Aching Silver (House of Wolves Book 1)

by Amber Naralim

  A spike of jagged silver flew from the palm of her hand and smashed into the Second. He flew backward into the dying flames of the Civic. Abel stared wide-eyed over his shoulder. Another three-round burst sounded. No time to hash it out, Abel closed his arms around Izobel and they rolled to the side of the truck. Bullets tore into the earth where they just were.

  The claws oozing back into his flesh Abel pulled his Dessert Eagle free firing off three shots in quick succession. Two of them missed but the third winged the attacker. He stumbled back with the force of it and a bullet embedded into the door of the truck.

  A little more sure of her control, Izobel stared up at Abel. How he aimed a gun in this position she couldn’t even fathom. This pose was better suited to lovemaking than it was to violence. His hips between her thighs, body atop hers. She touched her shaking hands to his chest and whispered a chant that steadied his arm.

  Abel pulled the trigger and the bullets riddled their attacker’s heart in a small grouped triangle. He fell to the ground dead as dead could get. Connor came jogging around the bed of the truck. Abel’s arm swung and then relaxed once he realized there was no threat.

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  Chapter

  The silence deafened after such action-packed happenings. Izobel huffed out a heavy breath. She caught just hint of sandalwood and pine beneath the acrid scent of the smoldering car behind them. His body was solid, strong. Izobel had an urge to grasp his bicep. As it was, her fingers slid down his chest lingering just a little longer than they needed to.

  Her senses were on fire with adrenaline. Magic roiled her blood. That much left her body tingling, begging for the physical. Abel was pretty to look at. She couldn’t deny that, especially, with him on top of her one arm wrapped around her waist.

  “Well, that was bracing,” she said with a smirk.

  Abel had so many questions he didn’t know where to start first. Her warmth and body drew his attention to Izobel so he started there.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Johnny said you were being stupid. So I told him I would help,” Izobel answered.

  “Thank you, sparrow,” Abel said.

  Abel licked his lips. He could admit when he was wrong. He should have listened to John.

  “Such graciousness.” She smiled. “You’re welcome. I’m grateful too. I was treading water there for a second. I didn’t see the one behind me.”

  Abel offered her a sexy grin of his own. He climbed to his feet and offered her a hand. She took it coming to her feet. Connor cocked a brow.

  “What do you mean treading water?” He asked.

  “Too much magic too fast can be dangerous.”

  She pointed at what was left of the Civic. Only the skeleton still stood and even then parts of that were ash that simply hadn’t fallen away yet. It kept the shape but nothing else. The Second hit it after she came back to herself and a few bones were all that littered the heap.

  “That’s what happens when a which is controlled by the magic. Primordial essence eats everything it comes into contact with. Call a little and be careful all is well. Call too much and court disaster,” she explained. “It was all I could do to keep it from feeding on Abel.”

  Connor gulped.

  Abel didn’t know what to think so he set the information aside to be analyzed later. He turned and assessed the scene. Dead bodies everywhere. Fucking Worthington. Izobel read his expression.

  “So what happens now? Should I take Zoe and run?”

  Abel blinked his question.

  “Your leader tried to have you killed. What’s he going to do when you come back alive?”

  Conner shook his head. “Worthington didn’t do this.”

  Both Izobel and Abel turned to him.

  “Their leader said he was paid to kill us. Who would bother but Worthington?” Abel shot back.

  “We may not have his respect, but Worthington relies on you just as much as he ever did, Abel. Hell, more than most of the clan even realizes,” Connor mentioned.

  “That doesn’t mean anything to Worthington,” Abel dismissed.

  Connor moved his head back and forth. His eye widened just a tiny bit. Izobel dropped her head to one side.

  “What aren’t you telling him, Connor?”

  Abel looked at Connor wondering what she saw that he didn’t.

  “Two hundred and fifty,” Connor said.

  “So.”

