Wild Flame

WILD

FLAME

A C
HIASSON
S
TORY

D
ONNA
G
RANT

This is a work of fiction.
 
All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Wild Flame

©
2015 by DL Grant, LLC

Excerpt from
Soul Scorched
copyright
©
2015 by Donna Grant

Cover design © 2014 by
Leah Suttle

ISBN 10: 1942017189

ISBN 13: 978-1942017189

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce or transmit this book, or a portion thereof, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author.
 
This book may not be resold or uploaded for distribution to others.
 
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

www.DonnaGrant.com

Available in ebook and print editions

PRONUNCIATIONS & GLOSSARY

GLOSSARY:

Andouille
(ahn-doo-ee) &
Boudin
(boo-dan)

Two types of Cajun sausage. Andouille is made with pork while boudin with pork and rice.

Bayou
(by-you)

A sluggish stream bigger than a creek and smaller than a river

Beignet
(bin-yay)

A fritter or doughnut without a hole, sprinkled with powdered sugar

Cajun
(‘ka-jun)

A person of French-Canadian descent born or living along southern Louisiana.
 

Etoufee
(ay-two-fay)

Tangy tomato-based sauce dish usually made with crawfish or shrimp and rice

Gumbo
(gum-bo)

Thick, savory soup with chicken, seafood, sausage, or wild game

Hoodoo
(hu-du)

Also known as “conjure” or witchcraft. Thought of as “folk magic” and “superstition”. Some say it is the main force against the use of Voodoo.

Jambalaya
(jom-bah-LIE-yah)

Highly seasoned mixture of sausage, chicken, or seafood and vegetables, simmered with rice until liquid is absorbed

Maman
(muh-mahn)

Term used for grandmother

Parish

A Louisiana state district; equivalent to the word county

Sha
(a as in cat)

Term of affection meaning darling, dear, or sweetheart.

Voodoo
(vu-du) – New Orleans

Spiritual folkways originating in the Caribbean. New Orleans Voodoo is separate from other forms (Haitian Vodou and southern Hoodoo). New Orleans Voodoo puts emphasis on Voodoo Queens and Voodoo dolls.

Zydeco
(zy-dey-coh)
 

Accordion-based music originating in Louisiana combined with guitar and violin while combing traditional French melodies with Caribbean and blues influences

PRONUNCIATION
:

Arcineaux
(are-cen-o)

Chiasson
(ch-ay-son)

Davena
(dav-E-na)

Delia
(d-ee-l-ee-uh)

Delphine
(d-eh-l-FEEN)

Dumas
(dOO-mah-s)

Lafayette
(lah-fai-EHt)

LaRue
(l-er-OO)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A special thanks goes out to my family who lives in the bayous of Louisiana. Those summers I spent there are some of my most precious memories. I also need to send a shout-out to my team. Hats off to my editor, Chelle Olson, and cover design extraordinaire, Leah Suttle. Thank you for helping me get this story out!

Lots of love to my amazing kiddos - Gillian and Connor. Thanks for putting up with my hectic schedule and for talking plot lines. And a special hug for my furbabies Lexi, Sheba, Sassy, Tinkerbell, Diego, and our newest rescue - Sampson.

Last but not least, my readers. You have my eternal gratitude for the amazing support you show me and my books. Y’all rock my world. Stay tuned at the end of the story for the first sneak peek of
Soul Scorched
, Dark Kings book 6 out June 30, 2015. Enjoy!

Xoxo

Donna

CHAPTER ONE

SEPTEMBER

Nights off were one of his simple pleasures. Christian blew out a breath as he put his truck in park and slid out of the seat. Shutting the door behind him, he looked at the sign that read Joel’s Place.
 

Normally, he would spend his night off at home. But since the house he shared with his three brothers now also had their women, he preferred some time alone.

Christian walked to the building and opened the door. He was immediately blasted with music and laughter. Stepping inside, he let his gaze wander the place. It might be his night off, but he was a Chiasson, which meant he was always working. The supernatural never took a day off.

He made his way to the bar and ordered a beer as he continued to survey the people. Ghosts, demons, vampires, witches, werewolves. If they preyed on the innocent, then the Chiassons hunted – and killed – them.
 

His family had been protecting the parish for generations, and thanks to his brothers finding love, that would continue with future generations.

Christian’s thoughts went to his sister, Riley. She was supposed to get out of the life. Not become a hunter. It’s why he and his brothers had all agreed to send her away to college.

But they should’ve paid more attention when she called. Should have picked up on the clues. Riley was a Chiasson to the core. Stubborn, independent, and determined. She was no longer in Austin, Texas. No longer safe at school. And that fact worried Christian as nothing else could. Riley was smart, strong, and beautiful, but she also had a habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Their family had enemies. Enemies who had already tried to kill them.

