Crimson (The Silver Series Book 3) (7 page)

“
I’m fine,” I said
reflexively, then realized it was true. I could stand without pain.
My leg gave a mild throb to remind me of what had happened, but
that was all. I flexed my calf. “I really am fine.”

The smile I remembered played about her
mouth. “I’m glad to hear it. I was worried about you.” Her lips
trembled and a wet sheen touched her eyes. “I’m so sorry about
breaking down like that.”

“
Hey now, none of that.” I
sat on the bed next to her and she leaned against me as if she
desperately needed contact with someone familiar. “You’ve been
through a lot. You’re entitled to a breakdown as long as I get the
next one.”

She sniffed and wiped away a tear. “Deal,”
she said with a small laugh.

She fell silent for a moment, then asked,
“Who are Renee and Colleen?”

My gut clenched, but I forced my voice to
remain emotionless. “Where did you hear those names?”

“
Just before we got here.
You were having a fever dream in the car and you kept saying them.
I couldn’t get you to wake up.”

The memory of faces peering down at me
surfaced and I rubbed my eyes. I took a calming breath. “Renee was
my girlfriend, and Colleen was my sister.” My throat tightened on
the last part.

“
Was?” she pressed
gently.

“
Colleen died in a car
accident, the same accident I should have died in, that I remember
dying in.”

“
Oh.” She fell silent for a
moment, a finger tracing circles on the knee of her pajama pants,
then she said, “And Renee?”

“
What about
her?”

“
You said was with her,
too. Did she break up with you?”

A laugh caught in my throat and died away.
“I could have broken up with her.”

Grace shook her head. “Uh-uh. You’re too
nice. I don’t think you could do that to someone.”

I stared at her. “You definitely have a
warped view of who I am.”

“
Do I?” she asked
quietly.

I started to argue, then shook my head. “No,
she didn’t break up with me. I died, remember? They probably had a
funeral for me and everything. Given what I am now, I can’t go back
anyway. So yeah, she was my girlfriend. End of story.”

“
Ouch,” Grace said and I
regretted my harsh tone.

She was about to say something else when the
door to the room opened and a girl with dark brown hair and grayish
eyes poked her head in. Grace’s hand found mine and I squeezed it
to reassure her. The girl gave us a warm smile upon finding us
awake. “Breakfast is on. Anyone in the mood for Mrs. Carso’s famous
waffles?”

“
Sounds good,” I replied. I
nudged Grace with my shoulder and she nodded.

“
I’m Taye,” the girl said,
“Another of the werewolves who live here.”

“
How many are there?” I
asked, curious.

“
Well, you met Jet and
Jaze. Mouse doesn’t stay here, but he and Brock visit a lot to
eat.” A smile touched her eyes. “You’ll see Brock the most,
especially at dinner. Mouse is more of the silent type.”

“
I noticed
that.”

She tipped her head, thinking. “Other than
that, Nikki is Jaze’s girlfriend, but she’s human, Meg and Roger’s
daughter.” Grace’s fingers tightened at their names but she didn’t
say anything. “Chet’s another werewolf, but you probably won’t see
him for a while.”

“
Why’s that?” I
pressed.

“
He’s the Alpha of the
school pack. He and Jaze keep tabs on each other, but he doesn’t
interfere, most of the time.” Her eyes glittered darkly when she
said that, but she continued, “Then you have Jaze’s mom who’s not a
werewolf but manages to keep us all in line. She’s the nicest
person you’ll ever meet.”

My heart turned over at her statement. It
was the way my dad always introduced my mom.

“
Anyway,” Taye concluded,
“Breakfast is on and there’re places at the table for both of
you.”

I thanked her and she disappeared, leaving
the door open a crack.

“
I think this was her
room,” Grace said quietly, her voice soft but steady.

“
How can you tell?” I asked
in surprise.

“
Her scent.” She took a
breath. “You’re a werewolf now. You need to learn to use your nose.
You’d be surprised how much you can learn by someone’s
scent.”

