Hearts On Fire (Book 2)

Chapter 14

Julian and I decide to hold off on a long honeymoon until after the triplets are born, so we decide to stay the weekend at the little bed and breakfast that is in the town of Raven, named Hunter's Inn. It's a double-gallery house with wrought iron on the floor balcony. A wonderful renovation that reminded me of several houses I'd seen in New Orleans. They had a common room, dining area and kitchen on the main floor with bedrooms on the second floor.

The bedroom has a four poster canopy bed with sheer champagne colored curtains that matched the decorative details in the room. A large jacuzzi tub wasn't going to go to waste either. The room lead out to the balcony with some chairs where we could sit and look out over part of Raven and the river. After breakfast the first morning, Julian began to tell me more about how Raven came about.

Raven, Louisiana started out as an abandoned town right on the other side of the river from the pack house and pack residential homes. Once things had settled after the battle, Scarlett thought it might be a good idea to restore the town to increase jobs and economy for the growing pack. It seemed more and more people were flocking to the pack from the region, and not just those people that were hybrids or interspecies couples. No, there were also people that enjoyed living in the region and weren't against the practice of people mating outside of their species. So there were werewolves, vampires, witches and mages, werecats and other types of shifters, plus hybrids of varying mixes of these various species.

Scarlett is proud of the pack she has built. Starting with the 60 rogues in the beginning, it has grown by the hundreds - this didn't include the land of coastal Mississippi that she gifted to the Vakabon Delivre Pack after the battle. There is even a council of elders that represents all of the witches and mages that lived within the pack - who are also growing in size. Many of the witches and mages now lived in the town of Raven, named after the original pack that once lived in Raven - the Duskfall Raven Pack. They have built and developed numerous businesses that includes shops dealing with potions and the ingredients to make them, speciality shops that sell various herbs, flowers and plants needed, a pet shop and veterinary clinic for familiars and other pets, and even a specialty restaurant that uses magic to determine what you were in the mood to eat. She found their creative names too - like Boil and Bubble, Familiar Places and Positively Charming. Everyone decided to also have several stores that particularly catered to tourists that included curious humans, some of whom had no idea that supernatural beings truly existed - silly humans. They are establishing gift shops, a petting zoo, Perfect Remedies and a bed and breakfast.

Life is looking up for the expansion of Blackrose and she couldn't be happier.

We spent most of the weekend indoors but we did get out to explore more of Raven, so we find places to bring the girls when we just needed a getaway. We explored the petting zoo and playgrounds - looking for places to bring the girls. We visited a few shops and restaurants - Julian telling me how he would add to the menu or how he might change how something was run. He talks so excitedly about cooking; I wonder if it is something we should pursue once we retire from being the Beta couple. We found the little shop called Positively Charming and bought a birthstone necklace for each of the girls - a heart with a pink tourmaline for Devaney and a heart with a garnet for Zoey. Diane is the sweet shopkeeper who had the store stocked with every type of crystal, gemstone and jewelry that I could imagine.

Monday came way too quickly but I still had some relatives visiting. Adeline and Erika Marinos are two of the cousins visiting that are just a little older than me but mateless, so we planned on a girls day in Raven.

Addie and Erika are excited to go exploring through the town since they don't have much experience or knowledge of witches and mages. I don't enjoy shopping much, but the girls are making the day fun. After several hours of shopping we decide to stop at a little cafe called Take Another Bite. We were enjoying some coffee and beignets when Erika started walking around sniffing the air. Curious as to why, I looked around until a black haired blue eyed guy come around the corner. Ah - Erika finally found her mate.