𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬

𝟷𝟹

Aeliana and Elijah were overseeing the men he hired to renovate the compound, making Nik and Genevieve come out.

"Enough with all the racket!" The hybrid shouted out, clearly annoyed with the noise.

"Is there a problem, brother?" Elijah smirked.

Aeliana turned to the workers and put a hand up. "Gentlemen, please." They stopped for a moment. "Thank you, why don't you all take a break?"

"I agreed to a general sprucing up, not a bloody three ring circus."

"Marcel and his minions abused our home for the better part of a century. Now, you might be content to live in squalor. I'm not."

Genevieve nodded in agreement. "I agree with your brother. It's a new era in the French Quarter. This place could use a makeover."

Aeliana eyed her up. "Careful, Eli. When this one agrees with you, it's a sure sign she wants something."

"Actually I do have a request. I'm told our coven hasn't been able to celebrate feast days in the open since Marcel restricted the use of magic. Now with the new peace, I'd like that to change."

Elijah looked at her with a raised brow. "Am I to assume that you have a certain feast day in mind?"

"La Fête des Bénêdictions. Feast of the Blessings. In the past, members of the community offered witches gifts in exchange for blessings. We'd like to use it as a forum for introducing our young Harvest girls to society."

"So your coven attempted to destroy my family, assisted Celeste in the abduction and torture of my wife, and you yourself held my siblings in unspeakable torment, and you would like a party for the witches?"

"I made my amends with your brother. Why don't you think it over?"

"You didn't make amends with me," Aeliana shrugged, earning a guilty look from the witch as she walked away.

"Oh, don't be such a stiff. The tourists love a good festival. Besides, what better way to cement the solidarity than a show of faith toward a one time enemy?"

Aeliana crossed her arms. "A onetime enemy who you happened to bed."

"Well, who said maintaining alliances can't be fun?"

Elijah sided with his wife. "One would think you'd be a little more interested in attending to the needs of the mother of your child."

"So, she's the reason behind this oh so thoughtful renovation? The truth is, the mother of my child is werewolf royalty. She's far safer in the Bayou with her pack than she would ever be here with us. Don't worry. I'll bring her home before the birth. No child of mine will be born in a swamp."

"How kind of you," Aeliana rolled her eyes. "We'll do the feast. Tell Genevieve we would like to meet with her to discuss this further. I'm sure she's on speed dial."