“Hey,” Sherriff Marshall Ducet said as he took the seat next to Christian.

Christian nodded in greeting. “You really come here often?”

“Yeah.” Marshall looked around and shrugged. “It’s a nice place. No...unwanteds here.”

Marshall was a transplant from New Orleans. He’d left the city to get away from the supernatural, only to land himself smack in the middle of one of the other places in North America they all flocked to.

“Plenty of pretty women,” Marshall said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Christian glanced at the two women shooting pool who kept eyeing him. They were attractive. Either one would do nicely as his bed partner for the night.

Emphasis on the night. Unlike Vincent, Lincoln, and Beau, Christian would do whatever it took to ensure that he didn’t fall in love.

Ever.

“One for each of us,” Marshall said.

Christian snorted. “Find your own. Those two are mine.”

“You’re a braver man than I if you want to take two women to your bed.”

“What’s the matter, Marshall? Worried you couldn’t please both of them?” Christian asked as he turned his head back to the sheriff.

That’s when his gaze snagged on a vision with pale brown curls that fell past her shoulders. She was wearing a white shirt that showed off her bronze skin and dipped low enough in the front to give a glimpse of cleavage.

Christian leaned to the side to see more of her and took in her faded jeans and cowboy boots. She waved at someone, and Christian quickly followed her line of sight to see one of the female bartenders return the wave.

Curls smiled, her face lighting up as she walked to a barstool and sat at the corner of the bar, giving Christian a perfect view of her.

His body responded instantly, causing his balls to tighten in need. Christian brought his beer to his lips and drank deeply as he took in her oval face and large eyes. Unfortunately, the dim lighting of the bar prevented him from seeing the exact shade.

With her full lips, delicate jaw, stubborn chin, and slender neck, Curls wasn’t just pretty – she was intriguing.

“Ah, I see someone has caught your eye,” Marshall said.

Christian pulled his gaze away from the woman. “Just checking things out.”

“Right. Adding another to your stable?”

Curls was the kind of woman he would want all to himself. No sharing there. “Yep.”

Marshall snorted. “Want to play a game of pool?”

“Sure.” Christian took another drink of beer and spun around on the stool to follow Marshall.

Marshall racked the balls while Christian set aside his beer and grabbed a cue stick. Fate had brought Marshall into their lives, but Christian was glad they had someone they could trust in a seat of power.

Few people of the parish actually knew what Christian’s family did, but there were some that joined in on a hunt when needed. Though the majority didn’t have a clue that the Chiassons had saved their hides on multiple occasions, they seemed to realize the brothers were dangerous.

Dangerous didn’t even begin to cover what they were. What kind of man brought a woman into such a family with the constant threat of death? His brothers might be willing to do it, but not him.

He remembered all too well his mother’s murder and his father’s death all those years ago. Those memories were enough to ensure that Christian remained alone. There was little time to protect everyone in the town. Why would he add a wife and children into the mix?
 

Only an idiot would do that.

His brothers, obviously, were idiots.

“Any word on Riley?” Marshall asked as he leaned over the pool table to line up his shot.

Christian waited until Marshall broke the balls and watched as two solids went in. “She checked in, but she won’t tell us where she’s at.”

“I can find her.”

Christian was tempted to take him up on the offer. He wasn’t comfortable not knowing where Riley was, but she was a grown woman. She also knew how to take care of herself. “Not yet. But it may come to that.”

“She’s not with anyone is she?” Marshall asked right before he took his next shot.

Christian narrowed his gaze on the sheriff. “I like you, Marshall, and that’s the only reason I’m giving you this one warning to stay away from my sister.”

Marshall straightened, grinning, his gray eyes crinkling at the corners. “Worried she might like me?”

“Yep. Then I’d have to kill you.” Christian knew how beautiful his sister was, but the Chiasson’s reputation kept the boys away from her while she still lived in Lyons Point.

Christian didn’t want to think about what she had been doing while away. He closed his eyes to try and block out the mental image, but it was already there.
 

“You could try,” Marshall said and ran a hand through his short, black hair.

Christian opened his eyes to focus on the green felt of the pool table. He looked at the balls and bent to line up his shot, but his gaze lifted to the bar and landed on Curls.

She had a drink in hand. It wasn’t some frilly mixed drink, nor was it a beer. If he had to guess by the glass and color, it was bourbon. Not a drink he expected to see in Curls’ hand.
 

Christian returned his concentration to the pool table.
 
He lined up his cue and took his shot – the same time Curls laughed. The sound went straight to his cock, causing him to jerk his stick just as it made contact with the ball.