Book 1 - Page 48 (2/2)

”Yes,” I said. I could also hear the woman's voice that said sweetly, ”Ask her, Stefan.”

He sucked in his breath as if the unknown woman had done something that hurt.

”Is there a strange werewolf with you at Uncle Mike's?” he asked.

”Yes,” I said, looking around. I couldn't smell anything like Stefan nearby, and I was pretty certain I'd have noticed. The vampires must have a contact at Uncle Mike's, someone who could tell Samuel was a werewolf and who knew Adam's werewolves.

”My mistress wonders that she was not informed of a visitor.”

”The wolves don't ask permission to travel here, not from your seethe,” I told him. ”Adam knows.”

”Adam has disappeared, leaving his pack leaderless.” They spoke together, his words so tight on the end of hers that he sounded like an echo.

I was relatively certain she didn't know I could hear her-though Stefan did. He knew what I was because I'd shown him. Apparently he hadn't seen fit to inform the rest of his seethe. Of course, someone as relatively powerless as I was of little interest to the vampires.

”The pack is hardly leaderless,” I said.

”The pack is weak,” they said. ”And the wolves have set precedent. They paid for permission to come into our territory because we are dominant to Adam's little pack.”

Samuel's eyes narrowed, and his mouth tightened. The vampire's contributors were the people who'd killed Mac, the people who had Jesse.

”So the new visitors have werewolves among them,” I said sharply. ”They are not Bran's wolves. They cannot be a pack. They are less than nothing. Outlaws with no status. I killed two of them myself, and Adam killed another two. And you know I am no great power. Real wolves, wolves who were pack, would never have fallen to something as weak as I.” That was the truth, and I hoped they both could hear it.

There was a long pause. I could hear murmuring in the background, but I could not tell what they said.

”Perhaps that is so,” said Stefan at last, sounding tired. ”Bring your wolf and come to us. We'll determine if he needs a visitor's pa.s.s. If not, we see no reason not to tell you what we know of these outlaws who are so much less than pack.”

”I don't know where your seethe is,” I said.

”I'll come and get you,” said Stefan, apparently speaking on his own. He hung up.

”I guess we're going to visit the vampires tonight,” I said. Sometime during the conversation, Zee had come out as well. I hadn't noticed when, but he was standing beside Samuel. ”Do you know vampires?”

Samuel shrugged. ”A little. I've run into one a time or two.”