Patricia Briggs - Night Broken

For our good friendsyou know who you are. I dont know how we ended up surrounded by so many people who are, as my father used to say, folk to ride the river with. I especially would like to dedicate this to two people who went above and beyond for us this year as we tried to combine stupid travel schedules with horses who wait until Im gone before turning their minds to mischief.

Dr. Dick Root, DVM, held my daughters hand when Tilly had her foal while Mike and I were on signing tour. There arent actually many people who will put up with a dozen phone calls at four in the morning without losing their cool. Thank you, Dick. May you and Ally (OFW Alivia) travel many happy miles together.

Deken Schoenberg also comes to my rescue, whether it be by trimming horses in triple-digit weather, lending me a hand when I get in over my head, or, as a not random example, helping when I am stuck five hundred miles away in a different country and a silly yearling decides that that is the day to get himself hurt. Magic is sorry he kicked you, especially after you drove the better part of fifty miles to come help him. He promised me that he will treat our friends better in the future.

Next time we leave town, Im not telling the horses.

The phone rang while I was elbow-deep in sudsy dishwater.

Ill get it, said my stepdaughter, Jesse, hastily dumping two glasses and a fork in my sink.

A werewolf pack that eats together stays together, I thought, scrubbing stubborn egg off a plate. Sunday breakfasts werent attended by the whole packsome of them had families just like regular people or jobs they worked on the Sabbath. The breakfasts werent mandatory because that would have ruined the intent. Darryl, Adams second, who usually prepared the meals, was a hellaciously good cook, and his food attracted anyone who could manage to come.

The dishwasher was running, stuffed full and then some. I would have let the rest of the dishes wait until it was done, but Auriele, Darryls mate, wouldnt hear of it.

I didnt argue with her because I was one of the three people in the pack who outranked her, so shed have to back down. That felt like cheating, and I never cheat.

Unless it is against my enemies, whispered a soundless voice in my head that might have been mine but felt like Coyotes.

The second reason for my compliance was more self-serving. Auriele and I were getting along, which made her the only one of the three female werewolves in the pack who was friendly with me at the moment.

Auriele hadnt been happy having me as the Alphas mate, eitherI was a coyote shapeshifter among wolves. She didnt think it was a good thing for pack morale. She also thought, correctly, that I brought trouble for the pack with me. She liked me despite herself. I was used to the company of men, but it was nice to have a woman besides Jesse, my teenage stepdaughter, who would talk to me.

So, to please Auriele, I washed dishes that the dishwasher could have taken care of, ignoring the burn of hot soapy water in the wounds of my tradebarked knuckles are a mechanics constant companion. Auriele dried the dishes, and Jesse had volunteered to tidy up the kitchen in general. Three women bonding over household choresmy mother would be pleased if she could see us. That thought hardened my resolve that next week, some of the men would do cleanup. It would be good for them to expand their skill set.

Theres this kid in my second-period class. Auriele ignored the ringing phone as she hefted a stack of plates up to the cupboard with a grunt of effort. It wasnt the weight of the dishes that was the problemAuriele was a werewolf; she could have lifted a four-hundred-pound anvil onto the shelf. It was that she was short and had to stand on tiptoe to do it. Jesse had to dodge around her to get to the phone.

All the teachers love Clark, Auriele continued. All the girls and most of the guys, too. And every word out of his mouth is a lie. Enrique cheated off my paper, he told me when I asked him why they both had all the same mistakes. Enrique, he just gets this resigned look on his face; I expect that Clark has done this to him before.

Hauptman residence, said Jesse cheerfully. Can I help you?

Is Adam there?

So I told him Auriele stopped talking abruptly, her sensitive ears caught by the familiar voice on the line.

I need Adam. My husbands ex-wifes voice was thick with tears. Christy Hauptman sounded desperate and half-hysterical.

Mom? Jesses voice was shaky. Mom, whats wrong?

Get Adam.

Mom? Jesse gave me a frantic look.

Adam, I called. Christys on the phone for you.

He was in the living room talking to Darryl and a few of the pack who had lingered after breakfast, so I didnt have to raise my voice much. It wasnt the first time Christy had called needing something.

Dealing with Christy was usually enough to give me a stomachache. Not because of anything she could do to me or Adam. But Jesse, who loved her mother but was currently fighting to keep liking her, suffered every time that woman called. There was nothing I could do to stop it.

Hes coming, Mom, Jesse said.

Please, Christy said. Tell him to hurry.

Desperate, hysterical tearsthose werent unusual. But she sounded scared, too. And that wasnt anything Id heard before.

Adam walked into the room, and from his grim face, I could tell hed heard at least part of what Christy had said. He took the handset from Jesse but hugged her with the other arm. Jesses eyes grew watery under his comforting hold. She gave me a frantic look before bolting away, out the door, and up the stairs, presumably to her room, where she could collect herself.

What do you need? Adam said, most of his attention still on his daughter.

Can I come home?

Auriele glanced at me, but I was already wearing my blank face. She wouldnt be able to tell what I was thinking from my expression.

This isnt your home, Adam said. Not anymore.

Adam, Christy said. Oh, Adam. She sobbed, a small, hopeless sound. Im in trouble, I need to come home. Ive been so stupid. He wont leave me alone. He hurt me, he killed a friend of mine, and he follows me everywhere I go. Can I come home, please?

That wasnt anything Id expected. Auriele quit trying to pretend she wasnt listening to every word and jerked her face toward the phone.

Call the police, Adam said. Thats what they are there for.

Hell kill me, she whispered. Adam, hell kill me. I dont have anywhere else to run. Please.

Werewolves can tell when people are lying. So can some of the other supernatural critters running aroundlike me, for instance. Over the phone is a lot trickier because a lot of the telltale signs involve heartbeat and smellneither of which is possible to detect over a phone line. But I could hear the truth in her voice.

Adam looked at me.

Tell her to come, I said. What else could I say? If something happened to her when we could help I wasnt sure if I could live with that. I knew that Adam couldnt.

Auriele continued to watch me. She frowned, finally turned away, and started to dry the dishes again.

Adam, please? Christy pleaded.

Adam narrowed his eyes at me and didnt say anything.

Adam, Mary Jo said from the doorway. Mary Jo is a firefighter, tough and smart. She is owed by the pack for the years that she was yours. Let her come home, and the pack will protect her.

He gave Mary Jo a look, and she dropped her eyes.

Its okay, I said to Adam, and tried to make it not a lie. Really.