Page 20 of Bane of Hate and Silver (Primordial Inheritance #1)

Nick’s suspicions grew. There was only one past relationship that mattered. He’d never speak the name to anyone. Especially someone who seemed to be searching for specific information about the beings in Nick’s past. “Nope. I’m a one and done kinda guy. Maybe twice.”

Chad looked back and forth between them with a questioning look.

“Must mean you’re special,” Nick lied. “What about you?” Nick shot the question back at him conversationally.

Chad’s phone dinged. “That’s my alarm. I have to leave for work,” Chad announced standing. “Table this conversation?” Chad leaned forward and put the now empty beer bottle on the coffee table next to a few others.

“Sure.” Nick’s red flag alarm was flashing all over his brain.

“Will you be here when I get back?” Chad asked before pulling on his shoes and grabbing his black duffel bag.

“Probably.”

Chad leaned over Nick pecking him once on the lips. “See you in the morning.”

“Sure.” Nick knew he wasn’t disappearing again. He needed answers.

Nick waited only a couple moments before leaving the apartment after Chad.

He tracked the man to a side street, where he was picked up by a black Sudan with severely tinted windows.

Losing him was not an option. Nick frantically looked around for inspiration.

He found an easy to climb building, knocking someone over in the process of running to it.

Making his way to the rooftop, he scanned the cars on the street.

Desperately searching for the bland black vehicle.

He found the Sudan two streets over pulling up in front of a nondescript motel.

It was the type of establishment that looked like it housed people’s dirtiest secrets. So very curious.

Luca’s humanity regained control a few hours before sunrise.

He brought the hunt to a close, hours earlier than normal.

Some of them had a surprise wedding reception to attend.

The rest of the pack followed his example reluctantly.

Some of them, very reluctantly. It took him several minutes to locate the wolf-form of the teenage boy he’d offered a ride to.

Luca suspected that Ricky was in no hurry to start his new and abrupt life crammed into a place called the Den.

Not that Luca could blame the boy for wanting to leave the wolf in control of his mind.

He’d seen his father murdered; Luca knew what he was going through.

It took the Beta’s command for him to relinquish the animal inside.

After a few minutes of awkward silence and Ricky fiddling with the Bluetooth, Luca decided to voice something that had been nagging at his mind. “I’m sure your mother has asked you this, but, are you okay?”

Ricky’s hand fell from the dashboard. He froze, staring forward. “She hasn’t actually. She went into panic mode when she found out Dad was dead and hasn’t stopped since.”

“I’m sorry,” Luca said honestly. “Seeing a parent murdered is a hard thing to bear.”

“What would you know about it? You’re a Cain. I’m sure everywhere you go people worship the ground you walk on!” Ricky’s anger was understandable so Luca didn’t take offense.

“I am a Cain, you are not wrong.” Luca sighed.

“I also saw my father murdered when I was sixteen. He and the rest of my family were killed on the same night.” It was a harsh reality and, to this day, hard to admit aloud.

However, Luca felt that if someone had confided that they too had experienced his pain, it would have helped him process his grief sooner.

Luca glanced over. Ricky was staring at him. “Oh.” Ricky blushed scarlet; clearly embarrassed by his misplaced anger. “That sucks.”

Luca’s phone beeped. He ignored it as he continued. “It really does. It still haunts me. But, if you ever want to talk about what happened to you, now you know I’ll understand.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Ricky chewed on his lip. “Who’s Juliet?”

Luca glanced over and saw that Ricky had picked his phone up off the center console.

“Nobody. Put that down,” Luca instructed.

Ricky rolled his eyes but did as he was told.

“This is where you’re taking me?” Ricky almost laughed as Luca pulled onto the grass beside the Den.

“This is home,” Luca said, “for now.”

“Wow.” Ricky’s tone suggested that this was not said in wonder but in disdainful disbelief.

“Come on then,” Luca prodded. The sounds of revelry were already coming from behind the privacy fence’s chipping paint.

Ricky followed steps behind Luca as he entered through the front screen door. Luca spied Hayley through the back screen door, leading to the back porch. She was in the yard talking to her mother. She had somehow acquired a short white dress between the run and this backyard barbeque celebration.

“My girl looks great, doesn’t she?” Kyle asked while throwing an arm across Luca’s shoulders as he and Ricky entered the backyard. She did, of course, her hair fell in soft waves to one side, and she wore the smile of real love.

“Do you really need me to answer that?” Luca retorted.

“Nah, my opinion matters more anyway,” Kyle shot back.

Ricky snorted.

