Page 31 of Bane of Hate and Silver (Primordial Inheritance #1)

Secrets Out

J ules lay motionless on Gabriel’s guest room bed while her sore body continued to heal.

She could hear him and Eileen arguing in hushed tones and had never wanted to be back in her own home more.

Gabriel had, yet again, brought up the idea that they should leave Aboit for good.

Jules had, once again, refused and then excused herself from the situation by claiming a need to sleep and recover.

Which was, of course true, but she also needed time to think.

Luca had saved her. He’d betrayed his pack to do so.

She needed to see him or at least speak with him.

“You can’t make this decision for her.” Eileen shouted a little louder now. “You’re being a misogynistic ass.”

“Misogynistic?” He snapped back. “Because I don’t want her to die!”

“Because you’re acting like your solution is the only one!”

Jules may not have gone that far, but he was being quite pig-headed.

Gabriel was protective of those he loved.

And he wasn’t completely wrong. It was dangerous to stay, now more than ever before.

However, if the Alpha was determined to see her dead, she doubted that leaving town would stop him now.

She also had Luca to consider. He’d betrayed his pack.

His life was on the line, same as hers was now.

Also, time with Monica was precious and so limited.

A human’s life was very short. She didn’t want to give up that time because of a little danger.

Jules stood from the bed, walked to the window, and peeled back the heavy drapes. A dripping, gray sky greeted her. A cloudy mid-day.

Jules heard a door slam and then that same door slam shut again.

Knowing the arguing couple had receded to their bedroom, Jules crept from the guest room, walked to the kitchen, and scribbled a note to let them know that she was fine and would talk to them soon.

As soundlessly as she could, Jules walked to the front door, pulled an extra pair of dark sunglasses from a basket in the entryway, and slipped through the door.

Jules’s body was protected by a sweatshirt of Gabriel’s she’d borrowed and a pair of Eileen’s pants that bunched around her feet and dragged on the ground, making her trip when she walked.

She pulled the hood up over her hair as an extra protection and began the trek home.

To her relief, the sun was completely obscured by rain clouds.

Her skin only stung slightly where the burns were still healing on her face.

Drenched after a minute or two, Jules walked straight through the center of town.

She didn’t figure that the werewolves would attack in the middle of the public street.

However, she wouldn’t have guessed that they wanted her badly enough to burn down the high school either.

There were days, not so long ago to her standards, that both species resided together in harmony.

The fact that this level of hatred still existed to this extent after three-hundred years was devastating. And it all started with him .

Jules kept her eyes peeled for signs that she was being tracked, but there were none.

When she reached her home, she walked over and pulled the spare key from under a piece of siding beside the front window.

All was dark inside. Jules walked to her room and stopped in the doorway.

Her duvet was missing. All signs of last night’s traumatic experience were wiped clean.

Her phone was off and plugged in by the wall.

“Monica,” Jules said aloud, shaking her head. A human above humans in her opinion.

Jules turned on her phone and swapped out the wet borrowed clothes for her own as it booted up.

Her phone chimed. She flinched when she pulled a shirt over the few cuts on her back that were still healing.

She’d picked a shirt that sat just under the burn on her chest. More cleavage than strictly necessary, but at least that pain could be avoided.

Her phone beeped several times, obviously receiving the messages she had waiting for her.

The first was from Monica. It said simply, call me when you can .

The others were from Luca. The first read, I need to know that you’re going to be okay .

The next, please let me know you are okay .

The next, when you can . The last, I’m going crazy. Please call me.

Jules replied to Luca first. She typed, I’m okay . Then she hit the picture of the phone under Monica’s name and the ringing began in her ear. Monica picked up after three rings. “Jules!”

“Hi, Monica.” Jules walked to her small living room and sat on the sofa.

“You’re better already? I’m kind of surprised, to be honest. You were in really bad shape last night. Those animals! What were they thinking?”

Jules’s phone vibrated in her ear. She pulled it away to read the message. Where are you?

Home, she replied and then placed the phone back to her ear.

“…But you’re really doing better?” Monica asked.

“I am. I should be completely healed soon. Wait...” Jules heard the noise of a mixer in the background. “Where are you?”

