Chapter 7.

The books that I'd ordered online before leaving home got me through the night. I read two. One was political humor, the other a mystery. Kelvin, who was up early the next morning and drinking a cup of coffee, asked if he could borrow the mystery. I handed it over to him and told him it was good. Winkler was still in bed, propped against half a dozen pillows while he sipped coffee and watched the news on a flat screen television when I walked in. He grinned and patted the bed beside him. I just patted my b.u.t.t, my signal for him to kiss my a.s.s. His grin widened so I gave him the standard rude gesture. He was laughing when I stalked into his bathroom to change into pajamas. Winkler politely vacated the bed when I crawled into it and as usual, I was out like a light the moment daybreak occurred.

"That's just uncanny." Kelvin stuck his head around the connecting door. Weldon was showering so Kelvin caught the moment between Lissa's consciousness and unconsciousness. Winkler bent down and placed a careful kiss on Lissa's forehead before covering her completely with the sheet, blanket and comforter.

"You know how many germs are on that comforter?" Kelvin asked, watching Winkler perform this duty.

"And she's not susceptible to a single one of them," Winkler said. "Just like us, pretty much."

"Werewolves still get diseases when they're old," Kelvin pointed out. "Arthritis. Cancer, sometimes."

"I've never heard of that happening unless we're over two hundred," Winkler said, handing Kelvin a cursory glance.

"Well, me either. I see you've done your research."

"Yep. And we generally don't live long after we reach two hundred anyway."

"But the vamps, they don't get anything, ever. Do they?" Kelvin came over, reached under the covers until he found one of Lissa's arms and checked her pulse. "Nothing," he said.

"It's like that when she's awake, too," Winkler frowned at Kelvin, who placed Lissa's arm beneath the blanket. "No heartbeat-nothing. My father always said they had some sort of metabolism, but it's nothing like humans or werewolves."

"But they breathe when they're awake. This just fascinates me." Kelvin heard Weldon coming out of the shower next door. "Time to keep the Grand Master happy," Kelvin said and walked through the connecting door.

Yawning, my eyes still closed, I stretched on Winkler's bed and discovered I was buried beneath a mountain of covers.

"Time to wake up, sleepyhead," Winkler tugged the blankets off my face. He was sitting on the side of my bed. Again.

"What is wrong with you?" I asked, flipping the covers off and sliding my legs over the side of his king-size bed. It would take a king-size for him; he was six-three or thereabouts in his socks.

"I just enjoy watching a pretty woman get out of bed in the morning. Er, well, evening."

"Jerk." I smacked the top of his head when I stood and headed for the bathroom.

"Did I say your a.s.s looks good in those PJs?" he called after me. I'd already shut the door so it was too late to give him another rude gesture. Maybe I was going to have to learn to curse in multiple languages, like Gavin did.

"Now what are you doing?" Winkler was hovering while I pulled out my laptop and set it up next to his on the hotel room desk.

"I need to email somebody," I said. "He worries so I was going to tell him I'm fine."

"What's his name?"

"Franklin, and he's gay. Schmuck."

"Him or me?"

"The gay part or the schmuck part?"

"The schmuck part. You know I'm not gay." Winkler snorted.

"Yeah. How about that?" I said, tapping out a quick message to Franklin and hitting send. I shut my laptop and turned to Winkler. "Where's the cooler?" I asked. I had no idea where they'd put it.

"In Weldon's room. Locked, of course."

"Of course," I mumbled.

"I have the key." Winkler pulled it out of a pocket and shook it at me.

"Are you going to tease me with it all night or do I have to go hunt my dinner?"

"You take the fun out of everything," Winkler grumbled.

"Oh, like I'd stand between you and a half-raw piece of bovine when you're hungry," I retorted.

"I may eat sheep now and then. The occasional lobster, with plenty of b.u.t.ter."

"Maybe two lobsters," I said. "I've seen you eat, remember?"

"Maybe." Winkler grinned. "We can't help it if our metabolism is so much faster than a human's."

"At least you were born that way; you have a legitimate excuse," I grumbled.

"But I love full moons," Winkler was waxing poetic, now. "I love venison after a kill."

