Authors: Charlotte Rose
Nelson’s breath caught in his throat when he saw Narcisse struggling against her captor kicking and fighting. Before he could even make a move, another guard ran around from the back and trained his weapon on Manuel and Andre.
Nelson signaled SOS to the other team by using his flashlight. When they flashed back an acknowledgement, he gestured to Armand and they carefully slipped back onto the dock. They moved quickly but quietly, and Nelson’s mind raced with possible ways to disarm the guards without anybody getting hurt.
He was just about to get the guard threatening Andre and Manuel in a choke hold when the other guard started shouting. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Narcisse thrashing. He broke out in a cold sweat as he watched her transform into a gator.
“What the fuck?” yelled the security guard, who then dropped her. Narcisse scurried off, diving into the safety of the water.
“What the hell is going on here?” the other one yelled, his gun still trained on Andre and Manuel.
Nelson seized the moment and pulled the man in by his neck. The guard dropped the gun, and Nelson froze, ever muscle straining as he awaited the blast. When it didn’t go off, he allowed himself to exhale. He wrestled the guard to the ground and held him and Manuel tied his hands behind his back. A few feet away, Armand had done the same thing, and Andre was securing the guard’s hands.
Just then, the other four gators came running up.
“We need to get out of here, now,” Nelson said.
“But we ain’t done with the job. We only got two of them disassembled. That ain’t enough. They can still overfish.”
“We need to go now,” Nelson repeated, firming up the tone of his voice. “We’ve been caught. Now get on the boat.”
Armand raced ahead, calling for Narcisse. Nelson grabbed her clothes before following him. Together, they scooped up Narcisse and headed for the boats
“You’re gonna be fine, baby,” he said, as the rest of the shifters loaded themselves up into the boats. “We’re gonna get you on the boat, and it’s all gonna be okay. Don’t you worry about a thing.”
They settled her into the boat as quickly as they could. “Okay, baby, we’re in the boat. Try shiftin’ back for us, okay? You can do it. I know you got freaked out back there. That’s totally okay. But you’re now. Just concentrate on returnin’ to human form.”
“You all ready to go?” Andre asked. “I don’t wanna wait around another second to see what else these guys are gonna try.”
“Yeah, let’s get a move on,” Nelson called back. “You start, and we’re gonna follow you.”
Andre got his boat going, and Armand started theirs up as Nelson continued trying to talk Narcisse out of gator form. No matter how much he tried to relax her, though, she still didn’t change. He could see her trying, but even when she closed her eyes and her body occasionally trembled with the beginnings of a shift, there was no transformation. Nelson began to fear that she wouldn’t change back, that they’d need Serafine to interfere with her voodoo to make her transform. But just as he was about to ask Armand about ideas for a backup plan, Narcisse shifted back, until her human form was thrashing in the bottom of the boat.
“Great job, baby,” Nelson said, pulling her into a hug. “I told you you could do it. Congratulations. I’m proud of you.”
Narcisse hurried into her clothing and began sobbing. Nelson immediately bundled her into his arms, and Armand looked over his shoulder with a concerned expression on his face.
“It’s okay, baby,” Nelson said. “You’re safe now, and we’re so proud of you.”
“I don’t know how you could be proud of me,” Narcisse said with a whimper. Her voice was so small that he’d barely been able to hear it.
“Why wouldn’t we be proud of you? You just did your very first complete shift.”
Armand was busy steering, but looked back briefly and gave her a smile. But rather than it having the effect that Nelson imagined, Narcisse started bawling.
“What’s wrong, baby? You upset about what happened back there? You’re gonna get better control over your shift eventually, I promise. Like I said, you did a complete change to and from gator form tonight. It’s only gonna get easier from here.”
“It’s—it’s not just that.”
“Then what’s wrong? Talk to me, honey. I don’t want you to be hurtin’.”
“I’m going to get banished, aren’t I?”
“Banished? Why would you think you were gonna get banished?”
“Because I’ve been nothing but trouble ever since I arrived in the bayou. Rather than talking about what was bothering me I ran away and nearly killed us. And now I ruined the mission. Pomet’s going to keep overfishing, and the bayou is going to get destroyed, and it’s my fault. I should have listened to the two of you. I shouldn’t have come along. I wasn’t ready. I’m so sorry. Please don’t banish me.”
“Baby, it’s okay. You ain’t gonna be banished. For one thing, don’t you remember what Serafine said the first day you met us? Banishment hurts, and it hurts everyone in the congregation. You ain’t done anything bad enough to make us want that kinda pain.”
“So you’re stuck with me. I keep screwing up, but it would be even worse for you to get rid of me.”
