Howling to the Heart || Isaac Lahey

85.

"How do you guys have no blood bags?" Neriah asked, walking into Argent's study the same morning only a few hours after her arm had healed.

But when they first arrived, Mr. Argent was barely conscious near the front door. That was a sight none of them expected.

"Uh, we might have run out the last time you were here," Allison told her, cleaning up a wound on her father's head. "Remind me to get some later."

"Noted," Neriah said, dropping down on the couch behind where Scott and Isaac were seated in front of the desk. "Mind if I get some sleep? I'm exhausted."

"We've got shit to plan," Ryker said, lifting up her legs and sitting down beside her before placing her feet in his lap.

"Right," she muttered, waving her hand at the others. "Apologies for my rudeness. Continue."

Ryker rolled his eyes at his alpha, starting to massage her socked feet while Isaac snorted, finding amusement in her snappy mood due to the lack of sleep and blood she'd had.

"They only came after the werewolves," Scott continued on with what they were previously talking about.

"And Lydia and Riah," Allison added. Then her eyes shot over to Ryker. "Except you. Why is that?"

Ryker turned his head to the side, pushing his hair back away from his ear. "They came after me last night as well, but that Aiden boy helped me."

Neriah kicked his stomach with a scowl. "Of course, you didn't tell me," she mumbled and he rolled his eyes at her.

"They go after anyone with a connection to the supernatural," Mr. Argent said with a wince.

"Then who was the guy they went after in Japan?" Isaac asked.

"A kumicho," Mr. Argent said. "A yakuza boss. It was my first gun deal. I was only eighteen and it was supposed to be a simple exchange. Except Gerard left out the mini detail of the buyers being yakuza. He wanted to see if I could adapt in the moment. Testing my ability to improvise."

"Isn't your father just a perfect example of a hunter family," Neriah sarcastically remarked.

Scott raised a brow, looking over his shoulder at her. "Your dad tried to kill us."

Neriah sat up on her elbows. "His father did the exact same thing," she deadpanned.

"I—Yeah, she's got a point," Scott mumbled, facing back to an annoyed Mr. Argent.

"The moment the sun went down it was like they just materialized out of the shadows," Mr. Argent went on, ignoring the adopted siblings bickering. "They had swords, not curved like katanas, but straight, black steel. Like ninjatos."

"I wouldn't mind one of those," Neriah whispered to herself.

"What did they want?" Scott questioned.

"To get to the kumicho. They cut down every living thing in their way."

Neriah couldn't help but touch behind her ear. "Did they mark him like they did us?"

"No exactly," he admitted, staring at his desk.

"What was he?" Scott asked.

"I don't know. But there might be someone who does. There were a few others who survived that night. One of them was a man named Katashi...They called him Silverfinger because of an unusual prosthetic. And it looked like he was getting ready to take them all on himself before I got up and fired my gun."

"I kinda want a nickname," Neriah hummed, and Ryker had the urge to smother her with a pillow for interrupting again.

Mr. Argent once again paid her no mind and continued. "I've known for a while Katashi was in the country. I spent yesterday tracking him down."