Wild Country (The World of the Others #2)- Anne Bishop Page 0,179

a circle with one hand that included her as well as Virgil. “If those words were said by someone who was not considered a friend …”

“My teeth would have been on his throat,” Virgil finished.

“Ah.” Scythe relaxed.

“The wolverine did wrong and needed to learn,” Virgil said.

“Being excluded from her pack was gentle punishment,” Yuri added.

“Being excluded does not always feel gentle,” Scythe said quietly.

They looked at her; then they looked at each other.

“I guess it doesn’t when it goes on too long.” Yuri looked toward the door. “We have customers.”

“I’m not dressed for work.” Scythe took a step back, intending to go up to her suite and change into one of her costumes. Then she saw their customers and stayed behind the bar.

* * *

* * *

Virgil didn’t recognize the two men who came in with Parlan Blackstone and couldn’t catch their scent. Not that it mattered. They moved like predators.

he called.

He knew Morgan wasn’t in town to challenge him, so why did the other Wolf sound uneasy?

Huh. Well, bringing a gift to a potential mate made sense. But why did Morgan sound uneasy? John wasn’t dominant enough to be a rival, and he … No, he wouldn’t consider having another mate while he lived so close to humans. Never again.

Parlan Blackstone approached the bar and nodded at Yuri. “Barkeep.”

“Mr. Blackstone,” Yuri replied. “What would you like?” He smiled, deliberately showing a hint of fang.

“Whiskeys all round from your best bottle,” Blackstone said. He looked at Virgil. “Buy you a drink, Sheriff?”

“I’ll have my usual,” Virgil said.

Yuri poured three whiskeys before setting a shot glass with a golden liquid in front of Virgil.

“What is that?” Parlan asked.

“My usual.” He saw no reason to tell a potential enemy that he liked apple juice. Humans were too fond of poisons.

“Nice place,” Taller Stranger said as he looked around.

“My place,” Scythe said.

She sounded mildly territorial, and anyone who didn’t know the warning signs—the curling hair now equally divided between broad red and blue streaks with a few threads of black—wouldn’t realize she was a long way from calm.

She, too, recognized other predators, regardless of species.

“I was telling Frank and Eli how I’m looking to open one of the neighborhood bars and hope to fix it up even half as nice as this saloon.” Parlan looked at Scythe but didn’t look her in the eyes. “You must have put a fair piece of work into this place when you acquired it.”

“Yes.” She offered nothing more. She looked past all of them.

Tobias Walker entered with Truman Skye, followed by Morgan.

Tobias glanced toward the men at the bar, then put an arm around Truman’s shoulders and tried to hustle the other human to a table near the back of the saloon.

“Couldn’t sleep last night,” Truman said. “I kept seeing that car, kept thinking about—”

“Nothing you could have done,” Tobias said loudly, his hand tightening on Truman’s shoulder so hard the man whimpered.

Scythe grabbed a bottle and glasses and strode over to the table.

Virgil said.

“What’s this about a car?” Parlan Blackstone asked, looking concerned.

“Car went off the road near the Skye Ranch,” Yuri replied. “Caught on fire. Some of the ranch hands rushed to the site to try to help, but they were too late.”

“What about the people in the car?” the taller one, Frank, asked.

“They died.”

Virgil watched Morgan brush by the two strangers, taking a sniff as he passed. The humans looked like they’d been kicked in the head and didn’t even notice the other Wolf.

Morgan said.

Yuri reminded them.

Morgan snarled. Then he hesitated.

Virgil said.

Something felt wrong about these humans—more wrong than the other strangers who had come into town. He wanted to

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