"You get two next month," I said. I'd checked the calendar; December actually had a second full moon.

"Yeah." Winkler's eyes closed in pleasure. "It's like a Christmas present for the werewolves." He opened his eyes and looked down at me. "I don't suppose you know how to do Thanksgiving dinner?"

"Who do you think you're talking to, here?" I asked, tapping my chest. "I make very good turkey and dressing. I just wish I could still eat it."

"You can eat it, you just can't taste it," Winkler reminded me.

"Yeah. And then I have to cough it all up later. Why are you asking about this anyway?"

"Because we're all going to be in Dallas for Thanksgiving-Weldon's consented to come, Daryl will bring Kathy Jo down, and Whitney and Sam are coming. Unfortunately, most of my staff will be off. I thought I was going to have to get the thing catered."

"Oh, yeah. Those are never the same as home cooked," I said. "I'll do turkey for you, Winkler. But only because it's you." I waggled a finger at him.

"Can I get an inflated ego now?" he smirked.

"You already have one the size of Canada," I said. "If it gets any larger, it may damage the ozone layer."

"If you'll make a list, I'll send it to the staff at the Dallas house; they can buy what you need and have it waiting when we get there." Winkler was still on the subject of dinner and not the self-aggrandizing.

"Good enough," I said. "But if they shop for the turkey only a day or two ahead, have them buy a fresh one. I hate thawing turkeys at the last minute."

"I'll be sure and tell them that." He wanted to laugh at me, I could tell. I wanted to kick his a.s.s.

We were having dinner with one of the more affluent members of the Des Moines Pack. He'd made his money in alternative energy production (mostly ethanol, this was Iowa). He had a nice, large house, had hired the meal catered and the Pack had come, adults only. Of course, the werewolves were on their best behavior while the human caterers were there, but the food service employees were instructed to lay out the meal buffet style and then leave. They'd arranged to pick up pans and utensils the following day.

Avery also made plans for four of his wolves to guard the perimeter of the property. The owner lived outside Des Moines on an acreage surrounded by (no surprise) corn fields. It was my job as well as Winkler's and Kelvin's to watch over the Grand Master in closer quarters.

The staff left, the meal was eaten and then the ceremony began. I didn't eat with the others; I stood outside the large dining room while the werewolves laughed and talked. If anything came in that wasn't scheduled, it was my duty to take care of it.

Weldon was giving his blessing, werewolf style, to Avery when one of the wolf guards from outside came through the front door. That normally wouldn't worry me, except he was dragging a young human woman along with him and she was crying. I followed along behind the wolf and the girl as she was hauled into the dining room and tossed in the floor at Avery and Weldon's feet.

"She sneaked back onto the property," the guard declared. "She saw Ruben and Jasper as wolves."

"I didn't sneak, I swear," the girl sobbed. "I left my rings in the kitchen. I took them off to rinse out a few pans before we packed them up. I drove up, two men were at the gate and they told me to park and come inside. That's when I saw the wolves. I just came back for my jewelry. Please let me go." She was terrified. I had no doubt she'd seen werewolves, all right.

"Well, girlie, that's too bad, isn't it?" Avery was almost growling and he had a nasty grin on his face. "Looks like we may have a hunt tonight, folks."

Even Weldon looked a little shocked, I could tell, but he wasn't interrupting. I was about to. Stalking over to Avery and the wolf who'd brought the girl in, I let them know exactly how I felt. "You will do no such thing, you poor excuse for a flea-bitten mutt," I shouted, shaking a finger in Avery's face. "If I have to take on every one of you, I will. But all it takes is just the barest of compulsion," I lowered my voice. "Honey," I lifted the girl to her feet and took her face in my hands; "we'll get your rings. You just drove up and came in, asking us to get your rings for you, didn't you? You didn't see anything except people having their dessert, isn't that right?" The girl nodded, her eyes a little blank. The sobbing stopped.

"Here, now, let's go find your rings," I led her toward the kitchen. We found them in no time. Avery wasn't done, however. "How the h.e.l.l do we know she won't," Weldon lifted a hand, stopping Avery in mid-bl.u.s.ter, before coming to the girl.

