The bag had smelled of vampire.
The snow elf knelt beside Mary Jo and touched her shoulder.
Adam pulled her gently away, setting her in Paul's lap, and put himself between her and the snow elf.
"Mine," he said.
The elf raised his hands and smiled mildly, but there was a bite to his words.
"No harm, Alpha.
I meant no trouble.
My days of roaming the mountains with a wolf pack at my beck and call are long over." Adam nodded, keeping his eyes on the enemy.
"That may be.
But she is one of mine.
And I am not one of yours." "Enough," said Uncle Mike.
"One fight a night is good enough.
Go home, Ymir." The kneeling elf looked at Uncle Mike, and the skin grew tight around his eyes for a moment before he smiled brightly.
I noticed that his teeth were very white, if a little crooked.
He stood up, using just the muscles of his thighs, like a martial artist.
"It has been a long night." He made a slow turn that encompassed not just Uncle Mike, the wolves, and me, but everyone else in the room--who I just realized were all watching us ...
or maybe they were watching the snow elf.
"Of course it is time to go.
I'll see you all." No one said anything until he was out of the building.
"Well," said Uncle Mike, sounding more Irish than usual.
"Such a night." MARY JO WAS MOVING BUT STILL DAZED WHEN WE GOT her outside.
So Adam instructed Paul and his friend (whose name, as it happened, was Alec and not Sean or Stan at all) to take her to Adam's house.
Paul packed Mary Jo in the back of her car with Alec and started to get in.
He looked at my feet.
"You shouldn't be out here barefoot," he told the ground.
Then he shut the car door, turned the key as he turned on the lights, and left.
"He meant thank you," said Adam.
"I'll say it, too.
I can think of a lot of things I'd rather do than try to defend Paul from Baba Yaga." "I should have let her have him," I told Adam.
"It would have made your life easier." He grinned, then stretched his neck.