Page 53 of Bane of Hate and Silver (Primordial Inheritance #1)

At that moment, she was pulled from the memory by a feral growl. Jules saw the woman stand and in one stride she slapped Jules across the face. Jules’s hand rose to her stinging cheek, but she did not move away.

“It’s your fault he’s dead,” Ricky’s mother shouted.

Luca waved as he approached a very confused and frustrated looking Tai. “What am I doing here Luca?” Tai asked, looking over Luca’s shoulder, seemingly worried about who might be inside the house.

“Honestly,” Luca began, “I need the truck and Monica needs you.”

“Monica does not…”

As if on cue, the front door opened and Monica walked out of the house and started toward them. She got half the way until she noticed the vampire lounging against Jules’s car. “Who the hell are you?” she asked.

Nick sat up. “Juliana’s brother.”

“But you’re dead,” Monica stated.

“I am,” Nick said. “But I am also living. I am, like Jules, living while dead.”

Monica narrowed her eyes and looked over at Luca.

Luca nodded and shrugged to indicate that what Nick said was true and yes, he was confused as well.

“What’s he talking about?” Tai asked, looking more confused than before. “One: Jules doesn’t have a brother, does she?”

“Apparently she does,” Luca told him.

“And two: what does he mean dead? Jules isn’t dead? She just walked into the house. I saw her. You saw her. What’s going on?” Tai stammered, looking from Monica and Nick to Luca.

“We’re going to tell you everything,” Luca said.

“Come on long-lost, surprise, twin brother,” Monica said motioning for Nick to follow her. “We’re going to need your help.”

Nick hopped off the car and followed her toward them with an expression that implied that he had nothing better to do anyway.

Luca turned back to Tai. “Monica has been keeping something from you.”

“I know. I’m the one who told you she was hiding something from me. What does that have to do with anything?” Tai asked defensively.

“It has to do with me. Me and Jules. She was hiding what she was hiding from you because it wasn’t her secret to tell,” Luca said.

“Huh?” Tai raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms.

Luca took a steadying breath and opened his mouth to speak, but nothing happened.

“Luca, what the hell is going on? You are making absolutely no sense.”

Luca sighed and tried again, but still, nothing came out.

“Let me tell him,” Monica requested, placing a steadying hand on his arm.

Luca nodded. Why not? He wasn’t having any luck.

“You know how I have a crazy obsession for all things supernatural, yes?”

Tai nodded.

“Well, part of it is because part of it is true.”

“What?” Tai asked.

“I’m a werewolf,” Luca said finally.

“And the reason Jules’s brother here said that Jules is dead is because she’s a vampire,” Monica added.

“Okay,” Tai began. “Very funny guys. Actually, you know what, it’s not funny. It’s ridiculous.”

Nick looked passed Monica at Luca who’d taken four steps back. In the same moment that Luca turned from man to wolf, Nick released his fangs and hissed. Monica stood motionless, between the supernatural predators and shrugged saying, “That’ll do it.”

Tai jumped and cried out in shock.

“It’s okay Tai.” Monica reached out and took his hand, which he yanked back, glaring at her.

Luca returned to his human form while Nick and Monica shielded their eyes.

“That’s impossible,” Tai stammered.

“Nope. It’s supernatural,” Monica said with a grin and everyone but Tai chuckled.

Jules didn’t know how to react. She couldn’t find any words. Not of comfort. Not of guilt. Nothing.

In a matter of moments, Kyle and Hayley were between Jules and the woman who’d slapped her. “Demetria don’t!” Hayley said as she put her arms out, blocking Jules from her attacker.

“She did this!” Demetria shouted, pointing toward Jules.

Kyle grabbed her as she moved to attack Jules again.

“No, she didn’t,” Tasha said softly.

All the supernatural beings turned toward the human girl.

Tasha stood and walked past the werewolves.

“Ricky would never put this on you.” She addressed Jules alone.

“He stood by you and Luca to the end. He chose you over his pack. Don’t let her take that away from you.

” Tasha took Jules’s hand and pulled her farther into the room.

Demetria looked stung, but without another word, she left out the back door. Hayley and Kyle follow Demetria out of the house. But Jules felt like she couldn’t move as her eyes again fell on Ricky’s body. “I’ll give you a minute,” Tasha said and left the room out the internal door.

