Read Tales Of The Sazi 05 - Moon's Fury for Free Online Page A

pad, and Santiago locked eyes with him. "You left the pack meeting before it was over?”
    "Yes sir. I had to go on shift. I didn't think my watch commander would find the reason acceptable if I was late.”
    Santiago nodded and actually gave him a small, lopsided smile that went all the way to his eyes.
    "No doubt. So, who brought up the idea of you coming down here to …what did you call it— recon the area? Was it at the public meeting, or in your private discussion beforehand?”
    He glanced around the room to see if there was a water pitcher. It was getting a little close in the room, both from the humidity and Santiago's crackling power, which raised the small hairs on his neck. Even being on the other side of the room didn't help much. He was almost afraid to stand up for fear of getting shocked.
    As though reading his mind, the other man put down his pen. "There's pop in the fridge next to the bathroom. You might as well get us each one. Hope Coke's okay. It was all they had in the machine outside.”
    Adam stood up and eased past the other man, glancing sideways at him a little nervously when he said casually, "And yes, it is humid today. It's not just me.”
    After pulling three cans from the tabletop refrigerator with a fake wood door that didn't want to seal when closed, he tried carefully not to think about anything at all. When he handed one can to Santiago, he was surprised to discover there was no ache when their skin touched. He'd managed to swallow all that power, leaving only the light scent of ozone—the calm after a storm. There was now no sense at all that the other man was anything more than an ordinary human. That took more talent than he could even imagine.
    After setting down the third can next to Vivian's motionless arm, he popped the top on his and looked squarely at the Wolven chief. The silvered temples of his dark hair seemed out of place with the smooth, unlined face—as though the gray had been painted on a much younger man. He might as well take the bull by the horns. "If you can read minds, sir, why are you bothering to question me?”
    The answer was both chilling and reassuring, leaving Adam to wonder what to do or say. "I can't read every mind—you're just one of the lucky ones. And I'm questioning you because not every word that appears in a person's mind winds up on their tongue. I wanted to hear what you had to say before I decided what you had to hide. More luck for you—I don't think you're hiding anything. Oh, and you might as well call me Lucas. I try to stay on a first name basis with my agents. But back to the question—
    reconning the area. Whose idea?”
    My agents. Was he being reactivated? Why? Was it a good thing or bad? Adam shook his head to get his mind back on track. "Well, it was sort of both of ours. I don't remember who brought it up first. When he said the council had appointed me as the new alpha, I said I'd never been to Texas. He said the same, and we wondered how we'd know who to pick to go, or whether we should ask for volunteers. He said he felt like he was picking cattle to go to auction …meaning slaughter, and I think at that point, we both made some…well, some pretty…um, disparaging remarks about the council in general and their heritages in particular." Might as well be up-front at this point. Lying would lead to a bad place if his thoughts were an open book. He shrugged ruefully. "No offense.”
    This time, Lucas actually grinned. "None taken. Especially since I wasn't part of the vote. But I have heard the tapes of the meeting, so I do know what was and wasn't said to your pack leader. I need to do a little thinking at this point, and I have a meeting to attend.”
    Adam stood up. "Then we should be going. If we're not supposed to be here, then we'll just—”
    But Lucas waved him back to his seat. "You stay. You're going with me to the meeting. But, Ms. Carmichael, I'd like you to wait in your room until we return.”
    Vivian let out a