Azure (The Silver Series Book 5) (9 page)

I lifted my eyebrows at Nora and she
shrugged. “I don't know how you have all survived this long.”

“
Lots of t.v. dinners,”
Brian put in helpfully.

I crossed to a stool on the other side of
the counter and eased myself onto it gingerly. It hurt to sit up
straight, but I didn't let it show. The others watched me until the
silence became awkward. “Well, let's see if you can teach these
animals how to cook,” I prompted.

“
With pleasure.” Nora threw
me a smile at the challenge and went back to the others.

Traer took a seat next to me and watched the
cooking proceed. It felt strange to have a girl at Two. One of the
rules my mother strictly enforced was that no girls were allowed on
the premises. It felt like a boys only clubhouse, and many of the
werewolves had girlfriends in the surrounding cities that they
visited on occasion. Nora’s presence softened the edges of Two,
bringing warmth to the red rock walls and laughter to the hollow
corridors.

I watched her fingers deftly knead the
chicken in a batter of breadcrumbs and butter and wondered when the
last time was that I watched a woman cook. Her hands paused and I
looked up straight into her eyes. Her brows creased slightly,
causing a tiny furrow to form between them. A touch of red stole
across her cheeks, making her green irises stand out even more. I
looked away and couldn’t explain how just meeting her gaze made my
heart race. Traer caught my look and lifted an eyebrow. I rose and
pretended like my side didn’t throb like a pit of burning fire.

“
Where are you going?”
Traer asked.

“
Can’t put off the
inevitable much longer,” I answered.

“
Calling your mother?” he
guessed with a sympathetic grimace.

Similar expressions crossed the other
werewolves’ faces when I nodded.

“
Good luck,” Brian said
after me. “We’ll be here not getting our ear chewed
off.”

I fought down a growl and left the room.

***

“
So not only did you
not
kill her, you risked
your life to save her and almost died because of it?” Mom's voice
was two octaves higher than normal. I set the phone on the opposite
side of the couch from me, but distance did nothing to improve the
high pitch. “I should kill her myself and save you the trouble,”
she threatened. “What on earth are you thinking?”

“
That I'm tired of people
running to my mother and tattling,” I said dryly.

“
That you're keeping her
around because she's pretty?” Mom shot back. “Ben told me, so don't
you dare deny it.” Her tone begged me to try.

“
She's beautiful,” I
agreed, even though in my mind the word didn't come close to
describing her eyes, or the way her face softened when she helped
the others, or the soft blush that stole across her cheeks whenever
I caught her watching me, which unsettled me as often as
her.

“
So you admit that you're
keeping her for her looks,” Mom said with a triumphant
note.

“
I admit that she's
beautiful,” I replied. “But her beauty has nothing to do with why
she's here.”

“
Then why is she there?”
Mom demanded. Her tone indicated I had pushed her to the last edge
of her patience, a line I was finding easier to reach
lately.

“
I'll let you know when I
figure it out,” I replied, exasperated. I ran a finger over the
calluses on my right hand and leaned my head against the back of
the couch. “In the meantime, thanks for your concern about my
health. Your motherly interest is touching.”

“
It would be more
worthwhile if I had a son who acted according to his lineage,” she
snapped back.

We both fell silent and I could almost feel
her regret through the phone. I couldn't decide if it was remorse
over her words or for a son who brought her so much disappointment.
When several minutes passed without her saying anything, I finally
hung up.

Chapter 8

I was still resting on the couch when Nora’s
familiar footsteps sounded down the hall. She paused outside the
door and I could hear her shifting her weight from foot to foot. A
light sound touched the door, then she took a deep breath and
turned the handle. I sat up and winced at the sharp pain that came
from the movement, but I schooled my face not to show it when she
stepped inside.

“
You’re awake,” she said.
The emotions in her eyes conflicted as though she wasn’t sure if
that was a good thing or bad.

