Silver Kiss

SILVER KISS

an urban wolf novel

by

NAOMI CLARK

QUEEREDFICTION PRESS

Gillitts, Durban

Republic of South
Africa.

www.queeredfiction.com

QUEEREDFICTION PRESS

First published by
QueeredFiction
in
2010

Copyright © 2010 by Naomi Clark

The moral right of the author has been asserted. Any
characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly
in the public domain, are fictitious. Any resemblance to real
persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All rights
reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted—in any form or by any
means—without the prior permission, in writing, of the publisher.
Nor may it be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover
other than that in which it is published.

SILVER KISS

1
^st
Electronic
Edition

ISBN 978-1-920441-12-8 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-920441-13-5
(Electronic Book)

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About the Author
A former army brat, Naomi Clark is now happily settled in
Cambridge, living in a converted cowshed with a tank full of
catfish. She has been writing stories ever since she learned to
write. A lifelong fascination with dragons, monsters, magic and
ghosts eventually lead her to urban fantasy. Her short fiction has
appeared in a variety of ezines and she also writes a monthly
horoscope column for a local magazine.
Find out more at
www.naomiclark.net
.

Urban Wolf Series

Wolf Strap 0.5*

*Published in the
Queer Wolf
anthology

Visit
www.queeredfiction.com
for more of our titles

Dedication

This one is for my mum, just because.

Acknowledgements

There are always a lot more people involved in producing a novel
than just the writer. I’d like to thank James for not only being a
brilliant editor, but for his encouragement and support in the
first place. I’d like to thank everyone at Different Star, who
assured me this book wasn’t a horrific mess. I should also thank
Skelly, who helped come up with one of the key premises of the
book. And finally, I’d like to thank everyone who enjoyed Wolf
Strap and took the time to say so. Without you, this novel would
never have been written.

ONE

“I wish you were coming
with me
tonight.” I tried not to sound whiny as I said it, but couldn’t
quite manage. I glanced at Shannon over my shoulder while I fiddled
with my earrings. She was sitting on the bed, laptop open. Her lips
were pulled into the tight line that meant she was concentrating
hard and she didn’t look up at me as she answered.

“
No offence, Ayla, but I’m
glad I’m not allowed,” she replied absently. “The whole thing just
sounds...wolfish.”

I grimaced as I threaded
the gleaming golden hoops through my ears. “It is wolfish. That’s
the point.” And that was the problem. Lupercali was the biggest
night in the werewolf calendar and humans were not allowed. No
exceptions. Not even for partners. It was a tradition dating back
to Roman times and whilst we wolves prided ourselves on fitting
into modern society most of the time, Lupercali was
different.
Sacred
.

I was dreading it.

I still couldn’t believe
I’d moved back home at all, let alone agreed to be officially sworn
back into the Pack. When I’d first walked away eight years ago, I’d
vowed never to return. But
never
is a long time and people—even parents—can change.
After the brutal murder of my cousin by anti-werewolf group Alpha
Humans, I’d rethought my position on Pack and family. Luckily for
me, Shannon agreed to move down south with me—not that I’d have
come without her—and here we were.

In the three months that we’d been here, all
my parents had talked about was Lupercali, how I’d be officially
welcomed back into the Pack after so long as a lone wolf.
Traditionally Lupercali was a ceremony for the cubs, the night that
they became adults in wolf lore. But it was also a ceremony for
welcoming home strays like me, blooding and reaffirming us as part
of the family.

And it wasn’t that I didn’t want that. It
was just that… Well, I was a little bit scared. “It’s going to be
awful,” I said, aware of that whining edge to my voice again and
cringing internally at it. My wolf pawed at the insides of my mind,
mentally echoing my whine. “The whole Pack will be there, watching
me.”

Shannon looked up now, locks of sandy hair
falling from her loose ponytail to curl around her delicate face.
“You’ll be fine,” she assured me. “From what you’ve said, it’ll all
be over in a few minutes and then you can just get rip-roaring
drunk.”

I stared down at the tangle of necklaces and
earrings on the vanity. Most of it was Shannon’s. She’d told me I
needed to dress up tonight. Make the right impression. I glanced
back at the mirror, wondering if Shannon’s elegant gold jewelry
really looked right with my lip piercing.

“
I’m nervous,” I confessed,
pulling at the lip ring. “I mean Lupercali is so formal. I don’t
see why I have to do this massive ceremony just because I moved
back home. It’s not like I ever officially left the Pack in the
first place. I was never made outcast or anything.”

“
It’ll make your parents
happy.” Shannon was staring at her laptop screen again. I wasn’t
sure if she’d even heard me. I cleared my throat pointedly and her
head jerked up, eyes wide with surprise. “Sorry,” she sighed,
setting the laptop aside and rising from the bed. She stood behind
me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, kissing my hair.
“You’re going to be fine. Like I said, it’ll be all over before you
know it and then you can just enjoy the party. And Vince and Joel
will be there to support you.”

I thought of Vince, my best friend, who’d
determinedly kept me in his life despite the distance I’d put
between myself and the city, the Pack and my family. I’d missed
him. If only for having him back in my life, returning had been
worth it.

