“Nice to meet you.” Anthony Martin shook his hand firmly, his white teeth stark against his tawny skin as he smiled. It wasn’t just that he looked vastly different from Lizzie and Jacob that told Delacroix he was obviously adopted, but it was the fact that he was completely human. “This is Blaise.” He nodded to the little toddler perched on his hip, her face buried in her father’s shoulder. “She’s a little shy around strangers, sorry about that.”
“I’m Hannah.” The blonde woman next to him smiled brightly. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Delacroix. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“You have?”
“We’re related, kind of,” Mika said. “Hannah’s father is Dante Muccino, who is my Uncle Grant’s brother-in-law. If you go to Muccino’s and Petit Louve a lot, then you’ve probably met her brothers, Gio and Dominic, who run those restaurants.”
Like Anthony, Hannah was also human, so she must be another adopted relative or one of her parents was not a Lycan. “Oh, I understand. Nice to meet you, Hannah.”
“Oops, the line’s moving.” Anthony ushered his wife forward. “We’ve been waiting forever, so we better get moving. Blaise has been looking forward to this all day.”
“We’ll see you later!” Hannah said as she waved at them.
“I’m hungry,” Jacob moaned. “Let’s go get something to eat.”
“I can get with that,” Mika said as they headed out into the cold and toward the row of vendors.
“I want two of everything,” Jacob said, his eyes greedily looking at the various booths they passed.
“And I’ll have two of that—hey, where’s Lizzie?” Mika glanced around. “She was right behind us.”
It seemed they had lost their companion in the throng of people that had suddenly appeared. Despite the cold temperatures and the bitter cold wind whipping across the shore, the Winter Carnival was packed, probably because a famous band was going to put on a concert on the main stage.
Jacob had somehow snagged a hotdog and was stuffing it into his mouth. “I dunno,” he said between bites. “But she’s got a horrible sense of direction. Has this tendency to walk around in circles.” He swallowed and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I’m not surprised she’s lost. Don’t worry, she’ll turn up.”
“Can we get some food please?” Mika said, her eyes growing wide as someone with a large pretzel walked past them.
“All right, but stick close to me, okay?” Delacroix tightened his hold around her. “I don’t want to lose you too.”
They stopped at almost every vendor, though the crush of people was preventing them from staying in one spot for too long. Mika already had two hotdogs, a plate of deep-fried chocolate cookies, and nachos when she whined for hot chocolate.
“But we already passed that booth,” he said in an exasperated voice.
“Please?” She pouted and put her hand over her belly.
He slapped a hand on his forehead. “All right, cher. But we have to turn back. Hang on to me …” Her grip tightened around his arm and she nodded.
Despite the throng of people, he managed to turn around and walk back toward the hot chocolate vendor. When he finally reached it, he turned back to Mika. “Which one—Mika?”
His heart stopped. She wasn’t behind him as he’d thought. He had been so busy trying to move through the crowd that he didn’t feel her hand slipping away. Scanning further behind, he didn’t see any sign of her. It was also too noisy, and there were too many scents in the air to try and follow her trail. “Mika!” he shouted over the sea of people. “Mika!”
She’s fine, he told himself. The crush got too much for her, and she was probably standing somewhere, getting some air. He waded through the crowd and ended up on a grassy patch behind the hotdog vendor’s stall. His eyes scanned the area, but there was no sign of her. Where was she?
Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. When he turned to follow it, he saw something in the distance—a pair of blue eyes glowing in the bushes.
No! Blood roared in his ears as he lunged forward. A very large, dark shape darted from the bushes and into the street. There was no mistaking it. It was a Lycan, and one that he knew all too well.
He chased it for two blocks, through the streets of trendy DUMBO until the Manhattan Bridge loomed overhead. The massive wolf stopped and turned around; teeth bared at him.
“Nice of you to join us, Delacroix. Ça va?”
He ground his teeth and turned around toward the source of the voice. “Alphonse?”
Alphonse Broussard’s mouth curled up into a cruel smile. “Hello, mon ami. Surprised to see me?”
Shock coursed through his system. What was the Beta of Pont Saint-Louis doing in New York?
“He don’t look too happy now, though.” Another figure emerged from the shadows, this time, a female with short blonde hair and cold blue eyes.
“Should I be, Zeline?” he mocked. “You’re in violation of Lycan law, showing up here without permission from Lucas Anderson.” Laws prevented Lycans from going into another clan’s territory without going through the proper channels.
“Fuck Lycan law,” Alphonse spat.
“You would risk your freedom and Remy’s wrath? You know he’d get in big trouble with the Lycan High Council.”
“Fuck them too,” Alphonse said. “Don’t tell me you’ve gone soft, mon ami, bending over for the ‘high and mighty’ council.”
“They don’t care about us and we don’t care about them,” Zeline spat.
“What the fuck do you want, then?” And what were they doing here? “Ah, of course. Remy’s still sending you to do his dirty work.”
A tick in the Beta’s jaw pulsed. “He sent us to take care of you.”
“Is he pissed about the transfer? That was over a year ago. I know teenagers who’ve gotten over their first love faster than that.”
“Still a smart ass, eh?”
