Page 21 of Triumph of the Wolf
“She accidentally turned on the seats’ cooling feature and complained that her tail was cold.” Bolin hesitated. “She doesn’t have a tail, does she? You know, as a human. I haven’t noticed that you… not that I’ve looked in that area. I mean, I have. A respectable and polite amount only. But…”
“She’s mentioned having phantom tail twitches, but no, we don’t have any weird werewolf parts when we’re human. Just slightly sharper canine teeth.”
“Weird,” Duncan said with a sniff.
“Okay, good. I used a little magic to deter your ex-husband’s initial attempt to gain access. Then Rue placed a potion wafting blue smoke in front of the door of your apartment, and it’s so far deterred him from attempting to enter or get too close.”
I would have to thank Rue for that. I wondered how she’d known who Chad was—or at least recognized him as someone up to no good. Maybe he’d had his nose pressed to my window when she’d chanced past.
“Do you want me to tell him that you…”
“Moved out and live in Hawaii now? Yes.”
“I was trying to deter him from forcing his way into your apartment, so I said you would be back soon. He said he’d wait, and he’s leaning against a tree outside the leasing office with his arms crossed over his chest.”
“Oh.” I sighed. “I guess I’m on my way home then.”
Oh, how I did not want to see him.
“I’m afraid I need to end our date early,” I told Duncan, disappointed that we hadn’t yet kissed.
“It’s all right.” He reeled in his magnet and gathered his finds, not looking disappointed in the least with how the nightwas going. “These tins are magnificent. They have to be from the mid-twentieth century.Antiques.”
“Their magnificence is what’s foremost on my mind right now too.”
Duncan chuckled. “I’m sure it’s not. Let me take you home. When we get there, do you want me to come over and growl at your ex?”
“Yes, and maim him horribly, please.” I shook my head. “Why is he evenhere?”
“I guess this is your opportunity to find out.”
I bared my fangs.
7
Dread filledme as we turned into the parking lot back home. Duncan, who kept fondly patting the rusty tins he’d found, didn’t seem nearly as concerned. Of course not. Chad had only been a brief acquaintance for him, not someone who’d been a part of his life for twenty years and whose name evoked memories of pain, frustration, and betrayal.
As we parked, a howl greeted us. A young howl.
“Your assassin is here.” I looked toward the greenbelt.
“I hear that.”
“He stays up late. Doesn’t Abrams impose a curfew?”
“Assassins usually ply their trade after dark, so this isn’t unexpected.”
“Kids need to go to bed early so they can be perky and alert for early-morning cartoons. It’s a parenting rule.”
“Interesting. I have much to learn about such things.” Duncan pointed toward the woods, as if to imply he would go practice parenting again but said, “I’ll come with you to see your ex-husband before checking on Lykos.”
The howl came again. It sounded more lonely and full of longing than threatening.
“You can go see what he wants first.” I poked in my purse and pulled out a half-consumed bag of dark-chocolate-covered almonds. “Here, share these with him. You can bond over them.”
Duncan eyed the bag. “He might be luring me out to a poisoned bear trap that I’ll step in, immediately incapacitating me, and giving him an opportunity to slay me without much risk to himself.”
I stared at him. That was oddly specific.