“I’m at work,” Monica told her. “Do you need me to leave? I can come over.”

“No. I’m fine.” Jules’s phone vibrated again. “Hang on.”

Jules looked at Luca’s reply. I’m on my way.

She put the phone back to her ear. “It looks like Luca is coming over actually.”

“Speaking of Luca. That secret you were keeping for him. Not a secret now,” Monica said.

“Oh,” Jules said, surprised. “How did you…?”

“I guessed, and he didn’t deny it. Now I expect the whole story. Promise?”

“Yes. If he knows that you know that part, then I can tell you everything.”

“Good. I’ll call you after I get off. I’m really and truly glad that you’re okay but I’ve got to go. I’m pretty sure I’m about to get fired.”

“We’ll talk later,” Jules told her and then Monica hung up the phone. Monica was so, very human.

Too sore to feel like moving anymore, Jules began to scroll through the apps on her phone.

A news clip caught her attention. “Reports are that, despite this act of arson, Aboit High will open again on Monday. Sorry, Kids,” the newscaster said over a video of fire trucks surrounding the school.

Ethan’s face popped up over the news clip while he reacted dramatically to what the clip was saying.

He was one of only a few humans she followed anonymously.

She never put her likeness on an app of any kind.

Jules’s doorbell rang. She tossed her phone on the sofa and walked out to get the door. “Jules…” Luca’s voice trailed off as he took in her appearance.

“Did you expect someone else?” she asked, making light of the situation.

Without speaking, Luca took two steps into the house. Dripping water onto the wood floor of her entryway. One of his hands went to the side of her face, his thumb tracing the edge of the burn still healing there.

She looked up into his face until their eyes locked.

“You didn’t do this,” she said, taking a guess by his expression that he was blaming himself.

She ran a hand down his arm, noticing several faded cuts across his skin.

Jules suspected that the glass in her back had not left him unscathed as he carried her.

“My Alpha did.” he said, guiding her very gently toward him with his free hand. She accepted the contact but cringed when his fingers brushed an open cut on her upper back.

He released her instantly, stepping back. He covered his own face with one big hand and then aggravatedly pulled it through his loose curls.

Jules approached him, running her hands up the soggy shirt covering his torso.

His bronze skin shown through the wet, white cotton, captivating her.

She traced his abs while one hand found her hip.

The fingers of the other tangled in her wet hair, tugging her head back gently.

His shoulders tipped forward to meet her height.

His whole body arching so she wouldn’t have to stretch to reach him.

His forehead dropped to hers. Resting there, he took a deep inhale. “Forgive me?”

“Luca, there is nothing to forgive.” Her hands wrapped around his neck, pulling him even closer. Soft lips gently met hers, tentative at first. This time it was her tongue that sought his. His mouth opened for her with no protest “Hips?” he mumbled, breathless.

“Unscathed,” she answered. Immediately his hands dropped to the body part he could touch without hurting her. “Ass too,” she said into his mouth with a small chuckle.

Without breaking the kiss, a feral growl broke from him. His eyes darkened and his large hands slid to her backside. Cupping her there, he lifted her off her feet. Her legs wrapped around him, ankles locking.

Luca squeezed the soft flesh of her ass.

She moaned into his mouth in response. He pulled out of the kiss, face dropping to kiss her jawline, neck, and then the exposed top of the uninjured breast. Her back arched lifting the flesh closer to him as he bit down gently, marking her as his own.

She realized then that it was true. There was no going back.

Her core ignited at the thought. The flimsy shorts she wore were poor concealment for the pleasure building at the apex of her thighs.

Her every sense followed the trail of his nose, as he left her breast and slid back up her neck.

He nipped at one earlobe and another low, rumbling, growl escaped his lips and reverberated in her ear.

In the back of her mind, in a faraway place, Jules heard her front door open.

“What the fuck Jules?”

The haze of lust caused her brain to stumble over the familiar voice. Luca set Jules gently on her feet and she immediately put herself between him and a betrayed looking Eileen.

“I can explain,” Jules said, hands outstretched toward her angry friend.