Introduction
The Hellish Clan is hosting a Halloween celebration for the ages. At least one human has found his way there and is in way over his head.
While Pierce always travels to NOLA for Halloween, this year’s trip is turning into an unforgettable one. First, a psychic sends him to the middle of nowhere to meet an undisclosed destiny. Then he finds himself in the middle of some crazy orgy in the woods celebrating the gods. As if that’s not enough, a sexy guy named Red claims Pierce is his fated mate. Pierce doesn’t know if he should commit himself to the psych ward now or wait until someone else does it for him. The problem is, he kind of wants to believe all this craziness about gods, vampires, and werewolves. Pierce feels like he’s at home with his burly biker wolf. He doesn’t know where to go with that, but Pierce better figure things out quick, because a possessive werewolf won’t wait forever.
One
Halloween was Pierce’s favorite time of year. He always came to New Orleans to celebrate. The one good thing about having no family was that he could disappear anytime he wanted without having to explain himself. One of the most terrifying parts of having no family was that he could disappear, and no one would report him missing. New Orleans could also be a tad bit scary. He had been born here, and everything about those memories was horrific. But this time of year, New Orleans was utterly amazing. Fake bats and spiders hung from lampposts. Lit pumpkins seemed to sit inside every shop. Pierce wandered the streets, taking it in. He couldn’t get enough of the ambiance. Despite what happened here, New Orleans would always feel more like home than Tennessee.
No matter what time of year he visited, he always felt the same way as he burst from the crowded side streets into the open air of Jackson Square. He could finally breathe again. Not everything about the French Quarter was pleasant. Side streets meant homeless men harassing everyone, wanting to clean their shoes. Jackson Square was where he always ran into the psychics. Tables lined the sidewalk from so-called mind readers and future tellers. People called out to him, offering to read his palm, tea leaves, or aura, depending upon their specialty. Pierce always tried to ignore them. Unfortunately, an unnaturally clean blonde woman caught his gaze and held his stare. She wore all white and seemed to glow brighter than seemed humanly possible in the slowly darkening courtyard. He found his feet moving in her direction.
She smiled. Her green eyes twinkled with welcome. “Hello, Pierce. I was beginning to think you would leave me standing here all night.”
Pierce blinked, trying to shake off her spell. “How do you know my name?”
“I’m psychic,” she said, motioning to a folding table with a sign that he felt certain had not been there a moment earlier.
He eyed the sign that mirrored her claim, trying to decide if he was losing his mind. “Madame Celeste.”
Celeste nodded as he read her name. Her smile kicked up a notch. “The one and only. You should have a seat. Time is running short for us both.”
That sounded ominous. In fact, he found himself backing away a step. “No thank you. I’m on a budget and I don’t believe in...” he motioned wildly “... any of this.”
Celeste didn’t look deterred. “Do you really want to go back to your job at that insurance company where no one even speaks to you outside of fussing about you taking too long to help each customer?”
Pierce’s feet froze to the ground. Everything around him seemed to slip away as he stared at Celeste. There was no way she could have known that. “How did you...”
Celeste closed the distance between them. She held out a slip of paper he hadn’t noticed her holding before. “Call for an Uber. A cab will be too expensive to take you this far. Go to this address. It’s closed to all outsiders, so you’ll have to tell them I sent you. Don’t be afraid. You were always meant to end up right where you are going.” Celeste glanced up at the sky before meeting his gaze again. “Hurry. It’s a full moon tonight.”
Pierce dropped his gaze to the paper he held. Only an address stared up at him. “What is this...” Celeste was gone. There was no table or sign any longer. Pierce stood alone, holding the paper and staring at nothing but random strangers milling around the square—as if Celeste had never been there. For a moment, Pierce chewed his bottom lip and tried to decide what to do. Could he choose not to go? He definitely shouldn’t go. After all, who would? A strange lady had handed him an address and told him nothing but to show up unannounced. Only an insane person would follow those instructions. Pierce’s phone buzzed. He dug out the device. There was a notification from Uber, letting him know his ride was waiting. Pierce’s heart raced. Panic tried setting in. This couldn’t be happening. Surely he would wake up in his hotel and laugh about this crazy dream. A slight breeze rippled through his dark hair, calming him. Celeste’s words rang through his mind. She was right. He didn’t want to go back to his miserable job and existence in Tennessee. Pierce craved adventure. He dreamed of acceptance. His entire life, Pierce had felt like something was missing. Maybe this was it. He followed the directions to the waiting car with a whole lot of “fuck it” on his brain. Pierce always came to NOLA looking to fill something inside him. In his heart, he had always known he would find fate here. Maybe his destiny was to die here at the hands of a horrific ring of psychic serial killers. There was only one way to find out. No matter what, everything would change after tonight. Pierce felt that in his gut.
Two
Red’s skin itched. He told himself it was the full moon, but it felt like more. He didn’t know if danger lurked out in the woods tonight or if something much worse awaited him. The crowd surrounding the bonfires, littering King Jonathan’s land, were all people he knew. Honestly, Red didn’t want any of them. He knew that would change when he shifted, but—right now—the annual orgy wasn’t looking so great. Obviously, he would do his part to honor the gods. It wasn’t like it was some hardship to fuck beneath the full moon, except he kind of didn’t want to this year. At least, not with any of these wolves he had known his entire life.
Something stirred in the air, the scent of something familiar he couldn’t place. Red’s nose lifted, trying to find the source. A hush fell over the field. All heads turned toward the driveway. A lone figure stood there, looking lost. Red’s feet moved the man’s way with no permission from his brain. That smell... so familiar. Two of Jonathan’s guards flanked the intruder. Faolan and Lire made the guy look minuscule as they hovered over him.
Red was close enough to hear their conversation with his heightened werewolf senses.
“How did he get on the property? The wards should have stopped him.”
“I don’t know. We should ask him.”
Red’s forehead furrowed. He didn’t like that they were speaking to each other as if the stranger wasn’t standing right there.
The stranger butted in, sounding completely unintimidated by their gargantuan size or deadly appearances. “An Uber left me at the gate and then I simply walked.” He had an amazing southern accent. Red kept moving closer. “Celeste gave me this paper with this address and told me to come here tonight for the full moon.”