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bare arm, pink
against the subtle blue of her veins. A knife wound. It made him
curious.
    “ We need to talk,” she
said.
    “ You sound like my old
girlfriend.”
    That earned him a slight lift of her brows.
“I need to understand why the Pack won’t bend, even to save their
most respected members.”
    “ I answered that.”
    “ Your answer was
insufficient.”
    Rafe let the silence stretch a beat,
weighing how much he should say. How much might she use against
them? “Do you have children?”
    She balked, as if reluctant to give away
anything about herself. “No. My sisters do.”
    Rafe thought he heard stirring from one of
the invisible gargoyles, but then silence resumed. He hated talking
when he had no idea who—or what—was in the room. “Then you know
there’s nothing a family won’t do for the future of their
kids.”
    The lids slowly lowered over her intense
green gaze, shutting him out. One hand travelled to the scar on her
arm. “I understand.”
    “ And if you touch one of our pups I
will personally end you.”
    Her gaze snapped back to his face. “Touch
one of the . . . ?” There was anger, even offence, in her
expression, but it slowly faded to her usual impassive expression.
“Then I need to know how to win, because I don’t dare lose.”
    The harsh statement didn’t measure up to her
shock of the moment before. She was talking tough, but she was no
threat to a child. Good to know. “Losing well is no dishonor.”
    “ It’s not about honor
anymore.”
    “ Then what is this about?”
    The conversation stalled until Rafe itched
to leap up and pace the room. He could sense her struggle, but if
he was going to figure her out, he had to let things unfold at her
pace.
    At last she sighed, leaning forward until
the lush fall of pale hair hid her face. “I made a bargain. A vow.
That’s all you need to know.”
    “ A blood oath.”
    She looked up sharply. “How did you know
that?”
    “ Your scar. I wouldn’t think the blood
necessary for a magic user. Vows spoken in the presence of a fey,
and all that.”
    “ A blood oath is stronger.” She put
her hand over the scar, hiding it. “It’s only used for the most
important promises. I wanted to make a point.”
    Rafe watched her, wondering what it was she
wanted to conceal. “That takes guts. Shedding your own blood takes
more courage than people think.”
    “ That depends on what’s at stake.” Her
voice was low and husky, almost a dare.
    “ How much are you going to lose?
Because you will lose. Wolves are stubborn.”
    She gave a low laugh that was surprisingly
frank. “This negotiation is more complicated than you may
think.”
    “ I think the kidnapping and
brainwashing is a pretty good clue how far you’re willing to
go.”
    She lifted her eyebrows. “Is that how you
see my little parlor tricks?”
    “ Parlor tricks.” He swore under his
breath, and she flinched. “You meant it as far more than that. You
intend coercion.”
    “ You use teeth and claws. My powers
serve the same function. Survival.”
    “ It’s not the same. Not at
all.”
    “ Glamor is a standard fey tactic. We
have to show our strength, and if we do it right, it’s no worse
than a hypnotist making a person do the chicken dance.
Embarrassing, but harmless.”
    “ I doubt your victims would consider
it harmless.”
    “ Do you apologize to your
prey?”
    Rafe stewed a moment. “Are we your prey? Is
that why you’re tearing an entire town up by its roots?”
    “ Don’t cry to me about that,” she shot
back. “At least your people will survive.”
    “ And yours won’t? Is that what’s at
stake?”
    She gave him a hard look, but said nothing.
Apparently, he’d hit the truth. She’d taken a blood oath to protect
her people. He felt a sneaking respect for her, predator to
predator. Under the right circumstances, he would do the same thing
to protect his Pack.
    Enlightening, but now he could almost see
her retreating behind the thick walls of her