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I followed the scent up a trail, cool and dark beneath the shade of trees, through the acreage set aside for rough, dry careenery like upside-down flowers in rainbow colors I took the path higher still, rade increased, to a tent far back from the others It was close to a runnel of water that e Creek, and the tent had been in place for several weeks, grass beginning to grow up at the tent sides The s here So was the smell of black were-leopard Kerindylow because she fell in love with Rick LaFleur and tried to turn hi were-taint broke were-law, and killing Safia had fulfilled the grindy’s pri it out on Safia’s lover boy My boyfriend Ex Whatever Rick’s scent still carried some of the wolf-taint too He’d suffered--been tortured by olves--because I hadn’t figured out he was in trouble I didn’t know if I loved him, but I knew that I owed him

"Hello the tent," I said softly

"I heard when you bring that machine into the park," a cultured, accented voice said

I followed the dulcet tones to the back of the tent where a woven, dark green ha in it One leg was draped over the side, bare foot and calf dangling Aarm, equally naked, held a bottle of beer The body between the tas hidden by hammock, and ha of the the niceties "You are dressed, aren’t you?"

He toasted led his toes at me in a drunken wave, which didn’t answer my question The dark skin of both lier, forever untouched by dae, remade with every shift Given a few ain, assuer For reasons I didn’t know, scars froue Hunter," he said "My alpha" I hadRick here, and care for hi-cat Kem wanted me to understand that he didn’t have to like it "My alpha, who s"

The last was a slur and I let a hint of rin out "Kemnebi, of the Party of African Weres, ly of beer"

He lifted his hand, the bottle disappearing behind the ha sound and the bottle reappeared, now half empty "Good beer Samuel Adams makes the most acceptable beer I have yet discovered in A all of theain "There are " I droppedchair, which was far less comfortable than it looked, and lifted the cooler lid anyway "I’ll take one of these, though" I opened another Coke and sipped, wondering how much beer it took to keep a shape-shifter drunk Our metabolisms are fast, and it had to be a lot of beer With a toe, I lifted the lid of a large, blue recycle pail It was three-quarters full of broken beer bottles Yeah A lot of beer After a corindy get here?"

"Safia’s pet arrive teek ago" The words held no inflection, but were carefully, drunkenly enunciated Interesting

"It was a long swim, I take it"

The ha, noncoave me" There was a heavy dose of bitter irony in the words I wasn’t real sure about the symbiotic relationship between the two races, but it would seeer from the other I didn’t knohat to say to that, but Kem was drunkenly loquacious and carried on the conversation without my contribution "They are like pets until we err Affectionate" The words trailed off, then picked back up again "He killed my mate And then he came beneath my hand for caress Helicked my hand" He spaced the last words widely, and they were full of venom "I forced him to leave, yet I still smell him on the wind He watches"

I wanted to say I was sorry, but that enuous I had a siot out of line, rindy did the weres Of course I didn’t lick Leo’s hand afterward The thought’s accorin, which I hid behind the Coke as I drank My sense of huet me killed one day "How is he?" I asked fro the subject

Ke above the ha to focus in my direction His face was darker in the shadows beneath the trees, but his eyes were vibrant "He is alive He is unchanged He is frightened about the full ain soon He is lonely As lonely as I am"