But I want that bounty.
And it’s not just the free drinks for life—although that’s definitely part of it. Paul’s is theonlyplace to get liquor, which means that basically everyone knows it. That’s why this pack left their flyers there. Everyone who wants something to be publicly known to the masses gives the information to Paul first.
If I’m the one to collect on this bounty, people are going to know about it.
Butch is going to know about it. My old pack is going to know.
And finally—finally—the world is going to have to accept what I’ve known all along. That I’m smarter and stronger and better than just about any other wolf out there. That if you want a job done, you should come to me.
That’s the part that really appeals to me. I can see myself walking into the bar, everyone looking up when I come in. The bolder ones coming up to me, seeking my approval, and the more timid ones getting out of my way.
I narrow my eyes, looking out at the two figures remaining on the beach. Emlyn and the old man.
What I really want to do, I realize, is to snatch her back from them. To make it look like she broke out and ran, and then to stash her somewhere. And then, when the time is right, I’ll bring her back to them, act like I caught her running loose, and hand her back over.
It’s a perfect plan, with only one flaw—she’s being too closely watched. I could probably take that old guy—he’s big and looks like he was tough once, but he’s twenty years older than I am. He isn’t too much for me.
But if I were to attack, he would see me. And the pack would never grant me the bounty if they knew I had taken herfromthem before bringing her back.
For this to work, I need him to be distracted.
I feel around on the ground until my hand finds a medium-sized rock. I heft it carefully, getting a sense of the weight of it.
If this doesn’t land just where I want it to—if I throw too close to the pair of them and they see what the object is, or if I throw too far and land it in the water—they’re going to realize what must be going on, and then the old man will come for me. If that happens, it will probably come to a fight.
Which means I have to act fast before the second man comes back.
I weigh the rock again, then draw my arm back and throw it.
I lose sight of it almost immediately, and as it sails through the air, I have no idea whether or not my plan worked.
Then I hear it thump against the sand.
The old man’s head jerks up.
I hope he’s thinking what I want him to be thinking. I hope he’s wondering whether something bad has happened to his comrade.
He looks back at Emlyn.
She stares at him.
I can’t see the look on her face. It’s too dark, and she’s too far away. I wouldn’t even know that it was her if not for that scent in the air.
But I can see her silhouette, and she looks…smaller, somehow. Diminished. Afraid. He’s completely cowed her, and I can see it even from here.
Maybe she’s not as tough as I thought she was.
And maybe that same thought is occurring to the man because he says, “Stay here.”
“How could I go anywhere?” she asks.
“You couldn’t. But if you try, if you make us chase you down, we’ll do it, and we’ll kill you slowly. As long as you cooperate, we’ll make it quick, so you won’t suffer.”
I feel like I’ve been punched in the throat.
I mean, it makes sense. If she’s part Moon Caster…wolves hunt Moon Casters. Of course they would want to kill her.
I’ve always been different when it comes to this. I’m good at hunting Moon Casters. I’m the best there is. But I’ve never been obsessed with it, the way the rest of my pack was. It felt, lots of the time, like my alpha wouldn’t rest while there was a Moon Caster left alive. And more often, I felt fine going about my business. Ignoring them. I mean, the Lunar Reversal is some bullshit, but it happened twenty-years ago. Killing Moon Casters now isn’t going to change what happened.Do I still want to turn Emlyn in, knowing she’s just going to be executed?