Aching Silver (House of Wolves Book 1)

by Amber Naralim

  “And you… you’re lucky to have your brother.” Izobel smiled with her scathing joke. She couldn’t even make it to the end of the sentence before she fell into mocking laughter.

  “Don’t forget you,” he reminded her humbly.

  “Oh don’t worry, I’m pretty sure that fact will get dusted off many a time in our future. You look like you enjoy arguing.”

  A moment of hungry silence was punctuated by a few sprinkles falling from the sky.

  “We’ll find this Isaac. He made a mistake messing with my baby sister.”

  Abel nodded and smiled. “I think he might have.”

  Izobel took another bite of her apple.

  “What did you come out here for?” Abel asked. The question was a lifeboat out of that subject.

  “I need to put together a kit. It’s a bitch to run out of an herb when you really need a charm that moment,” she explained. “Does foxglove grow around here?”

  “Yeah, it’s through here, I’ll show you,” he said pointing the way.

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  Chapter

  Zoe laced her fingers between Johnny’s and smiled to see them. She was still lost in the giddy beginnings and perfectly happy to stay there. Johnny closed his eyes, humming a song she didn’t recognize. He looked comfortable, content. She brushed his dark bangs away from his forehead and watched his face fighting the decision to lean in and kiss his lips.

  Zoe happily threw herself into him. The rest of the world circled with sharp teeth and piercing claws. She’d much rather use her considerable observation skills to pour over the enigma that was Johnny.

  He had quite the contrast when it suited him. His first brush was sweet, and a little sad. But every look you gave him there was another detail shining. His skin was smooth, and his hair feathery. She drew her eyes along the line of his sculpted lips. The angle of his chin.

  “You’re staring at me,” he said with eyes closed.

  “How do you know?”

  “I can feel you. Your beast.”

  “You can feel my who?” Zoe asked with a skeptical look.

  Johnny blinked at her. “Your beast. It’s like a weight. A touch. It’s another sense like sight.”

  “So I have it?” Zoe asked fascinated.

  Johnny nodded. “Here, close your eyes. Take in a deep breath and blow it free. When your world goes dark. Really dark,” he pointed out. “Find the spark.”

  Zoe concentrated hard on every sound, every brush. Every sensation her senses threw at her. She began to get a little impatient and ready to give up. Her mouth even dropped open to say so when she saw it. A flash that could not be denied. It raced in shapes drawing outlines of the world in rainbowed shades. She smiled.

  “That’s cool,” she said turning to face Johnny.

  “There’s so much to the beast. I know it seems scary right now, but one day it will be a part of you. Like you’re hair color or the watery blue of your eyes.”

  His compliment brought a grin to her face and she leaned in laying kisses on his mouth. Connor pushed at Johnny’s legs and flopped down onto the end of the couch. Zoe broke the kiss and gave Connor a wide-eyed blink.

  “Is there something we can help you with?” Zoe asked.

  “I have to go to the square and pick up a few things. I thought I’d ask if you want to come.”

  Johnny sat up. “That’s not a good idea,” he argued.

  “Why not? She’ll be part of the clan,” Conner bated. “I think she should see what it’s about.” He flashed Zoe a smile. “What do you say?”

  She looked from Johnny, overly cautious and just a little worried to Connor bright-eyed and pleasant. Zoe could admit to some serious curiosity on the matter. Besides, she’d been cooped up since this whole thing exploded. She would give anything to get out, stretch her legs a little.

  “Sure, why not.”

  Johnny didn’t know what to do. He got what it was to be caged, he wouldn’t do it to her. But man he wished he could go with her to keep her safe. Zoe climbed off of Johnny and jogged up the stairs to get changed.

  “What are you thinking? Even Abel says she should stay as far away from the clan as possible,” Johnny hissed.

  “She’s got the Sparrow weaving magic as we speak to get her through this. This is her world now. It’s time to let her see it. You can’t keep her all to yourself for the rest of her life, John.”

  That shut him up. Johnny leaned back against the arm of the couch and sighed.

