Page 22 of Snips, Snails and Werewolf Tails

It's impossible to tell who killed them or why. They've all been murdered, and they are all here on pack territory. And even though these particular members of my pack might not have been my favorites, they were still my people, and I was responsible for them.

"Who would have done this?" I whisper to myself as I kneel beside Tala's lifeless body.

None of my wolves would have done this. Even if they were still angry at Tala, they wouldn't resort to murder. It's just not the way they are. Werewolves may have the capacity for brutality, but they respect the other members of their pack.

So the murderers must be vampires. Mickael did this; he was probably furious about being defeated and blamed Tala and the other wolves for it.

My blood boils with the desire to make Mickael pay for this atrocity. Any attacks on my pack are attacks against me.

I race to the den to tell my pack what happened, then send Gregory and some of the others to collect the bodies of our fallen brethren before the humans wake up and come across their dead bodies littering the street.

"What are you going to do about this?" one of the older wolves asks as I pace the length of the den and try to calm myself down.

In truth, I don't know. My instinct is to shift and race to the vampire club to tear Mickael's jugular out. That man is a plague on this city, and Boston would be much better off without him. But I know that will only provoke the nightwalkers into attacking us again. As much as I hate to admit it, this situation requiresdiplomacy.

"I'll go and speak to the coven," I say, pausing my pacing to address the wolves.

They grumble and growl, and I know it's because they would prefer to go and hunt down the killers.

"This situation requires finesse," I remind them. "Another false accusation against the vampires won't help things."

"But we allknowthe vampires are behind this," someone else in the group protests.

"It doesn't matter until we can prove it," I say. "Which is why I'm going to the coven to get their help. They can use magic to help us find out who murdered our pack members, and then, once we have proof, I will hand out justice as I see fit."

The pack looks somewhat satisfied with my response, probably because I haven't said wewon'tmake the vampires and Mickael pay for what they did, only that we have to get undeniable proof first. By and large, werewolves aren't the most patient of shifters, but this shouldn't take long. Between the wolves tracking scents, and the witches using magic, we should have our definitive answer soon. And once we do, all bets are off.

13

ELSPETH

When Lucian pays an unexpected midday visit to the coven, I can immediately tell that something is wrong.

"I can't believe the vampires would do such a thing," Blair says in astonishment when he tells us about the slaughtered wolves.

"We can't be certain it was them," Isla interjects.

I knew that at least one of the witches would make that point.

"I know it was Mickael," he says with certainty. "But I need to prove it, which is why I'm here. Help me prove that the vampires did this."

"We will help you to find and provewhoeverdid this," Sybil corrects. "Whether it's the vampires or someone else."

But her attempt to correct him and stay objective only makes Lucian enraged. He glances at me, and I'm not sure what to say. I feel a bit nauseous. But the longer we stand here doing nothing, the more impatient and frustrated Lucian becomes.

"Look, I have a pile of dead wolves in Back Bay and a pack itching to take justice into their own hands." His voice raises as he starts to fly off the handle. "My people were murdered right on my own territory, and Iknowit was the vampires. They can't be trusted."

"It's not that we don't believe you, Lucian," I say as gently as I can. "Personally, I think it was Mickael, too. But you need to calm down so we can figure out the best way to prove it without getting any more of your people killed."

He looks like I've betrayed him by siding with my sisters. But in this case, Lucian is in danger of being blinded by his anger, and before he rushes into anything, we should arm ourselves. But he doesn't want to listen to reason.

"If you're not going to help, then I will go and take on Mickael by myself."

Thankfully, Gregory and Renna show up in time to hear their alpha say that.

"We agree with the witches on this one," Renna says to my surprise. "Nothing we've tried has worked. We need to come up with a better plan. One that won't fail."

"I have a plan that won't fail," Lucian growls. He pushes them both out of his way as he walks to the door. "It's the one where I go and kill that bloodsucking bastard."

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