"Ask her to tell us what she saw," he ordered.

"What did you see when you drove back here, hon? Tell the truth." Compulsion dripped from my tongue.

"I drove through the gate and walked up to the house. Everybody was eating dessert and I asked you for my rings. We went to the kitchen to get them. See?" She held the rings up.

"Take her to her car," Weldon growled. I figured I was about to get a fast trip right back to Wlodek and the rest of the Council with a big F on my report card. There wasn't anything else I could have done, however. No way was I going to let Avery and his wolves tear this girl apart because she'd seen two of them who were fool enough to change out on the grounds.

We walked to the girl's car; it was a small import and she chatted on the way, thanked me for my help and then drove off. The wolf who'd dragged her in came out and warned away the other wolves guarding the property.

The four werewolves followed me inside the house where Weldon looked as if he were about to have a stroke. Winkler was up and leaning against one wall of the large dining room, Kelvin was doing the same on the opposite wall. "Now," Weldon said to the wolf who'd dragged the girl inside the house, "tell me what happened, and in the proper order. I warn you, I can smell a lie a mile away and if you want confirmation, then I'll have Lissa here place compulsion on you to tell the truth. What the h.e.l.l happened with that girl? Start at the beginning. Don't stop until you reach the end. I'm waiting." Weldon crossed his arms angrily over his chest.

"She drove right through the gate and pulled up in front of the house," the wolf who'd brought her in said. "We told her she couldn't come in so she got belligerent with us. Ruben and Jasper had to change when she started fighting with us."

"Lie," Weldon said. "Try again and make it the truth, this time."

I wanted to snicker. That girl couldn't have weighed more than a hundred and twenty pounds, looked to be around five-four and definitely hadn't worked out. If four grown werewolves in their humanoid shape couldn't subdue somebody her size, then they needed to find another form to shift to. Skunk came to mind. I figured they'd seen this as an opportunity to tear someone apart just for the sport of it.

"She wanted to argue with us so Ruben and Jasper changed," the werewolf was whining a little.

"A little closer to the truth but still not the truth." Weldon's eyes were hard. "Lissa, come here for a minute." I went.

"Now, wait just a minute," Avery said but Weldon growled low, forcing Avery to back up. He didn't argue past that.

"Lissa, place compulsion on this one to tell the truth," Weldon said. I walked up to the werewolf, and not willing to take any chances, allowed my claws to slide out the entire way. There were a few gasps around the room.

"You will speak only the truth from this point forward," I said, looking the wolf straight in the eye and pointing a claw at him. He nodded. I stepped aside.

"Now," Weldon said. "Tell me exactly what happened."

"She drove up to the gate and Ruben was there, waiting," the werewolf began. "Jasper was on the other side. She asked Ruben if she could come in to get her rings. Ruben told her to park halfway up the drive and wait for him and Jasper to come and escort her to the house. They changed before they got there and started growling. I had to come along and bring her in."

"And why did they change?" Weldon asked almost casually.

"Because we thought it might be fun to hunt with the Grand Master," the wolf muttered.

"You thought I'd find sport in hunting that poor girl down and tearing her to pieces?"

"Yeah." When he said that, I wanted to kill him myself. I'd moved aside so Weldon could question him, pulling my claws back in. Too bad. I might have used the excuse that my hand just slipped. In the vicinity of his neck. Winkler, I noticed, was no longer leaning against the wall and neither was Kelvin. Both stepped forward a little and Winkler was prepared for anything, I could tell.

"You, sit." Weldon barked at the wolf, who sat down at the table. "Avery, Lissa, come with me." Weldon stalked into the kitchen with Avery and me close behind. Winkler and Kelvin stayed outside to watch the others. "Lissa, place compulsion to tell the truth on Avery, here," Weldon ordered. Avery started to protest but I just used compulsion to make him shut up and stand still. Then I placed the one to force him to tell the truth.

"Do you condone this kind of behavior?" Weldon asked. "Has this sort of thing happened before?"

