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 You remember that tie you were wearing at the council
meeting?
 Yeah.
 It s ugly. It s worse than ugly. It s hideous. Appalling.
Nauseating.
 You criticize my favorite tie? I love that tie!
 Why? How could you love that tie? Please tell me your
mother didn t buy it for you.
He snorted. His parents had moved to northern British
Columbia years ago to study the wild wolf population and freeze
their asses off.  My mother doesn t do stuff like that. I bought it. I
like the pattern.
 You need serious mental help. Your shirt today is ugly too.
 Ugly is in the eye of the beholder.
Sela Carsen
 Yes, it is. I beheld it. It is ugly. She snagged her pencil and
notebook off the nightstand, then crossed her legs and waited
expectantly.
 You re relentless, you know that? Maddox watched her
through sleepy eyes. They d napped for a bit after the most
explosive sex of his life, but rather than start on round two, she was
ragging on his colorblindness and taking notes.
 I know but& it s what I do.
 Your magical gift is being judgmental about my fashion
choices and obsessive?
She tossed a pillow at him and he caught it and stuffed it under
his head.
 That s cute. You re funny and fuzzy. I gather knowledge.
Information. Being a librarian is kind of a family tradition.
He rearranged his pillows and made himself comfortable.
 What do you want to know?
 Why don t you start at the beginning? Tell me about
werewolves.
 My line is descended from the knight I told you about,
Melion. He was the lover of the sorceress Morgaine when Arthur
was still king. Melion s children bred true werewolves, men and
women who could change into a wolf to roam and hunt.
 So only descendants of Melion can be werewolves? What if a
human gets bitten?
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Carolina Wolf
 Total Hollywood. A bite can t turn a human. Being a
werewolf is pure blood magic. You either are one, or you aren t.
He stopped and scowled.  Unless you re a rogue. People like that
are abominations. They take the magic and pervert it. For him to
become what he is, he had to trap, kill and skin a true werewolf.
Then the murdering bastard wraps the hide around himself, uses a
specific incantation and a generous helping of burned wolfsbane,
and he becomes half-wolf, half-human. All monster.
Maddox looked over at the top of Debra s head as she scribbled
furiously. He d been absolutely right about her. Brains and beauty.
A perfect combination.
 Where would someone find this knowledge about how to
become a werewolf? I mean, I know a lot about magic, but I ve
never heard of that.
 It s not as if we share the info with any random stranger who
asks for it. In fact, no one has pulled this particular trick in the last
hundred years or so. I don t know how he found out.
She tapped the pencil against her teeth for a moment.  What
are his weaknesses? How do we get rid of him?
 His weaknesses are the same as mine. Silver to a vital organ, a
snapped neck, or taking his heart. Because he s not born magic,
though, we can also take him out by destroying the skin he wears.
 But how do we get to him in the first place? I ve never seen
him before. Last night was the first time. She frowned.  At least, I
think it was. A couple of days ago, I went up to the park for a walk
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Sela Carsen
and I saw&  She broke off.  Well, you said there weren t any
wolves in South Carolina. Not big black ones.
 Only me. He grinned.
 That was you?
 Yeah, that was me. I was trying to figure out a way to meet
you as a human. Providence was on my side when you showed up at
that council meeting.
Maddox stood abruptly. Twister was outside, snarling and
barking at something in the woods.
 Debra, go get your dog.
 What? Why? She stood as well, looking around in confusion.
 Just do it. It s not safe for him out there.
She slipped on her robe and hurried to the back door.
Maddox called the Change to him. Bred into his blood and
bone, the shifting felt more like diving into a maelstrom than
anything else. Exciting and exhilarating, he became an extension of
the natural world. As a human, he walked on the surface of the
earth. As a wolf, he sprang directly from its heart.
She called Twister, who reluctantly returned to her, but before
she could close the door, Maddox stood at her knee.
He heard her gasp, but ignored it as he stalked out to the back
porch. There it was. That rotting stink. The beast was out there,
watching Debra. Waiting for her.
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Carolina Wolf
A grating howl, an eerie scream, scraped through the air.
Maddox raised his nose and howled his answering challenge to the
black night.
Bring it, asshole. She s mine.
 Oh, that s it. I am so over this. Debra had no intention of
repeating last night s weakness. After this afternoon, she had no
patience left.
 Move over, Maddox. She walked out onto the back porch to
stand beside him. He tried to block her path, but she had none of it.
 Do you want me? Do you want the Book? she yelled out to
the intruder.  Well, you can t have us!
This was what she had been born to do. She protected the
Book. Energy rushed through her like a flood. Fury accompanied it.
Down she charged, Maddox surging ahead, ready to meet the
black sorcerer with power of her own. Together, they faced their
enemy.
The wolf leapt at the beast s head, only to be knocked a [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]