Silver

by Rhiannon Held

  Andrew could hardly think for a second, all his muscles paralyzed. “What? Who?”

  “He must have tracked that white-haired rabbit of yours out here. He’s got a knife to Ginnie—” Laurence growled a lower oath. “He’s not watching me right now, but I don’t think I have long … don’t say anything. He’ll hear you.” The sound took on the tinny white noise of a cell switched to speaker phone. Andrew’s muscles quivered with the need to do something—anything—to affect events three thousand miles away.

  “Now, now. I won’t hurt the pretty little thing. She’s too young for my help, anyway.” The new male voice had a Slavic twist to his consonants. Silver folded to the ground at Andrew’s feet. She curled into a fetal position and pressed her hand tightly over her ear. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Just tell me where I can find my Selene.” Silver started to hyperventilate, but Andrew was too frozen to do anything about it.

  “We don’t know any Selene.” Rory’s voice. Andrew winced to hear how weak he sounded.

  “White hair, bad arm? You couldn’t miss her. Ah, I see you do know her.” There must have been some expression on Rory’s face that gave it away, as the stranger laughed. Ginnie—Andrew assumed it was Ginnie—whimpered. “Where can I find her?”

  “Put her down, first.” Rory’s voice grew more firm. “Laurence! No!”

  A growl from nearer the phone’s speaker. “All of us against him, Roanoke. He won’t have time—”

  “No,” Rory said again, less sure this time. Andrew closed his eyes. He couldn’t imagine being forced to make that choice, Ginnie’s life or taking the stranger down. He’d probably choose to save his daughter too. But how had Rory let her get captured in the first place? No threat should ever have gotten that close to the pack house. How could he have let his pack down that way?

  “We’ve seen her.” Rory’s voice wavered.

  “But her trail ends here. She traveled somewhere. Drove, flew. You know where.” The stranger laughed again, timing all wrong. It was a normal laugh, but so out of place, it sounded mad.

  “Ginnie!” A new voice, desperate. Sarah’s.

  “Mommy!”

  “Would you like to tell me where, ‘Mommy’?” The stranger’s voice moved, farther from Sarah’s. Rory’s wife began to sob. Andrew jerked as that sound made his instincts scream even louder, demanding he somehow launch himself across the miles.

  Sarah drew in a deep breath to smooth her voice from the crying. “She just ran off that first night. I didn’t even have the chance to get a real meal in her, she was so skinny, but we don’t know where she went.”

  Even knowing every word was a lie, Andrew found himself believing Sarah. Her quivering terror only lent it credibility. Lady bless her, for taking the risk the stranger would smell it on her.

  “And you didn’t even notice which way she went, didn’t follow? Careless of you.” The stranger’s voice sharpened.

  “She left going south. Rory underestimated how fast she could move and lost her trail near Richmond.” Just the right note of suppressed accusation entered Sarah’s voice.

  Andrew held his breath. Would the stranger buy it? The man chuckled. “Your husband seems surprised by this information, Mommy.” Ginnie began to keen. “Where is Selene really, Daddy?”

  “Seattle,” Rory said, words heavy. Andrew clenched his free hand until it shook. No. No. How could that pussy throw away his wife’s bravery and just hand Silver over to her enemy?

  Sarah broke in again, panic making her voice stumble like water over rocks. “But it’s not our fault if she’s not there anymore. Promise you won’t come back for us. Laurence flew out there with her, and dropped her off with the pack. They said they’d take care of her. You didn’t stay long enough to know she didn’t run off again, did you, Laurence?”

  “No, ma’am.” Laurence’s voice came louder than the others again, startling. He must have kept his answer short to avoid an outright lie.

  “Much obliged,” the stranger said. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’d be more surprised if she did stay anywhere.” He sounded smug at his own magnanimity for not blaming them. Ginnie’s second “Mommy!” dopplered, then grew muffled, suggesting a dash to bury her face against her mother’s shoulder.

