Silver by Cheree Alsop Read Free Book Online Page A

an
attempted mugging instead of a werewolf death threat. They forbade
him from going to Mack’s anymore, paid off his debt on the car, and
set up chores for him to do at home instead. They also treated me
like royalty, making me wonder what Brock had said about his
‘rescue’.
    “ Some pepperoni pizza to
take home?” Mrs. Nelson asked, hurrying out the door after us with
a large sandwich bag.
    “ Uh, sure,” I replied. She
had sent me off that morning with a breakfast pizza of cheesy
scrambled eggs and sausage when I picked up Brock. I had been
grateful for it, but this was getting ridiculous. “You know you
don’t have to-“
    She cut me off and shoved the overflowing
bag into my hands. “Now, now, every growing boy likes pizza, don’t
they, Brock?” She ruffled his hair and gave him a fond smile.
    Brock grimaced and threw me an apologetic
look.
    I shrugged. “Thanks, Mrs. Nelson. I really
appreciate it.”
    “ Enjoy, and don’t forget to
tell your Mom that we would love to have you over for dinner some
night.”
    “ I will.” I hurried away
before she could tie me into any other commitments.
    “ He’s a nice kid,” I heard
her say to Brock. He mumbled something and they disappeared into
the house. I breathed a sigh of relief when the screen door creaked
shut behind them.
     
     

Mom had left a note on the counter. “Found a
job, have to go to training tonight. There’s leftovers in the
fridge and some money on the counter if you want pizza. I love you.
Keep safe.”
    I filled a cup of milk and took a couple of
Mrs. Nelson’s pizza slices into the living room to watch TV, but I
couldn’t relax. I ordered Chinese food, figuring that Mom would
understand if I didn't get more pizza, then paced by the door until
the delivery boy showed up. Unfortunately, he turned out to go to
our school.
    “ Hey, it’s you!” he said
when I opened the door.
    I stifled a groan and handed him the twenty
Mom had left.
    “ I was there during the
fight. You sure pounded those guys!” He gave a serious frown. “But
I don’t know if I’d go up against them. That Chet’s a bad guy to
mess with.”
    “ Tell me about it,” I said
under my breath.
    “ Huh?”
    I shook my head. “Nothing. Thanks for the
food.” I shut the door before he could protest.
    “ Hey, what about your
change?” he shouted through the door.
    “ Keep it!”
    It must have been more than I thought,
because a second later a surprised, “Thanks, man!” sounded.
    I sighed, sat back down on the couch, and
began to flip through the channels in the search of something
interesting. I ate half the food while watching a documentary on
dingoes, then threw the bag in the fridge. The clock showed
10:33pm. It was past curfew, but I wasn’t tired. I went in the
backyard and punched the bag a few times to work out the soreness
in my knuckles from the fight, but when I turned with a punch the
knife wound opened and started to bleed again. I gave up.
    The neighbor’s back door opened. The scent
of Chet’s girl tangled through the air.
    “ Where are you going?” a
woman’s voice shouted after her.
    “ Nowhere,” she yelled back.
“There’s nowhere to go.” She let the screen door slam shut behind
her and walked to the middle of the yard where she stopped with her
arms crossed tightly in front of her chest.
    “ Parent
problems?”
    She turned and glared in my direction. “What
business is it of yours?”
    “ None.” I shook my head.
“But this curfew sucks.”
    She gave a humorless laugh. “Not like my
parents would let me go out anyway with the wolves last night.”
    “ Wolves?” I asked
carefully.
    She walked closer to the fence. “Didn’t you
hear them? They were howling all over the neighborhood.”
    “ I must have missed it. We
were dropping off a friend.” Before she could ask any more
questions, I switched to the next subject I could think of. “I
didn’t see you at school today.”
    She shrugged. “Yeah, my parents made me go
to