Chapter Three
Gage
At fifteen, Gage Delacroix was already tall and broad shouldered. His size was partly due to him working out every day. He and his older brother, (by one lousy year and you best believe Remy didn't let Gage forget), were both on the wrestling team at school. He was also on the football team and man did he like strutting down the hall in his game day jersey. All the girls looked at him and flirted with him.
All but one. The only girl he wanted flirting with him didn't watch him the way all the other girls in school did. Mia Lafluer. She was two years younger than him and they'd known each other practically since birth. She was such a tomboy when they were younger, always climbing trees, playing in the swamps, and fishing right alongside her brothers. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen Mia in a dress and have fingers left over. Not that she needed to wear a dress to catch his eye. She did that just by existing.
She still went fishing and still played in the swamps, but she didn't go climbing trees so much these days. Not in her human form anyway. When she was in leopard form, that was a different story. While so many of the other girls in school were curling their hair, slathering on makeup and wearing short skirts, Mia still put her hair in a ponytail or braid, wore a pair of jeans with a t-shirt, and didn't even bother with makeup. She was still the prettiest girl in school as far as Gage was concerned.
“Hey, Mia. You comin' to da game tonight?” Gage leaned against the locker next to hers and flashed her a grin. “You could hang out down near da field and cheer me on.”
Mia rolled her eyes at him. “I'll be dere, I always am.” She closed her locker and arched a brow at him. “You got enough girls cheerin' you on. You don't need me dere, too.”
“A'course I do. I need my number one fan on da sidelines,” he teased. When he told her he was trying out for the football team she'd jokingly told him if he got on she'd be his number one fan and it had become an inside joke between them.
Mia laughed. “Whatever. You've already got a big fan club. Uh oh, don't look now, but Stacy is headed dis way.” Stacy Williams was head cheerleader and had the hots for Gage. The way she looked at Gage made Mia's hackles rise and the look she got from Stacy when she sidled up next to Gage had her biting back a snarl. “See you later, Gage,” she said and made a beeline for the front door.
Gage wanted to groan when Stacy approached because he'd been trying to convince Mia he wanted her on the sidelines more than anyone else. “Yeah, see you later,” he called to Mia's retreating back before he turned to Stacy. He should have expected this, really. Stacy had been trying to get her claws into him for a while now. She was cute but she wasn't a natural beauty like Mia. Still, maybe Mia didn't like him that way. Maybe he needed to give someone else a chance. Someone like Stacy. He turned on the charm and grinned at the blonde at his side. “You goin' to da party after da game?” When she nodded he slid his arm over her shoulder. “Wanna go together?”
“I've only been waiting for you to ask me that for months now, Gage,” Stacy said with a triumphant smile. She'd thought he had a thing for mousy little Mia but she must have been reading that wrong.
Gage felt a twinge of guilt for asking Stacy out but he ignored it. Mia made it pretty clear they were just friends so he'd have to just get over it. “Let's get outta here, den,” he said and they walked out of school together.
Mia
The day was over and Mia couldn't get away from school fast enough. She always felt so awkward around Gage. It had started in the summer, when she really started dealing with 'teenage hormones' as her mama called them. She liked him, a lot, but she knew he just saw her as a younger sister. They'd grown up together, after all. His teasing was just that; teasing. He didn't mean anything by it.
Besides, she knew what she looked like. She was short, her red hair was a riot of curls when she didn't braid it, and she wasn't as pretty as Stacy or the rest of the girls who followed Gage around school. As for Gage, he was gorgeous. He was tall, broad shouldered, muscular, and all the girls in school wanted him. He could have his pick of any of them.
By the time she got home she was feeling glum. It was times like now she wished she had a girlfriend to talk to. Most of her real friends were boys and she definitely wasn't telling any of them about her problem.
“Hey, sis. What's wrong?”
Mia groaned. Beau was on the football team with Gage so she'd expected him to be at school still. She should have known he'd come home to get something to eat before he went back for practice before the game. “Nuthin',” she muttered.
“Don't give me dat, Mia. Someting is botherin' you.”
“Just havin' a bad day, is all. I got a C on dat English test I studied for all week.” English was her weakest subject and it frustrated her. Why couldn't she breeze through it like she did math and science? At least she had something she could say to explain her bad mood.
“Don't beat yourself up over it, you'll do better next time,” he encouraged.
Mia snorted. “Yeah, right. And pigs fly. I don't know why it's so hard to keep it straight in my head. Shouldn't you be at practice?” she asked to change the subject.
“Came home to eat first. I was just getting' ready to go back. You gonna be at da game?” He knew the answer before he asked but he always asked anyway. His younger sister always came to cheer them on.
“You already know I will be. It's not fair dey won't let me play just cuz I'm a girl,” she said with a growl. “I might as well cheer you on since I can't be on the field wit' you.”
Beau ruffled her hair, tugging it a bit from the ponytail she had it in. “You wouldn't be on da team even if dey did let girls on it. You'd be squashed,” he teased. Mia had taken after their mama; she was still a tiny thing.
Mia stuck her tongue out at him. “Go on, I'll see you at da game,” she said and went to get a snack to munch on while she worked on homework until she had to leave.
By the time she got back onto school grounds the stands were packed. The Benjamin Franklin High School Falcons were doing really well this year. As a result there were more and more people attending the games every week. Mia managed to find herself a spot fairly close to the field and settled in to watch the game. By the time the first half was almost over the team was ahead by two touchdowns.
