a long wait for authentic Cajun dishes, the pack stood quietly as they sized up the humans.
Dominic eyed Leo, who stood in silence with his gaze concentrated upon the herds of pointless, nameless people stumbling by him and spilling drinks on his new boots. They remained unaware of his attention to them or of his thirst for their pulsating veins. Dominic watched the slow smirk that took over his lips as he salivated for their liquor-filled bloodstreams. He plugged into Leo’s mind without letting him know and as always, his heart became heavy over what he saw inside.
Who did this to me? Dominic could hear him ask himself, over and over again.
Leo would surely discover who turned him and Dominic had no way to foresee how it would play out or how it might impact his own wish. He bristled from the thoughts that tumbled from Leo’s head and caught in his throat as he listened to the curses that his small friend cast upon the One who had turned him just when he’d come to understand the world and had finally known the love of a woman. Collette danced around his mind, her long dark hair blowing behind her, and he longed for her touch as he had every day since he’d been forced to leave her behind.
Dominic pulled his stare from Leo and allowed it to land on Christoph, whom he had never been able to clearly read. Thoughts so deep that he couldn’t quite reach them, Dominic had often wondered what secrets his dear