  Many voices started up at once, too many to make out individual speakers, until Laurence came back in isolation, speaker phone punched off. “He’s gone. Rory won’t let us chase—Lady damn it!”

  “At least we’re warned. And he doesn’t seem to think it will be possible to warn her, so he won’t expect it.” Andrew had a hard time making himself sound like he believed it either. He dropped to his knees to stroke Silver’s hair. “It’s all right. We know he’s coming. I’ve got to go get Seattle mobilized, Laurence.”

  “Of course.” Laurence ended the call before Andrew could.

  Andrew holstered his phone and picked Silver up like a child to put her on the bed. To his surprise, she stirred and struggled until he set her down on her feet again. Her cheeks were salty-damp, but she’d stopped crying.

  “I underestimated her bravery,” Silver said in a small voice.

  “Sarah?” Andrew nudged her to sit on the bed and only moved for the door when it seemed she was content to stay. She didn’t need to listen to any of the planning to come.

  “I dismissed her as being weak, but I do not know if I could have done the same in her place, deceived the monster that way.”

  Andrew rubbed the heel of his hand against his forehead. He’d underestimated Sarah just as much. She’d done what her coward of a husband couldn’t do, and given them a bit of an advantage. Not much of one, but every piece would help. “You’ll be able to thank her yourself when this is all over,” he said, and jogged downstairs to tell the others.

  19

  For all the events back in Virginia had seemed to take an eternity to happen, they took only a few moments to convey to John when Andrew found him in the living room. John bellowed down into the basement for Pierce, and their war council solidified in the dining room. Andrew leaned on a chair back to keep himself from pacing. John and Pierce and another woman who was clearly part of the pack’s muscle—what kind of alpha was Andrew, when he couldn’t remember everyone’s names yet? But he couldn’t worry about that now—waited more quietly at the front, heads bowed. It was easier for them, Andrew realized. They just had to follow the orders he gave. A smattering of other pack adults filled in at the edges of the room to find out what was happening.

  “We need to get the children safe first. That’s the absolute priority. He’s proved that’s how he gets to people, so our strength of numbers won’t do a damn thing if he gets his hands on one of them.” Andrew flexed his hands on the chair, cracking his knuckles.

  “Where are we sending them?” Pierce asked, running fingers through his dark hair. It eroded the pretty image, taking the style from artfully mussed to just plain messy.

  “I’m sure you have property somewhere near the edge of the territory, but if you can manage to mend fences with Portland, I think it would be better to join them. Being with a different pack should confuse the issue for our killer, and that puts our families behind their fighters, without having to draw down our strength here.”

  John looked blank. “Mend fences? We’ve always had an amicable border with Portland, but you were there last. Was Michelle angry about something?”

  Andrew suppressed an urge to put his face in his hands in exasperation. “Well, she noticed you’d stopped trying to jump her like it was a spring full, and cut most contact. To hide Susan, I presume. But if you let her know you’re no longer interested in getting into her pants, I think she’d forgive you.”

  John coughed, and the other two Were smirked. “I can do that.”

  Andrew nodded. “Speaking of your girlfriend, have her take your son to her parents’. Coach her in the usual scent trail stuff—shower, new clothes, don’t get out of the car on the way to her destination, stay indoors, you know the drill.”

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nbsp; Andrew looked to Pierce and the other woman next. “We’ll stay here. Silver’s scent’s all over the place, he’ll show up here eventually. I want a few people stationed on likely entrance points, too. Airport and train stations. Maybe we’ll luck out and get some warning when he arrives.”

  Andrew let John point people out, since he didn’t know the names—one got Sea-Tac and another King Street Station. Andrew pinched the bridge of his nose. Now they came to the part he hated. “Silver should stay here too, rather than going to safety with all the families. We can’t risk her scent bringing the killer down on them.”

  John drew in a ragged breath, but didn’t object, even with a growl. Andrew met the eyes of the other two, checking that he didn’t see any resistance. When he found none, he nodded to release them from the meeting.

