He took a deep breath and looked at Carter’s granddaughter. “He almost killed your mother, Shawna. I took care of her afterward, and I’l attest that it was luck, not any impulse on Carter’s part, that spared her life you can ask her yourself.How would a man whose life had always been devoted to the service of others have borne it if he had killed his own daughter? She asked the Marrok, in my hearing, if he would take care of the duty that her brother would not.By that time, the wolf in Carter was far enough gone he couldn’t ask for it. So no, my dad did not try to persuade Carter to Change he was just the one who stepped up to the plate to handle the resultant mess.”When Samuel finished speaking, he let his eyes drift slowly over the room as heads bowed in submission. He nodded once, then took his seat next to Toby again.The next few people kept their eyes off the Marrok and his sons, but Lauren thought it was embarrassment rather than the sullen anger that had been so prominent a

Northwestern Montana,Cabinet WildernessDennis didn’t know why he’d survived the beast’s attack, any more than he understood how he’d survived three tours of ’Nam when so many of his friends, his comrades, had not. Maybe his survival both times was just luck or maybe fate had other things in store for him. Like another thirty years wandering alonein the woods.If his survival after the beast’s attack had been unlikely, the rest of it was just plain weird. The first thing he’d noticed was that the aching arthritis that hadbhaunted his shoulders and knees, the throb of an old wound in his hip, had all disappeared. The cold no longer bothered him. It took him a lot longer to realize that his hair and beard had regained the color of his youth he didn’t carry around a mirror. That’s when he began paying attention to the oddities.He was faster and stronger than he’d ever been. The only wounds that hadn’t healed with the same remarkable speed as his belly were the ones on his battered sou

That and a little reluctance to bare his wounds. He didn’t like other people knowing his weaknesses, even his brother and father. He reluctantly skimmed his slacks down. Samuel was frowning even before he’d gotten the bright green wrap cut off. Once he did, he put his nose against it and jerked back. “Who cleaned this out?”“The Chicago pack has a doctor.” There weren’t very many doctors who were werewolves. No one but Samuel as far as he’d known: the Chicago pack’s doctor was one of the new ones Leo had been hiding from the Marrok. Being around all that blood and flesh made it pretty difficult for a werewolf to keep his mind onhealing though he’d never noticed it bothering Samuel.“He was a quack,” growled his brother. “I can smellthe silver from six inches out.”“Poorly schooled in being a wolf,” corrected Toby. “None of Leo’s new wolves know what to do with their noses including Lauren. I doubt he thought to sniff for silver.”“And I am under the impression that he was pretty frig

“when Toby is here.” The hesitation robbed her statement of much of its strength. Sage smiled, her whole face lighting with delight. “Yes, Leah, why don’t you come back when Toby is here? I’d like to see that.”But Leah wasn’t paying attention to her. Her eyebrows lowered in puzzlement as she stared at Lauren. “Sit down,” she said, her voice low and rich with a power that once more slid over Lauren and did not touch her.Lauren frowned back. “No. Thank you.” She thought of something, and before she could stop herself, she said, “I saw Sage at the funeral, but the Marrok was alone. Why weren’t you beside him?”“He had no business there,” Leah said passionately. “He killed Carter. And nowhe pretends to mourn him? I couldn’t keep him from going. He never listens to me anyway, does he? His sons are his advisors, all I am is a replacement for his lost love, the incomparably beautiful, self-sacrificing, Indian bitch. I can’t stop him, but I won’t support him, either.” By the time she was f

Lauren methodically rummaged through the cupboards; Toby was going to wake up hungry. Happily, the man had his house stocked for a siege. She thought about Italian she had gotten rather good at cooking Italian foodbut she didn’t know if Toby liked it. Stew seemed a safer choice. The chest freezer in the basement was fullof meat wrapped in white freezer paper, neatly labeled. Shebbrought up a package proclaiming itself to be elk stew meat to begin thawing on the counter. She’d never eaten elk before but assumed that stew meat was stewmeat. In the fridge she found carrots, onions, and celery. Now all she needed were potatoes. They weren’t in the fridge or on the counters; they weren’t on top of the fridge or under the sink. Anyone as well stocked as Toby was bound to have potatoes somewhere unless he hated potatoes. She was bent over with her head in a lower cupboard singing softly, “Where oh where have my little potatoes gone,” when the sound of a cell phone made her jerk her head up