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I shook ed "What?"

Uni, Jerry see muffled insults at us and fell asleep It seeiven his steady snores, he was apparently couilty that I’d had more sleep than Caleb in the last twenty-four hours and he was the one as driving Since he’d sort of banned , he could just deal with it Funny, I’d had intermittent insomnia ever since I’d filed divorce papers, but I was able to nod off in a itive

Soht, Caleb stopped for coffee at a run-down all-night diner halfway to our destination I woke up enough to check on Jerry, as still unconscious, and reasse like a ponytail I offered Caleb a grateful se juice At that point, I wasn’t sure if I could handle caffeine or coffee breath

"It occurs tofondness for plastic restraints and preservedthe juice and welcoar

"I’ave me a sunny smile that was just obscene at that hour

And by the olves were anything but open and honest The CIA could take lessons in discretion and misdirection from a olf pack They tended to live in insular co the "off" about a olf, the as auntil those huer sure what they saw For every odd behavior, they had a dozen plausible explanations They shared their secrets with a few select, trusted huuided human who betrayed a olf clanwell, I don’t knohat happened to thee predators is that they usually kno to hide a body froe predators include state troopers

"And what do you do in your spare ti"

"An outdoorsy type, huh?" I asked, having just a little too ame

"You could say that," he said "And what about you? Any hobbies I should know about? Taxidero fros are not a hobby"

"I never knoith you wild tattooed worinned "So what do you do for fun?"

I pursedwith a healthy dollop of truth "Dye overnment paperwork"

Caleb’s expression waffled between uh-oh andI didn’t knohether he believed me or not I wasn’t sure whether he wanted to believe me or not Finally, he cleared his throat and said, "Well, you are an interesting girl, aren’t you?" I shruggedlashes "What are you running fro lashes "Colu my snarkiness quickly "Oh, sure, they say they’ll sell you six CDs for a penny, but they’ll hunt you down like the hounds of hell if youaround"

"I’m not A Wilson Phillips CD ruined my life"

I was treated to yet another Caleb expression to add to the catalogue, the halfhearted I’lower Nor a bit, at least leaning back in my seat But there was no heat in Caleb’s stare, just frustration and a touch of irritation Somewhere in my chest, a little pressure valve opened up, and I was able to release a breath I didn’t even know I’d been holding

Contrite, I told hi real "I’m not ready to talk about it yet All you need to know is that I need to get to Anchorage to pick soal I don’t have any warrants After that, I don’t knohere I will be going"

Calebinto the distance Well, if there was any way to kill a fun, flirtatious conversation, that was it We rode along in silence for a mile or two

Desperate to recover the previous s or only?"

"Only," he answered Of course, I knew that Only children were such a rarity in the hyperproductive pack that the wolf-aunties were sure to tsk over "poor Caleb," all alone, the last of his line, handling the details of his father’s death by himself

Caleb’s mother, a human, had abandoned him and his father when Caleb was just a little boy, I remembered nohich had been quite the scandal in the little valley community Did the lack of brothers and sisters make it easier for Caleb to leave the packlands and wander by himself? As a cub, he would have had plenty of kids to run around with, cousins upon cousins to keep froine Caleb feeling his connections to his felloolves fading

I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for hi with other wolves was supposed to be one of the best parts of being a olf How often was he able to shift out here on his own? How did he avoid hunters and ga alone was considered a big no-no in the valley The more time a wolf spends with the pack, the clearer hisThere was a sort of collective iven some of the stupid stuff so solo could lead to a aking up in hu lot two hundred ie) Or suspected of eating hikers (It had happened to Cooper)

I cast a sidelong glance at Caleb How long had it been since he’d been able to run? Werewolves had to shift every once in a while just to get the "iggles" out Maggie told et pretty cranky if they went too long without phase It would explain Caleb’s occasionally less-than-sunny deer than I thought, because Caleb was looking atin car ga, I cleared e?"

"No"

"Past felonies?" I asked

"Is public nudity a felony?"

Wrinklingdolls I’ve always hated those"