Read Online Reflected (Silver Series) by Rhiannon Held - Free Book Online
Authors: Rhiannon Held
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job. And now Tom was talking about friends, and that was her father’s fault. “I don’t have any problems with Silver.”
“Good.” Her father paused at the door, maybe thinking about saying something else, but he left it at that.
Felicia bit her lip. She couldn’t let him go with that kind of good-bye. She threw her arms around him for a quick hug. “Watch out for helicopters. They said on TV they hunt wolves that way up there.”
Her father petted her hair. “I will.”
6
Over the next week, Silver didn’t know if Felicia was being particularly effective in her efforts, but she certainly worked hard at something Silver didn’t understand. Susan pronounced herself satisfied with the girl, even impressed with her intensity, so Silver put off their talk. Cowardly, she supposed, but as long as the girl was working on something, why push her harder?
A distraction arrived at the end of the week, in any case. Portland spoke with Silver over a distance to warn her that she wished to meet with a Roanoke but didn’t mention the reason. Silver didn’t press her, but the omission made her all the more curious when she opened the door to the den that morning and invited Portland and her beta in. Pierce stood just inside, watching. He didn’t have John’s build to hulk even with his wild self dominant, but he watched with an intensity that the visitors couldn’t miss, ears tight on them.
“Roanoke,” Portland said, and they embraced on the doorstep. Two less familiar alphas might have shaken hands to test each other’s grip, but this was an even deeper offering and testing of trust. Portland was a short woman, black of hair and dusky of skin, and her wild self had a hint of reddish sand mixed among the gray. Silver paid close attention to that wild self to find what Portland was hiding in her tame self’s body language, because she was hiding something. That was clear enough.
“My beta, Craig.” Portland motioned the man forward. He was square jawed and stubborn looking, tame and wild self alike.
“And you without any hackles to raise,” Death said. He came to sniff the newcomers as Silver’s wild self should have, had she still been alive.
Silver drew a deep, calming breath. Death wasn’t wrong. She did not like Portland’s beta at all. She had to dig mental fingertips into the name to avoid losing it in a rush of anger. Before Dare had bled the worst of the silver from her veins, this man—Craig—had been in favor of killing her. Her own memories of that time were too jumbled to remember that, but Dare had let it slip once to explain his avoidance of the man.
But as Roanoke, she had to set that aside. She had only words to hold against this man, not actions. Not even words she’d heard herself. So she would be polite but wary.
Death’s attention lingered on Portland’s wild self, which surprised Silver. She would have expected him to nip and harass Craig’s. Death held his nose close to Portland’s flank for several moments, then sneezed and wandered off. When he opened his mouth, his voice was a wail of a newborn, slicing right through defenses to the pure emotion beneath. Protect. Protect the cub.
Silver closed her eyes. That child was dead. She’d heard Death use that voice once before. One of Portland’s, lost during shifting. She opened them again and gestured to dismiss Pierce. This was definitely private business, and he knew to wait within easy distance, should she need him. When he was gone, she spoke. “You can’t be very far along. I can hardly smell it.”
Craig jerked in surprise and Portland smiled in satisfaction. “I told you she’d figure it out.” She patted his shoulder teasingly but sobered quickly. “That’s why we need to talk to you.”
“Come in.” Silver gestured for them to precede her deeper into the den. She hung back to speak to Tom, who was waiting just out of sight, curiosity quivering beneath the surface of all his muscles. “Get some food
“Good.” Her father paused at the door, maybe thinking about saying something else, but he left it at that.
Felicia bit her lip. She couldn’t let him go with that kind of good-bye. She threw her arms around him for a quick hug. “Watch out for helicopters. They said on TV they hunt wolves that way up there.”
Her father petted her hair. “I will.”
6
Over the next week, Silver didn’t know if Felicia was being particularly effective in her efforts, but she certainly worked hard at something Silver didn’t understand. Susan pronounced herself satisfied with the girl, even impressed with her intensity, so Silver put off their talk. Cowardly, she supposed, but as long as the girl was working on something, why push her harder?
A distraction arrived at the end of the week, in any case. Portland spoke with Silver over a distance to warn her that she wished to meet with a Roanoke but didn’t mention the reason. Silver didn’t press her, but the omission made her all the more curious when she opened the door to the den that morning and invited Portland and her beta in. Pierce stood just inside, watching. He didn’t have John’s build to hulk even with his wild self dominant, but he watched with an intensity that the visitors couldn’t miss, ears tight on them.
“Roanoke,” Portland said, and they embraced on the doorstep. Two less familiar alphas might have shaken hands to test each other’s grip, but this was an even deeper offering and testing of trust. Portland was a short woman, black of hair and dusky of skin, and her wild self had a hint of reddish sand mixed among the gray. Silver paid close attention to that wild self to find what Portland was hiding in her tame self’s body language, because she was hiding something. That was clear enough.
“My beta, Craig.” Portland motioned the man forward. He was square jawed and stubborn looking, tame and wild self alike.
“And you without any hackles to raise,” Death said. He came to sniff the newcomers as Silver’s wild self should have, had she still been alive.
Silver drew a deep, calming breath. Death wasn’t wrong. She did not like Portland’s beta at all. She had to dig mental fingertips into the name to avoid losing it in a rush of anger. Before Dare had bled the worst of the silver from her veins, this man—Craig—had been in favor of killing her. Her own memories of that time were too jumbled to remember that, but Dare had let it slip once to explain his avoidance of the man.
But as Roanoke, she had to set that aside. She had only words to hold against this man, not actions. Not even words she’d heard herself. So she would be polite but wary.
Death’s attention lingered on Portland’s wild self, which surprised Silver. She would have expected him to nip and harass Craig’s. Death held his nose close to Portland’s flank for several moments, then sneezed and wandered off. When he opened his mouth, his voice was a wail of a newborn, slicing right through defenses to the pure emotion beneath. Protect. Protect the cub.
Silver closed her eyes. That child was dead. She’d heard Death use that voice once before. One of Portland’s, lost during shifting. She opened them again and gestured to dismiss Pierce. This was definitely private business, and he knew to wait within easy distance, should she need him. When he was gone, she spoke. “You can’t be very far along. I can hardly smell it.”
Craig jerked in surprise and Portland smiled in satisfaction. “I told you she’d figure it out.” She patted his shoulder teasingly but sobered quickly. “That’s why we need to talk to you.”
“Come in.” Silver gestured for them to precede her deeper into the den. She hung back to speak to Tom, who was waiting just out of sight, curiosity quivering beneath the surface of all his muscles. “Get some food
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