"Simms does seem to have a knack for being around when this happens," Avery whined. "We've had to take care of things several times since I took over."

"And how many times when Corwin was in charge?"

"None that I remember." Avery was sweating.

"And you weren't suspicious?"

"Simms is one of my best guards."

"Really?" Weldon wasn't happy. It looked like I wasn't going to be sent back to the Council after all. "Well," Weldon went on, "I'll be interviewing the Pack one at a time, then. Lissa, send Avery back out and tell him not to go anywhere. Have Winkler send in the others, beginning with the owner of the property."

I nodded at Weldon, then laid compulsion for Avery to go back out, sit down and not cause any trouble. He went.

Winkler sent the Pack in one at a time after that. Most of them told the same story; that Simms or one of the other three a.s.signed to guard duty would bring a human in on the pretext that they'd seen them change and then instigate a hunt. The rest of the Pack would hang back and allow Simms or one of the others to make the kill, which generally ended up quite b.l.o.o.d.y. The worst of the stories involved a sixteen-year-old boy whose car had broken down on the side of a road. It was all I could do not to march right out and do all four of them in over that one. Now, there were grieving parents in the area that had no idea what happened to their son.

The stories continued, one on top of another, until Weldon and I learned that Avery and his four pet guards had accounted for at least fourteen disappearances in the Des Moines area. The Pack as a whole found the whole thing reprehensible, but none were willing to challenge their new Packmaster. I got the idea that Simms and his cronies might have interfered with the challenge anyway. None of the Pack came out and said it, but they didn't like Avery's leadership at all. They all talked about Corwin and how good it had been before.

"Those four guards have acquired the taste for human blood," Weldon growled after the last werewolf left the kitchen. I figured I knew what was coming, only this time I wasn't about to argue over it. Innocents had died. They weren't threatening a room full of old vampires who most likely had killed many times. These were humans who hadn't known werewolves existed until they'd been chosen by a handful and hunted down to die. And the sixteen-year-old? One of the werewolf women wept as she described his death, and went on to say that according to local media, he'd gotten a night job to help his parents pay bills during some difficult times. His car had broken down on the way home one evening. That information made me so angry my eyes were likely blood red.

Weldon walked back into the dining room after the last Pack member was questioned. "Avery, I had no idea I'd be doing anything other than officially confirming your status as Packmaster when I arrived," Weldon sighed. "As of this moment, I am revoking that status. You and those four over there will be executed. Tonight." He turned to the owner of the house. "I don't wish to do this in your home," Weldon said. "We'll go out back for this. Who wants to help hold them?"

Several male werewolves stood, including the property owner. There were only two female werewolves in the bunch to begin with, both of them mated. Weldon nodded at the Pack members who stood, Avery and the four were taken and we all trooped out to the back fence surrounding the house. Avery looked like a deer in the headlights by that time. I had no idea how he'd thought his four guards weren't up to something, and he'd hunted those humans right alongside them. Now, he was going to pay for that with his life.

Weldon turned and took Avery down himself. Winkler got three of the others. Simms was now the only one left; he'd been the one to haul in the boy. Weldon deliberately held him back until last. "Lissa, do you want this one?" Weldon asked me softly. I walked up to Simms, who'd watched all the others die in front of him. He swallowed hard when I approached.

"I don't know, Weldon," I said, turning around and forcing the claws out on my hand. My back was to Simms so he didn't see. Whirling so fast I was more than likely a blur, I sliced through his neck. The two who held him looked on in amazement as Simms toppled, his head never leaving his body until it was flat in the gra.s.s. It rolled away after that. "Yeah, I guess I did want that one," I said, retracting my claws.

I washed my hands inside the house while Weldon talked to the rest of the Pack, who decided in a democratic fashion which wolf they wanted as interim Packmaster. It ended up being the property owner, who seemed to have leadership qualities. I didn't think anybody was willing to challenge him, either. He chose his Second right away; Norwood had argued several times with Avery over what Simms and the others were doing. Weldon gave his blessing to the interim Packmaster, told him he'd be back in six months to see how things were going, thanked the man for the meal and we left. The Pack had some accidents to arrange to explain dead bodies.