Crimson (The Silver Series Book 3) (10 page)

“
Sorry,” Jaze and Nikki
said at the same time; they looked at each other and
laughed.

“
Your dad won't mind
getting us in touch with his friend?” Jaze asked.

Jet shook his head. “He'd do anything for
you guys.” A rare smile touched his lips. “Tomorrow is Alex and
Cassie's seventh birthday and they'd like everyone to be
there.”

“
Congratulations!” Taye
said, her eyes bright, while Jaze said, “That will be
awesome!”

“
That’s so neat,” Grace
echoed.

I glanced at her and saw the enthusiasm on
her face.

“
Birthdays are great and
all, but is this special for some reason?” I asked, looking
around.

Grace nodded and traced her fingers on the
back of my hand in a way that was probably just casual, but sent a
rush of heat down my spine. “Werewolves are able to phase after
they turn seven. Tomorrow night’s the full moon, so they might be
able to phase for the first time. It’s so neat to see the young
ones as wolves, they’re so much fun.” Her voice took on a wistful
tone. “I wish I could see it.”

I remembered the pull of the moon when we
were outside and wondered if it would affect me the same way it did
the others. “You can see it,” I said quietly. Faces turned to me,
but I watched Grace. Her brow creased and I could see the battle
she fought between wishing to see again and fear that it wouldn’t
work. “It couldn’t hurt to try,” I pushed softly.

“
Try what?” Mrs. Carso
asked.

I frowned and tried to think of how to
phrase it when Grace spoke. “Kaynan helped me see the night we were
chased in Utah. He was somehow able to project the images he saw
into my mind so that we could run together.” Her voice caught. “It
felt like having my sight back.”

“
It’ll work again,” I
reassured her. “There’s no reason why it wouldn’t.”

“
We don’t know why it
worked at all,” Grace said.

“
Does it only work when
you’re in wolf form?” Taye asked.

I nodded. “And we have to be touching. It
passes through contact somehow.”

“
Can she send images back
to you?” Nikki asked, curious.

“
It seems to work only one
way. But it works,” I said, turning my attention back to Grace.
“You’ve been in the house since we got here. It would be good for
you to get out.” Her lip quivered slightly and I covered her hand
with my own. “I’ll keep you safe, I promise.”

“
What if they find us?” she
whispered.

“
Then we have the best
group of fighters I’ve ever seen,” I said, meeting the gazes of the
others who smiled and nodded. “And then there’s me, but Jet said
he’d teach me something so I can do more than be a shield for
bullets,” I tried to find a comfortable position on the couch, but
moving sent another jolt of pain through my side so I sighed and
gave up.

Mrs. Carso touched my shoulder. “Is there
anything I can get you?”

The concern in her voice reminded me that
the bullet had been meant for her son. I shook my head. “It’s
healing, thanks. I’ll be feeling great tomorrow.”

“
Want some pizza rolls?”
Brock asked with his mouth full.

My stomach turned over at the thought of
food and I shook my head. He shrugged and offered the plate to Jet,
who took one, hesitated, then took two more. Brock’s eyes widened,
but the others laughed at him.

“
Still getting used to the
fact that someone else can match your appetite?” Jaze
asked.

Brock grumbled on his way back to the
kitchen to refill his plate while Jet ate the pizza rolls he
held.

“
Well, you’ve got a long
day tomorrow if you’re going to school and a birthday party at
night,” Mrs. Carso reminded everyone. “It might be a good time to
turn in for a few quick hours at least.”

Brock returned with a full plate and held it
high so he could pick his shoes up from the floor. Jet quickly
relieved him of half the pizza rolls and handed them to Taye who
hid them behind her back. They turned away when Brock stood up. He
glanced at the plate and his eyes widened. He looked at the floor
to see if he had dropped any, glared suspiciously at Jet, then
grumbled something about vanishing frozen food as he made his way
back to the kitchen.

Jet grinned and tossed Jaze and Nikki a
roll. When Brock returned, everyone was eating them. “Hey!” he said
indignantly. Everyone laughed.

