River Marked

“I just got married,” I told him, reminding my too-jittery self that Adam would be on his way back by now. If something happened, and I had no reason to think it would—especially as they had handed over a blanket to cover me without a word—Adam would be here before anything too bad happened. I wouldn’t be caught in the trap of assuming all men were bad—but I wouldn’t have been human if I weren’t wary. “We were swimming.”

“Good thing for Be

Fred (I could tell because he wore a red fla

Evidently he’d been listening because he said, “I called 911, Jim, and they had already gotten a call from her husband. There is an ambulance on its way. I told the operator that we could get Be

“What about taking him on the boat?” asked Calvin.

Fred shook his head.“We might get him to the hospital faster that way—but the ambulance will have medical perso

“Whatever you and Hank think best,” said Jim, which seemed to make the decision for everyone.

5

THE ONLY BRUSH OR TREES IN THIS PART OF THE gorge that weren’t cultivated—very little of the ground on either side of the riverwas cultivated—were right on the river. For the most part our footing was cheatgrass-covered basalt, not horrible hiking if I’d had shoes.

It would have been better if I could have shifted into coyote, but I didn’t know these men—and I don’t make it a habit of telling everyone what I am. Too many bad things happened to people who admitted too openly what they were without a powerful group behind them—and sometimes even with a powerful group behind them. I’d survived a long time by keeping my headdown and blending in; I wasn’t going to change that just to make my bare feet feel better.

The Owens brothers and Calvin took turns carrying Be

I could have done that, but what if they ran into Adam? Under normal circumstances, they’d be perfectly safe. But Adam had had to make two fast changes tonight and experienced a number of stressors. He’d been forced to leave me naked and vulnerable. Be

Adam was not human and hadn’t been for a long time. His control was very good—but this was not a good night for him to be meeting up with strangers carrying a bleeding, hurt man.

So I insisted on going with them.

We might have been a half mile from the road, but that half mile was all up the side of a very steep hill that was broken up with basalt cliffs that ranged from two feet to twenty or thirty feet high. The first kind we scrambled over; the second we worked our way around.

We’d made it about halfway by my hazy reckoning when Adam caught up to us. He was human and clothed, but his eyes were yellow bright from the adrenaline and the pain of his rushed changes.

He handed me a backpack, and said,“Clothes, shoes, and first aid.” His voice was a low, growling sound, and his hand shook.

“Thank you,” I said. “I’m safe with them.” I found that I believed that now, and it was a relief. “Can you get Be

Adam didn’t look directly at any of the strangers—so they wouldn’t have the opportunity to meet his eyes. That was good and bad. It told me he was still in control—but he didn’t trust himself to stay that way.

He took Be

Hank didn’t fight Adam—just held very still, as though he sensed how much danger he was in. Adam lifted his head once, then took a quick look at all the men before sprinting off for the road at a dead run.

“Who the hell was that?” asked Calvin.

He had to have had a fair idea of who it was—after all, Adam had brought clothes for me. What he meant, I thought, was how did Adam run up the side of the canyon carrying Be

Adam’s status was not a secret, though there were still a lot of werewolves who hid what they were. Adam was almost a celebrity in the TriCities, though we were hoping the fascination with him would die down. It did no harm for Calvin and the others to know what he was—and maybe it would give thema little caution when we caught up to him.

Putting on my jeans was slow work because I was still a little damp, but the warmth felt wonderful. He’d packed a sweatshirt that smelled like Adam, came down to my knees, and was warmer than anything I’d brought. I dusted off my sore and bleeding feet and stuffed them into a pair of socks, then into my te

I looked up to see all four men watching me.

“Don’t meet his eyes if you can help it—he’s had a rough day,” I told them. Then, with the blanket in one hand, I took off after Adam, leaving the others to follow however they would. They’d been swift and sure in the face of their friend’s trouble. They’d recover from the werewolf pretty fast.

Adam was waiting for us at the highway’s shoulder when I found him. He’d set the injured man down a few yards away, where there was a big rock he’d used to keep Be

“Hey.” I spread the blanket over Be

“Not good,” he admitted without looking at me. “I need someone to kill.” I think he was trying to be fu

I could hear the others approaching. My feet were battered, shoes or no shoes, and my calf ached where the water plant had been pulled off so abruptly. I hadn’t made the best time up to the highway and, without Be

“No one here needs killing,” I told him with quiet urgency. “These men were out looking for Be

Adam still wasn’t meeting my eyes, but he laughed, and it sounded genuinely amused. “Shouldn’t.”

“Shouldn’t what?”

“Shouldn’t kill them, Mercy. Not can’t.”

I put my forehead against his shoulder.“It’s the same thing for you,” I told him confidently.

He took a deep breath and turned around to meet the four men who were approaching us a little warily—because they weren’t stupid.

“Hello,” he said, his voice still growly and about a half octave lower than usual. “I’m Adam Hauptman. Alpha of the Columbia Basin Pack.”

“Jim Alvin,” said Jim, stepping forward. I’d told them not to meet his eyes, but he did better than that. Maybe it was luck, maybe he knew something of werewolves or just wild animals, but he turned one shoulder forward and tipped his head sideways and down submissively even as he reached outa hand. “Of the Yakama Nation. Thank you for the help. Be