Secret of the Wolf Read Online Free PDF Page A

winked at her, then glanced at the vampire liaison. “Knox, you look well, too. Rested. Have a nice vacation?”
    Knox grimaced. “I was reassigned to Yuma, MacMillan, not spending a week in Paris.” He muttered something that sounded like “Teach me not to get on Caladh’s bad side again.”
    Tori pressed her lips together against a grin. Caladh was a seal shapeshifter and one of the more powerful members of the council. “Yuma’s the third largest city outside of Phoenix and Tucson,” Tori defended. “It’s got the territorial prison. That’s kinda cool.”
    Knox just looked at her.
    She liked Yuma, personally, but the fact that Knox, the consummate urban dweller, had been assigned there tickled her to no end. She couldn’t resist giving him a few verbal jabs. “It’s right next to California. You could go dune bashing in the Imperial Sand Dunes. And San Diego’s not that far away. You can go whale watching,” she offered. “Or check out the sea lions in La Jolla.”
    The vampire’s look went even drier.
    “Give it up, Tori.” Dante never lost his grin. “I think Knox here is a city boy through and through.” He lifted a brow. “It must be torture for you to be here with us instead of L.A. or New York.”
    “Tell me about it,” Knox muttered.
    “So, what’d you do to get stuck here?” Tori asked. She knew he’d been assigned to one of the Los Angeles quadrants a few years ago, and she also knew he’d never have left L.A. voluntarily.
    The vampire’s lips tightened. “Never mind.” His gaze flicked to over her shoulder. “Here comes the poster girl for comic book heroines.”
    Tori turned to see the quadrant’s new human liaison, Piper Peterson, coming their way. The young woman had a lilt in her step, her eyes covered by round, dark sunglasses, her mouth curved in its customary smile. She always seemed perky, and with a name like Piper Peterson…well, Tori understood how a guy like Knox could be a little snide about her. She just hoped he wouldn’t give Piper a hard time to her face.
    The human liaison stopped next to Dante and pushed the sunglasses up on top of her blonde head. Ignoring Knox, an action that interested Tori greatly, she looked at Dante and Tori and said, “So, I just got word that the guy who was hurt is going to be all right. He wasn’t, ah, enhanced in any way.”
    Tori blew out a sigh. Barry was still in trouble, just not as much. She’d go break the news to him. “I’ll be right back,” she said and headed toward the police van where Barry still waited.
    As she approached, he looked up and then stiffened. “What? You found something out?” he asked, his voice holding a slight tremble.
    “The vic wasn’t turned. You’re off the hook, for that at least.” Tori glanced around the parking lot and saw some of the crowd had dissipated.
    Barry gave a nod and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. Staring down at his hands, he murmured, “I really messed up this time, didn’t I?”
    She wasn’t going to sugarcoat anything for him. “Yeah, you did. But they’ll go easier on you since you didn’t accidentally turn the guy.” She kept one ear on the conversation going on behind her and heard Piper talking about another case involving a distant relative of hers. A car pulling into the lot caught Tori’s eye. She recognized the two council guards who got out. “Looks like your ride is here,” she told Barry.
    He exhaled and climbed out of the van, keeping the blanket securely around him. He paused and looked at Tori. “Thanks.”
    She tipped her chin. “Take care of yourself.”
    “Right.” He walked toward the guards and got into the back of the car.
    As the vehicle pulled out of the lot, Tori returned to Dante and the other two liaisons.
    “If anything,” Piper was saying, “I think the council treated him more harshly because of me.”
    “Oh, no doubt,” Knox said. “Family members of liaisons are supposed to conduct themselves with the