his thumbs in his ears and spreading his fingers out like moose antlers. "You know, one of Adam's jobs was to make sure you didn't run around telling the world about werewolves."
The light turned green, and the kid waved sadly as his van accelerated onto the interstate ramp. We were accelerating, too, but the ramp curled around in an uphill slant so it would take us a while to get to interstate speed.
I snorted. "Kyle's not the world." I glanced at him. "Besides, you knew what I was going to do as well as Adam did. If you'd really objected, you could have stopped me before I left."
"Maybe I think Kyle is trustworthy."
I snorted. "Maybe the moon is made of green cheese. You don't care. You think the werewolves need to come out in public like the fae." Samuel had never been afraid of change.
"We aren't going to be able to hide much longer," Samuel said, confirming my guess. "When I went back to school, I realized just how far forensic medicine has come. Ten years ago, when it was just the military and the FBI labs we had to worry about, having a few wolves in the right places was sufficient. But there aren't enough wolves to infiltrate every small-town police laboratory. Since the fae came out, the scientists are paying closer attention to abnormalities they used to attribute to lab equipment failure or specimen contamination. If Da doesn't pick his time soon, it'll pick him."
"You're the reason he's considering it at all." That made sense. Bran had always given close consideration to Samuel's advice.
"Da's not stupid. Once he understood what we faced, he came to the same conclusion. He has a meeting scheduled for all the Alphas this coming spring." He paused. "He considered using Adam-the handsome Vietnam war hero."
"Why not you?" I asked. "The handsome, selfless doctor who has been keeping people alive for centuries."
"That's why Da's in charge and you're just a minion," he said. "Remember, popular culture holds that all you need to become a werewolf is to have one bite you-not unlike AIDS. It will be a while before they're comfortable rubbing elbows up close and personal. Better to leave them thinking that all the wolves are in the military and the police. You know-'To Serve and Protect'."
"I'm not a minion," I objected hotly. "Minions have to be followers." He laughed, pleased at having gotten my goat again.
"You don't mind that I told Kyle early?" I asked after a while.
"No, you were right. He has too much to lose by going to the tabloids, and he's the kind of people we need behind us-to keep the mobs under control."
"Educated, well-spoken, well-bred lawyer?" I tried. Yes, that all fit Kyle. "But he's not exactly mainstream."
Samuel shrugged. "Being gay has a certain cachet today."
I thought of the story Kyle had told me about his family and thought Samuel was mistaken, at least in some quarters. But all I said was, "I'll tell Kyle he has a certain cachet with you."
Unexpectedly, Samuel grinned. "I'd rather you didn't. He'll just flirt with me some more."
"Speaking of uncomfortable," I said, "what had you and Warren so uptight?"
"It was mostly Warren," he said. "I'm a stranger, a dominant wolf in his territory-and he was already upset because he thought he was losing the love of his life. If I'd realized how dominant he was, I'd have taken myself elsewhere for the night. We'll manage, but it won't be comfortable."
"He's Adam's third."
"Would have been nice if someone had seen fit to tell me that," Samuel groused good-naturedly. "With Adam wounded and the second not there, that sticks Warren in the Alpha role-no wonder he was so wound up. I was ready to go out and take a walk myself when you showed up." He gave me a sharp look. "Odd how you showing up let him back down. Just as if Adam's second were there-or his mate."
"I'm not pack," I said shortly. "I'm not dating Adam. I have no status in the pack. What I did have was a long overdue conversation with Kyle-which is what distracted Warren."
Samuel continued to watch me. His mouth was quirked up, but his eyes were full of things I couldn't read, as he said, "Adam's staked his claim on you before his pack. Did you know that?"
I hadn't. It made me suck in an angry breath before I realized why he might have done that. "He had to keep his pack from killing me somehow.