Wild Country (The World of the Others #2)- Anne Bishop Page 0,52

land beyond the train station, watched the Ravens flying ahead of Kane to keep track of the dog pack, allowing Kane to focus on the dog he needed to kill.

The injured dog saw Virgil and moved its front legs as if it could still stand and run, but Virgil knew it wasn’t going to run anywhere. The horse that was not meat must have kicked this one, breaking bone and damaging the dog’s insides. That was good. Humans couldn’t whine about him finishing what the horse had started. Not that he cared if humans whined about dead dogs.

Well, there was one human who was going to whine a lot, and he was not going to be the only one who had to listen to Barbara Ellen.

He killed the dog, then left the carcass for the humans to move once they denned the horses that would be meat if they weren’t with humans when they left the boundaries of the town. Then he trotted over to the sheriff’s office, where he shifted to human form and put on clothes in order to do sheriff growling instead of Wolf growling.

Virgil called. He didn’t really, but the Sanguinati dealt with many humans during the day, leaving him to walk around the town to remind the humans that there were rules that were backed by sharp teeth and strong jaws. So it would be better to have Tolya here to agree with what he wanted to do about Tobias Walker and the human weapons.

Tolya arrived moments before Tobias Walker, who smelled of fear and was still wearing a forbidden weapon. It took effort, but Virgil ignored the fear smell. That was easier when Saul Panthergard and Joshua Painter walked into the office, because the Panther’s anger overpowered every other scent.

The Sanguinati didn’t live in the wild country, so Tolya and the others living in Bennett were Virgil’s first experience with this form of terra indigene. So far they’d figured out how to work together, mostly because Tolya had had experience working with Wolves when he’d first arrived in Prairie Gold, and there had been some Wolves in the Courtyard back east that had been Tolya’s home territory. But Virgil was still learning how to read the town’s leader.

Tolya’s face and body provided no clues, so Virgil couldn’t decide if the Sanguinati was angry or sad.

“You are carrying a forbidden weapon, Tobias Walker,” Tolya said, his voice revealing nothing.

“Where is the long weapon?” Virgil asked.

“I took it back to the truck and put it in the gun rack,” Tobias Walker replied. “The truck is locked, and there’s a big Eagle perched on the tailgate, so I guess one of your people is keeping an eye on things.”

“This human killed a dog that was attacking Joshua,” Saul said.

“Why did you bring a weapon?” Tolya asked, looking at Tobias Walker.

“I usually carry a shotgun and rifle in the truck’s gun rack. I usually have the revolver in a case under the driver’s seat. I work on a ranch. It’s a long drive to this town for supplies or when my mother comes up here to help you.”

“You think such weapons will protect you from what lives in the wild country?” Tolya asked.

“Your kind, you mean?” Tobias Walker shook his head. “But there are rumors lately of men stopping people on the road and stealing from them. Even hurting them. There have always been people like that. I guess there always will be people like that. So I have weapons in my truck when I drive up here, just like I’ve got them on the ranch.”

“Have you seen these humans?” Virgil asked.

“No, but when it comes to sensing people, my mother is the best there is in Prairie Gold, and she’s been feeling uneasy about being away from home so much.” Tobias Walker looked at Tolya. “Not that she isn’t willing to help out, but it’s not just the people coming in here that have been pushing at what she’s feeling.”

“Jesse Walker is concerned for her safety?” Tolya asked sharply. “She has said nothing to me.”

“Maybe she thought you already had enough on your mind and didn’t need to know about something on the horizon that might never reach here.”

“If she didn’t think it was going to reach here, she wouldn’t feel concerned.”

To Virgil’s ears, Tolya sounded ready to nip someone. But Tobias Walker was right—a storm on the horizon was a maybe threat. They had a problem right here, right now.

“I want