Wild Country (The World of the Others #2)- Anne Bishop Page 0,24

spoken to the boy a couple of times. But they had been outside, and the wind had not been in his favor. Now, standing inside the building …

He doesn’t smell like prey. He’s human. I know he’s human. Why doesn’t he smell like prey?

He knew the answer. It just wasn’t a realistic answer because the only other person he’d met who didn’t smell like prey was Meg Corbyn, the Lakeside Courtyard’s Human Liaison. The blood prophet.

“You wanted … ?” Joshua prompted.

“Barbara Ellen is going to teach you how to sort the books.”

“Barbara Ellen.” Joshua took a step back. “How can she teach me? She’s not very smart.”

He bristled. “Why do you say that?”

“She tangled with Virgil. How smart can she be?”

Tolya sighed. The boy had a point. “Humans have a saying about having book smarts and street smarts. Barbara Ellen has book smarts, but her previous dealings with the Wolfgard were less … exciting … and may have given her a false understanding of what a dominant Wolf will tolerate.”

Joshua thought about this and finally nodded. “Street smarts are about knowing how to move in the world, yes? Recognizing what is safe and what is dangerous.”

Tolya nodded. “That is a good description.”

“So I will learn book smarts from her, and maybe she can learn some street smarts from me.” The boy looked like he was bracing himself for some kind of conflict. “But I don’t want to have sex with her. Saul thinks it would be better to avoid mating with females until I have learned more about what is expected from a mate.”

“I agree with Saul. It would be better to refrain until you understand more about human females. They have feelings about such things, and are, in their way, more like us in not seeing much, if any, difference between sex and mating when they are truly interested in a male.” He would find a pair of pliers and pull out his own fangs before admitting he felt insulted by Joshua’s lack of interest in the girl, especially since he didn’t want either of them to have that kind of interest in each other. And he realized he needed to stop trying to explain human sex before he got both of them confused.

“Come,” Tolya said. “I’ll introduce you to Barbara Ellen.”

Joshua followed him into the book room, and he made the introductions.

“Barb,” she said, giving Joshua a big smile, almost bouncing with puppyish enthusiasm. “My human friends call me Barb.”

Tolya left the room but stayed near the door, out of sight, as he listened to Barbara Ellen explain her sorting method. And then …

“What do you like to read? What was it like living with the Panthergard? I used to live in Lakeside and was studying to be a veterinarian because I wanted to take care of animals. I didn’t get all that far in the classes, but I did work as a vet’s assistant for a while. That’s how I ended up coming to Bennett. They needed someone to take care of the pets, and I was chosen. Mr. Sanguinati calls me an almost-vet. Do you like mysteries? I love mysteries, especially the Crowgard cozies, which aren’t cozy at all. And the Wolf Team books.”

He didn’t hear any of Joshua’s answers. Wasn’t sure the boy had a chance to answer as Barbara Ellen pelted him with questions. But Tolya felt reasonably sure the two of them were safe with each other. For now.

Back in his office, he stared out the window and thought about Joshua Painter. Why hadn’t other terra indigene noticed that the boy didn’t smell like prey? Or had they noticed but didn’t understand the significance? Had any of the shifters who had helped find and release the cassandra sangue relocated to Bennett? Or was he the only one here who had been close enough to a blood prophet to know what it meant for a human to be not prey?

He could be mistaken. Maybe Joshua’s scent was different because he had lived with the Panthergard. The boy was already different enough from the rest of the young human males. Why complicate his life by suggesting he wasn’t like them in other ways?

He didn’t have to say anything. He could wait and see if someone else noticed a difference in the boy.

After all, if Joshua Painter did come from a line of blood prophets, they would all know soon enough.

* * *

* * *

Jesse entered the general store in Bennett and sighed.

“Mom?” Tobias laid a