I shrugged, then regretted it and leaned
back. “Just recovering.”

“
From the stick?” she
asked. She quickly crossed the floor to me as though worried I was
going to pass out at any moment.

The thought made me chuckle shallowly. “From
talking to my mother.”

She grinned. “And I thought I was the only
one with an exhausting parent.” She sat down on the floor so that
her back leaned against the couch by my legs. I resisted the urge
to touch the shiny strands of long back hair that rested on top of
the brown leather.

“
Let me see,” I said to
distract myself. “I suffer from a case of mild parental neglect
with sudden bursts of extreme controlling and long-distance
concern. You?”

She shook her head and I could see the
corner of her smile when she replied, “Nope. My dad’s the opposite.
He’s overbearing, extremely protective, and determined that I’m
going to get myself caught in a situation I can’t get out of
without him.”

We both sobered at the thought that he might
be right. I took a testing breath and let it out slowly. “My dad
pretends that he doesn’t have a son.” My heart clenched at the
words I hadn’t admitted to anyone. I don’t know why I told them to
her, but the truth sounded so much harsher when spoken out loud.
“When I moved here, he found it more convenient to forget about me
than to keep up the exhausting job of staying in touch.”

I waited for Nora to laugh or brush it off,
but she didn’t do either. Her fingers strayed to the hem of my
pants near my bare feet and she toyed with the fraying cloth. The
light brush of her hand against my skin made me close my eyes.
Besides Traer patching me up occasionally, no one touched me, not
even by accident. No one messed with the hulking werewolf who could
break them in two. I wasn’t sure I would know what to do with
affection if I got it.

Unaware of my thoughts, Nora concentrated on
her fingers. “My mother disappeared when I was young,” she said in
a voice as guarded and searching as I imagined mine had been. “My
dad says she was killed by werewolves, which is why he became a
Hunter. He never had proof of it, but he’s spent his whole life
protecting me and preparing me.”

“
For what?” I asked
quietly.

“
For them to try to take
me, too.” She let out a slow breath as though they were words she
hadn’t spoken out loud before either. “But it doesn’t make sense to
me. He’s told me the story of her disappearance several times, but
it doesn’t add up and it changes every time he tells
it.”

“
Have you tried pointing
that out?” I asked cautiously. I worried she would stop talking and
hide behind her defensive persona if I asked the wrong
question.

She shook her head, then turned so I could
see her face. Her fingers stayed knotted in the cloth of my pants
as though it kept her grounded. “Can you imagine what it’s like
living with a father who’s convinced his daughter is going to be
killed by werewolves any day? I was escorted to school, then
afterwards when other kids were at play dates or sleepovers, I
learned how to clean a gun and make my own bullets. I owned my
first twenty-two when I was eight, and could shoot it with a
nickel’s accuracy a year later.” Her eyes studied the couch, her
gaze hard as she saw past the leather. “I took martial arts,
fencing, boxing, anything my dad thought would help me later. He
didn’t let me have any friends, and fired someone if they talked to
me too long.” She paused, the outrage she felt etched on her
face.

“
That’s horrible,” I said
softly. My own problems with my parents diminished and I felt bad
for snapping at my mother when she was only concerned for my
wellbeing.

“
That’s why I went out with
Jerome and the others. I wanted to get away and prove to my dad
that I could handle myself.” She gave a humorless laugh. “But look
at me now.”

I hesitated, but the loss in her eyes
gripped my thoughts. I reached out a hand and put my fingers under
her chin, tipping it up so she would look at me. “Nora, you saved
my life. You could have given up on me and left, but you didn’t.
That’s a daughter any father should be proud of.”

Her eyes held her want to believe my words.
I felt an echoing response in my heart for my own father’s
approval, to be able to go home again or live my life the way I
wanted. Her lips eventually twitched up in a small smile. “I don’t
know if he would agree with me saving a werewolf.”

“
The werewolf you saved is
grateful regardless,” I responded.

