RISE OF THE LYCANS - Mates and Bonds

Lukas

“What the hell is Father Fontenay doing at the Louvre?” Flaym said as we got ushered out of the closing museum.

The better question was why Father Fontenay wasn’t getting kicked out like the rest of us. I reached for my phone and called Zane to see if they found anything at Notre-Dame. He answered on the third ring.

“Find anything at the church?”

“Are you sure you got the priest’s name correct?” He replied.

“Why?”

Zane explained they had asked some of the women at the gift shop who had worked there for years, and they had never heard of Father Fontenay. We had described Father Fontenay to Zane before he left. The priest was in his late fifties, with dark hair, eyes, and skin. He was wearing black clothing and a white collar when we saw him at the church and again at the museum.

“There was an old priest, with glasses and short gray hair, wearing a white robe, working the confessional,” Zane told me. “We haven’t been able to take a closer look at the confessional yet, but we will. We left to get something to eat, but we’re walking back right now. The church is open for another hour.”

“What is it?” Storm asked.

I disconnected with Zane and told them what he had reported. Notre-Dame was less than a mile away, and I considered going back to the church, but I wanted to return to the hotel and see if Zander had found anything from the video surveillance. There was a lot to consider from our trip to the Louvre, and I needed to wash the stench of smoke from my skin.

“Father phony has to be working with Darc and Erick,” Grandma told us.Content held by NôvelDrama.Org.

“That glass case didn’t spontaneously combust,” Ranger said.

“A little glass in the eye could have caused permanent damage even wolf healing couldn’t fix,” Grandma added.

“Well, it’s a good thing we have Selena and Sol with us,” Storm replied.

“I’m not very good with the gift yet,” Sol blushed.

Ranger’s voice came through the mind link. “You think he might be after one of our mates because of their gift?”

A low growl escaped me, and I instantly wrapped my arm around my mate, pulling her to me. Ranger already had Sol tucked up beside him possessively. My beast was ready to kill anyone who touched my mate.

“We should go. Everyone is leaving the area,” Flaym suggested.

We started walking in the direction of the Tuileries garden which was the royal gardens of the Louvre. I could see the ancient Egyptian obelisk that stood at the other end of the gardens from here. It was about half a mile away and marked the spot where Marie Antoinette and so many others met their end during the French Revolution.

“Grandma, you up for a walk?” I motioned with my head toward the obelisk in the distance.

“You bet your tail I am!” She adjusted her purse over her shoulder and started walking with determination.

The revelation about Joan of Arc was still nagging me, so I dialed Uncle Balthazar.

“Lukas,” he greeted me.

“What do you know about Joan of Arc?” I asked.

“Joan of Arc?” He asked curiously. “She lived during The Hundred Years’ War. I was residing in the Italian Alps at the time, but word traveled about her execution,” he said. “She was burned alive at the stake.”

“Could she have been a mage?”

“It’s possible, but many believed she received visions from God. Very few mages were actually burned at the stake, the rest were innocent. Why the sudden interest?”

“Jeanne d’Arc is what she’s commonly referred to in France,” I told him. “The spelling is the same as—”

“Darc!” Balthazar said in understanding. “She didn’t have children, but her siblings did…”

“I think Erick is related to the Darcs and might be a descendant.”

“I’m with your father, and there are plenty of elders around here who should know the family history,” he told me. “Is there anything on Caspian yet?”

“Not yet, but we suspect Erick is behind it with a fake priest we met at Notre-Dame Cathedral.” I continued to tell him the details of the priest and what happened at the Louvre.

“Keep your eyes open for Jules Darc. He’s still out there,” Balthazar warned.

“What about Alpha Orléans?”

“His mate and two daughters are still at the pack. Xena has already interrogated them, and they don’t seem to know anything.”

By interrogated, he meant that Xena had already sunk her claws into each one of them and read their mind. Lycan claws are longer and sharper than werewolf claws. If she dug her claws into a thigh or arm, the werewolf would heal thanks to accelerated healing. They were still alive, which told me she had spared their lives for now.

I disconnected the call and relayed the information to the others as we walked along the tree-lined path.

“If François Orléans is innocent, why disappear into the wind?” Flaym asked.

“He could be dead,” Sol suggested.

“No,” Grandma said. “His family would have felt the loss through the family bond. Those bonds are still intact.”

“Uncle Poseidon is going to kill us if we don’t find Caspian,” Ranger said. “He might just kill us because we didn’t tell him right away.”

“I say we hunt the demon,” Grandma suggested.

“Grandma, you’re going back to the hotel room, and you’re not leaving.”

“What am I supposed to do? Hang out in my undies eating macarons?” She protested.

“I had a missed call from Zander,” Rex said, looking at his phone.

“Oh, look, they sell crêpes at that stand,” Flaym pointed.

