Night Broken
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The phone rang while I was elbow-deep in sudsy dishwater.
Ill get it, said my stepdaughter, Jesse, hastily dumping two glasses and a fork in my sink.
A werewolf pack that eats together stays together, I thought, scrubbing stubborn egg off a plate. Sunday breakfasts werent attended by the whole packsome of them had families just like regular people or jobs they worked on the Sabbath. The breakfasts werent mandatory because that would have ruined the intent. Darryl, Adams second, who usually prepared the meals, was a hellaciously good cook, and his food attracted anyone who could manage to come.
The dishwasher was running, stuffed full and then some. I would have let the rest of the dishes wait until it was done, but Auriele, Darryls mate, wouldnt hear of it.
I didnt argue with her because I was one of the three people in the pack who outranked her, so shed have to back down. That felt like cheating, and I never cheat.
Unless it is against my enemies, whispered a soundless voice in my head that might have been mine but felt like Coyotes.
The second reason for my compliance was more self-serving. Auriele and I were getting along, which made her the only one of the three female werewolves in the pack who was friendly with me at the moment.
Auriele hadnt been happy having me as the Alphas mate, eitherI was a coyote shapeshifter among wolves. She didnt think it was a good thing for pack morale. She also thought, correctly, that I brought trouble for the pack with me. She liked me despite herself. I was used to the company of men, but it was nice to have a woman besides Jesse, my teenage stepdaughter, who would talk to me.
So, to please Auriele, I washed dishes that the dishwasher could have taken care of, ignoring the burn of hot soapy water in the wounds of my tradebarked knuckles are a mechanics constant companion. Auriele dried the dishes, and Jesse had volunteered to tidy up the kitchen in general. Three women bonding over household choresmy mother would be pleased if she could see us. That thought hardened my resolve that next week, some of the men would do cleanup. It would be good for them to expand their skill set.
Theres this kid in my second-period class. Auriele ignored the ringing phone as she hefted a stack of plates up to the cupboard with a grunt of effort. It wasnt the weight of the dishes that was the problemAuriele was a werewolf; she could have lifted a four-hundred-pound anvil onto the shelf. It was that she was short and had to stand on tiptoe to do it. Jesse had to dodge around her to get to the phone.
All the teachers love Clark, Auriele continued. All the girls and most of the guys, too. And every word out of his mouth is a lie. Enrique cheated off my paper, he told me when I asked him why they both had all the same mistakes. Enrique, he just gets this resigned look on his face; I expect that Clark has done this to him before.
Hauptman residence, said Jesse cheerfully. Can I help you?
Is Adam there?
So I told him Auriele stopped talking abruptly, her sensitive ears caught by the familiar voice on the line.
I need Adam. My husbands ex-wifes voice was thick with tears. Christy Hauptman sounded desperate and half-hysterical.
Mom? Jesses voice was shaky. Mom, whats wrong?
Get Adam.
Mom? Jesse gave me a frantic look.
Adam, I called. Christys on the phone for you.
He was in the living room talking to Darryl and a few of the pack who had lingered after breakfast, so I didnt have to raise my voice much. It wasnt the first time Christy had called needing something.
Dealing with Christy was usually enough to give me a stomachache. Not because of anything she could do to me or Adam. But Jesse, who loved her mother but was currently fighting to keep liking her, suffered every time that woman called. There was nothing I could do to stop it.
Hes coming, Mom, Jesse said.
Please, Christy said. Tell him to hurry.
Desperate, hysterical tearsthose werent unusual. But she sounded scared, too. And that wasnt anything Id heard before.
Adam walked into the room, and from his grim face, I could tell hed heard at least part of what Christy had said. He took the handset from Jesse but hugged her with the other arm. Jesses eyes grew watery under his comforting hold. She gave me a frantic look before bolting away, out the door, and up the stairs, presumably to her room, where she could collect herself.
What do you need? Adam said, most of his attention still on his daughter.
Can I come home?
Auriele glanced at me, but I was already wearing my blank face. She wouldnt be able to tell what I was thinking from my expression.
This isnt your home, Adam said. Not anymore.
Adam, Christy said. Oh, Adam. She sobbed, a small, hopeless sound. Im in trouble, I need to come home. Ive been so stupid. He wont leave me alone. He hurt me, he killed a friend of mine, and he follows me everywhere I go. Can I come home, please?
