Tales Of The Sazi 05 - Moon's Fury by C.t. Adams . Cathy Clamp Page A
Authors: C.t. Adams . Cathy Clamp
Ads: Link
new pack wasn't going to be so bad, after all.
He raised his head from the bowl, licking the last bit of water from his muzzle. She was standing so close that if he lifted his head too fast, he'd hit her jaw. They were frozen for a moment, each of them just breathing slowly in the hot shade. Her neck was right there, almost inviting him to nip the skin, feel the fur brush across his tongue. A shudder passed through him as he imagined what she'd be like under him …but then he pushed the thought away. Not the right time or place.
Pulling his head back a bit, he rose to his haunches and locked eyes with her, just inches from the tip of her nose. "So, what'd you do?”
It took her a few seconds of staring blankly at him but she finally blinked, startled. "What?”
His lips pulled back in a quick, amused pant. "What'd you do to earn two strips of hide out of your leg? It must have taken some… skill to piss off someone that bad.”
His casual tone broke the spell and she blinked a few more times before stepping back to her own patch of shade.
"Long story, and sort of… personal. Let's just say Fiona and I didn't agree on the things I should do to become an agent in Wolven. It's why I never finished training.”
Damn! Fiona Monier did that? He'd never found her to be a particularly difficult woman to work with, although he knew a lot of agents complained about her. "Okay. Sorry. Didn't mean to bring up bad things.”
She shook again and carefully picked up the handle of the jug in her teeth—placing it next to the boulder in the shade. It wasn't a bad idea. While it probably wouldn't help much in keeping the water cool, at least the plastic jug wouldn't explode. "No big deal. But if I'm going to be forced into the agency again, I can't say I'm sorry it'll be working for Lucas. He seems decent enough. At least he listens.”
Adam stood up and found his head wasn't pounding anymore so he could nod without pain. "Fer sure. I don't know much about him, either, but I trust Clou—I mean, Will's instincts. If they've known each other as long as Lucas claims …well, that's good enough for me.”
Cara paused and then looked at him, her thick antifreeze scent of curiosity beating at his nose.
"Could I ask…I mean, about the coin? Why was Will so mad at you?”
Shit. He knew that was going to come up. With a light kick of his front leg, the pale blue bowl flicked across the ground, neatly clearing a small barrel cactus to land right next to the water jug. "Sorry. Not my story to tell. You'll have to ask him. But actually, I think it's sort of cool. I don't know why he gets so annoy—”
A woman's scream suddenly filled the still air, coming from the direction of the cliff face. Without even thinking, he found himself racing toward the sound, with Cara at his heels. Ignoring the cactus spines that slammed into his feet from below and the spiked branches of the trees that tore at his fur, he surged forward, only to be passed by as though standing still by the smaller red wolf. What he saw when he broke through the last batch of trees was a massive owl, equal in size to Will in every way, pulling at a small, dark-skinned girl who was screaming and shouting at the bird in an unknown, guttural language. It seemed to be trying to lift the girl into the air by the arm. And it was wearing … gloves on its talons.
8
There was no time to lose. There was no time for Cara to do anything at all but react. The giant owl had managed to get a sufficient grip on the girl's arm, and it was taking off, flapping hard. But it was rising slowly because of the burden it was carrying, so there were still a few precious seconds to change the situation.
She raced forward and threw herself into the air…but only came back with a mouthful of feathers from the bird's tail. Something was very different about the taste of the feathers, and the scent. She just couldn't put her finger on what, but she was careful to spit the feathers into the center
He raised his head from the bowl, licking the last bit of water from his muzzle. She was standing so close that if he lifted his head too fast, he'd hit her jaw. They were frozen for a moment, each of them just breathing slowly in the hot shade. Her neck was right there, almost inviting him to nip the skin, feel the fur brush across his tongue. A shudder passed through him as he imagined what she'd be like under him …but then he pushed the thought away. Not the right time or place.
Pulling his head back a bit, he rose to his haunches and locked eyes with her, just inches from the tip of her nose. "So, what'd you do?”
It took her a few seconds of staring blankly at him but she finally blinked, startled. "What?”
His lips pulled back in a quick, amused pant. "What'd you do to earn two strips of hide out of your leg? It must have taken some… skill to piss off someone that bad.”
His casual tone broke the spell and she blinked a few more times before stepping back to her own patch of shade.
"Long story, and sort of… personal. Let's just say Fiona and I didn't agree on the things I should do to become an agent in Wolven. It's why I never finished training.”
Damn! Fiona Monier did that? He'd never found her to be a particularly difficult woman to work with, although he knew a lot of agents complained about her. "Okay. Sorry. Didn't mean to bring up bad things.”
She shook again and carefully picked up the handle of the jug in her teeth—placing it next to the boulder in the shade. It wasn't a bad idea. While it probably wouldn't help much in keeping the water cool, at least the plastic jug wouldn't explode. "No big deal. But if I'm going to be forced into the agency again, I can't say I'm sorry it'll be working for Lucas. He seems decent enough. At least he listens.”
Adam stood up and found his head wasn't pounding anymore so he could nod without pain. "Fer sure. I don't know much about him, either, but I trust Clou—I mean, Will's instincts. If they've known each other as long as Lucas claims …well, that's good enough for me.”
Cara paused and then looked at him, her thick antifreeze scent of curiosity beating at his nose.
"Could I ask…I mean, about the coin? Why was Will so mad at you?”
Shit. He knew that was going to come up. With a light kick of his front leg, the pale blue bowl flicked across the ground, neatly clearing a small barrel cactus to land right next to the water jug. "Sorry. Not my story to tell. You'll have to ask him. But actually, I think it's sort of cool. I don't know why he gets so annoy—”
A woman's scream suddenly filled the still air, coming from the direction of the cliff face. Without even thinking, he found himself racing toward the sound, with Cara at his heels. Ignoring the cactus spines that slammed into his feet from below and the spiked branches of the trees that tore at his fur, he surged forward, only to be passed by as though standing still by the smaller red wolf. What he saw when he broke through the last batch of trees was a massive owl, equal in size to Will in every way, pulling at a small, dark-skinned girl who was screaming and shouting at the bird in an unknown, guttural language. It seemed to be trying to lift the girl into the air by the arm. And it was wearing … gloves on its talons.
8
There was no time to lose. There was no time for Cara to do anything at all but react. The giant owl had managed to get a sufficient grip on the girl's arm, and it was taking off, flapping hard. But it was rising slowly because of the burden it was carrying, so there were still a few precious seconds to change the situation.
She raced forward and threw herself into the air…but only came back with a mouthful of feathers from the bird's tail. Something was very different about the taste of the feathers, and the scent. She just couldn't put her finger on what, but she was careful to spit the feathers into the center
Similar Books
