Page 25 of Werewolves Don't Howl
“Then I’ll send her to Henredon. He could match her.”
Max laughed. “If you could find him. He’s been avoiding you and your manipulations more successfully than anyone.”
The Alta sighed heavily. “Why won’t you be reasonable, Max? How long are you going to refuse a mate? She’s a good female. She knits. And that sweet wolf, and the fierce beast, she is a perfect combination of lethal and lovable. You can’t claim that she wants you for your power.”
“Because she doesn’t want me,” Max stated flatly. “I’m not going to force anyone to be my mate.”
“Then Henredon it is,” the old Alta said with a dark scowl.
There was a thud of boots on rock and then spinning golden lights flared high above, and there, standing on the top ledge, was Senator Silverton in a tuxedo. He had a long cape draped over his shoulders, but that was definitely a tuxedo underneath. Interesting. I’d started hallucinating sooner than I expected. I must have an amazing concussion.
“I will protect her,” the prettiest elf in the world said in a voice that carried and wrapped around you and filled you with a sense of the inevitable. This was the weirdest hallucination ever, but also the best, because he was just that pretty.
ChapterEight
Ipassed out for a second, but then woke up from the pain of being dragged upright. Was that Max? What was he doing? Where was I? Where were my clothes? Then again, who needed clothes when you have open flesh wounds?
No, this hurt too much to be a hallucination. The pain of trying to put weight on my broken leg cleared my head astonishingly well.
“Stand,” Max murmured and then released me, which didn’t hurt as much as him holding me up, but on the other hand, balancing on one leg while my other broken limbs dangled wasn’t exactly fun.
“Do you accept the senator as your protector?” the Alta asked me while he pulled on a nice blue button-down shirt.
“Pardon?” I mumbled through swollen lips. I blinked and then looked up to see if it was possible that I hadn’t hallucinated.
Senator Silverton leapt lightly down to another ledge, then another, until he was in the circle with us. I stared at him. Yes, he really was wearing a tuxedo. He came forward with his charming politician smile, holding out a hand to the Alta.
They shook hands, and then Silverton gestured above us. Light flickered and then lightning lit up a figure in a cloak with a large decal on his chest that I recognized as the sorcerer’s guild. I was definitely still hallucinating.
A wind rose, and then the silhouette of an enormous winged beast flanked the sorcerer while on his other side another creature crouched with cruel twisted features, cast from stone. A gargoyle. So we had a sorcerer, a dragon, and a gargoyle up there. That made absolutely no sense. Were they having some kind of political thing and needed the Alta to join them?
Silverton said, smiling persuasively, “As you see, I’ve brought a few guardians who can assist me in escorting Miss Era home. Her safety is assured.”
“Delphi’s a werewolf.” The Alta looked Silverton up and down. “Unless I’m mistaken, you aren’t.”
“I’m not, but I have recently read your entire werewolf code of law. You can only force her to mate with someone who can defeat her. That leaves you. Aren’t you a bit old for her?”
The Alta scowled at Silverton, rubbing his black beard. “I’m not going to force her to mate to an outsider. I refuse to let you challenge her.”
“I’m not going to challenge her. She already chose me. She’s living in my house. She asked me to let her stay when this Ridley threat arose. She asked me to be her protector. It was one thing to date her, but taking on such a role is serious. I had to consider, but now that I have thought it over, I accept the role of her protector and will serve her faithfully.”
Dating? We weren’t dating. Were we? His tuxedo was ready, but my outfit was distinctly lacking. And there he was, getting his first glimpse of my gorgeous nudity. I sighed and then winced when so many things hurt. Ow, ow, ow. Who cared if the Senator would always see the poor helpless girl wearing bruises? I did. I didn’t need to worry about anything else, but here I was, worried about something as stupid as what the Senator thought about me naked.
“Max, is this true? Were they dating?” the Alta asked with a frown.
Nobody asked me. Good thing. Breathing was tricky enough. Also, my thoughts were still muddled. Was this really happening? Surreal. The elf had such pretty eyes, and his tuxedo was so fancy. He could make an event out of anything, even a circle of barbarians.
Max rubbed his chin and glanced at me, a warning in his eyes. “He washed the blood out of her fur. You could smell him on her, but she never stated directly that he was her protector.”
“Because I hadn’t committed myself,” Silverton said, like that was perfectly reasonable.
The Alta frowned at him, then up at the ledge where Silverton’s backup watched. The Alta didn’t seem worried, but that was a serious threat that Silverton had walked into his territory, er, flown into his territory. “You’ve been hunting a monster for a long time. Do you think it’s connected?”
“You’ve seen Ridley’s death strike. It doesn’t match her claw size. Or yours. The killer’s bigger than any wolf’s.”
The Alta rumbled low in his chest. “So, you’d use her as bait?”
“You doubt my genuine concern for a charming member of my city?”