She smiled her soft smile and turned her
back to the couch again with a satisfied breath. Her hair brushed
against my knee, leaving several strands hanging on the fabric of
my jeans. This time, I steeled my nerves and reached out. Her black
strands were as soft as her true smile. I let them play between my
fingers and watched her shoulders tense when she realized what I
was doing.

She turned slowly, her eyes on her hair in
my palm. “Untying a knot,” I lied.

She smiled and pushed up on the couch so
that she sat next to me. She lifted a hand, then hesitated. My
heart started to pound and I looked away, unsure I could trust the
feelings that thundered through my mind. Her fingers touched my
hair, soft at first, then with more confidence. I looked back and
found her watching me, waiting to see my response. When I didn’t
say anything, her lips quirked at the corners. “I thought there
might be a lion hidden under this golden mane.”

I laughed in surprise, then winced before I
could hide it. “Haven’t seen a barber in a while,” I admitted
quickly to chase away the concern that flitted across her face.

Her fingers toyed with the dark blond
strands that fell unruly across my forehead. “It suits you,” she
decided.

“
Thank you,” I replied. “I
thought I was more of the bear type.”

She shook her head, her eyes serious with
only a hint of teasing laugh lines around the edges. “Only a lion
could keep this pack under control. You’ve done a good job
here.”

A tremor ran up my spine at the words I had
always longed to hear. Two was not an easy life, and the deaths of
my comrades weighed heavily on my shoulders. Appreciation was far
short with the tempers and compulsions of too many Alphas and
headstrong grays living together. “It’s nice to hear once in a
while,” I admitted.

She touched my arm, then lifted it up so she
could lean against my uninjured side. I lowered my hand back down
slowly and let it rest gently at her waist, hoping my fingers
didn’t tremble the way my heart did. “It’s nice to be appreciated,”
she agreed, her head on my shoulder. I turned my face into her hair
and closed my eyes as her heady scent of vanilla and sunflowers
filled my nose.

I knew I was falling for her, and even the
thought that she was a Hunter’s daughter couldn’t stop the way my
heart pounded at her nearness. Werewolves mated for life. I
wondered what Mom would say if she knew my heart was being stolen
by the girl she loathed. I then realized with a start that she
already guessed, and her vehemence against Nora was her way of
protecting me.

I frowned into Nora’s hair. She tucked her
feet up underneath her and her breathing slowed into a light,
steady rhythm. I needed to distance myself from her, but I couldn’t
leave the couch. Her presence was too comforting. I closed my eyes
and let my head rest back, her quiet breathing a gentle
counterbalance to the whirlwind of my thoughts.

***

It took two days until I felt ready to spar
again, and then I was pushing it. Drake and Zach ran through the
forms with me. My body knew them without thought, but the pain in
my side made it difficult to perform several of the moves. I ran
through them carefully until I could push past the pain. The gray
coats didn't comment at my slow progress and waited patiently for
me to keep up.

After several hours had passed, Zach cleared
his throat and I looked up to see Brian and Ben watching us from
the door. “Up for a run, old man?” Ben asked.

“
Anytime,” I shot back.
“And I'm only a year older than you.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “We'll see about that.”
The brothers left and I heard Brian chuckle down the hall.

I punched the bag next to me. It hit the
wall with a resounding thud, but the motion sent a slice of pain
through my side so sharp my breath caught.

“
You sure you should be
phasing?” Drake asked. He kept his eyes on the velcro of his
sparring gloves that he detached and fastened again.

It was all I could do to keep from attacking
him. I had to remind myself that my frustrations were toward Brian
and Ben, and most of all my injury that should no longer be
bothering me. I let out a breath slowly and walked from the room
without replying.

Traer caught up to me in the hall. “Phasing,
really? Without need?”

“
You know how it is,” I cut
him off before he could protest further. “I appreciate Drake and
Zach running to my second mother for help.”