That was why I wasn't sorry enough for Mary Jo that I'd let her escape blame by pointing her finger at the other two.
"The bowling alley was you," I said.
"Oh, Paul wouldn't cry if Adam and I broke up--but he wants to get rid of Adam more than he wants to get rid of me.
Henry .
.
.
Maybe that as the straw that broke the camel's back for Henry--you'd know better than I.
Was that the first time he realized how much you wanted Adam?" Adam jerked his head toward me.
I guess he hadn't noticed how Mary Jo felt.
"Paul," began Mary Jo.
Then she stopped.
Closed her eyes and shook her head.
"Not Paul." She gave Adam a wry smile.
"Paul is tough, and he's not stupid--but he's not a planner.
He'd never have figured out how to force you to accept a challenge before you were ready.
She's right.
It's Henry.
What can I do?" "Not a darn thing," he said.
"Just be smarter next time." "When's the fight?" I asked, trying to be cool, trying to be a good coyote who lets her mate go out and fight a duel to the death when it hurts him to walk.
I had to do it, because sobbing and fussing wouldn't change anything except make his job harder.
If he refused the challenge, Paul would be Alpha--and if I knew Paul, his first act would be to kill Adam.
Henry was hoping so, anyway.
And the reason it was Paul who challenged and not Henry was because as soon as the Marrok heard about this--Paul was a dead man.
And that would leave Darryl in charge of the pack with Warren as his second.
The pack would not tolerate having a gay man in the second position because if something happened to Darryl, Warren would run the pack.
So Warren would be killed or be moved by Bran--leaving Henry as the second in the pack.
Of course, Adam would have to lose to Paul for that to happen.
I felt sick.
Adam looked at Jesse's clock, which read 9:15.
"Fifteen minutes from now in the dojo," he said.