Table of Contents
Titles by Patricia Briggs
The Mercy Thompson Novels
MOON CALLED
BLOOD BOUND
IRON KISSED
BONE CROSSED
The Alpha and Omega Novels
ON THE PROWL
(with Eileen Wilks, Karen Chance, and Sunny)
CRY WOLF
MASQUES
STEAL THE DRAGON
WHEN DEMONS WALK
THE HOBS BARGAIN
DRAGON BONES
DRAGON BLOOD
RAVENS SHADOW
RAVENS STRIKE
For Jordan, whimsical, musical friend of critters furred, scaled, and feathered
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There are dozens of people who have helped in this endeavor, but I am especially grateful to those who, on a moments notice, went through the manuscript with a fine-tooth combMike Briggs, Dave and Katharine Carson, Laurie Martin, Jean Matteaucci, Anne Peters, Kaye Roberson, and Anne Sowards. I also would like to take a moment to thank the people whove worked so hard to determine that, yes, you can indeed cast a silver bulletMike Briggs, Dr. Kevin Jaansalu, Dr. Kyle Roberson, and Tom Lenz.
I STARED AT MY REFLECTION IN THE MIRROR. I WASNT pretty, but my hair was thick and brushed my shoulders. My skin was darker on my arms and face than it was on the rest of my body, but at least, thanks to my Blackfoot father, Id never be pasty pale.
There were two stitches Samuel had put in the cut on my chin, and the bruise on my shoulder (not extensive damage considering Id been fighting something that liked to eat children and had knocked out a werewolf). The dark thread looked from some angles like the legs of a shiny black spider. Aside from that slight damage, there was nothing wrong with my body. Karate and mechanicking kept me in good shape.
My soul was a lot more battered than my body, but I couldnt see it in the mirror. Hopefully no one else could either. It was that invisible damage that left me afraid to leave the bathroom and face Adam, who waited in my bedroom. Though I knew with absolute certainty that Adam wouldnt do anything I didnt want him to doand had wanted him to do for a long time.
I could ask him to leave. To give me more time. I stared at the woman in the mirror, but all she did was stare back.
Id killed the man whod raped me. Was I going to let him have this last victory? Let him destroy me as hed intended?
Mercy? Adam didnt have to raise his voice. He knew I could hear him.
Careful, I told him as I left off mirror-gazing and began pulling on clean underwear and an old T-shirt. I have an ancient walking stick, and I know how to use it.
The walking stick is lying across your bed, he said.
When I came out of the bathroom, Adam was lying across my bed, too.
He wasnt tall, but he didnt need height to add to the impression he made. Wide cheekbones and a full, soft mouth topping a stubborn jaw combined to give him movie-star beauty. When his eyes were open, they were a dark chocolate only a shade lighter than mine. His body was almost as pretty as his facethough I knew he didnt think of himself that way. He kept himself in shape because he was Alpha and his body was a tool he used to keep his pack safe. Hed been a soldier before he was Changed, and the military training was still there in the way he moved and the way he took charge.
When Samuel gets back from the hospital, hes going to spend the rest of the night at my house, Adam said without opening his eyes. Samuel was my roommate, a doctor, and a lone wolf. Adams house was behind mine, with about ten acres between themthree were mine and the rest were Adams. We have time to talk.
You look horrible, I said, not quite truthfully. He did look tired, with dark circles under his eyes, but nothing short of mutilation could make him look terrible. Dont they have beds in D.C.?
Hed had to go to Washington (the capitalwe were in the state) this weekend to clean up a little mess that was sort of my fault. Of course if he hadnt ripped Tims corpse into bits on camera, and if the resultant DVD hadnt landed on a senators desk, there wouldnt have been a problem. So it was partially his fault, too.
Mostly it was Tims fault, and whoever had made a copy of the DVD and mailed it off. Id taken care of Tim. Bran, the head-honcho werewolf above all of the other head-honcho werewolves, was apparently taking care of the other person. Last year, I would have expected to hear about a funeral. This year, with the werewolves barely having admitted their existence to the world, Bran would probably be more circumspect. Whatever that would mean.
Adam opened his eyes and looked at me. In the dimness of the room (hed only turned on the small light on the little table by my bed), his eyes looked black. There was a bleakness in his face that hadnt been there before, and I knew it was because of me. Because he hadnt been able to keep me safeand people like Adam take that pretty seriously.
Personally, I figured it was up to me to keep me safe. Sometimes it might mean calling in friends, but it was my responsibility. Still, he saw it as a failure.
So have you made up your mind? he asked.
Would I accept him as my mate, he meant. The question had been up in the air too long, and it was affecting his ability to keep his pack under control. Ironically, what happened with Tim had resolved the issue that had kept me from accepting Adam for months. I figured if I could fight back against the fairy magic potion Tim had fed me, a little Alpha mojo wasnt going to turn me into a docile slave either.
Maybe I should have thanked him before I hit him with the tire iron.
Adam isnt Tim, I told myself. I thought of Adams rage when hed broken down the door to my garage, of his despair when he persuaded me to drink out of that damned fae goblet again. In addition to robbing me of my will, the goblet also had the power to healand Id needed a lot of healing by that point. It had worked, but Adam had felt like he was betraying me, believed Id hate him for it. But hed done it anyway. I figured it was because he wasnt lying when he said he loved me. When Id hidden in shameI put that down to the fairy brew, because I knew ... I knew I had nothing to be ashamed abouthed pulled my coyote self out from under his bed, bitten my nose for being foolish, and held me all night long. Then hed surrounded me with his pack and safety whether I needed it or not.
Tim was dead. And hed always been a loser. Id be damned if I was going to be the victim of a loseror anyone else.
Mercy? Adam stayed on his back on my bed, taking the position of vulnerability.
In answer, I pulled the T-shirt over my head and dropped it on the floor.
Adam was off the bed faster than Id ever seen him move, bringing the comforter with him. He had it wrapped around me before I could blink ... and then I was pressed tightly against him, my bare breasts resting against his chest. Hed tipped his head to the side so my face was pressed against his jaw and cheek.
I meant to get the blanket between us, he said tightly. His heart pounded against mine, and his arms were shaking and rock hard. I didnt mean you had to sleep with me right nowa simple yes would have done.
