Enola clutched her chest and laughed hard. Gideon’s cheeky wit was more than she’d expected from the big, tough wolf. She was sitting across the table from him, flirting like a school girl. They were at Henrietta’s in the French Quarter. Gideon had set out to show Enola why it was his favorite restaurant.

Gideon, on the surface, seemed hard, tough as nails, but after watching the way he interacted with the staff, he seemed almost lighthearted.

“What?” Gideon asked, blessing Enola with a sexy lopsided smirk.  “What’s so funny?”

“You, Magic Mike. I’m just trying to picture you rolling your pelvis for a bunch of horny housewives.”

“Aye! We do what we gotta do.” Gideon chuckled.

Enola’s eyes narrowed. “So, what you’re saying is…you danced naked to support yourself? I ain’t buying it.”

“You’re right. I was bored. It was something to do.”

Enola’s sipped her wine and giggled at his silliness. Her attention was diverted from Gideon when a large Gideon lookalike stood behind him. Enola sat up straight and stared unabashedly. Gideon followed her line of sight and turned around.

“Ah, hello little brother. Join us.”

Enola stared in awe as he took the seat next to Gideon. She had seen twins before, but Gideon and his brother’s resemblance was uncanny. They had the same haircut, the same five o’clock shadow, and the same brooding good looks. Hell, with them both wearing dark suits, they were even dressed alike. That had to be intentional.

“Nola, darlin, this is my baby brother, Gabriel,” Gideon introduced.

Enola chuckled, tickled every time Gideon said, “Nola, darlin’.”

Gabriel grinned at Enola.

“Nola Darling? Okay, Spike Lee” he snickered.

“Right!” Enola blurted, holding her hands up.

“Maybe ‘she’s gotta have it,’” Gideon muttered.

“Maybe,” Enola flirted.

“Okayyyy…well, it’s nice to meet you, Miss Enola.”

“Nice to meet you, Gabriel. So, I have a question.”

Gabriel smiled and leaned back in his chair. “Shoot.”

“Aren’t you guys a little old to be playing the twin switch?”

Gideon and Gabriel shared a brief look. Enola wondered if they had the ability to communicate with each other without speaking. Before she first arrived in New Orleans, such a thought would have never crossed her mind. But now, Enola’s life had a completely different reality.

“We do this to ensure Gideon’s safety,” Gabriel informed.

Enola’s brow wrinkled as she processed what Gabriel was saying. “Why is Gideon’s safety more important than yours?”

“Because he is the Alpha of our pack, Nola Darling.”

She ignored his cheeky response. “The Alpha?”

“Yes. He’s, basically, our leader.”

Enola looked across the table at Gideon. He was expressionless. She found herself wondering how he really felt about being the leader of his pack. If she had to guess by his demeanor, she would guess that he wasn’t all that enthusiastic.

“Now, I have a question, Mademoiselle Roux.”

“Shoot,” Enola replied, happy to change the subject.

“How was your training?”

Gideon must have told his twin about the rigorous and intense crash course in Voodoo she’d had with Ruby earlier in the day. She had learned that plants weren’t just plants, and herbs were for more than seasoning. Ruby had also taught her what she said were the most vital spells: love, money, and battle. She even took Enola to a safe bunker, just under her grandmother’s estate, and allowed her to practice her physical power. Ruby’s ultimate goal was to teach Enola how to control the fire.

Enola looked over at Gideon. He must have discussed her abilities and training with his brother. He shrugged, as if to say, “He’s my brother.”

“The training was rough. There is so much that I don’t know about what’s, apparently, my religion, and even more that I don’t know about magical abilities.”

“No worries, darlin’,” Gideon interjected. “Most of it will come to you naturally.”

Enola wished that she had a fraction of the faith that Gideon had. What he didn’t know was that she’d almost melted her empathetic aunt when she tried to focus her fire on a log of wood.

“Gabriel, Gideon says we’re going to Maison Bourbon to hear a little jazz. Would you like to join us?”

“No, he wouldn’t,” Gideon muttered.

Gabriel laughed at his brother and crossed one leg over the other. “Why don’t the two of you enjoy some time alone? Please, allow me to cover the bill and maybe I’ll meet up with you later.”

“Oui,” Gideon replied. He stood and walked over to pull Enola’s chair out. “Thanks for dinner.”

“Gideon, you’re being rude,” Enola admonished.

“I know, darlin’. Let’s go.”

Enola smiled at Gabriel. “Thank you for dinner. We’ll see you later for drinks, right?”

“Count on it, Nola Darling.”

Gideon grabbed Enola’s hand, glared at his brother, and tugged her out of the restaurant.

 

* * * *

 

Enola smiled at Alice and knocked back a shot of whiskey. Peer pressure was a bitch, but she had to admit that she was having a ball. Admittedly, she had gotten a bit jealous when the gorgeous red-head had walked up to them and hugged Gideon. But when she hugged Enola with the same enthusiasm, she became a bit more comfortable. During the course of the evening, Enola realized that Gideon and Alice were nothing more than really good friends.

She hoped, anyway.

Enola was amazed at how territorial she was over a man she barely knew, but he was the one that had said she was his mate. And he did say that wolves mated for life. One couldn’t get more territorial than that.

“I like you, Nola Darling,” Alice chuckled.

Enola shook her head and turned to Gabriel. He’d joined them after all.

“See what you started?” she asked with narrowed eyes.

Alice patted Gideon on the shoulder and slapped Enola’s behind. “I love y’all, but it’s time for me to close this joint down for the night. I’ll be back. Don’t go anywhere. I’m gonna walk back to Henrietta’s with y’all.”

Gideon grabbed Alice’s wrist as she was walking away. “You don’t have to do that, Alice. We’ll be fine.”

Alice smiled and said, “I know. I’m gonna see to it.”

Enola turned to Gabriel, mainly because Gideon seemed a bit uncomfortable with the attention.

“He should be used to it by now,” Gabriel muttered before walking away with Alice.

Gideon sat back against the cushioned sofa in the VIP section. Enola placed her hand over his and asked, “You hate that don’t you?”

“I do,” he responded with a nod.

“Why are you the alpha?’

“I’m the strongest.” His response was blunt, but absent of arrogance.

“I think I know how you feel. My grandmother keeps telling me that I’m the strongest, most powerful Voodoo queen in the world. That shit don’t bring me joy.”

Gideon pulled her closer and pushed his lips to hers. The look he gave her was sweet and sympathetic. “Darlin’, no one wants the burden of power, but those of us that have it, have a responsibility.”

“Gideon, I’m realizing that, the hard way. So, maybe you should just accept the fact that your pack will do whatever is necessary to keep you safe.”

Gideon smiled and kissed Enola’s nose. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. In the meantime, we gotta wait on this bitch to close this bar.”

Enola recoiled, but before she could say a word about his language, Gideon said, in his defense, “Bitch is different in my world. Remember?”