“Ah can read, as long as they’s lotsa good pictures,” he said, speaking even slower than usual and using a lot more Texas-cowboy grammar.

“That’s my line,” I told Warren. “I resent your stealing it.”

Ben laughed. But then asked, “How is fading different from just having the wolf in control?”

Wolves are blunt creatures, mostly impatient with the softpedaling that the rest of the world considers politeness.

“I gather Sam will turn all fang and no brain and will eventually just fall over dead,” I told them. “Probably less damage than what normally happens when the wolf is in charge. Especially since the wolf doesn’t stop until someone stops him. But not good.”

“He’ll be easier to kill if it comes to it,” said Warren, recognizing the advantages. Samuel was old, powerful, and clever—if his wolf was half as smart, it would take Bran or Charles to take him. This way, any of us with a silver-loaded gun could do it.

Sam didn’t seem bothered by the conversation. He half closed his eyes and snapped his teeth at Warren with mock fierceness. His ears were up, showing that he was only playing.

They hurt my heart with their fierce full-on acceptance of reality.

“Pack up, kids,” said Adam, with his eyes still closed. “It’s time to take this party home.”

Home.

I glanced worriedly at Warren. Adam would be up and functional in a day or two—thanks to nifty werewolf superpowers of healing. But the pack was still a mess.

“Right, boss.” Warren nodded at me and continued to talk to Adam. “I reckon I’ll stick by you for a bit, though, if you don’t mind. Darryl will be there, too.”

WE PACKED ADAM INTO THE BACK OF WARREN’S TRUCK on top of a thick camping pad and underneath a sleeping bag. Werewolves are pretty immune to the cold—especially the kind of cold the Tri-Cities could manage most winters. But we weren’t taking any chances with him. He accepted our fussing with a sort of royal amusement that managed to be appreciative, too, though he didn’t say a word.

“Camping?” I murmured to Warren under my breath after we’d gotten Adam settled. “You actually got Kyle to go out camping?” Kyle was very happy with the comforts of civilization. I couldn’t see him spending a weekend in the woods voluntarily.

“Nah,” he muttered. “Not overnight anyhow. But I’m hopeful for next spring.”

“But you had sleeping bags and camp pads in your truck.” I couldn’t help the smile that grew on my face. “Does this have anything to do with the ice chest full of meat?”

He ducked his head, but he was grinning. “You don’t ask me what you don’t want to know, Mercy.”

Mary Jo rode in the back of the truck with Adam while I drove my car with Ben beside me and Sam in the back. Ben had offered to drive the Rabbit so I could ride with Adam, but his hands were raw and painful. Mary Jo wasn’t going to do anything to hurt Adam; whatever resentment or hatred she felt for me didn’t interfere with her desire to keep him safe.

As soon as I started driving, Ben said, “You need to find out who the second man on watch was.”

“What?”

“The other wolf Adam had watching with Mary Jo. She doesn’t want to tell, and she’s higher rank than I am, so I can’t ask her. If Warren asked . . . She’s one of the crowd that thinks he shouldn’t be pack.”

“What?” I’d thought the homophobic elements in the pack were all men.

Ben nodded. “She’s quieter about it than most, but she’s also more stubborn. If Warren gave her an order she didn’t want to comply with—like one that would make her narc on someone she cares about—she’s likely to defy him. He’d have to hurt her, and that would hurt him more because he likes her—and doesn’t have any idea that she’s one of the stupid people.”

I’d always thought Ben was one of the stupid people, too. I guess that must have shown in my face because he laughed.

“I was bitter when I first came here. Eastern Washington is a big comedown from London.” He didn’t say anything for a while, but about the time I turned onto the highway he continued in a soft voice. “Warren’s okay. He cares about the pack, and that’s not as common in the upper echelon as you’d think. Took me a while to appreciate—and that’s on me.”

I patted his arm. “Took us a while to warm up to you, too,” I said. “Must be your charming personality.”

He laughed again, and this time it was with genuine humor. “Yes. No doubt. You’re a right bitch sometimes, you know?”

The response was elementary-school automatic. “Takes one to know one,” I said. “You think there was someone else who watched Adam jump into a burning building to save me and didn’t do anything to stop him?”

“I think that Adam sends us out in pairs. One man on point, the second as backup. Always. Mary Jo wasn’t out there alone when you and Samuel left. She wasn’t the only one who watched whoever set fire to your house.”

He paused. “I think I know who it is, but I’m prejudiced, so I’ll keep my mouth shut. Just remember: Mary Jo . . . she’s good folk when it comes down to it. She’s been a firefighter since they allowed women to be on the teams. She may not like you that much, but she’s got no bone to pick with Samuel. I don’t think she’d have stood by and watched arson taking place without someone stepping in and influencing her. There aren’t many of the pack who could override her good sense like that.”

“You think someone else made the decision to disobey orders.”

Ben nodded slowly. “I do. Yes.”

“Someone Adam trusted enough that he didn’t insist on their attending the meeting he held at his house.”

“Yes.”

“Damn it.”

Chapter 9

AT THREE IN THE MORNING, I FOUND MYSELF DRINKing hot chocolate at the kitchen table in Adam’s house with Jesse, Darryl, Auriele, and Mary Jo. Given my druthers, I’d have had a couple of people between Mary Jo and me—because I don’t believe in throwing water on boiling oil—but by the time I’d finished pouring cocoa, the seat between Jesse and her was the only one open.

The one good thing was that most of the wolves had returned to their homes, and Adam was still safe. Sam and Warren were in Adam’s room, doing guard duty, while the rest of us tried to decide how to proceed until Adam was up and about. All the other wolves who’d shown up had been sent away.

I planned on joining Adam as soon as we were done here, but I knew he was all right without me. He’d eaten about ten pounds of meat and lapsed into a sleep so deep it resembled a coma. Warren was a big enough wolf to take on any two of the rest of the pack as long as the group didn’t contain Darryl, who outranked him. Mostly.

Sam was a little unpredictable, but in his current state I was pretty sure he would be on our team. When a wolf is hurt, he is vulnerable. In the best scenario, an injured wolf will be protected by his pack mates—but when the pack is uneasy, as Adam’s was just then, it is best to keep trustworthy guards around.

Between the two of them, Warren and Sam, they’d see to it that no harm came to Adam.

Ben trudged in, towing one of the dining-room chairs. He slid it between Jesse and Auriele, painfully pulled his gory fingers off the chair back, and dropped to the seat. Jesse slid a cup of hot cocoa in front of him, then reached across with the can of nondairy whipped cream and squirted a bunch of sweet artificial white goo on top. Jesse’s curly hair had grown out a little, and she’d dyed it pink.

“Thanks, darling,” Ben told her in a suggestive voice, and she scooted her chair away from him. He tipped his head so she couldn’t see his face and smiled until he realized I was watching him. I narrowed my eyes, and he cleared his throat. “E-mail’s out to the list, detailing what happened and that Adam’ll be up and about in a day or two.”

That there was a mailing list had been news to me. I wasn’t on it, probably so they could all complain about me without hurting my feelings. Given the state of Ben’s hands, Auriele had offered to send out the report, but he’d said that computer work was his duty, and as he still had ten fingers, he figured he could complete it.