languorous stroke. Then she
straightened and tore her wrist from Morgan's grip. "I promised him the
female and he shall have her."
"No!" Morgan bristled his
coat and scraped the snow, sending a fresh spray of powder into the swirling
snow.
Lily smiled cynically.
"Look at you. So determined to
remain one of them." She jerked a disparaging hand toward the cabin where
the female slept, then leaned forward until her nose nearly touched Morgan's.
"You are a werewolf now,
Morgan. A hunter, like us." She sidled around, rump outthrust in sexual
invitation. "You can't escape. Why do you have such trouble grasping that
fact?"
With a rattlerlike motion, Morgan
dipped his head and nipped her thigh. She scurried back with a ki-yi-yi. Jorje
cringed and whimpered.
Lily whirled, glaring first at
Jorje, then at Morgan.
"Give it up, Lily. It's not
going to happen."
Morgan directed a scathing glance
at Jorje. "Mate with your lapdog instead."
"How little you understand the
ways of our species. What's so important about this female anyway? Humans are
prey, that is all." In an abrupt about-face, she laughed, the musical
tinkle at odds with her fierce expression. "Oh, Morgan, you are a fool. Do
you think she's the one told of in The Book? Do not believe everything you
read."
Although surprised, Morgan wrinkled
his nose to convey disagreement. He'd underestimated Lily's cunning, but how
had she guessed so quickly? Moreover, he suspected she was right. The Book was
written by a fearful man, living in a fearful place. And yet . . .
What had drawn him to that ruined
dead-end road at exactly that time? The Book told of—
Before he could give it more
thought, Lily sniffed and glanced over his shoulder. Morgan followed her gaze
and saw a glow moving away from his cabin.
He felt a surge of rage. Dana had
disobeyed his command. This a female never did! Then remembering she was human,
not wolf, he sighed. Keeping her at his cabin would be even harder than he'd thought.
Lily inclined her head toward
Jorje. The wolfling crept forward. Morgan crouched, inflating his hackles to
their limits. With a snarl, he spread his arms and blocked their path.
"This is my territory, Lily.
Return to the dark, cheerless woods of Europe and leave me be. You're not
wanted here."
Lily put her hands at her waist,
jutting out one hip in a provocative human gesture that Morgan had once found
irresistible. She regarded him thoughtfully.
"The puny door of your puny
dwelling offers her no protection," she growled.
"No, but I do. And so does
Lupine Law."
Showing fang, Lily bristled her
coat like porcupine quills. Jorje weakly lifted the hair on his dark shoulders,
but still held back. Morgan could see Lily was considering her options. True,
the pair could rush him, but Jorje was immature, vulnerable to the dominance of
an older male. Although they might initially overtake Morgan, he could take out
the smaller wolf with one swipe of his powerful jaws. And unlike them, Morgan
was not tightly bound by the Law.
Lily obviously reached the same
conclusion. "Very well. You may have her. For now." She patted the
dark wolf on its head. "Come along, Jorje. We'll find you another."
With that, she smiled. Her body
shifted, wavered, and with a small glad whimper she returned to creature form
as easily as taking a breath. She nudged Jorje, and the pair leapt toward the
rim of the canyon. Morgan followed them with his eyes until they disappeared.
Yeafanay cawfanay naylanay may. The
Song of Hades filled his mind, bringing back the night he'd been consigned to
hell in vivid detail, yet also bringing renewed hope. A ritual from The Book
had made him what he was. Could everything else its pages foretold also be
true?
Years ago, when he first came to
Ebony Canyon, he'd taken the section on the Shadow of Venus out of The Book and
studied it carefully, almost committing it to memory. It was packed with chants
and rituals all based on astrology. Before his transformation, he would
straightened and tore her wrist from Morgan's grip. "I promised him the
female and he shall have her."
"No!" Morgan bristled his
coat and scraped the snow, sending a fresh spray of powder into the swirling
snow.
Lily smiled cynically.
"Look at you. So determined to
remain one of them." She jerked a disparaging hand toward the cabin where
the female slept, then leaned forward until her nose nearly touched Morgan's.
"You are a werewolf now,
Morgan. A hunter, like us." She sidled around, rump outthrust in sexual
invitation. "You can't escape. Why do you have such trouble grasping that
fact?"
With a rattlerlike motion, Morgan
dipped his head and nipped her thigh. She scurried back with a ki-yi-yi. Jorje
cringed and whimpered.
Lily whirled, glaring first at
Jorje, then at Morgan.
"Give it up, Lily. It's not
going to happen."
Morgan directed a scathing glance
at Jorje. "Mate with your lapdog instead."
"How little you understand the
ways of our species. What's so important about this female anyway? Humans are
prey, that is all." In an abrupt about-face, she laughed, the musical
tinkle at odds with her fierce expression. "Oh, Morgan, you are a fool. Do
you think she's the one told of in The Book? Do not believe everything you
read."
Although surprised, Morgan wrinkled
his nose to convey disagreement. He'd underestimated Lily's cunning, but how
had she guessed so quickly? Moreover, he suspected she was right. The Book was
written by a fearful man, living in a fearful place. And yet . . .
What had drawn him to that ruined
dead-end road at exactly that time? The Book told of—
Before he could give it more
thought, Lily sniffed and glanced over his shoulder. Morgan followed her gaze
and saw a glow moving away from his cabin.
He felt a surge of rage. Dana had
disobeyed his command. This a female never did! Then remembering she was human,
not wolf, he sighed. Keeping her at his cabin would be even harder than he'd thought.
Lily inclined her head toward
Jorje. The wolfling crept forward. Morgan crouched, inflating his hackles to
their limits. With a snarl, he spread his arms and blocked their path.
"This is my territory, Lily.
Return to the dark, cheerless woods of Europe and leave me be. You're not
wanted here."
Lily put her hands at her waist,
jutting out one hip in a provocative human gesture that Morgan had once found
irresistible. She regarded him thoughtfully.
"The puny door of your puny
dwelling offers her no protection," she growled.
"No, but I do. And so does
Lupine Law."
Showing fang, Lily bristled her
coat like porcupine quills. Jorje weakly lifted the hair on his dark shoulders,
but still held back. Morgan could see Lily was considering her options. True,
the pair could rush him, but Jorje was immature, vulnerable to the dominance of
an older male. Although they might initially overtake Morgan, he could take out
the smaller wolf with one swipe of his powerful jaws. And unlike them, Morgan
was not tightly bound by the Law.
Lily obviously reached the same
conclusion. "Very well. You may have her. For now." She patted the
dark wolf on its head. "Come along, Jorje. We'll find you another."
With that, she smiled. Her body
shifted, wavered, and with a small glad whimper she returned to creature form
as easily as taking a breath. She nudged Jorje, and the pair leapt toward the
rim of the canyon. Morgan followed them with his eyes until they disappeared.
Yeafanay cawfanay naylanay may. The
Song of Hades filled his mind, bringing back the night he'd been consigned to
hell in vivid detail, yet also bringing renewed hope. A ritual from The Book
had made him what he was. Could everything else its pages foretold also be
true?
Years ago, when he first came to
Ebony Canyon, he'd taken the section on the Shadow of Venus out of The Book and
studied it carefully, almost committing it to memory. It was packed with chants
and rituals all based on astrology. Before his transformation, he would
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