Page 43 of Bad Medicine

Their scents were overwhelmingto my wolf, though, making it difficult for me to concentrate. The fear, too,insidious and dark, continued to grow. I was alone in a roomful ofpower—dangerous power—and I knew it. If they wanted to, they could absolutelyhurt me.

Was my caution and fear moresince my attack? Absolutely. And finally, my anger began to swirl—but I’d beenshown how vulnerable I could be—and that knowledge would never leave me.

I automatically pushed back theedges of my long coat and gripped the handle of my demon blade, really just toreassure myself, and the second I did, one of the elders leaned forward in hischair and his stare sharpened. It also went from black to red.

One of the council members wasa fuckingdemonelder.

The handle of my blade wentred-hot immediately, the heat of it searing my fingers and rushing up my armand then throughout my entire body. And as it had done before, the agony of itswiftly faded to…something else. Something not painful, exactly, but powerful.

“Ms. Silver,” the vampire eldersaid, breaking the tense stare-down between me and the demon, “thank you formeeting us.”

I forced my stare from thedemon to the vampire, and if I were being honest, I was happy to have an excuseto do so. “Why am I here?”

“We have a gift for you,” hesaid, his ancient voice crackly and somewhat thin. “Some information, and a request—ajob, if you will. Which would you like to discuss first?”

No one else said a word, butthey all watched me, and I felt those stares like a physical weight. “The job,”I said, reluctantly. “What do you need me to do?”

“Prove yourself,” the wolfelder growled. “That is what we need you to do.”

I ignored him but it was hard.He was a wolf, and he wasmyelder, and my wolf and I wanted to bow downbefore him and run screaming from the room at the same time. He was terrifyingand just this side of soul crushing—but even as the deep terror settled in myheart, something else raced through me. Pride. He was my elder, and he was sopowerful he made my bones vibrate with it.

And finally, unable to resist,I looked at him.

He sat at the end of the lineon the vampire elder’s right, and it didn’t matter that his face was as ancientas the rest of them. His eyes were dark and fierce, and in them I saw everystrong wolf I’d ever known.

He wasn’t an alpha, he wasTheAlpha, and I knew without a single doubt that had he commanded it, I wouldhave lain down and died for him. I would have taken out my demon blade andkilled an innocent for him. I wanted that knowledge to bring my rage, but allit did was heighten my fear.

The hardest thing I’d ever donewas to keep my face blank and return my attention to the vampire elder. “Thejob,” I said, pleased that my voice was calm and empty.

“Two jobs, really,” he told me.“Though one you are working on already. I would like you to bring theshapeshifter to me. Alive.”

I hesitated. “If I can fighthim without killing him, I’ll bring him in.”

He gave me a regal nod. “Yourhandler will create for you an item soon. It will aid you in capturing theshapeshifter. Keep that item to yourself. I should not have to tell you that ifhe mimics one of your people, he will know immediately what you have plannedfor him.”

I tilted my head. “Why do youwant him alive? Why not just let me kill him?”

“You have been lax aboutpolicing the nonhumans of your city,” he said, ignoring my question. “Youimmerse yourself more into the humans’ world than your own. After this night,you will make the nonhumans—all of them, not only the rogues and thecriminals—your priority.”

I narrowed my eyes. “I protectthe humans of this city from those who would abuse their power,” I told him. “Idon’t need to remove myself from the humans’ world in order to get closer tothe nonhumans.” I lifted my chin and stared him down. “I’ve been doing it allalong.”

“Those like you have never beenyour priority,” he said, and though his voice was cracking and old, it was notweak. I remembered him driving his claw into my heart, and the feeling of it,the memory of it, was suddenly so vivid that I gasped and clutched my chest.

“You have chosen wrong,” thewolf elder said, disgusted by me. “She is weakened by her humanity. She willnever be the power she could be, because she will always value heart overlogic. She is too full of a human’s emotion.” He stood, which scared theabsolute fuck out of me. “She identifies with the humans. Her trials do notharden her. They do not make her stronger. They simply hurt her.”

He was large, and instead ofthe black robes the other elders wore, he was clothed in a brown pelt thatlooked like it could have covered a small car. His shaggy hair was left unboundto cascade over his shoulders, and his dark eyes were bright in his lined,scarred face. Like the other elders, he carried a staff. It was a carved,gleaming piece of wood as tall as me, and I recognized it for the weapon itwas. The power emanating from it was enough to take my breath. And my greedylittle heart wanted it, as it seemed to want all such magnificent weapons.

He curled his lip when I lookedat him.

“I wonder,” I said, because Iwas just that pissed off, “why it is that wolf alphas are always such bullyingassholes.” I glanced around at the other elders, my smile quizzical. “Surely Ican’t be the only one who’d like an answer to that question.”

No one seemed to find meamusing, unfortunately. The old wolf thumped his staff on the floor.“Disrespectful pup.” He turned to the others. “She is defective,” he stated.“Flawed, despite the potential. She is too human and possesses a human’sfrailties.”

“Look again,” the vampire eldersaid. “Trial her if you must. We will wait.”

“Wait for what, exactly?” Iasked. “What will you do if I don’t live up to your expectations?”

“We will simply find someoneelse.” The vampire held his hand up in a calming gesture, as though he believedI was about to become hysterical.