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“I was there. He fell on top of me with two of the snake things riding him. It was an accident. He kept them from cutting out my heart. He saved my life, Richard, and this is damn poor payment.”

“He couldn’t have turned his claws aside at the last minute?” Richard asked.

“No, it all happened too fast.”

He laughed, but it was bitter. “You’ve been around us so long, and you still don’t understand what we are. I could turn aside in less than a blink of an eye. Gregory isn’t slower than I am. As a leopard he’s quicker, more agile.”

“Are you saying he did this on purpose?”

“I’m saying that he had a fraction of a second to decide what he’d do, and he decided to keep you as their Nimir-Ra. He made the choice to take you from me.”

“And you’re going to make him pay for that. Is that it?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“With his life?”

He sighed. “I don’t want him dead, Anita. But when I first found out what he’d done, I wanted to kill him myself. I wanted it so badly I didn’t trust myself around him, so I had him taken somewhere safe until I could cool down. But Jacob got wind of it, and forced a vote.”

“Who’s Jacob?”

“My new Geri, third in charge behind Sylvie.”

“I’ve never heard of him before.”

“He’s new.”

“Damn, third in line, and he’s new. He’s either a very good fighter, or a very vicious one, to win that many fights in less than half a year.”

“He’s good, and he’s vicious.”

“Is he ambitious?” I asked.

“Why?”

“If Jacob hadn’t forced a vote, would you have given Gregory back to me?”

He remained quiet so long, that I finally asked, “You still there?”

“I’m here. Yes, I would have given him back to you. I can’t kill him for what he’s done.”

“So Jacob set in motion something that’s stripped you of a powerful ally—me—and forced you to declare war on another group—the wereleopards. He’s been a busy boy.”

“He’s just doing what he thinks is right.”

“Jesus, Richard, how can you still be this naive?”

“You think he wants my job?”

“You know he wants your job. I can hear it in your voice.”

“If I’m not strong enough to hold the pack, then it’s Jacob’s prerogative to challenge me. But he’s got to defeat Sylvie first, and she’s as good as he is—and as vicious.”

“How big is Jacob?”

“My size, not as muscled.”

“Sylvie is good, but she’s five six, and slender, and a woman. And as much as I hate to say it, that makes a difference. Pound for pound you guys have the upper body strength on us. If the skill is equal, a larger person will beat a smaller one.”

“Don’t underestimate Sylvie,” he said.

“Don’t overestimate her, either. She’s my friend, too, and I don’t want her dead just because you’re not willing to take care of business.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means until he defeats Sylvie and becomes Freki, your second in command, you can kill him outside of a challenge. You can have him executed.”

“And if Marcus had thought that about me, I’d be dead now.”

“And Marcus would be alive, Richard. You’re not helping your case.”

“We aren’t animals, Anita, we’re people. And I can’t just kill him because I think he’s after my job.”

“You don’t just stand down as Ulfric, Richard, you fight to the death for it. I know theoretically if you both agree, it doesn’t have to be death. But I’ve been asking around, and no werewolf I’ve talked to can remember a fight for Ulfric that wasn’t to the death. He’s not after your job, Richard, he’s after your life.”

“I can’t control what Jacob does, only what I do.”

I was beginning to remember why Richard and I didn’t make a go of it as a couple. Oh, there had been a lot of reasons. I’d seen him eat Marcus, and that had made me run away. Then we got back together, and the marks were overwhelming. But there were other reasons. Reasons that made me feel tired and older than Richard, even though he was actually two years older than me. “You’re being stupid, Richard.”

“It’s not really any of your business, Anita. You’re not my lupa anymore.”

“If you die, the marks may drag Jean-Claude and me down to die with you, so that sort of makes it my business.”

“And