Love and Loss (The Fun Gilbert Book 3)

Prologue

Jessica's P.O.V.

2 years earlier...

I don't know why I came here. I've done my research on New Orleans in my plans to go to college here, I know all about the missing tourists and I know that it's a supernatural playground. My dad told me everything. I stop in my tracks, thinking about my dad. He's gone, dead. He died in that stupid car accident and it's all my fault. I convinced them to let Lena and I go, I refused to drive even though I got my license early. I can't even say that it's not my fault because the yellow eyes that I see when I look in the mirror and the transition I make every full moon tell me that it is. Maybe that's why I came here. My dad told me that werewolves used to rule this city, maybe they can tell me why I'm a werewolf even though neither one of my parents were.

I begin to move again with a new purpose: answers. I walk down the street, cast in darkness, trying to find anyone. The streets seem to be completely deserted until I feel something behind me. I stop and focus. I sense them stop as well and know that someone is following me, someone not human. I make a right into an alley and stop, leaning against the wall, pretending to be engrossed in my phone, until I hear a voice. "What's a pretty girl like you doing out here at this time of night all alone?" He asks and I study him, my new werewolf senses allowing me to see perfectly in the dark.

I flash him my most angelic smile before answering. "I got lost," I lie easily. "I was trying to make it back to my hotel and I must've made a wrong turn somewhere," I claim, flashing him an innocent look.

He chuckles lowly, so low that a normal human wouldn't have heard it. "Well, maybe I can help. What hotel are you staying at?"

I have to refrain from smirking and produce a grateful smile instead. "The palace royale hotel," I lie again.

He smirks. "Well lucky you, I know exactly how to get there. I can take you if you'd like?"

"That'd be great!" He chuckles again, leading me further into the alley when he suddenly pushes me against the wall, looking into my eyes, telling me not to make a noise and to stay still. Right as he goes to bite into my neck, I let my smirk escape as I push him off me into the wall opposite me. He's shocked, which gives me the advantage I need. Before he can recover, I grab the stake from my boot and throw it through his heart. I watch the veins travel up his skin before taking the stake out. "Haven't you ever heard of consent?" I joke and then I hear clapping coming from the other end of the alley.

I turn towards the sound and make out the shape of what looks to be a man. He steps closer and I can make out his features. He has dark skin and a smile that oozes charm. I instantly know he's a vampire. "You know, killing my vampires is a capital offense here in New Orleans," he tells me, but not in an angry way, more amused, and I give him a nonchalant look.

"Is that a threat because he tried to bite me and I staked him in 10 seconds flat," I threaten and he grins.

"Yeah, well, he was relatively new. Only a few years under his belt, impressive that someone as young as you could get the best of him but I'm a bit older," he answers smugly. "How old are you anyway?"

"16," I answer before continuing. "And I'm a lot stronger than I look."

"Really?" He asks condescendingly so I flash him my angelic smile before imagining all the bones in his body exploding in pain. In seconds he's on the ground screaming out in pain and just as quickly it fades and he looks up at me. "Damn girl. I've met a few witches in my day but I've never felt power like that," he says out of breath and I grin.

"Ever heard the saying 'Don't judge a book by its cover'? You'd think that as a vampire, you'd understand that," I point out and he laughs.

"I like you, you have an attitude, it's refreshing. What's your name?"

"Jessica Gilbert," I say, sticking out my hand, hoping he'll take it. He does and I hide my grin.

"Marcel Gerard," he returns before a look overtakes his face as though a thought has occurred to him. "You're Grayson Gilbert's daughter, aren't you?'

I look at him taken aback but recover quickly, hiding my surprise. "Yeah, how do you know him?"

"I don't, not really. I found you when you were a baby. I took care of you for a while until he came looking for you with his girl Miranda. They seemed like good people. Must've been because you seemed to turn out pretty good."

I snort. "How would you know? You just met me and in that time I've broken one of your rules and brought you unbelievable pain. If I witnessed that, I'd think the other person was a pretty messed up person."

He scrutinizes me before answering. "No, you're a good person. I can tell because you knew that guy was a vampire the moment you met him, you led him into a trap but you didn't spring it until he attacked. Not to mention that you could've killed me but you stopped. That was a show of power. That's how I know you turned out right." I stare back at him, not used to being the one analyzed, until I nod, accepting what he's said. "Let me walk you to your hotel. Are you really staying at the palace?" He asks and I shake my head.

"I don't have anywhere to stay. This was kind of a spontaneous trip, my parents died in a car accident and I tried to go back to normal but I couldn't. I needed to get away and I found myself here. The palace said they were full," I reveal and he studies me again before saying he knows a place for me to stay. He leads me to a church called Saint Anne's and walks me inside. He introduces me to a priest named Kieran, who offers to let me stay at his house. He promises that he isn't supernatural and tells me that he leads the human faction there. He seems genuine so I accept.

The next day, and the next few weeks, I spend with Marcel. He introduces me to the city and helps me understand my powers and I meet a werewolf named Jackson who hasn't broken his curse yet. He talks me through my shift once we discover that I can change whenever I want. Eventually, it doesn't hurt anymore and Jackson and Marcel help me discover that I had an ancestor named Vivianne Lescheres who was a werewolf and a witch. She had given birth without anyone knowing and given the baby up because she was meant to rule the wolves and the witches and she feared that she wouldn't get that power if they knew that she was unpure.

I still miss my parents and one day, I find a solution. I'm sitting in Rousseau's, a restaurant in the middle of the quarter, when I hear some people speaking in French. They are talking about how the devil is running rampant in Paris, how he is stealing souls that he deems too innocent, and I come up with a plan.

I say my goodbyes to Marcel, claiming that I need to go home and call my Aunt Jenna, who had been given guardianship of me. She tells me that if I need to travel to feel better I should, so I do. I set a course for Paris, France with a plan to make a deal with the devil, after all, I'm a monster, my soul is already hell-bound right? Might as well get something out of it.