Jules sighed deeply and fought back tears as she took in the young boy’s wolf form. “I don’t know how to do this,” she stated aloud as she took Demetria’s spot on the floor. It’d been years since someone that she cared about had been taken by death. Especially, someone so young.

She looked down at Ricky’s unmoving face.

Gently, she reached forward and caressed one of his velvety ears.

She let her hand trail along his neck, over his shoulder, down his leg, to his front paw.

She took it in her hand and kissed it. Then the tears started to flow helplessly.

One dropped onto his paw. She wiped it clean almost frantically, for no reason other than grief.

Her head dropped onto the blue, velvet, sofa where the blood of her tears added to the trail from the wound that had long ago dried.

“Jules it’s time.”

Jules looked up as Luca spoke to her. Monica had followed him into the room carrying one of Jules’s blankets.

Luca crouched down in front of her. He stared at her for a moment, taking in her blood tears.

She thought he might be repulsed by them until he reached up and wiped one away with his thumb.

His finger trailed down her cheek. She thought she should have felt embarrassed, or ashamed by the blood streaking down her face but she didn’t.

“We have to move him now,” he said softly.

Jules looked back at the unmoving form of the boy; wolf. She nodded and allowed Luca to help her stand. He hugged her. She wanted his embrace to make the pain go away. It didn’t, of course. But there, in his arms, she did find some comfort and peace.

With one last look at Ricky, she nodded. “Excuse me.” She stepped around him, his hand falling away from her’s slowly. She touched Monica’s wrist. “Use the blue one.” Jules spoke of a more precious piece of cloth.

“The one from Pelmoore Manor with the silver stitching?” Monica said skeptically.

Jules nodded. “For Ricky.”

Monica turned and went to Jules’s bedroom to retrieve the treasured quilt. Jules left the living room and entered the kitchen. She saw Tai hovering near the front door and saw Hayley’s eyes go wide as she joined them.

“You got a little something on your face,” Kyle said, smiling down at her.

She laughed twice sarcastically but smiled sadly up at him nonetheless.

Then Jules turned and walked back past the stunned-looking Tai. She sniffed as Luca carried the blanket-covered body out of the living room as she shut the bathroom door behind her.

Jules , Monica, and Tasha arrived at the small, hidden cemetery located deep in the forest of the preserve. It was farther than most werewolves ever bothered to travel unless they were bidding farewell to a loved one.

“I heard of this place as a child,” Hayley commented quietly as a hush fell over them all.

The werewolf burial grounds were deserted.

Jules had been surprised that no one seemed worried about being attacked here.

But, when she asked Kyle about it, he’d said not to worry.

He explained that the burial grounds were a sacred place.

That to disturb the peace in a place like this was considered treason among all werewolf packs.

They all knew that they were in danger, but both he and Luca were sure that Carson could never justify an attack of any kind here.

Luca came to stand beside Jules and put an arm around her after they laid Ricky in the hole they’d dug. Jules kept her gaze above the still body, instead taking in the view around her once more.

The little group had gathered on the top of a hill. Down one side, was a peaceful stream and the other, dense trees. Fog was rising from the ground in the night air. What Jules saw was painful and beautiful. She could think of no better place to lay this young soul to rest.

Demetria stepped forward, kissed a small wooden box, and placed it in the ground beside her son. “Goodbye, my loves,” she choked out almost inaudibly. Demetria stepped back and the silence stretched on as they each said a quiet goodbye.

Demetria began to cry, silent devastated tears. Hayley joined her, comforting the mother as she mourned the loss of both husband and son.

Jules closed her eyes for a moment and then let them fall on the blanket she’d had for over three hundred years. It was the last piece from her past. She felt that using it was a fitting way to honor the young soul and to say goodbye.

“I’m sorry,” she said, apologizing to the boy for the part she’d played in his death. You deserved more, she thought but couldn’t bring herself to say such a thing aloud.

Luca gave her waist a squeeze. She looked up and spied the tears running down his cheeks. Her instinct was to look away, but she didn’t. Instead, she took his pain into herself and held it in her heart.

Demetria freed a shovel from the soft ground and dropped a pile of earth onto her fallen loved ones. Silently and, to Jules’s surprise, she held the shovel out to her.