  Connor sighed. “He said they were paid two hundred and fifty thousand. The clan doesn’t have two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”

  Izobel scoffed. “That doesn’t mean anything. If he was willing to pay them to kill you, what’s to stop him from having a bunch of his underlings kill them?”

  “That’s not the way the Kin work. A bargain was struck. That means some part of it had to be true,” Abel answered.

  Izobel cocked a brow at that. Fascinating if true, but it seemed like there had to be more to it. Abel’s thoughts swirled around Connor’s admission. He knew the clan was in bad shape but that was not good news. No wonder Nora had been worrying so hard lately. She’d been keeping the clan together with nothing more than dental floss for years. And he was too lost in his own struggles to even notice.

  “Look, just talk to Nora okay. She’ll explain it,” Connor pleaded.

  Abel nodded. “We need to take care of the bodies.”

  With that, he wandered over to the man he’d shot. He grabbed the arms and dragged the corpse over a few feet. Connor went over to help him. Izobel frowned. There was just so much to the world of werewolves she didn’t get. And worse Zoe was caught in the web. The only way out Izobel could see was burning it all down to the ground. She needed more information.

  While they played with corpses she searched the cars. Visors, glove boxes, and containers. She didn’t find much of anything. In fact, the emptiness eventually dawned on her. They’d cleaned out the cars before coming.

  She closed the door and Connor jogged past her to the bed of the truck. He retrieved a gas can. He handed it to Abel as she walked up. Gasoline burned her nose as Connor splashed it onto the bodies. Abel lit a match and tossed it onto the heap. Flames kindled. She took a step back from the heat.

  “Are you going to ride with us?” Connor asked.

  “I have the jeep. I’ll follow you,” she answered. Izobel turned to go and Abel caught her wrist. She stopped.

  “Thank you, Sparrow. You saved our asses today. I won’t forget it,” Abel said.

  She smiled and nodded. “You’re welcome.”

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  Chapter

  Johnny paced back and forth in front of the window. His hands clenched in tight fists at his sides. Zoe watched him from the stairs not sure what to do. He looked upset. Everyone else was gone when she woke up this morning. She wandered into the kitchen.

  “So no werewolf yoga today?”

  He turned to the sound of her voice and offered the edge of a smile. She could tell it was forced. Zoe closed the distance between them. Looking out the window to buy her time to think of what exactly to say, she sighed.

  “You can talk to me, you know. Tell me things. I get why you kept the secrets you did. But if we’re going to be friends, you have to be honest with me from now on.”

  That was more than fair. He turned to face her fully. Johnny had an urge to touch her face or grab her hand. Something. Anything. But he didn’t. Too lost in both his guilt and trying to come up with something that covered his mistakes. Nothing felt right so he avoided the topic running in other directions.

  “My brothers are in danger and I can’t help them. I’m trapped here because the beast was too much for me.”

  He swallowed hard. Johnny dropped his eyes to the floor full of shame that Zoe understood more than most. She nibbled her bottom lip and reached out to him. Her fingertips brushed his hand and she took it, lacing their fingers together.

  “Abel loves to tell me I was only ten, But that doesn’t matter. Not really. They should hav
e killed me, Zoe. I wish they had. What it did to my family was so much worse.” He sucked in a shaking breath. What it did to her. The truth rushed to his lips. “This is all my fault.”

  His voice broke and it tore at Zoe. She needed to comfort him. Zoe threw her arms around his chest and rested her face against his breast. Johnny closed her in his embrace rocking them back and forth. He touched his cheek to her shiny black hair.

  “They’re going to be okay,” she cooed. “We’re going to be okay.”

  “You’re so bright,” he whispered.

  She cuddled against him a little tighter. “Izzy used to tell me the only good rule is a broken one. I never really got that until you crashed into my life. Now I know she’s right. I know she’s right because you proved it to me. The world needs you, Johnny. The werewolves need more people like you, willing to question. Willing to break traditions. To do what’s right. Your brothers saved you because you are worth saving.”

  “You don’t understand, Zoe. I couldn’t… I tried it was just too much. The smell. The violence.”

