Mercy, he said.
Yes? I glanced back at him to see that he was pulling off his shirt.
A bargain for us, he said. I will not hide from you if you dont hide from me.
The idea of Adams hiding from anything left my mouth open while he made short work of the rest of his clothes, so I had to hurry to catch up. He was right. I didnt feel quite so naked when he was naked, too. He didnt say anything, just touched my bruises with light fingers.
When he paused at my cheek, I said,That was the car wreck. He frowned at me. Okay. The car wreck and then it hit the ground when the fae assassin jumped on my back.
We went on like that. Him touching a cut, a bruise, a bump, and Id tell him what happened.
When he was finished, he put his forehead on my shoulder and pulled me hard against him.Youll be the death of me, he told me. I could wish you less bold, less braveless driven by right and wrong.
Too bad for you, I commiserated. I know its rough. My husband tried to kill himself to save the pack, you know. And earlier today, he faced down a fae he knew nothing aboutand some of the fae are forces of nature.
My wife was going to fight him, explained Adam. I had to protect him from that.
I laughed.
You know what Jesses mother would have done if the feds came and took the pack while she was my wife? he asked.
Filed for divorce, I hypothesized.
It was his turn to laugh.Point to you. And then she would go to everyone she knew and tell them how awful her life was, how people expected too much of her. Do you know what my second wife did?
Got beaten up and ran in circles mostly while you rescued yourself, I told him.
She cared for the pack that was left, he said. She got my child to safety. She got word to Branwho sent help. She stepped between my child and those who would harm her.
I snorted.Sounds like a paragon.
She saved my life and gave me strength to save the rest of the pack. He heaved a sigh and pulled back so he could look at me. And I have this urge to turn you over my knee and bruise your butt so that you do exactly what my first wife did.
I narrowed my eyes at him.You ever lay a hand on me and you better never go to sleep again.
He laughed, sat down on the carpeted floor more as though he just couldnt stand up anymore than as if hed actually made the decision to sit, and laughed some more. He was very, very tiredbut he had just threatened to spank me, so he got no sympathy from me. I folded my arms.
He wiped his eyes with his thumb and looked up at me. His laughter had died altogether.You dont know how fragile you are, Mercy. The last time we got into trouble, you spent months in a wheelchair. You fight as long and as hard as any werewolf, without any of the weapons weve been given. You are smart. You are careful. And youve been very, very lucky. And that scares me more than any spriggand carrying one of Zees swords or a Cantrip zealot armed with silver. Luck runs out.
I tell you what, I said, sitting beside him and biting down the urge to feed him the line hed given me: did you think Id die of old age? I hadnt found it funny at the time and didnt think that he would, either. Think of me as Coyotes daughter, if that helps you. Coyote is lucky.
Adam shook his head.No, Mercy. Coyote isnt lucky. Coyote is rash, and everyone around him diesincluding him. But when the sun rises, hes all better and he goes out to look for new friends. Because Coyote is immortal.And you are not. He didnt say it, but we both heard it.
I tapped on the floor and then leaned forward. Time for a distraction.This coyote is all better right now. Are you and I going to be friends, wolf?
He canted his head and touched my chin with his hand.I dont know. Are you going to keep doing your best to get yourself killed?
It hadnt been I who had been trying to commit suicideI hadnt realized I was still mad at him about that. I turned my head and nipped his finger. Id meant it as chastisement, but he didnt take it that way. Gold lit his eyes with fire, and he left his finger where it was.
I guess so, he said, sounding resigned, but his lips were soft on mine.
Both of us dozed a bit afterward, not really asleep but too content to get up. I buried my nose under his ear, where his scent could wrap around me. I licked tenderly at the warm skin of his neck.
Peter is dead, he told me suddenly.
I put my weight on his chest, so he wouldnt feel so alone. Yes.
It was my job to protect him.
The average werewolf lives ten years after he is changed, I reminded Adam. A human has seventy years or so upon the earth before his time is done. Peter was older than that, four times older than you are. His was not a short life, and his death was quick. It wasnt enough, and I knew it. But it would count for something later, when his death wasnt so
near.
My fault, Adam said. Someone who didnt know him would have thought his voice was calm. There were not so many of them. If I had attacked them when they came to take the pack
You thought they were feds, I said. He knew all of this, but if he needed to have me say it again, then I would. If werewolves start killing federal agents, soon there wont be any werewolves. It was the right thing to do. I was there when Peter was killed, and it could have been any oneof you. Jones had decided to kill someone, and nothing would have stopped him.
Jones is dead. But his body was relaxing underneath me. Adam wasnt stupid. This wasnt the first time bad things happened that he couldnt control.
Im not surprised.
He huffed a laugh.I didnt kill him.
I lifted my head so I could see his face.That does surprise me.
I killed the rest of them and let Honey kill Jones. He watched my face closely. Hed hidden what he was from his first wife, who had been entirely human, and shed still run away from what little shed glimpsed.
Good, I said. That way, I wont have to.
He laughed again, and his body softened as much as it ever didthere just wasnt much soft about Adam. I love you, he said.
I know, I told him seriously. How could you help it?
He laughed again and rolled over until I was on the bottom, and flexed his hips against mine.I tried, he whispered in my ear. But it didnt work.
I breathed into his ear for the pleasure of feeling him shiver against me.Of course not. He smelled like home, like safety, like love. Of course not.
I promise I wont spank you, he told me, his voice rough and low as he added, not unless you ask me to.
I let him feel my laugh against his shoulder.Thats because you arent genuinely suicidal.
We loved again then, the short nap of the rug soft under my skin and the warmth of him surrounding me.
Afterward, he fell asleep while he was eating, between one bite and the next, like a toddler. I dont think that he had slept since the pack was taken. He didnt even stir when I pulled away from him to go put my clothes on.
The room might have been finished, but it was not heated. Adam was a werewolf, which meant the colder the better for himnot so for me. Fully clothed, I sat down next to him to watch over him while he slept.
The quiet time didnt last.
The door between house and garage opened no more than twenty minutes after Adam dropped off. Warren called,Sorry, boss. Youre needed if you dont want Kyle to shoot the rest of the pack.
He didnt speak that loudly, but Adams eyes opened up anyway. He smiled at me, and said, Good to know. Tell Kyle to hold up, and Ill be right down.
Warren steadied the rope ladder when Adam tossed it out of the trapdoor.Weve put the pack downstairs in the big room to create some space apart from the Sandoval girls. The big room was the largest room in the house, and it had a pool table and a stairway leading to an outside door into the backyard. Kyles house was bigger than ours, but not set up for groups of people quite this large.