Free Azure (The Silver Series Book 5) by Cheree Alsop Page A

Brian
picked up the knife Nora left and chopped with surprising
enthusiasm. Seth proceeded more carefully, though not with the same
grace he had used under Nora's supervision. Johnny and Drake
appeared suddenly interested in something in a bowl by the
sink.
    I gritted my teeth against a smile at their
obvious diversions, but the look on Nora's face sent my heart
plummeting. “What?”
    “ You stood on the edge of a
cliff to save me from a flash flood. Who does that?”
    I shrugged. “Werewolves?” I said as more of
a question than an answer.
    Brian shook his head from across the room.
“I wouldn't.”
    We both looked at him and he sputtered, “I
mean, I would for you now, but not for some stranger.” At my look,
his eyes widened. “I'm afraid of heights.”
    “ I am a stranger,” Nora
pointed out, her eyes on mine.
    “ Not really,” I replied. My
heart did a strange flip at the way her gaze lightened.
    “ Well, I did shoot you,”
she replied, a teasing tone to her voice.
    I nodded. “There's that.”
    Traer gave me an accusing look but didn't
interrupt. Seth gave an audible gasp, then pretended like he cut
himself with his knife. I couldn't take the searching look in
Nora’s eyes and changed the subject. “So what are you doing
here?”
    She looked like she wanted to argue and I
realized she took the words wrong. I indicated the kitchen and
another faint blush stole across her cheeks. She smiled with
embarrassment. “Seth brought me some food yesterday and I could
barely choke it down. I promised to teach them how to make a few
more edible dishes.”
    Seth spoke quickly, “She made shrimp cabbage
wraps and lemon meringue pie for lunch. It was excellent.”
    The others nodded and my nose identified the
slight hint of lemon peel and cocktail sauce lingering on the
dishes in the sink. “And now?”
    “ We're working on chicken
cordon bleu with a side salad,” Johnny said proudly.
    I lifted my eyebrows at Nora and she
shrugged. “I don't know how you have all survived this long.”
    “ Lots of t.v. dinners,”
Brian put in helpfully.
    I crossed to a stool on the other side of
the counter and eased myself onto it gingerly. It hurt to sit up
straight, but I didn't let it show. The others watched me until the
silence became awkward. “Well, let's see if you can teach these
animals how to cook,” I prompted.
    “ With pleasure.” Nora threw
me a smile at the challenge and went back to the others.
    Traer took a seat next to me and watched the
cooking proceed. It felt strange to have a girl at Two. One of the
rules my mother strictly enforced was that no girls were allowed on
the premises. It felt like a boys only clubhouse, and many of the
werewolves had girlfriends in the surrounding cities that they
visited on occasion. Nora’s presence softened the edges of Two,
bringing warmth to the red rock walls and laughter to the hollow
corridors.
    I watched her fingers deftly knead the
chicken in a batter of breadcrumbs and butter and wondered when the
last time was that I watched a woman cook. Her hands paused and I
looked up straight into her eyes. Her brows creased slightly,
causing a tiny furrow to form between them. A touch of red stole
across her cheeks, making her green irises stand out even more. I
looked away and couldn’t explain how just meeting her gaze made my
heart race. Traer caught my look and lifted an eyebrow. I rose and
pretended like my side didn’t throb like a pit of burning fire.
    “ Where are you going?”
Traer asked.
    “ Can’t put off the
inevitable much longer,” I answered.
    “ Calling your mother?” he
guessed with a sympathetic grimace.
    Similar expressions crossed the other
werewolves’ faces when I nodded.
    “ Good luck,” Brian said
after me. “We’ll be here not getting our ear chewed
off.”
    I fought down a growl and left the room.
     

***
     
    “ So not only did you not kill her, you risked
your life to save her and almost died because of it?” Mom's voice
was