New Age Werewolf Series Book 1: Taming A She Wolf

Part 29: Hidden

I couldn't find her.

I don't know how Amber slipped away, but I couldn't find her. We split up to mingle with guests, and suddenly she was gone. I felt so lost. I went to find Vida.

"Vida--"

"Looking for Amber?"

I exhaled heavily, feeling some relief. I'd found the person who could tell me where to find her. "Yes."

"Follow me." She whispered, then looked off to her mate. "Cole?"

Cole's head turned immediately. I inwardly smiled. Even among the buzz of chatter and the background music, he heard her voice distinctly.  He was at her side in seconds. "Where are we going?"

"To a place you should know about, both of you," she said. "Come on." 

I followed Vida to the garden, but then there was a small door hidden by brush that I hadn't noticed. Vida gave me a sad look and pushed the door open. The winding staircase was hidden by vegetation, too. This was another escape route.

At the top of the staircase was a small tower of glass. Moonlight streamed down from above but was hidden by trees on the sides. There were plants around the perimeter and  at the middle with a statue at center. It was of the Goddess holding a beautiful clear ball to the sky with wolves playing around her. I'd seen that statue before, but not in many places, and seeing it here quirked my curiosity. Movement from one of the corners caught my attention.

"Vida, is that..." Amber stepped into the light but stopped when she saw me. She froze in place, locking eyes with me.

Vida walked over to Amber, and kissed her cheek. "Talk to you later, k?"

Amber's eyes flickered down at Vida for a second and then back at me. She was uneasy.

"Amber..." Vida's voice lowered so I couldn't hear, but whatever she said made Amber relax, her eyes downcast. Vida turned with a bright smile. "See you guys later." Her steps echoed alon g with Cole's as they walked out the way they came in. 

I stood there looking at her. She was definitely caught off guard. She was definitely tense, but her eyes were swollen. She'd been crying. "Beautiful room."

"Thank you."

"The statue there..." I gestured to the Goddess statue at center.

"Actually, it's from home, an heirloom from my mother," she breathed. "She told my father I should have it. When the light hits it just so, I swear that ball the Goddess is holding glows."

 I looked around the room, and noticed a life-sized wolf statue in the corner. It was adorned with flowers. My eyes traveled back to her.

She gestured toward it. "That's a statue of Jaeger. Want to see it?"

I extended my hand to her, and she took it. She led me to it. It was a bit haunting; the statue was lifelike. I half expected the figure to jump off its resting place.  "It's...really something."

"Probably one of the best reproductions done," she said softly, proudly. "He has scars from accidents and battles." She crouched, and pointed at a small mark at the hip. "See? He had his appendix out, and here--" she laughed softly, running her fingers over a mark on its shoulder. "this is from a fight he got into with Jiro. Jiro was always jealous of Jaeger, especially when it came to how women liked him."  She ran her fingers over it tenderly. 

"You miss him." I could feel her pain.

She shook her head, and laughed, but tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Every damn day."

I came down next to her and held her from behind. "I wish he was here for you."

"You know what's hard--really hard?" she said softly. "They say when we cross over to the skies, we feel them everywhere. I felt my mother, but I never felt him. What is wrong with me? How could I not feel my twin brother's presence? I miss him more than just about anyone, I--" She stopped, and I felt her stiffen. "It's silly, of course."

"He loves you." I felt the need to assure her. "He loves you, I know it."

"I have one brother left, and I can't stand the sight of him," she said, shaking her head, her jaw tightening. "Maybe that is why I cannot feel Jaeger. In my heart of hearts, in the depths of all I am, I believe that Jiro had something to do with Jaeger's death." She turned into my arms. "I can't shake it, Ian. I can't shake it."

I drew her into my arms. "He is a man with secrets, I believe that, and your father is in the dark about him."

"Do you sense the darkness, Ian? The darkness around Jiro?"

"I do," I nodded. "I am actually afraid for your father. Jiro has great ambitions. He is losing allies despite his father's endorsements. He is going to do something about that soon."

"He just lost his beta," Amber shrugged. "and did you see Zuri?"

I stiffened, got angry. "She knows him, and knows him well enough to be afraid." She started getting up and I helped her, lifted her with ease. She gave a small smile but then sobered.

"You need to talk to Zuri."

"I know." It had to be me. She and I had a report, a bond of sorts. "It might be hard to--"

She put a hand on my cheek. "You can do this."

I nodded. "I will." I looked up through the glass ceiling. "Beautiful tonight."

"Yeah."

"You wanna sleep up here?" 

"What?"

"Yeah, we can sleep up here tonight," I smiled. "Bring a few lights, a laptop if we wanna watch something--"

"Like camping in the backyard?" she laughed.

Her eyes were shining in a good way, so I took her hand. "I think it'd be fun." I took her other hand. "What do you think?"

"Another time," She sighed.

I was a bit disappointed, but she did think about it, which meant she may change her mind if I asked again in the future. "Okay." I drew her closer to kiss her, and she yielded. She was getting used to that, and I felt a small victory. She had such duality; her softness and her firmness, her yield to me only to hold her own in a kiss. 

Suddenly, I saw light. I saw light in on my eyelids though they were closed. We broke the kiss at the same time to look at the source.

It was the statue at the center of the room. The glass ball was glowing.

We looked at each other and approached the statue. 

"What is--"

"Never seen this before," Amber shook her head, staring at the statue. Just then the light inside faded. She began to back away. "That was...that wasn't natural!"

I agreed, but I didn't back away. "That was supernatural, to say the least." I held her hand so she couldn't get too far. "We need to start researching this statue."

"Okay, in the morning," she squeezed my hand. "Can we go now?"

I nodded slowly. "Yes, let's go." Something inside felt the need to show itself in that moment, and now I needed to know why. As we left, I could have sworn I saw the eyes of Jaeger's statue glow, but I dismissed it as moonlight reflecting off the center statue.