I took a deep breath and my eyes widened at
Taye’s scent on the blankets and carpet. I wondered how I had
missed it. I also smelled Jet, Jaze, his mother, and a very faint
scent of someone else who must have inhabited the house before
them. “That’s almost creepy,” I whispered.

“
It’s handy if you’re on
the lookout for Hunters,” Grace whispered back.

“
Do they smell differently
than humans? I hadn’t noticed.”

She shook her head. “They are humans, but
you can usually smell a large amount of silver on them, you know,
for their weapons.”

“
Oh.” I paused, then smiled
and whispered, “Why are we whispering?”

“
I don’t know,” she
whispered back. “You started it.”

I laughed and pulled her to her feet. “Come
on. I can’t remember the last time we ate, and either my
metabolism's messed up, or the wolf inside me is going to start
eating me from the inside out.”

***

“
It’s always nice to have
new faces at the table,” Mrs. Carso said as she set another plate
of fresh waffles on a hot pad.

“
Are you bored of our
faces, Mom?” Jaze asked with a gleam of humor in his
eyes.

Mrs. Carso’s mouth fell open, then she
laughed and hit him with the dish rag she carried. “A full table is
a happy one.”

My heart slowed.

“
Is something wrong,
Kaynan?” Nikki asked.

I glanced at her, then studied the table.
“It’s just something my mom always said when our family was
together, that’s all.”

“
Where is your family?”
Jaze asked in a neutral tone.

“
Northern California, near
the coast.”

Brock, the human with spiky hair from the
car ride, glanced at me, his mouth full. “You’re a long way from
home.”

I nodded and finished cutting up Grace’s
waffle, then slid the plate in front of her. “I put strawberry
jelly on it, less messy than syrup.”

She gave me an appreciative smile, then
began to eat slowly, sliding her fork across the plate to find the
next piece.

“
How about you, Grace.
Where are you from?” Brock asked as he drizzled syrup over a
waffle, then folded it up and shoved it in his mouth.

“
Originally from
Washington,” she said quietly. “But my pack moved when Hunters
found us.”

Everyone fell silent at her statement. Jaze
glanced at Nikki and I wished Grace could see the understanding in
her eyes. “You met my parents last night,” she said. “They used to
be the kind of Hunters you’re talking about.” Grace stopped eating,
but she listened. “Jaze helped them understand that not all
werewolves are bad. Now the Hunters work together with the packs to
keep humans safe.”

“
How long ago was that?”
Grace asked, her voice even.

“
Not long ago.” Nikki
glanced at Jaze. “Just under half a year?” Jaze nodded in
agreement.

A pained look swept across Grace’s face. “My
uncle used to lead our pack, but he was killed a year ago by
Hunters. My dad said he had it traced back to a werewolf, but he
was killed, too, before he could figure out who did it.” Jaze’s
face paled as Grace continued with a tear tracing down her face,
“My brother took over as Alpha until a true Alpha came along. We
were running when the men in suits found us and captured my fiancé
Gabe and I. They killed him in the lab.”

They stared from me to Grace, expressions
warring between disbelief to shock. “Oh, sweetheart,” Mrs. Carso
said. She touched Grace’s shoulder and Grace turned toward her.
Mrs. Carso gave her a hug and Grace sobbed on her shoulder.

“
I promised her I would
help find her pack,” I said, my throat tight. “But I don’t know
where to start.”

“
The Hunters can help us,”
Jaze said. Grace’s shoulders tightened, but she didn’t protest.
“They have better tabs than we do on the different packs across the
country.”

“
It’s a wonder they didn’t
kill all the werewolves when they had the chance,” Brock
said.

Jaze winced at his horrible timing. “They
tried, thanks to Mason, but we’re a team now with the same goal.”
He turned back to Grace. “They’ll help us find your pack and get
you home.”

She nodded and wiped the tears from her
cheeks. “Thank you.” She drifted her fork over her plate and I
realized it was empty.

“
Would you like some more?”
I asked quietly.

She shook her head. “No, but that was
delicious. Thank you.”

“
You’re welcome, darling,”
Mrs. Carso replied, taking her plate. “Let me know if you’d like a
snack later.”