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  Chapter

  When they said square she expected something more than a clear cut field nestled between tall pine trees with an enormous fire pit at the center. But that’s exactly what it was. Some of the rocks surrounding it were bigger than her torso. Chairs piled near the corners. Not like camping chairs, these were wing-back and overstuffed. Grizzled old men sat with people in front of them listening to tales being woven from memories. They sat on worn pillows with fading velvets and clumped filling. She lingered on a couple relaxed against one another. The woman’s back pressed to the man’s chest as they laughed and listened. The place had a bohemian vibe that she kind of liked and completely surprised her. Wildly colored pennants wrapped in string lights jangled with the wind.

  This was nothing like her nightmares. Change goes hand in hand with anxiety and hers had a lot more to do with surviving life as a newly minted beasty of the night. She kept checking the pointiness of her eye-teeth trying to mark the change in some way. But Zoe had to admit things like this, and Johnny’s sweetness was tugging her toward their side of things. If we can’t have normal the best we can wish for is to love the people in that possibility. Zoe chose hope. Full of doubt with every step, but she believed in grabbing someone’s hand and running with it.

  A few cabins nestled in the wood around it but all of them gave the square a wide birth. Bikes, from dirt bikes to Harleys, she stumbled on a restored Indian. This many people didn’t belong in a place so secluded. They wandered among the trees talking to one another. Hugging and closely knit as gypsies, she could live here.

  Conner couldn’t help the smile her relief called in him. He could see better than most how jarring their lifestyle would seem to an outsider. He didn’t hold it against her in the slightest. He reeled at much of their society himself. But he loved it. It was a faceted jewel that inspired him both to make it better and wanting it for himself. There was beauty in the old ways. But he’d evolved past his civilization, and he hated himself for it, still, he couldn’t stop running full tilt toward living the way it should be.

  His world was littered with far too many victims to stand by and let it happen any longer. He was cautious though. Abel was a warrior. He ripped a hole in whatever you pointed him at. Johnny was a victim. Punished for nothing more than his birth. It just didn’t matter how heroic his action, how pure his reasoning. Someone found fault with it. Conner was observant. He saw more of the picture than most. He traced the line he was supposed to walk and two or three ways to achieve it. From a family known in story to be right but firm, he was the odd man out. It was a step you just weren’t supposed to miss. But here he was. He’d use his powers for good. The thought even made him smirk. Joke as it was, that was the line Conner towed. I mean he was essentially a Gryffindor.

  “See. I told you it’s not so bad,” he said with a blooming grin.

  “I don’t know, now that I think about it. This place couldn’t be any other way. I mean the world can only handle so much doom and gloom, right. That means ipso facto the world has to throw in some rainbows and glittery eyes to balance out the scale.”

  Conner nodded. “That stands to reason,” he agreed.

  The more she relaxed with her surroundings the more open Zoe got. She bonded quickly. And she believed in honesty. Yeah, people lie. But, even more, aren’t supposed to. That was her Gypsy trait. That allowed her to swim in this ocean. She’d been pushing the acceptance into every anchor she could find. She wanted to love it. Zoe marked every pro, great and s
mall.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  He blinked his answer at her openly.

  Are you okay with Johnny and me? Every time we’re about to kiss or hold hands you stumble into it. And if it’s about jealousy. I’m flattered. Seriously, you’re a great guy, but I kind of have a thing for your brother. I still want to be your friend though.”

  Conner’s expression pinched. He opened his mouth and then thought better of it. Instead, he jerked his head to the left and grabbed her hand.

  “I think you should meet someone.”

  Zoe followed him through the winding paths. A beast of a house sat huddle among the trees. The mid-century modern’s front shimmered all windows. The peaked roof climbed into the sky. A guy was out front shadow boxing. His shoulder-length black hair dripped wet. His loose pajama bottoms hung from a trim waist and a sculpted form. Closer now Zoe saw the chain whip he swung around.

  His oriental features were pretty rather than handsome. Sculpted lips and sharp eyebrows punctuated angled lines.

  “He looks like a ninja,” she hissed theatrically.

