Free Rose, Charlotte - Bayou Flood [The Shifters of Alligator Bend 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Charlotte Rose Page B

Villemont’s construction is causing and try to put a stop to it. And if that doesn’t work, I guess we’re going to have to use some magic.”
    Virgil shook his head. “I hope the report works first. I don’t like the thought of havin’ to use magic again.”
    “Yeah, it’s gonna require a big spell,” Gabriel added. “And Serafine is havin’ a harder an’ harder time recoverin’ after the big rituals. I’m afraid of what would happen if we had to use it this time.”
    Adele sighed. “I wish the new voodoo queen would grace us with an appearance. Then Serafine could retire and we wouldn’t have to worry about this sort of thing.
    Sophie looked confused. “Wait. Magic? Voodoo queen?”
    Gabriel laughed and put his arm around her. Virgil took her hand.
    “Baby, there is so much you need to learn about us.”
    Sophie didn’t look pleased at their laughter.
    “Okay, okay,” Virgil said. “You have to have noticed by now that we’re magical.”
    Sophie rolled her eyes. “It would be pretty hard not to have realized that.”
    “Well, Serafine’s our queen, and she’s the one with the most magic. She’s the one who leads all the rituals, casts all the spells. But she’s agin’, and her power drains a little more each time. I’m honestly afraid havin’ to do a big spell would kill her.”
    “Serafine has visions of a new queen comin’ soon to take her place,” Gabriel added. “But she hasn’t shown up yet, and we don’t know when it’s gonna happen. Serafine seems confident that it’s all gonna work out, but most of us can’t help but worry.”
    “Okay,” Adele said. “I want to get into the city to get some things done on this project. “Sophie, do you want to follow me back so you don’t get lost again?”
    “Sure, that would be great.”
    Virgil’s heart sank. He tried to shake the feeling off. This was the first time Sophie had visited the bayou. He couldn’t expect her to simply surrender her entire life and stay based on one wonderful time. But he wished she would have, anyway. He didn’t couldn’t help but be illogical when it came to her.
    Adele hurried off to change her clothes, and Virgil and Gabriel waited with her on the docks.
    “You sure you don’t wanna stay a little longer” Virgil asked, taking her hand.
    “I’m sure. Look, I had a really great time last night, but I definitely need to think some things over. I think I need a few days to myself so I can collect my thoughts and try to figure out where all of this is going.”
    “Of course,” Virgil said. He gave her a deep kiss, savoring her taste, not knowing when he’d have the chance again.
    “We’ll miss you,” Gabriel said before he devoured her lips. When he pulled away, he kept his forehead pressed against hers. “We’ll see you sometime next week?”
    “Definitely.”
    Adele walked out, and Sophie broke away to join her. They each climbed into their boats, and before Virgil knew it, his mate was just a speck on the horizon.

Chapter Six

    Sophie sighed as the green button on her phone flashed off and on, indicating yet another message. She knew Georgina was texting her to see if she was doing a show that night, but she still wasn’t ready to face her friend with the story that Virgil and Gabriel had given her. She felt guilty about the fact that she’d spent a week giving Georgina the cold shoulder, but she was completely overwhelmed by both the stories and emotions swirling around in her head. The only thing she knew how to do was retreat.
    Checking the venue address one more time, she cringed. She wasn’t thrilled about having to drive all the way out to Metairie to do a gig. On the plus side, performing out in the suburbs meant that the venue was likely to have an actual parking lot, and she wouldn’t have to worry about how low the meter would get during her set.
    Plus, she was doing a favor for an acquaintance. Toni had just started Café Bella a month before and was trying to drum up