I smiled at the warmth in her voice and
turned back to my barely-touched food.

“
How about you?” Jaze
asked. “Do you plan to return to your pack?”

My stomach tightened and I set down my fork.
“I don’t have a pack,” I said quietly.

“
Are you a lone wolf?”
Brock asked eagerly. “Mouse was a lone wolf until Jaze came along.
I guess he was just looking for the right Alpha-“

I shook my head and glanced at him. He
quelled slightly under my red gaze, reminding me that even in my
human form I wasn't normal. “I wasn’t a werewolf before I woke up
in the lab.”

Brock’s fork dropped and the others stared
at me. “They made you?” Jet asked, his normally level tone colored
with dismay.

I nodded. “They were using werewolf blood to
try to turn humans.”

“
Making werewolves,” Nikki
said, exchanging a look of shock with Mrs. Carso. “What are they
thinking?”

“
The perfect soldier.”
Everyone turned to see Mouse standing in the doorway. He dropped
his eyes and studied the floor at his feet, his cheeks turning
red.

“
He’s right,” Jet said from
his place by the back door.

Realization dawn in Jaze's eyes. “Soldiers
who can phase into wolves, heal quickly, are stronger than humans,
can see in the dark, and work in close-knit packs.”

“
They’d be unstoppable.”
Jet opened and closed his hands, creating fists so tight his
knuckles turned white. “With the right training, that is.” Taye put
a hand on his arm and he took a calming breath.

Jaze stood up. “We’ve got to stop them.”

Mrs. Carso cleared her throat. “Right now,
you’ve got to go to school.”

“
But Mom-“

She shook her head. “As far as we know,
Kaynan is the only one they’ve turned. Until you find out more of
what’s going on, rushing into things headfirst without any
knowledge of what you’re chasing will only create more confusion.
You’ll have time after school to worry about it.” She smiled at
Mouse. “Good morning, dear. Would you like some waffles?”

I fought back a smile at the same reasoning
my mother used that made so much sense it drove everyone nuts. Jaze
looked like he wanted to argue, then he sighed and grabbed his
backpack from the kitchen floor.

“
No, ma’am. Thank you,”
Mouse answered her question in a voice barely above a whisper. He
met my eyes for a brief second, then looked away quickly and
fumbled with the zipper on his backpack.

They left a few minutes later, leaving only
Grace, Mrs. Carso, and I. The house felt empty and smaller without
them.

“
Well,” Mrs. Carso said in
a motherly tone. “How did you sleep? Was the room
alright?”

“
It was very comfortable,
thank you,” Grace said with a warm smile. “You’re so kind to open
your home to us.”

“
It’s what we do,” Jaze’s
mother replied. She gave another smile, but it was tinged with
sadness. “My husband was killed by Hunters, so I know how hard it
is to trust them, but I would trust Meg and Roger with my life.
They’ve saved both Jaze and Jet.”

Grace nodded and tipped her head toward her
hands in her lap. “It’d be easier if I could see,” she said softly.
“The whole world feels like it’s out to get me.”

Mrs. Carso touched her arm. “You’ve been
very brave. Not many would hold up so well after what you’ve been
through.” She turned to me. “And I think we have you to thank for
that.”

I fought back the urge to laugh at the
irony. “I need a drink,” I said without thinking.

Mrs. Carso looked at me for a moment, then
slid into the seat next to Grace and sighed. “I can understand how
you feel. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I indulged a bit after Jason
was killed.” She gave me a chiding look that was softened by the
smile on her lips. “But I’d guess you’re underage, and there’s a
law against werewolves consuming alcohol.”

I dropped my eyes to the table. “Drinking’s
what got me here in the first place.”

“
How so?” Mrs. Carso asked
softly.

“
A car accident. I was
driving. I died, but here I am.” I swept a hand across the table,
then noticed the slight marks across the back. I looked at it
closer and traced the burn marks along the backs of my fingers and
the scars across my knuckles. “Kaynan!” Colleen’s voice screamed in
agony in the back of my mind. I closed my eyes and tried to block
out her voice, but my heart bled at her pain.