Bride did as she said.
It didn't take long to reach Amanda and Kyrian's antebellum mansion in the Garden District. The Greek-revival house was one of the best preserved in the state. It was also one of the largest.
Bride pulled into the driveway and paused in front of the massive iron gates that had to be opened from inside.
Tabitha used her cell phone to call Amanda.
"Why not just buzz the house?" Bride asked.
"Because Kyrian can be a dickhead about letting me in sometimes."
Bride frowned. "Why?"
"I tried to kill him once and he hasn't gotten over it. I swear, that man can hold a grudge like nobody's business." She paused. "Hey Mandy, it's me.
We're out here in the driveway. Could you buzz us in?" She winked at Bride. "It's me and Bride McTierney yeah, okay."
The gates opened. "Thanks, sis. See you in a minute."
They drove up the driveway and Bride whistled low. She'd never been inside the gates before, but everyone in town knew about this house.
It was even more beautiful up close than it had been from the street.
They drove up the semicircular driveway to the front door, which swung open the instant they stopped. Amanda Hunter stepped out, holding her infant daughter on her hip.
The baby girl started bouncing the second she saw Tabitha. "Mama, mama, mama!"
the baby cried in her infant gibberish, reaching for Tabitha, who scooped her up and hugged her.
Before Tabitha's face had been scarred, the only way to tell the two women apart had been their wardrobes. While Tabitha preferred a goth chic look, Amanda was mainstream to the extreme. She wore a pair of black slacks and a thin, dark green cashmere sweater.
"What brings you two here?" Amanda asked.
"She has a psycho chasing her," Tabitha said while Bride let her wolf out of the car and grabbed her bag.
Amanda looked at her with concern. "Are you okay, Bride?"
Bride held on to her wolf. "I think so. I'm really sorry to impose."
"No, not at all," Amanda said as she neared Bride. "I know how much my sisters love you. I'd hate to see anything happen to you." Amanda froze as she caught sight of the wolf with her and frowned.
"Do you mind that I brought him?" Bride asked. "Tabitha said it would be okay."
Still frowning, Amanda looked at Tabitha. "Okay"
Amanda held her hand out to the wolf who went immediately over to her.
"You probably want to go inside, don't you, boy?"
The wolf moved back to Bride's side.
"Or not," Amanda said. "Well now, why don't we all go inside and find out some more about this lunatic who's after Bride?"
They followed Amanda into the house. Bride pulled up short, a bit intimidated by the size of the place and the pristine collection of antiques that looked like they belonged in a museum. She'd never seen anything like it.
But the oddest part was that the antiques were balanced out by contemporary furniture such as the plush black couches and an expensive entertainment system.
Not to mention strange vampire bric-a-brac. They even had a coffin-shaped coffee table.