Luca had momentarily forgotten he was there. “Ricky, this is Kyle, the groom.” Luca pointed at Kyle and then Hayley.

“Awesome, another of the Alpha’s flying monkeys.” Ricky rolled his eyes.

“Well, you’re a bucket of cheerfulness, aren’t you?” Kyle quipped.

Ricky glared in Luca’s direction.

“Actually, I am neither flying nor a monkey if you must know,” Kyle added with a smile, tossing his hair.

Ricky narrowed his eyes.

“I’m just lucky my wife is celebrating a wedding tonight instead of preparing for my funeral.”

“Really,” Ricky said. It wasn’t a question.

“Our Alpha is kind of an overbearing control freak that may be losing his mind at this very moment…”

“Kyle!” Luca silenced him, motioning with his eyes toward Ben who had just walked through the back door.

“Anyway. This guy is our Beta and he’s a thumping good one.” Kyle whacked Luca on the shoulder. “Get it, ‘thumping?” he asked playfully.

“Shut up,” Luca replied, but he was teasing.

Ricky may have cracked a smile, whether with Kyle or at Kyle, Luca couldn’t be sure.

Just then, Ricky’s mother approached them, jogging up the four wooden steps to the back porch. “Did you behave yourself tonight?” she asked, moving to ruffle Ricky’s hair.

Ricky yanked his head away and glared at her, blushing. “I’m tired. Where am I sleeping?”

“Carson has made up beds for us…” Demetria began.

“Where?”

“My apologies Beta.” She nodded, a sign of respect.

Luca shrugged.

“This way.” Demetria led her son into the house.

Luca didn’t watch them go. Instead, he was distracted by a tugging on his hand. The girl who had greeted him at the preserve was pulling him toward the makeshift dance floor, as music boomed from a large stereo. “Not tonight,” he said, pulling his hand back.

“But you’ve danced with me before,” she whined.

“Not tonight.”

“Your rejection is to my advantage, thanks dude,” Kip whispered to Luca as he passed him.

The woman giggled as Kip scooped her into his arms.

Luca walked over to sit on the picnic table bench. He glanced up. The sunrise was a smearing of vibrant colors painted across the sky.

“He looks happy, doesn’t he?”

“Huh?” Luca asked, focusing on Hayley, who had sat down next to him.

“Luca, are you alright? You seem…” Hayley started.

“Distracted. I know. It’s nothing,” Luca replied staring past the partying pack.

Hayley patted his arm.

There were many times over the years when Luca wished this pack had never found him.

He needed a pack, all wolves did, but he sometimes wished he wasn’t under Carson’s thumb.

His obsessive, controlling personality was a lot to live with.

But that was the price he paid, and it was well worth the cost of having Kyle and Hayley in his life.

Carson scowled as he watched the Reynolds girl walk over and introduce herself to Demetria.

A young and beautiful prize she would have been.

A radiant, white, wolf for a queen and bedfellow.

This was extremely rare and, in fact, why he’d chosen to enter into talks with her father for her in the first place.

The whelp he’d helped raise had scorned him.

Carson would not easily forgive Kyle’s audacity.

However, his long forgotten ex-girlfriend was a good distraction for his rage.

Even if she does have a brat child with her.

Max bounded up next to Carson, delivering the beer he’d instructed him to retrieve ages ago. He grabbed it from him and dismissed the hyperactive spaz with a wave of his hand.

Carson’s scowl deepened as Kyle wrapped his arms around the beautiful young wolf and whispered in her ear. She giggled and the pair headed to the dance floor.

Carson had decided to stay Kyle’s punishment because he felt Luca’s loyalty waning.

He couldn’t afford to lose such a reputable Beta.

Even if he was the freak who’d lost his family in a fire, he was a Cain, that meant something in pack life.

He would allow this marriage to stand and grant the traitor mercy, solely to regain Luca’s obedience.

“Such a waste,” he said aloud, still looking the Reynolds girl up and down.

“You did a good thing,” Ben said, approaching Carson from his right. This man should be his Beta. He was loyal. However, he was also mysterious. He refused to talk about his past. All Carson had gathered is that he was old and that he hated vampires, which was enough for him.

“Did I?” Carson sneered as Kyle kissed the woman he’d had no right to claim.

He’d taken her from him. It stung, but his pride would never allow this fact to become public knowledge.

Kyle’s punishment would come one day. This slight could not go unanswered forever.

However, before he could enact justice, he’d have to see Luca’s friendship with the traitor come to an end. Luca needed to fall back in line. Now .