Gage was on the sidelines for the moment and Mia started to move closer to the fence to say hello to him when she froze. Her eyes widened and then filled with tears. Before she'd even reached the ground, Stacy stepped over to him and Gage draped his arm over her shoulder. It wasn't something he'd ever done before but what really hurt was the quick kiss he gave her.
She was so stupid. Of course he was going to date a cheerleader. He was on the team, it was expected. Besides, just because she had a crush on him didn't mean he felt the same way about her. She slunk back to her seat and wiped her eyes before anyone noticed the tears. She sat there staring out at the field and barely registered the end of the first half of the game.
The second half passed by in a blur. If she had to answer questions about anything that happened she wouldn't have been able to do it. As the stands began to clear she finally approached the fence where her brother was leaning against it. “Good game.”
“Like dere was any doubt?” Beau grinned. “You should head on home now, Mia. I'll bet mama could use your help getting' da little ones to bed.”
Mia frowned. “You're not comin'?”
“Naw. Dere's a party tonight, figure I should make an appearance.”
“Oh. Do mama and papa know you're goin' to a party?”
“No, and you're not gonna say no'ting either, right?”
Mia sighed. “Just don't go gettin' in any trouble, or gettin' hurt.”
“I won't. Go on now. If mama asks just tell her some of us went to get pizza after da game.”
She knew she probably shouldn't lie for her brother but he always looked out for her so this was the least she could do. “Okay.” She started to ask if Gage was going to the party too but stopped herself before the words could come out. She didn't want to know if he was going to be there with Stacy.
She joined the flow of people leaving the stands. She thought she heard Gage call her name but she ignored him. She knew if she stopped to talk to him she'd start to cry and embarrass herself in front of everyone.
Gage
Throughout the game, Gage kept glancing at the stands. At first he couldn't find Mia but once he spotted her red hair he couldn't stop stealing peeks at her. Her skin was flushed from cheering on the team, her hair was damp from the muggy air, and her eyes seemed to gleam. God she was pretty. He had to force himself to stop thinking about her though. He'd already asked Stacy out, that meant he wasn't single anymore, so he couldn't stand around staring at another girl.
Just before the half-time show he stood on the sidelines against the fence. Stacy sidled up to him and he draped his arm over her shoulder. She was taller than Mia and didn't fit as snugly under his arm. He really needed to stop comparing them to each other.
“... the party?”
Gage realized she was talking to him but he'd missed almost everything she'd said. “Sorry, what?”
“Boys,” Stacy said and rolled her eyes. “I asked if you wanted to go to my house instead of the party. My folks are out of town this weekend.”
He should say no. That wasn't what came out of his mouth though. In his defense, he was a teenage boy. “Sure.”
Stacy smiled up at him. “Good. We can have our own private little party,” she murmured.
Gage nodded and when the team headed into the locker room for a brief pep talk from the coach he tried to put the conversation out of his mind. Focus. He needed to get his head in the game.
By the time the game was over Gage was starting to question whether or not he really wanted to go through with going to Stacy's house. He'd tried to move away from her so he could go say hello to Mia a few times but she kept finding ways to distract him. Even now, when Mia was talking with her brother, he couldn't extract himself from Stacy's side. “Crap, I forgot something in the locker room,” he finally said in desperation.
“Well go get it. I'll be right here.” Stacy gave him what she thought was a sexy smile.
“Be right back.” He moved away from her just as Mia stepped away from the fence and headed toward one of the exits from the football field. “Mia!” He tried to get her attention and for a moment he thought she heard him but she didn't stop or turn around. Maybe he'd imagined the hesitation he thought he saw. Then she was gone. Eventually he returned to Stacy's side and then left the field with her. It was probably a bad idea to go home with herbut he went through with it anyway.
Caine
Caine watched as yet another woman left his Alpha's home, money tucked into the top of her dress. Zachary Eitenne disliked humans, he thought they were beneath shifters, and yet he had no qualms about fucking them. It was disgusting. Not because they were human but because they were whores, prostitutes who were leaving the compound with money that could have bought food for the Pard. A low growl escaped him and he turned away. If he spent too much time around his Alpha he was going to challenge him before he was ready.
To distract himself from his growing frustration, Caine decided to go into New Orleans to do some shopping. He bought food for the older Pard members who couldn't get around as easily anymore. It had become a weekly routine for him. Going into the city gave him time to distance himself from his anger.
“You headin' into da city?” Remy Delacroix knew Caine was working up to challenging their Alpha. If anyone could defeat Zachary Eitenne and fix all the damage he'd done to the Pard, it was Caine.
“Yeah. I might do someting stupid if I don't.” Caine cocked a brow at him. “You headin' in as well?”
“Yeah, mama has a package waitin' at da post office she asked me to get for her.”
“You can help me wit' da groceries for da elders.” Caine was already thinking ahead to the way he wanted to do things when he took over as Alpha. He knew he needed leopards he could trust and depend on to help him. Remy was several years younger but the leopard was tough. He'd make an excellent lieutenant.
“A'right.” Remy stepped onto Caine's boat and was silent as they headed out into the swamp. “So, how much longer you tinkin' it'll be before you're ready to challenge him?”
Caine snorted. “Soon. I tink. A year or two, maybe. I need to be sure our people are taken care of and I can't do dat if I'm not stable. Another year or two and my investments will have paid off enough to be able to get da Pard back on it's feet quickly.”
“Can't come soon enough,” Remy countered. “We'd have lost some of da elders already if not for what you've already done.”
Caine nodded, face grim. “I know, Remy. I know.” Soon, he promised his leopard. Soon we'll make things right.