“Hey, hey, hey.” Nelson wiped the tears from her face. “That ain’t true at all. Because it ain’t just that banishment hurts. It’s that Armand and I want you around. Even if it wasn’t gonna hurt us to banish you, we wouldn’t let anyone even think about it. You’re our mate, and we’re in this for the long haul.”
He pulled Narcisse into his arms and stroked her hair. “It’s okay, baby. It really is. I promise, Armand and I won’t let anyone banish you.”
After a while, Narcisse calmed down, and eventually dozed off. Nelson didn’t let her go. All he wanted in the world was for her to agree to remain their mate. But it always seemed as though the world was working against them.
* * * *
Despite the disastrous way things had gone the night before, Narcisse woke up between Nelson and Armand and felt hopeful and happy. When they’d returned to the houseboats after the encounter with Pomet, she doubted her future with the congregation. She was certain she’d be banished, and was shocked to find she didn’t want to leave. After all the trouble she had caused, she was certain she’d deserved it, but didn’t want to leave her mates, not even in a way that wouldn’t kill her.
Staring down at their sleeping forms, Narcisse realized that she didn’t want to leave because she loved them. She didn’t want to leave because in spite of all the difficulties she had faced, this had become home. Right there, between Armand and Nelson, was where her heart belonged.
Narcisse wanted to wake them and tell them, but also knew they needed their sleep after such a long night. She also decided she needed to talk to her parents, to explain as best she could about what had happened.
Extricating herself from the bed, both Nelson and Armand stirred slightly, but didn’t wake up. She grabbed Armand’s phone off the dresser, reminding herself to get a new one soon.
Narcisse settled herself on the deck and stared at the phone for a few moments, wondering what to say. She decided to omit the part about shape-shifting. The ménage would be difficult enough to explain, and would be much easier for her parents to swallow if they assumed her mates were human.
It’s now or never. And it can’t be never.
Taking a deep breath, Narcisse flipped open the phone and dialed her parents’ phone number.
“Hello?” Her mother’s voice sounded cautious.
“Hi, Mom, it’s Narcisse.”
“Finally! I thought you weren’t speaking to us for some reason! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve called in the past few weeks. Would it kill you to return our messages once in a while? Even just send us a text to let us know you’re still alive.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. My phone got wet while I was on vacation, and I haven’t replaced it yet.”
“How have you survived so long without it? Don’t you need it for work?”
“I’m, uh, I’m actually still on vacation, and just haven’t made time.”
“You’re still on vacation? I thought you were just taking a long weekend.”
“I was. But then I had a little change of plans. Um, maybe you should put Dad on the phone, too, before I finish my story.”
“What happened?”
“Just put Dad on the phone, okay?”
“Are you in trouble? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, Mom. In fact, everything is right.”
“What on earth does that mean?”
“It means I’m in love.”
The phone was so silent that for a moment, Narcisse wondered if they were still connected.
“Hello? Mom?”
“I’m here.”
Her mother’s voice was so flat that Narcisse couldn’t help but shudder. Her mother wasn’t happy, but was trying to remain calm.
“Put Dad on the phone so I can talk to you both, okay?”
“Maybe later. I don’t think he needs to hear about how his daughter met some guy on vacation and has yet to leave the city because she thinks she’s in love with him.”
Narcisse took a deep breath. “Guys, Mom.”
“What?”
“Guys. As in, I’m in love with two men.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.”
“You are not in love with two men, much less one, much less some guy you met on spring break.”
“Mom, I wasn’t on spring break.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Would you just give me a chance to explain?”
“Explain what? That my daughter, who should know better, is a total slut?”
“I’m not a slut, Mom.”
“You’re hooking up with two men you barely know. I’m not sure what a better definition is.”
“Mom, please, don’t do this. If you’d just give them a chance, you’d see it’s not like whatever it is you’re picturing. Maybe in a couple of weeks you could come out to New Orleans for the weekend and—”
“Are you kidding me? Narcisse, you need to get ahold of yourself and come back to Houston right now. I don’t know what has gotten into you, but your father and I raised you better than this, and we’re not going to stand for it.”
“Mom, please—”
“This discussion is over.”
“Just think about it, okay? Just think about meeting them, so you can see that I’m really happy, and it’s not what you think.”
“No.”
“Mom, please. I love you, and I don’t want to have to choose between them and you.”
Her mother sighed. “I am not happy about this. I am not happy about it one bit, and I don’t even want to think about how your father is going to react to this when I tell him.”
“I could—”
“No, I’m going to be the one to tell him, so I can be sure it’s done in such a way that doesn’t give him a heart attack. But I promise I’ll think about it.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Is the number on my caller ID a good one to reach you for now?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. I’ll call you when I’ve made up my mind.”
Narcisse didn’t have a chance to reply before her mother hung up.
Shaking, she made her way back into her room, and set the phone back on the table. She looked over at her men, still asleep, and immediately burst into tears.