“
I suppose.” I tipped my
head back far enough for us to kiss, just a quick sweep of my lips
against hers, but it was enough to warm me up a little. “And you’ll
be okay here alone?”

“
I’ll be fine. I’ve got
plenty to be getting on with.” She nodded to the laptop. “Got a
meeting with my first client tomorrow.”

I smiled, that warm feeling growing. It had
been a big step for Shannon to move here with me. She’d left behind
a well-established PI business and starting afresh hadn’t been
easy. She had a good reputation but no local contacts. Before the
move she’d had friends on the police force and in local politics
that were happy to slip her information about abusive spouses and
tax cheats on the sly. Now she had to build all those relationships
up all over again. She hadn’t complained, but I knew she’d been
anxious.

“
I love you,” I said,
twisting on the stool so I could kiss her properly.

“
I love you too,” she said.
“Now get moving. You’ll be late.”

For the first few weeks that we’d been back
here, Shannon and I had stayed in Vince and Joel’s guest room.
Joel, an architect, had one of the bigger houses in Larkspur, a
custom-built wolf estate. They’d been happy for us to take up
residence indefinitely, but we’d been keen to get our own place.
The move wouldn’t feel real until we did. Now we had a small two-up
two-down on Foxglove, a slightly lower class estate, home to both
humans and wolves. It wasn’t much, but it was ours. At least until
we could afford something better, I told myself as I gave the front
door a sharp kick to get it open. Vince, who’d been rapping on the
door, leapt back as it swung open. It hadn’t taken either of us
long to learn that routine.

“
Oh, Ayla. I could build
you a better house out of twigs and straw.” Joel leaned out of his
car window, regarding the little house with sorrow, eyes gleaming
in the light from the street lamp. His lips were curved in a rueful
smile.

I straightened my shoulders. “There’s
nothing wrong with this house.”

“
Apart from the fact that
it’s small, ugly, crammed in amongst countless identical
houses—”

“
Alright.” Vince cut his
partner short, rolling his eyes at me. “Down boy.” He slung his arm
round my shoulder and hugged me against him. I nuzzled into his
leather jacket and inhaled deeply, comforted by the mix of leather,
whisky and oak rolling off him. “You ready for this?” he asked me,
guiding me to the car.

“
Absolutely not.” I
clambered in, silently cursing the clunky heels I had on. Where had
this myth started that high heels make you walk more gracefully? I
just stomped, convinced I was going to fall off them any
minute.

“
Relax,” Vince told me as
he slid into the passenger seat. “There’s nothing to worry
about.”

I nodded and stared up at
the house as Joel pulled away. I could see the light from our
bedroom glowing round the edge of the curtains and I pictured
Shannon sat on the bed, diligently preparing for her meeting. Then
I imagined Moreland Park bathed in icy moonlight and full of wolves
from all over the city, all watching me lined up with the cubs,
ready to be blooded and welcomed back to the Pack. My stomach
churned. I fiddled with the hem of my dress, picking at specks of
dust.
A dress, for God’s
sake
. A red dress at that.

Vince and Joel chatted about Pack gossip as
we drove, trying to draw me into the conversation about which cubs
would be blooded and how much their parents had spent on their
outfits. A total waste of money if you asked me, since by the end
of the night the designer suits and couture dresses would be in
shreds, scattered through the park. I dropped in a vague comment
every now and then, but that was all the enthusiasm I could
muster.

I stared at the bright full moon sailing
above the clouds in the inky sky. The February moon was called Wolf
Moon in some cultures. What better night for a ceremony like this,
when young wolves were declared adults and hunted for the first
time? Of course, wolf cubs were born with the ability to shift—my
mum was fond of reminiscing how I’d been born wolf and hadn’t
shifted to human until I was a week old—but to be deemed mature
enough to hunt solo was a big deal.

I’d been blooded age ten, Vince alongside
me, both of us almost frenzied with excitement. I hadn’t cared
about people watching me back then; I’d been proud, desperate to
shift shape and run off to hunt. Now all I could think was that
something was bound to go wrong. I’d fall off my shoes, or throw up
on someone, or pass out. Or all three.

I realized Joel was saying something to me
and forced myself back into their conversation. “Sorry, what?”

“
I said have you heard from
the police yet?”

“
Oh. No, it’ll be another
couple of weeks.” I’d marked the date on my calendar, highlighted
it and everything. I’d applied to join the police as a community
support officer as soon as Shannon and I moved back here. After my
Cousin Adam’s murder and the involvement of two officers in the
aftermath, I’d felt a need to redress the balance somehow. Make
sure no more kids suffered like Adam had.

Once upon a time, the police fast-tracked
werewolf applicants, eager to get the stronger, faster wolves on
the force. It had only taken a few nasty accidents for people to
realize that being stronger and faster than a human means nothing
if you don’t have the training and discipline to use those skills
properly. Now wolves went through the exact same screening and
training process as humans and fewer people got their bones
accidentally crushed while being arrested.