“You just had shawarma,” Storm said.

“That was over two hours ago,” Flaym replied. “Keep walking, and I’ll catch up in a few minutes.”

“It’s almost time for dinner,” Grandma said as my phone started ringing. “You’re going to ruin your appetite.”

I wasn’t going to risk Flaym wandering off and disappearing, so I stopped walking and motioned for him to go get his snack. “Hello,” I answered Zander’s call.

“Don’t come back to the hotel right now. The French police are here investigating the theft of a few motorcycles. We’ve scrubbed the security footage, but I’m not sure if they have a description or footage of the culprits.”

“Got it,” I replied. “Any leads on Caspian?”

“No, but we know Selena’s apartment was a bomb. It was a rooftop apartment, which made it easy to wire,” he told me before we ended the call.

Erick’s apartment was also on the top floor, and I wondered if the French authorities would connect the two. It’s not like apartments were exploding every day in Paris, so it was a matter of time before they made the connection.

“What’s wrong?” Selena asked, and I shared what Zander had just told me.

“That explains why Jose’s apartment didn’t explode,” Rex said. “It would have been difficult since it sits just above a busy café.”

“Well, we can’t return to the hotel right now,” Selena said.

“Then we’ll see the Obelisk and go have dinner somewhere before we return to the hotel,” Grandma shrugged.

Flaym returned with his snack, and we continued on our walk past the large fountain to the garden’s exit gates. Storm’s eyes swirled, and she slipped on her sunglasses. She was scanning our surroundings, and I wondered if she sensed something or if she was just being vigilant.

“Do you sense that?” Storm asked.

“Sense what?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “Some kind of shift in energy.”

“A very strong energy,” Rex breathed, taking in the massive monument.

“Lots of people were beheaded in this area,” Grandma said. “It could be bad juju or the ancient energy of the obelisk.”

“The obelisk has energy?” Flaym asked.

“This is an authentic Egyptian Luxor obelisk,” Grandma told us as we neared the base of the red granite monument covered in hieroglyphs. “I saw its twin when I was in Egypt. They were created during King Ramses’ rule and flanked the entrance of the Luxor temple.”

“Did it have the same energy?” Storm asked.

“Ramses was one of the most powerful mages of the millennia,” Grandma told us. “The tips of the obelisks were believed to have been covered in gold to reflect the sun, but I think he used them as some sort of talisman.”

“The one in Luxor doesn’t have gold,” Sol said.

“The gold was stripped away long ago, but this one got a makeover a few decades ago. The gold leaf was added to the top here in Paris,” Grandma said.

We stood for a few moments, taking in the obelisk, and Grandma snapped photos. Ramses created and built a number of things in ancient Egypt because he had lived over twice as long as the average person during that time period. It was a testament to his power as a mage.

Joan of Arc was also a significant person in history, but she was only nineteen years old when she was killed, so one of her siblings could have passed the magic gene along. If Erick’s magic was strong enough, he might be able to open a portal. The question I couldn’t understand was why he wanted to.

“Is that the golden triangle you’ve been seeing?” Rex asked Storm, looking up to the top of the obelisk.

She shook her head. “No. I think I’ve been seeing the glass pyramid at the Louvre lit up at night.”

“Hey, look,” Flaym pointed to the ground. “There’s a brass plaque over here marking the dates of the King and Queen’s beheading.”

“It’s a shame they didn’t preserve the guillotine in this spot. That would have been fun to see,” Grandma said as she snapped a photo of the plaque. “Okay, I’ve seen enough. Let’s go find some bouillabaisse or beef bourguignon.”

“I was hoping to shower,” Rex sniffed his clothes.

“Too bad we couldn’t just walk over to Selena’s apartment,” Grandma said.

“We’re not too far from Ouh là là,” Sol said with a smile. “They’ve got showers in the locker rooms.”

“That’s out of the question,” Ranger said through gritted teeth as his eyes flashed black.

“That’s not a bad idea,” Flaym replied. “The club is new and secure, and it belongs to Alpha Orléans. If I were Alpha Orléans and I needed to hide from an angry Alpha King, that would be a good choice.”

“Oh, does this club serve food?” Grandma asked, and Selena laughed.

Selena’s voice came through the mind link. “I hate to say it, but it’s a good idea.”

“Eager to go back, are you?” I replied.

We crossed the street and walked a block to the Galerie Royale shopping mall. Not wanting to drag everyone into the high-end clothing stores, I asked Ranger and Sol to go inside and select new clothing for me and Rex. Storm took a call from our mother, and Rex texted Zane to let him know where we were going. Notre-Dame was within walking distance of the club, and Zane could join us there when they were done.

“Are we really going back to the club with Grandma?” Flaym asked uncomfortably through the mind link.

“It was your genius idea.”