  She brushed a tear away from his eye. “You’re a good guy. You’re my furry knight.”

  Zoe didn’t get it. He could tell by how easy she was. His admission fell to the floor flat and he barely had the courage to get that far. Johnny didn’t have it in him to fight for it anymore.

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry you’re here. About Isaak.”

  “Hey,” she cooed. “Here isn’t so bad. Especially if you’re with me.”

  Her smile was breathtaking. It coaxed one out him as well. Hesitant and a little broken, she’d never seen anything more beautiful. Zoe pushed up on her tiptoes using his weight to steady her. Her lips brushed his. He was utterly still just long enough to leave her questioning, and then he kissed her back, eyes fluttering.

  Gentle and sweet fell away to passionate. His hands slid up her back and into her hair. He cupped her face. His thumb traced the line of her cheekbone. She balled his t-shirt in her hands drawing him closer.

  A noise tore them apart. Zoe cast a glance behind her to find Connor standing at the opening between the living room and kitchen. His expression teetered on the edge of hungry. She certainly didn’t get any jealous vibes from him. A little breathless her hands slid down Johnny’s chest to rest on his hips.

  “Abel?” Johnny begged.

  “I’m good,” Abel said turning the corner. “Thanks to you and the Sparrow.”

  “Izzy was with you?” Zoe asked.

  She swept into the room. Her hair was a mess. Dirt smudged on her cheek.

  “What happened to you guys?” Zoe asked her gaze bouncing around the room.

  “Nothing we couldn’t handle.” Izobel brushed off her worries with a smile and a soft look. She brushed Zoe’s hair out of her eyes.

  “Is Nora here yet?” Abel asked.

  Johnny shook his head in answer, though his eyes were curious. Zoe frowned.

  “No more secrets! I’m supposed to be one of you. What happened?” She demanded.

  Abel licked his lips and nodded. She was right. They brought her into the pack. Zoe deserved to know the truth. His only hesitation was a quick glance at the Sparrow. He worried she would take the girl and run. And the truth was he couldn’t blame her for considering it.

  “They were paid to take us out. We’re trying to figure out if Worthington put them up to it.”

  “And if he did?” Zoe doubled down.

  “Then you aren’t safe.” He sighed, eyes all for Johnny. “None of us are.”

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  Chapter

  The sun was just peeking through the trees when Izobel stepped barefoot onto the path. The world was still shades of blue. Wisps of fog rolled close to the uneven ground. It was lovely here. She’d never admit it aloud. She could imagine the little smirk of pride on Abel’s face just thinking it.

  The silk of her bias-cut dress lapped around her ankles the edge had just a hint of wetness that shocked her bare skin. The path curved down and around a gigantic granite boulder. She stopped cold.

  This wasn’t like the rest of the forest, natural and wild. Apple trees flowered in the rising sunlight. Planted in precision straight lines, a few of them even bore fruit. Izobel moved in between them touching leaves. She leaned in close to smell a handful of flowers. Her fingertips brushed the budding dew from the surface of an apple. The blush of its skin was a lovely amalgamation of reds and pinks and just a hint of yellow.

  She closed her hand around it and the snap hammered her heartbeat home. It was a healthy break. The kind that’s merciful in its abrupt end. His voice spun her and she had just the smallest instinct to hide the fruit. Izobel covered fast. Her haughty bravado came spilling back in like a waterfall. Her shoulders straightened and her back stiffened in full view and Abel found it a little fascinating to watch.

  He knew people so sure of their actions they never question, blind believers who fall to their knees and often to their deaths with the folly. He knew people who never even though about their ego too busy welcoming the next kill. Ever eager for the taste of blood and bone and the stinging sensation of adrenalin. And he certainly knew those who live through the eruptions of a bad idea going down in flames. He’d been toying with taking it even further into the pastime of fantasizing the consequences of something ever so stupid. In the chase of hope. He recognized that in the kid sister. Hell, the only reason she was still alive was because he recognized it in her. Now he couldn’t see past it.

