Tales Of The Sazi 05 - Moon's Fury by C.t. Adams . Cathy Clamp Page A

him during the Civil War, and has been one ever since. He's an eagle on the moon and the term terror from the sky probably isn't a bad thing to consider him. Stay on his good side, because understand he can take either one of you in a fight and, quite possibly, both of you at once.”
    Lucas paused as though he'd heard something, then stood and walked to the window to look out for a moment. He shook his head, tiny little movements that said something was bothering him and flared his nostrils next to the window opening. But she couldn't smell a thing from him and he didn't elaborate. No doubt he was wearing the Wolven cologne. He opened the refrigerator next to the door and pulled out a small glass bottle of Dr Pepper, then raised one inquiring eyebrow at them. "Anyone else want one?
    I haven't had one of these for ages. I didn't realize they were still making the Dublin formula.”
    Adam and Will both raised their hands, so she did as well. Rosa was absolutely addicted to the sugared soda. "They still ship them locally, just not out of state." After a questioning look from Adam, she explained, "Dr Pepper was founded in the town of Dublin, here in Texas, and made a deal with a local company for sugar for the soda. But when they started to ship nationally, the sugar plant couldn't keep up, so they switched to corn syrup like everyone else. But they still make some of the old formula. It tastes a lot better!”
    She was impressed that Lucas could palm two bottles in each hand without straining. He had bigger hands than she'd first thought. When he sat down, it was as though he were full human. He'd managed to completely mask all of his power, somehow pulling it inside himself until he was a blank slate.
    "All you need to know about me is that I'm presently known as Lucas Santiago. Up until a few months ago, I was the alpha male of the Boulder pack, and the council representative for the wolves. That's all changed and, before you ask, no I won't tell you how it all came about, other than it was a choice I made for a variety of reasons. Now, your present council rep is Nikoli Molotov, the Alpha of Chicago. But if you have any problems in the next few months, I'm the man to talk to, even though I'm presently the Wolven chief. I've replaced Fiona Monier for the time being. She's my second. But I'll be taking personal responsibility for all agents in Texas and South America until further notice. That means you'll report to me.”
    Will looked as taken aback as she felt, and there was some underlying text that Cara couldn't just let sit. "I'm afraid I'm confused, Chief Santiago. You said all agents. But I've never been in Wolven. I never finished the program.”
    He smiled, but it was a baring of teeth with no humor behind it. "Welcome to the future, Sheriff Salinas. Your promotion in the county hierarchy was your graduation. I'm making you a reserve agent. Your field supervisor—and yours, too, Adam—will be Will.”
    Adam didn't look nearly as confused as Cara felt. He nodded, but smelled frustrated, as though he'd suspected something and had just gotten verification.
    "I wondered if that's where you were leading with the my agents comment earlier. I have to presume there's a reason why you're doing this. I haven't been in Wolven for quite a few years, but reserve agents were only activated when there were bad things— really bad things coming. You gonna tell us what's up?”
    Lucas shook his head but met Adam's eyes calmly. "Not yet. It's a very complicated situation. I can tell you there's a lot going on in the world right now. Individual events may or may not be connected. That's what I'm here for—to look at the whole forest. I'll be asking each of you to look for specific trees. And, that leads me to your introduction. Adam Mueller is a former Wolven agent. He was partnered with Will briefly when he joined the agency. Presently, he's a fourth-grade patrol officer in the Minneapolis police out of the very rough Franklin