That wasnt anything Id expected. Auriele quit trying to pretend she wasnt listening to every word and jerked her face toward the phone.
Call the police, Adam said. Thats what they are there for.
Hell kill me, she whispered. Adam, hell kill me. I dont have anywhere else to run. Please.
Werewolves can tell when people are lying. So can some of the other supernatural critters running aroundlike me, for instance. Over the phone is a lot trickier because a lot of the telltale signs involve heartbeat and smellneither of which is possible to detect over a phone line. But I could hear the truth in her voice.
Adam looked at me.
Tell her to come, I said. What else could I say? If something happened to her when we could help I wasnt sure if I could live with that. I knew that Adam couldnt.
Auriele continued to watch me. She frowned, finally turned away, and started to dry the dishes again.
Adam, please? Christy pleaded.
Adam narrowed his eyes at me and didnt say anything.
Adam, Mary Jo said from the doorway. Mary Jo is a firefighter, tough and smart. She is owed by the pack for the years that she was yours. Let her come home, and the pack will protect her.
He gave Mary Jo a look, and she dropped her eyes.
Its okay, I said to Adam, and tried to make it not a lie. Really.
I bake when Im stressed. If I had to make enough chocolate chip cookies to feed Richland while she was here, it would be okay because Adam needed me to be okay with it.
If shetried anything, she would be sorry. Adam was mine. She had thrown him away, thrown Jesse awayand I had snatched them up. Finders keepers.
Maybe she didnt want them back. Maybe she just needed to be safe. My gut wasnt convinced, but jealousy isnt a logical emotion, and I had no reason to be jealous of Christy.
All right, Adam said. All right. You can come. Then, his voice gentle, he asked, Do you need money for plane tickets?
I went back to the dishes and tried not to hear the rest of the conversation. Tried not to hear the concern in Adams voice, the softnessand the satisfaction he got from taking care of her. Good Alpha werewolves take care of those around them; its part of what makes them Alpha.
I might have been able to ignore it better if all the wolves still in the house hadnt drifted into the kitchen. They listened to Adams finalization of the details that would bring Christy here and snuck occasional, furtive glances my way when they thought I wouldnt notice.
Auriele took the last cup from my hand. I unplugged the sink and shook the water from my hands before drying them off on my jeans. My hands arent my best feature. The hot water had left my skin pruney, and my knuckles were red and swollen. Even after washing dishes, there was still some black grease embedded in my skin and under my nails. Christys hands were always beautiful, with French-manicured nails.
Adam hung up the phone and called the travel agent he used to coordinate his not-infrequent business travel: both business business and werewolf business.
She can stay with Honey and me, said Mary Jo to me, her voice neutral.
Mary Jo and Honey were the other two female werewolves in the pack. Mary Jo had moved in with Honey when Honeys mate had been killed a few months ago. Neither of them liked me very much.
Until Mary Jo made the offer of hospitality, Id been half planning to put Christy up with one of the other pack members because I hadnt thought it through. I knew that putting Christy in with Mary Jo and Honey would be a mistake.
Adam and I were working hard to increase the pack cohesion, which meant that I was trying very hard not to further alienate either Mary Jo or Honey. I was doing pretty well at keeping our interactions to polite neutrality. If Christy moved in with them, she would use their dislike of me and fan it into a hurricane-force division that would rain down on the pack in a flood of drama.
Once I recognized the power of Christy as a divisive force, I realized that it wasnt just a problem for my relationship with the pack, but also for Adams. Putting Adams ex-wife in the same house with Honey and Mary Jo would be stupid because it would force Mary Jo to take Christys side on any tension between Christy and Adam or Christy and the pack. The same thing would be true of anyone Christy stayed with.
Christy was going to have to stay here with Adam and me.
Christy needs to be here, where shell feel safe, said Auriele before I could reply to Mary Jo.
Uhm, I said, because I was still reeling under the weight of just how much it was going to suck having her not just here in the Tri-Cities, but here in my home.
You dont want her here? asked Auriele, and for the first time, I realized that Auriele, like Mary Jo, had liked Christy better than she did me. Shes scared and alone. Dont be petty, Mercy.
Would you want Darryls ex staying at your house? asked Jesse hotly. I hadnt realized shed come back downstairs. Her chin was raised as she flung her support my way. I didnt want her to do that. Christy was her momJesse shouldnt be trying to choose between us.