  Connor laughed.

  “It’s not out of jealousy. Jealousy would be easier.” Conner sighed. “I thought about using you. I’m sorry.”

  Zoe’s mouth dropped open and snapped shut. “Why would you need to use me?” she asked in obvious and yet comical horror.

  Kylen stopped, dropping the chain to the leafy ground. His lovely face showed curiosity and question. Connor stepped behind Kylen and touched his hands to his shoulders.

  “Because between Kye’s gorgeous lines and my brother, I would choose Kye.”

  “You’re such a theatre kid.” Kylen rolled his eyes and shook his head.

  Zoe laughed at his joke. “I knew your fashion sense was too good.” She declared with a comically sassy snap of fingers.

  “Forcing you into this is a dick move. And we just met. I thought I’d ask instead,” he offered. “Being alpha all the time is so tiring.”

  “Ask as in please with sugar on or I’m going to make you an offer you can’t refuse?” she asked with the hint of a Scorsese's voice.

  “The I’d really like you to think about just how many secrets you’re keeping. You’re in a pool with sharks now. You need allies. Someone to show you how it actually works around here not just hide you away.” He crossed back to her and brushed her silken black hair back away from her shoulder.

  “What do you want?”

  He flashed her a charming grin, sparkling doe eyes and all. “I want you to be my girl.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Lycanthropes are dying out. The pressure is on from every one of us to produce an heir,” Kye illuminated. “There are fewer Kin born every year. We really need mated pairs. So a pair that refuses to bring forth a child has all kinds of unpleasant consequences.”

  “You want me to have your baby?” Zoe would have been less surprised had he stabbed her in the gut. “You’re joking right?”

  The look on Conner’s face had her stumbling back a step.

  “I just need you to pretend for a little while. It wouldn’t be hard. Just while we’re in the square. No one can know about you and John. And no one will. He isn’t allowed here. I’ll figure out a way around this… eventually. I need time is all.”

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  Chapter

  Her fingers searched the lines on the page of names and numbers settled and ongoing. Nothing was here about it. Nora even ran them through the filter of being hidden behind another job. There was nothing here. Did someone know about her plans? She hated dangling Abel out there like this, but not knowing meant disaster.

  He would understand.

  She checked and double-checked the outgoing receipts. She didn’t doubt foul play, finding proof of it was a whole other matter. No one would take her seriously without it. She didn’t know who had it out for the Merricks. Worthington didn’t think much of the boys. To the rest of the clan, they would always know respect. That’s one of the perks of being legendary.

  The kin valued glory above all things. Your house name is everything you carry into this world. It was the standard all things were measured. The name Merrick carried four sons to grace in the stories. Few families could boast of such things.

  It was her machinations that dragged them into this. She wielded the Merricks as her sword, shield, and dagger. They were her wall between who she pretended to be and who she had to be. She didn’t like the slap of it, but you work with what you’ve got.

  Nora shut the book and stared out over her fingertips wondering where the thread that was going to slip was. It was bad enough she wasn’t born with the wolf genes she didn’t get psychic either. That was the hardship she had to deal with. There’s always something we’re willing to accept for the promise of greener pastures. That was hers.

  Nora closed the door behind her with a barely audible click. She looked first right down the corridor and then left. Empty both ways she went right. She grabbed a wool jacket from the hook and left the house. Down a switchback and over a winding hill the square stood sparkling with the pinks and reds of a lovely sunset.

  She stole into one of the stalls. Someone picked an acoustic guitar next door. Nora flashed her a smile out the window and went in search of Bellick. He was out back chopping firewood.

  His loose jeans and long-sleeved rugged looks belied his age. Salt and pepper grey in his shaggy hair and perfectly trimmed beard were the only things to hint at it. He pulled his blue handkerchief out of his back pocket, wiping at his brow just to stuff it back in.

  “Hey, Ben. I’m trying to square some expenditures in the ledgers. Abel is setting up a sale of over sixty high-end rifles?”

  “Yeah, somebody left the chit on my desk and a list of instructions for the drop,” he said grabbing a piece of wood and centering it on the block.