  But this one… The Sparrow. He’d never experienced her like before. Absolutely terrified of the next choice but willing to jump no matter what comes. She was the epitome of ride or die. She also looked like she came from a fairytale and smelled like ebony and vanilla. And boy did he hate himself for making those observations here.

  The grave was five feet that way. He could make out the lines through the leaves and brush with only a hint of them visible. This was their grove.

  Lorelei had plans for a swing-set over there. A treehouse in that tree. Benches. She was all about benches. Funny, he could remember all that, but he couldn’t picture her face anymore. Couldn’t get the pout of her lips just right. She was blurring at the edges. And worse, there was nothing he could do to stop it.

  Every day she slipped a little further away. Abel couldn’t handle the guilt of it. People tell us to let go. But we don’t stop to check the minutia that drags that pleasant contentment into something a good deal darker. That’s the rub of balance. We lose the beauty to the shadows. The past week or so Abel admitted he was making out all kinds of new beginnings. But in order to move toward them, he had to let go of this might have been. And he just couldn’t get his hand to open no matter how he picked at it.

  Grief and loss turn moments into shining things. He was plagued by thoughts that wondered would he ever find anything better. Could he?

  But either way, he kept catching himself following the Sparrow’s every pleasing movement. She was a dancer. Flowing from one step to the other in liquid refinement. She was a fawn. Her lines fragile and vulnerable but the woman stood when she needed to. Her graceful leaps had him captivated.

  The way she dressed fully fed his fairytale considerations. Cognac and blue with just a little sparkle. Chunky crocheted lace down to pinprick embroidery and they all accentuated her style. All of that to a backdrop of wavy shine. Man he wanted to touch it. Roll its silken shine between his fingertips. Feel her warmth through the thin glimmer of that dress.

  “This is Lorelei’s orchard,” he said.

  Some lilt to his voice clued her into the emotion bubbling beneath the situation. She shifted the apple in her hands, and finally because Izobel didn’t like being bullied in any situation she took a bite. Oh yes, Izobel could be petty. She always had something to prove.

  It was sweet, just the hint of tartness puckered her tongue and she pursed her lips just a little. The juice sparkled on her mouth, and her chin. Abel reached forward with a stuttering question of why he couldn’t st
op. He wiped her chin with his thumb. Izobel blinked at him, making her decisions. In light of the fact she liked his touch she relaxed. Even gave him the hint of a smile.

  “Who’s Lorelei?”

  “My wife. We got together young, a whirlwind couple of months but we decided to ride out the waves together. We weren’t together six weeks when she got pregnant. It spun my world.”

  He walked over to the trees and touched his palm to one of the curving branches. He looked out over the plain before him. Abel realized then that he’d always thought of this place bathed in soft amber light. He saw the idea of the swing-set.

  That morning it was cold and blue and it had lost a little bit of its shine. Every memory he could conjure suffered the same dimming. His admission heralded its coming.

  “He killed her.”

  Izobel cocked a brow. “Who?”

  “Isaak. We were friends once. I loved him like a brother. He’d always had a thing for her. Tried to seduce her away from me a dozen times. He was obsessed. When she got pregnant he lost it.”

  “That’s what started this?” Izobel asked.

  “He was supposed to take over for Worthington. But the old man, heavily influenced by Nora decided to keep it from him. It was a bold move. The old man had lost a lot of faith siding with the Omaha clan. I don’t blame Isaak for thinking the throne was his. But when it didn’t pan out he went off the rails. Tried to kill me. I guess he decided if he couldn’t have her then neither could I. He tore my baby from her belly and left her to bleed out on the kitchen floor.”

  “How long has it been?”

  “Three years since he took my girls from me.”

  “I’m sorry.” Izobel touched his hand.

  “I used to be angry. But angry only gets you so far. Now I’m just… just tired I guess.”

  “There’s more to this. New rules to learn. New shadows to duck. Whatever it takes to keep Zoe floating.”

  “That girl is lucky to have you.”