“
Ready for bed?” Jaze
asked. He held out a hand.

I grabbed it and he hauled me carefully to
my feet. Grace rose and we made our way with the others up the
stairs. Nikki led Grace to her bed while Jaze helped me to the
mattress on the floor.

“
Are you okay in here
together?” Nikki asked in a tone that was careful not to cross any
boundaries, but also gave us an out if the situation was
uncomfortable.

Grace nodded. “I don’t know if I could sleep
without Kaynan here. Everything is still so new.”

Nikki looked at me and smiled when I nodded.
“Okay, let me know if there’s anything you need,” she said. She
held out her hand to Jaze and they left the room talking
softly.

“
They’re a neat couple,”
Grace said after the door shut and their footsteps faded
away.

“
They’re amazing,” I
agreed. I thought of Renee and let out a heavy breath.

“
Thinking of Renee?” Grace
guessed softly.

I was surprised she remembered the name and
rolled gingerly to face her bed from my mattress. “Yeah.”

“
You should go to her,”
Grace said. I caught the wistful, painful note in her voice and
remembered Gabe. “She probably misses you a great deal.”

“
She thinks I’m dead,” I
replied. I tried to keep the pain out of my voice and failed.
“That’s not a bad thing at this point.”

“
It’s not like you’re a
mindless monster,” Grace argued. “You’re a werewolf, one of a
couple thousand in society as far as we know unless the labs
succeed and created an entire army of them. You still have a heart
and a soul.”

“
Do I?” I asked
softly.

Her jaw tightened and she nodded. “Of course
you do,” she said firmly.

I shook my head. “I’m not so sure.” I took a
shallow breath and winced at the pain in my side. “I died, Grace. I
was dead. Who knows what they did to bring me back.” My throat
tightened and my voice dropped. “Maybe I lost my soul in the
process.”

She fell silent for a moment, then reached
out a hand. I took it and felt relief at the touch of someone so
pure and sweet, someone who gave me far more leeway than I
deserved. I pushed away the burden of my guilt and fell asleep with
her hand in mine.

Chapter 9

I awoke late in the day with sore muscles
and a tender side, but the bullet wound had healed for the most
part. I felt restless and wild, like the wolf side of me ached to
take over and run for the tree-lined horizon. I shoved the feelings
away with a rush of loathing for my werewolf blood and the beast I
carried. I rose from the bed, pulled on a clean shirt, and went
downstairs to find Grace and Mrs. Carso in the living room talking
while they crocheted.

Grace turned in my direction before I
reached the bottom step and Mrs. Carso looked up to see what had
caught her attention.

“
Good morning,
ladies.”

“
Good morning, Kaynan. You
look like you’re feeling much better today,” Mrs. Carso said with a
warm smile.

“
I am,” I replied. “I can’t
believe I slept so long.” I leaned down to give Grace a hug. Her
fingers brushed along my arm and I caught them up and gave them a
quick kiss. She grinned and I followed my stomach to the
kitchen.

“
There’re crepes in the
fridge with eggs and sausage if you’d like,” Mrs. Carso called out.
“It was hard, but I got Brock and Jet to save you some.”

I laughed and pulled out the plastic
container of thin crepes wrapped in paper towels. Even cold, the
scent made my stomach growl and put a smile of anticipation on my
face. If healing took a lot out of me, recovering made everything
taste that much better.

Mrs. Carso asked if we wanted to go shopping
to help pass the time until the others returned home, but shopping
had never been my thing and I was still recovering from the bullet.
Grace was obviously anxious to go, and Mrs. Carso reassured me that
they would stay in public places and she would call me on the house
phone if anything seemed suspicious. Grace was nervous to go
without me at first, but eventually left for the much-needed
outing.

I hated doing nothing. Even before the
accident, I could never just sit around. Jaze, Jet, and Mouse were
busy trying to track down the lab and said there was nothing I
could do until they had a lead. I tried to rest, but my mind
whirled at a thousand miles a second trying to guess what Tannin
would do next. I was grateful Grace got out of the house with Mrs.
Carso, but I missed her smile, her laugh, and the connection I felt
with her as I had with no other person even before the
accident.