Ten minutes later, Ranger returned with black bags in hand. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted slacks or jeans, so I got both.”

“You could have just mind linked one of us,” Rex replied.

“That would be too easy,” Ranger chuckled.

We walked seven blocks until we reached the club, and to my surprise, it was closed. I pulled on the door, and it was locked.

“It’s still a little early,” Sol said. “Maybe they don’t open until later.”

“Later?” Grandma questioned. “It’s almost eight. What kind of establishment is this? Maybe I need an outfit change?”

“It’s the kind you don’t want to know about,” Ranger replied.

“Oh, let me get my lipstick,” Grandma reached into her purse.

“We could try the side door,” Sol suggested.

“I could pop the lock,” Rex offered.

“I’ve got my lock pick kit,” Grandma chirped.

“They let you take that in the Louvre?” Flaym asked Grandma.

I gave her the go-ahead to pick the lock, and the lock tumbled open in less than sixty seconds. Rex went in first, and we heard the sound of shuffling inside the club. Storm’s claws shifted, and she charged ahead of Rex with a savage snarl. Rex followed behind her, and the sound of tearing fabric told me he had shifted. The crash of furniture rang out, and growls echoed inside. Someone cried out, and I heard a male voice beg for mercy.

Most of the lights were turned off, but shifters had excellent eyesight. We made our way to the bar beside the dance floor, and I found Storm standing over Alpha François Orléans with her foot on the back of his neck. Her claws were extended, and her face was partially shifted. She could easily kill him if she wanted to, and I was a little surprised to find she had waited.

Rex had shifted his full upper body and snarled a warning. The remains of his shirt hung around his waist, and he looked absolutely feral. I took a sniff and could smell the fear radiating from the Gamma and warrior lying on the floor in front of him. This was probably their first time setting eyes on a shifted lycan, and he was only partially shifted.

“François,” I greeted him.

“Alpha! Thank the Goddess, you’re finally here,” he muttered as Storm applied more pressure on his neck.

“You knew I’d come?”

“I hoped you would come,” he said. “I tried to send a message to the hotel, but my Delta never returned.”

I gave Storm a nod so she could release him. His hand immediately rubbed the back of his neck as he lifted to his knees. He glanced up at Storm and held his hands in surrender.

“I had nothing to do with Darc,” he started to say, and Rex snarled.

“I found this lovely whip,” Grandma stepped forward. “Maybe we should beat it out of him.”

My mate stifled a laugh, and Sol turned a deep shade of pink. Flaym shook his head, and I wasn’t sure if he was embarrassed to have Grandma here or if he was humored.

“What do you say, François?” I smiled. “Are you ready for a beat down from Grandma Dori?”

“I’ll tell you everything I know, please,” he replied.

I walked over to one of the armchairs on the side and dragged it against the wooden floor of the dance floor in front of Alpha Orléans. I seated myself and reached for my mate, seating her on my lap.

“Talk,” I ordered.

“Pierre Darc approached us six months ago about hosting the mating ball at Versailles. I thought it was a good idea since I have two daughters who have yet to find a mate,” he said, and I recalled how both of his daughters were shoved under my nose at the ball.

“I’m going to get something to drink,” Flaym said as he moved behind the bar and started pouring drinks. “Don’t mind me, keep going.”

“I had no idea what was happening at the ball when it happened, but after the commotion died down, Erick told me what he had done… What he was forced to do.”

“So, Erick is the mage?”

“Yes,” François said. “He told me about the heat stimulant and that Darc had taken his mother hostage. He had no choice in any of this. He had to do it.”

“Pierre Darc wanted my mate?” A deadly snarl ripped from me.

“He was hoping for one of the female lycans,” François swallowed hard and looked up at Storm. “Erick said Darc wanted the silver-haired Queen, but she wasn’t there.”

“So, he took Persephone instead,” Storm growled, and her eyes swirled. I was surprised she hadn’t cut his heart out yet.

“Did he wish to breed her or use her for lycan venom?” I asked.

We had been so guarded with the details about lycans that other shifters didn’t know the specifics related to maturity, mates, offspring, and venom. More than likely, they just assumed lycans were the same as werewolves.

“I don’t know… maybe both,” he stammered.

“I don’t recall seeing you when the females went into heat,” Ranger said. “Where were you?”

“I thought something was burning out in the gardens by the pavilion. There was black smoke, but it disappeared by the time I got there. I heard the commotion break out and returned just after you had run off with your female.”

“Is Erick related to the Darcs?” Rex asked.

“Yes,” he nodded.

“Then why would Erick share this valuable information with you?”

“Because Erick is my nephew.”

“This is bullshit,” Storm snarled as her eyes swirled and she speared her claw into him.

******

I'm getting excited to link all the little tidbits and hidden clues I've been dropping in the book! LOL