  “But you don’t know who the original sale was okayed by?”

  “No. Did they not enter it into the book correctly?”

  “I’m having a hell of a time reading it,” she complained jovially.

  “I can stop by tomorrow and give you another set of eyes if you need,” he offered swinging the ax.

  “It’s no problem I’ll get it,” she smiled. “I was just trying to lighten my load,” Nora covered.

  Damn! That was her last lead.

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  Chapter

  Johnny hauled hay bales across the other end of the barn. Headphones blaring Fall Out Boy, he hadn’t been able to scrape the smile from his face the whole day. One thought of Zoe and he was grinning ear to ear. He huffed the final one across the wooden floor and jogged into the house.

  He took the steps two at a time and grabbed a towel from the bathroom in the upper hall. It was only a few strides from her bedroom door. Johnny rapped with his knuckles and leaned his head in. The smile he wore lifted her high, until what Connor had done the other day sent her careening toward the ground. This relationship was hard enough to maintain. His brother sabotaging it and forcing her to be his beard was a little more than she could handle right now.

  “Hey, I’m going to hop in the shower for a second then we’ll go, okay,” he said.

  Her mouth opened to tell him everything that had happened between her and Connor the other day. Instead, she nodded, forcing the edge of a wilted smile. Johnny disappeared and Zoe hung her head. Finally, she sighed and got up to grab her sweater.

  Johnny whipped the soap in his hair to a lather with a few sharp movements. He couldn’t get clean fast enough. Everything was set up perfect. All he had to do was plug it in. A few scraps of wood and a string of lights. He couldn’t wait to show her.

  ***

  Hair still dripping he took her hand to help her down the steps of the back porch. She borrowed a fair bit from her sister, but the clothes she wore had a floral motif. Johnny could spot Nora’s fingertips in the choices. Either way, Zoe’s pale skin lent a perfect backdrop. Her black hair added luxuriance to the wine-dar
k colors she wore.

  Zoe hugged herself afraid of what might come out of her mouth. Everything he showed her had a kind of magic to it. Simple beauty. She found herself longing for the hope she’d had at the beginning of all of this. She couldn’t deny its pleasing lines but it was much harder to grasp.

  His hand was warm. And that smile. It was hard to get past that smile. Zoe was sure she could love him for that all by its lonesome.

  Johnny disappeared and reappeared on the winding path. It slowed Zoe down. She looked up to find him gone. Alone, with a wall of staggered pine trees in front of her, Zoe’s eyes went wide. Her mood dove into panic like it had a broken parachute.

  “Johnny?” Zoe called. She spun around and around searching for any hint that he’d even been there. “Johnny, where are you?”

  She touched her low-side bun and concentrated on breathing. Zoe had always been afraid of being alone. But this place stoked the fires of those terrors. Cut off from the rest of the world and left to dangle over the precipice. She was terrified to spend even a moment alone in the reality of this farm.

  Someone touched her shoulder and she jumped, heartbeat lodged in her throat. His concerned expression and soft eyes were the sheltered cove she needed. Zoe threw her arms around him and he hugged her back. Johnny drifted his fingers through the silky blue shine of her hair.

  “Hey, you’re all right. It’s okay,” he cooed.

  She hugged him like she was going to climb right inside him with her shoes on. Johnny offered her a smile that helped her rebound. Looking for any way to comfort her he pushed on with his gift. Johnny took her hand and led her through the wood.

  With his touch, the tall pines and winding pathways had more of a fairytale feel. Dark. But the mystery and romance of what he offered sparkled and shined despite the shadows. Johnny guided her around to the front of them and held his hands up.

  “Close your eyes,” he said.

  Zoe huffed out a playfully suspicious sigh but her eyes fluttered closed. Johnny’s hands on her shoulders spun her ten degrees west and then disappeared. Johnny jogged a few feet toward the graceful branches twisting with wrapped fairy lights. He plugged them in and they shed a golden-white glow. The mason jar candles tacked to the pines on either side were already lit. He gave everything a once over and returned to her side.