  “Why not set my scent on the wind, to bring him right to us? When we expect him, where we expect him?” Silver startled Andrew by walking into the dining room. She stood straight, all evidence of tears gone.

  “No, Silver.” Andrew put a hand on her shoulder as he passed her on the way out of the dining room. The basement would probably be safest for her. She slapped his hand away and he stopped and gritted his teeth. “It puts you in too much danger. If you’re going to be credible bait, you have to go out somewhere alone. And if you’re alone even for a while, he could reach you before us.”

  “Kind of you to even bother to explain your reasoning.” Silver’s voice rose. “But you’re still not actually listening. You’re looking at me, thinking ‘Oh, she’s crazy. She’s just babbling again.’ That’s an answer to everything. You don’t have to listen to me, you don’t have to try to understand my arguments, you just have to remember I’m crazy.” She came to stand before Andrew, chin tilted to close the gap in their heights when she looked into his eyes. “Then you don’t have to feel bad when you lock me up. It’s for my own good.”

  Andrew clenched his jaw, and resisted the urge to reach out to squeeze her shoulders. Something told him she’d take it—correctly—as him trying to soothe her out of her burst of insanity. This level of self-awareness made his heart squeeze to watch, since he couldn’t do anything to help her. He couldn’t make her sane. But he couldn’t lie and tell her that nothing was wrong either. If she would even have believed him.

  “I knew it.” Silver jerked her head to the side, breaking their gaze. “You know why I’m offering to do it? Because someone has to. You know about that, Dare. Someone has to do the thing no one else will do. And no one will thank them for it, will they?” Her good hand clenched. “The monster wants me. He’ll follow me anywhere. I’m the one who can lead him into a trap.”

  “It’s not worth putting you in danger.” Since he wasn’t going to touch her, Andrew tried to put his concern for her into his expression. What was so bad about letting him protect her?

  “You can’t change what was already done,” Silver snapped, using her working shoulder muscles to hold her bad arm out wide and accusing. “And you can’t stop him forever. He will find me eventually. I’m tired of running from that truth as well as him. He might as well find me on our terms.” She slammed her good fist against his upper arm.

  “No, Silver.” Andrew took a good grip on her upper arm this time and propelled her to the basement. Whether she was crazy didn’t matter. Her idea was too risky. She was going to stay here where they could protect her. “You’re not to try it anyway on your own.”

  Silver didn’t struggle, just gave him a look of pure frustration and disgust, and went where he pushed. “I understand.” Her eyes flicked down like Death had said something, but otherwise her manner didn’t give any hint as to what she’d felt she’d heard.

  Andrew winced. He knew better than to think this would be the end of it. She hadn’t given in, she was just biding her time. They’d have to keep one eye on her while they kept the other out for the arriving killer. Dammit.

  20

  Silver ignored Death as they descended into the deepest, most defensible part of the den, not wanting Dare to hear that she had no intention of following his directions. It was madness to let the monster choose his time and place to attack them, to choose his strategy. Better to entice him in quickly, before he had time to think.

  “You really think he believed you?” Death commented, curling up near Silver’s feet. He used his favorite male voice, leaving Silver’s ghosts alone for now.

  When Silver didn’t answer once more, Death let his tongue hang out in a long laugh. “I know you better than that. I think he does too.”

  Silver rounded on Death once Dare had left her. “He can’t stop me. I’m going to do it. I promise you that. I just have to choose my moment. They can’t watch me every breath of every minute. They need to look to their own plans. Then I’ll run, and draw the monster away, so they can capture him from behind.”

  “I know.”

  Silver felt wobbly, as if she’d aimed a blow only to meet with no resistance. Death sounded almost … concerned? The taunting tone had left his voice. Silver stared at him, but there was nothing to read in the black fur of his face. He put his chin on his paws and settled in to wait, same as her.

  * * *

  Andrew had never been particularly good at waiting. He could sweat through it, same as he would sweat through staying human in the full, but it took most of his attention for the effort. If the killer found a commercial flight immediately, it would take him hours to reach this coast, longer if he couldn’t. But if he was related to the European victim, he’d gotten to North America somehow, so Andrew wasn’t willing to bet on him taking the bus now.