Later, when she returned laughing and joking
with Jaze’s mom, I saw a shred of the confident, self-reliant girl
that was scarred when she lost her eyesight.

“
We found the cutest
stuffed animal kitty for Cassie and a dinosaur for Alex,” Grace
said, her face all smiles, then her expression fell a little and
she turned toward Mrs. Carso. “At least, they felt soft and
snuggly.”

Mrs. Carso gave her shoulder an affectionate
squeeze. “They’re adorable, darling. The kids are going to love
them.”

“
You’ll see them soon,
don’t worry,” I reassured her despite an ache that formed in my
stomach at the thought of phasing again. The pull of the coming
night had grown stronger through the day, and I could barely think
of the moon without wanting to phase and lose myself in its light.
I hated that it had so much control over me.

“
Thank you, Kaynan. Thank
you so much,” Grace gushed, oblivious of the dark turn my thoughts
had taken. She felt for my arm, gave me a hug, then turned with a
hand on the kitchen wall. “I’ve got to get ready!”

“
Do you need any help?”
Mrs. Carso asked with a touch of motherly concern in her
voice.

“
I think I’ve got it,”
Grace called over her shoulder. “I’ll holler if I get lost
somewhere.” She left through the door and I couldn’t help but smile
at the brightness of her voice.

“
It’s a good thing you’re
doing,” Mrs. Carso said quietly after she left.

I let out a small breath of air. “She
deserves to see. It’s horrible what they did to her there.”

“
It’s horrible what they
did to both of you,” Mrs. Carso replied, watching me. “I can tell
you don’t like to phase. It’s nice of you to do that for
her.”

I pushed the thought aside. “Does it bother
you to not be able to phase when everyone else does?”

She gave a small smile. “It used to. When my
husband was still alive, I wanted more than anything to run with
them on full moon nights.” Her smile took on a touch of sadness.
“But I’m just grateful for a son who is so responsible and cares so
much about others. He’s like his father that way.”

I smiled. “And you. You're both amazing. I
don’t know where we’d be if it wasn’t for you opening your home to
us.”

She gave me a warm smile. “It’s something to
do. Jason took out a life insurance policy before he died, so we’re
well cared for. I used to work because it was the only thing I
could think of to do to keep my mind from dwelling on everything,
but I really enjoy staying home even more. Cooking is my pleasure
and here there are plenty of mouths to feed.”

“
You can say that again,” I
said, thinking of Brock and Jet.

Jaze and the others met at the house after
school eager to go to the birthday party. We piled into the gray
SUV and set out for the countryside.

“
I still can’t believe your
dad gave this car to Jaze,” Mrs. Carso said, turning to look at Jet
from the passenger seat. “It’s an amazing gift.”

“
He said it was worth it to
help other stolen children find their way home,” Jet replied. His
voice caught at the end and he turned to look out the window. I
studied his reflection in the glass, but it gave away nothing about
the quiet Alpha who was steel and fire underneath, yet held the
tender affections of a beautiful girl who looked at him as though
he was her world.

“
Good thing you got the
grill on it, or Mouse would have smashed it to pieces against that
other SUV,” Brock said.

“
Good thing,” Mouse agreed
quietly from the back seat.

The thought of the attack made my stomach
turn. “Are you sure I should be going to this?” I asked for the
third time. “What if they track us there?”

“
We’ll attack them until no
one is left standing, then we’ll find out where they’re hiding,
call in the Hunters, and take the whole organization down. Right,
Jet?” Brock asked eagerly.

Jet nodded, his gaze still somewhere far
beyond the darkening countryside that flew past the window.

“
I’m guessing they have to
regroup after last night,” Jaze said rationally from the driver’s
seat. “I don’t think they expected such a fight when they tracked
you down.” He met my eyes in the rearview mirror. “They’ll get the
same fight every time they show up,” he promised.