Chapter Fifteen
Lily
Being a lone wolf wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Okay, so maybe most wolf shifters weren't lone wolves, but there were some and the few she'd met in the two years she'd been on her own acted like it was the greatest feeling in the world. Not so for Lily. She missed the comfort of being with other shifters. She missed the feeling of acceptance and the companionship. If only things had happened differently, she wouldn't have had to flee her home, and her pack, in the middle of the night. But, there was no sense in wishing for something that couldn't happen. All she could do was move on.
Lily wasn't sure what brought her to New Orleans. She could have gone anywhere in the country. Maybe it was because of her best friend, Emelise. She'd lived in Phoenix for a while after she'd left her home in Montana. While there she'd become best friends with a leopard shifter who was without a Pard. That feeling of disconnect had brought them together and solidified their friendship. Emelise talked about wanting to visit New Orleans some day, so maybe that was why Lily ended up there. It was as good a place as any to start her life over. It had been two years since she'd left home and she was finally beginning to relax. She was no longer looking over her shoulder expecting to see her father coming after her.
A week after deciding to put down roots in The Big Easy, Lily found herself in a bit of a predicament. She'd just started working at a little coffee shop bookstore when two leopard shifters came in. That was how she learned New Orleans was Black Water Pard territory. She had to meet with their Alpha to get his approval to remain in the city.
She'd never been on a boat before and her first trip out to the Pard's compound had her gripping the sides of the seat she was on so tightly she was worried she was going to damage it.
“Relax, cher. Da boat's not gonna tip over.”
She glared at Remy Delacroix. “This is the first time I've been in a boat and this thing isn't exactly large.”
“It wouldn't move smoothly in da water if it was. You're safe enough.”
She snorted. “I'll feel better when I'm back on solid ground, thanks.”
Soon enough they pulled up to the dock and she followed Remy to his Alpha's home.
“So, you're da wolf Remy and Gage told me about. Come on in. Would you like a drink? Water or maybe someting a little stronger.” Caine cocked a brow at the female.
“Water's fine, thank you.” Lily sat in the chair he indicated and folded her hands in her lap until he returned with a glass of ice water for her.
“Remy tells me you're here by yourself. Dat true?”
She'd only given Remy and his brother, Gage, the barest of details but sitting across from their Alpha she knew she had to go more in depth. “Yes. My father is the Alpha of the Crescent Peak Pack, in Slatefall, Montana. Two years ago he gave me an ultimatum. He wanted me to settle down with a fellow Pack member and start having babies in hopes of me having a son he could pass leadership of the Pack to. The problem was, I wasn't the least bit interested in either of the wolves he'd chosen. He told me I had one week to chose between them or he would do it for me. I ran away that night. I've kept on the move since then, only staying in the same place for a few weeks or months at a time. I'm tired of being constantly on the move. I'm tired of having to look over my shoulder to see if I'm being followed. I want to put down roots and I'd like to do that here, in New Orleans, if you'll allow it. If not, I'll understand and I'll leave.”
Caine listened to her tale. He heard what she was saying and he heard the honesty in her voice. She wasn't lying about being a lone wolf. He also heard what she wasn't saying. She was lonely. She wanted a place she could belong. “You can stay in New Orleans, Lily Harper. Da Pard will keep an eye on you, make sure you're not harmed.”
Lily blinked. “I can't ask you to do that.”
“You didn't. I offered. You're a wolf. Wolves, even more den leopards, need others of dere kind to feel safe. We might be different species, but we're still shifters. Your wolf will find da safety it longs for here.”
Lily felt tears in her eyes. “Thank you.”
“Remy'll take you back to da city.”
Lily thanked him again and slipped out of his house. She spotted Remy talking with Gage and another leopard, a little redheaded female who was leaning into Gage, and headed their way.
“How'd it go, cher?” Remy asked when she got close enough.
“He's letting me stay.”
“I had a feelin' he would, once you told him why you were in New Orleans.”
“Hello. Since dese two have forgotten dere manners, I'm Mia.”
Lily blinked and laughed a little. “I'm Lily. It's nice to meet you.” She tipped her head at Remy. “Can I get a ride back to New Orleans?”
“Why don't you stay for dinner?” Mia offered. “From what I hear, you've been on your own a while.”
“I have. I kind of miss being around other shifters,” Lily admitted.
“Den it's settled. You'll stay for dinner and we can get to know each other.”
Lily could have argued with the other woman but she decided she didn't want to. She wanted to stay and talk with someone she didn't have to hide part of herself from. “Alright. Dinner sounds good.”
That was the beginning of her friendship with Mia and her acceptance in the Pard as one of them despite the fact she was a wolf.
“Are you sure you want me to be your maid of honor?” Lily was stunned. She'd been in New Orleans now for three months and she and Mia had become extremely close. The younger woman understood her need to sometimes just slip her human skin and run solely for the sake of running.
“A'course I'm sure. I wouldn't have asked otherwise.”
“But...you don't want one of your sisters to be maid of honor? Or another member of your Pard? I mean, you've known them you're whole life. You've only known me a few months.”
“Lily Harper, you're my best friend. A'course I want you to be my maid of honor.”
Lily bit her lip. “Before I agree, you should know...Harper isn't my real last name. It's actually my middle name, but I had to change my name when I left home.”
Mia waved it away. “I figured dat. It doesn't matter. You're still Lily Harper.”
Lily smiled at her friend. “Well, okay then. It looks like you've got yourself a maid of honor.”
Mia squealed a little and hugged her. “Thank you. Maybe one day it'll be your turn to get married and I'll get to be in your weddin'.”
Lily rolled her eyes. “I doubt it but one never knows, right?”
“Exactly!”
They spent the rest of the day looking at dresses. Mia had finally settled on her wedding dress but now she needed dresses for her maid of honor and bridesmaids. When her younger sisters, Adele and Constance, joined them it turned into quite the endeavor before they finally settled on a dress they could all agree on.
“You're going to be such a beautiful bride, Mia.” Lily hugged her friend before she headed back to the city and her job at Gathering Grounds. Now that she'd agreed to be Mia's maid of honor she was really looking forward to the upcoming wedding.