  Andrew took the first watch, wandering around in wolf in the backyard to keep a nose to the air currents. The currents got more boring as the flurry of everyone packing up and calling in sick to work and school died away, and the pack’s noncombatants left for Portland. The young, single Were who had remained behind that weren’t out by the airport mostly stayed inside, waiting for their turn on watch.

  The hours stretched on into the night, and Andrew took his turn inside to eat something and stretch out in front of the TV in the living room. He checked on Silver, but she was still sulking down in the basement.

  His phone’s ring startled him from a doze in front of endlessly repackaged sports highlights. He squinted at the number on the screen, realized it belonged to the woman out at Sea-Tac, and woke up very quickly. “Dare.”

  “I’ve got a Were here, but he surrendered quietly. No smell of silver. Claims to know you?” The woman sounded a little breathless with excitement. Andrew scrubbed aching eyes. Ah, to be so young. Who could be so stupid as to show up on Seattle territory now, of all times? Was the stranger playing a deeper game? He’d sounded far too crazy on the phone not to stink of it.

  “Dare? I’m not trying to cause trouble.” Andrew recognized Laurence’s voice after a beat, distorted by the distance from the phone’s inferior microphone.

  “Let me talk to him,” he told the woman, stuffing down his anger until he heard the phone being passed over. “What in the name of all that’s holy in the Lady’s realm are you doing here? Are you working with our killer?”

  “No, Dare. I swear it on the Lady. I’m here to help.” Laurence’s tone was uncharacteristically subdued, and Andrew could just imagine his tail-between-the-legs posture.

  Andrew put his face in his hand. He’d have to check Laurence out by scent in person to be sure he was sincere. They could use the support if he was. He was a capable enough fighter, given the right orders. “Are you insane? Did Rory seriously give you permission to come out here?” Andrew couldn’t imagine that the man had defied his alpha. Not Laurence. That would mean thinking for himself.

  “Rory’s going crazy. He knows we all think he fucked up, letting that guy get to Ginnie, and he’s getting paranoid about his position and the rest of the sub-packs, and he’s just—we need you back, Dare. Please.”

  Andrew got to his feet to turn on the overhead light. The single lamp he�
��d left on was casting annoying shadows. Better for his eyesight for things to be either bright or completely dark. “You should know why I can’t do that.” He snarled. “Especially now.”

  “No! I know.” Andrew could hear Laurence tucking an invisible tail again. “That’s why I came to help you. To … get away for a while, and allow you to come back faster.”

  The hesitation was heavy with something unsaid, but Andrew was too worried about a dozen other problems to bother figuring it out. Should he have Laurence come straight here to check his story, or somewhere unrelated? But picking him up from somewhere else would thin their strength even more. If Laurence gave anyone the pack house address, it wouldn’t get them here that much faster than following Silver’s scent. He growled for Laurence to hand him back to the Seattle woman. “Shove his ass in a taxi back here, so you can stay at your post.”

  Andrew ended the call and went to warn the others and find some coffee.

  When Laurence arrived and turned away from paying the driver, he moved like he was in pain. Andrew let him come up to the house rather than meeting him on the driveway, both to allow the cab time to turn out of sight, and also to verify his initial impression.

  The longer the man walked, the more unmistakable it was. No bruises were visible on Laurence’s skin, but that meant nothing on a werewolf. If Laurence was still in any pain, however minor, it meant the damage had soaked past his ability to heal it all at once. And it had been a long plane ride over from Virginia.

  “You working with our killer?” Andrew planted himself on the path downwind from Laurence. The man’s head shake smelled legitimate. “He the one that worked you over?” Another shake. John and Pierce slipped into the doorway, arms crossed. It reminded Andrew of how Rory liked to have a couple thug types standing by whenever he met someone. He must be starting to look like a real alpha. It disgusted him. He waved them back, but not before he caught Laurence noticing their body language.