I hadn't thought it possible to induct someone who wasn't a werewolf.
I certainly hadn't thought that he could make me pack.
Magic works oddly on me sometimes, and at others I'm pretty much immune to it.
But from the results I could feel, it had worked just fine this time.
Adam had turned and stood with his back to me, his shoulders hunched, his hands fisted at his side.
He didn't answer my question, but said stiffly, "I'm sorry for that.
I panicked." I put my forehead down on my knees.
"There's been a lot of that going around recently." I heard the dry grass crunch as he walked back to me.
"Are you laughing?" he sounded incredulous.
I looked up at him.
The last rays of the sun silhouetted him in golden rays and obscured the expression on his face.
But I could see shame in the set of his shoulders.
He'd made me pack without asking me-- without asking the pack either, though that wasn't strictly necessary, just traditional.
He was waiting for me to yell at him as he felt he deserved.
Adam was used to paying for the consequences of his choices--and sometimes the choices were hard ones.
He'd been making a lot of hard choices for me lately.
Stefan had been so far in my head that I had smelled like him.
And Adam had made me pack to save me.
He was prepared to pay the price--and I was pretty sure there would be a price extracted.
But not by me.
"Thank you, Adam," I told him.
"Thank you for tearing Tim into small Tim bits.
Thank you for forcing me to drink one last cup of fairy bug-juice so I could have use of both of my arms.
Thank you for being there, for putting up with me." By that point I wasn't laughing anymore.
"Thank you for keeping me from being another of Stefan's sheep--I'll take pack over that any day.
Thank you for making the tough calls, for giving me time." I stood up and walked to him, leaning against him and pressing my face against his shoulder.
"Thank you for loving me." His arms closed around me, pressing flesh painfully hard against bone.
Love hurts like that sometimes.
4
I'D HAVE LOVED TO STAY THERE FOREVER, BUT AFTER A few minutes, I felt the cold sweat break out on my forehead and my throat started to close down.