If she needed help, I would, Auriele snapped. It was easy for her to be certain because Darryl, as far as I knew, didnt have an ex-wife. If you dont want Christy here, Mercy, she is welcome at my house.
Aurieles offer was followed up by several others, accompanied by hostile stares aimed at me. Christy had been well liked by most of the pack. She was just the sort of sweet, helpless homemaker that appealed to a bunch of werewolves with too much testosterone.
Christy will stay here, I said.
But since Mary Jo and Auriele were arguing hotly about where Christy would be happiest, and the men were paying attention to them, no one had heard me.
I saidI stepped between the two women, drawing on Adams power to give weight to my wordsChristy will stay here with Adam and me. Both women dropped their eyes and backed away, but the hostility in Aurieles face told me that only the Alphas authority in my voice had forced her to stop arguing. Mary Jo looked satisfiedI was pretty sure it meant that she thought Christys staying here might give Christy a chance to resume her position as Adams wife.
Though Adam was still on the phone, my pull on his authority had made him look around to see what was happening in the kitchen, but he didnt slow his rapid instructions.
Having her here isnt a good idea. Shed do okay at Honey and Mary Jos. Jesse sounded almost frantic.
Christy stays here, I repeated, though this time I didnt borrow Adams magic to make my point.
Mercy, I love my mother. Jesses mouth twisted unhappily. But shes selfish, and she resents that you took her place here. Shell cause trouble.
Jesse Hauptman, snapped Auriele. Thats your mother you are talking about. You show her some respect.
Auriele, I growled. This morning needed a dominance fight between the two of us like it needed a nuclear bomb. But I couldnt let her dictate to Jesse. Back off.
Teeth showing in a hostile smile, Auriele turned her hot gaze on me, yellow stirring in the cappuccino depths of her eyes.
Leave Jesse alone, I told her. Youre overstepping your authority. Jesse is not pack.
Aurieles lips whitened, but she backed down. I was right, and she knew it.
Your mom will feel safer here, I told Jesse without looking away from Auriele. And Aurieles also right when she says we can protect Christy better here.
Jesse gave me a despairing look. She doesnt want Dad, but that doesnt mean she wants anyone else to have him. Shell try to get between the two of youlike water torture. Drip. Drip. Drip. You should hear what she says about you.
No. No, I shouldnt. Neither should Jesse, but there was nothing I could do about that.
Its all right, I told her. Were all grown-ups. We can behave for a little while. How long could it take for a werewolf to hunt down a stalker and scare him off? A stalker, by definition, should be easy to find, right?
The phone rang while I was elbow-deep in sudsy dishwater.
Ill get it, said my stepdaughter, Jesse, hastily dumping two glasses and a fork in my sink.
A werewolf pack that eats together stays together, I thought, scrubbing stubborn egg off a plate. Sunday breakfasts werent attended by the whole packsome of them had families just like regular people or jobs they worked on the Sabbath. The breakfasts werent mandatory because that would have ruined the intent. Darryl, Adams second, who usually prepared the meals, was a hellaciously good cook, and his food attracted anyone who could manage to come.
The dishwasher was running, stuffed full and then some. I would have let the rest of the dishes wait until it was done, but Auriele, Darryls mate, wouldnt hear of it.
I didnt argue with her because I was one of the three people in the pack who outranked her, so shed have to back down. That felt like cheating, and I never cheat.
Unless it is against my enemies, whispered a soundless voice in my head that might have been mine but felt like Coyotes.
The second reason for my compliance was more self-serving. Auriele and I were getting along, which made her the only one of the three female werewolves in the pack who was friendly with me at the moment.
Auriele hadnt been happy having me as the Alphas mate, eitherI was a coyote shapeshifter among wolves. She didnt think it was a good thing for pack morale. She also thought, correctly, that I brought trouble for the pack with me. She liked me despite herself. I was used to the company of men, but it was nice to have a woman besides Jesse, my teenage stepdaughter, who would talk to me.
So, to please Auriele, I washed dishes that the dishwasher could have taken care of, ignoring the burn of hot soapy water in the wounds of my tradebarked knuckles are a mechanics constant companion. Auriele dried the dishes, and Jesse had volunteered to tidy up the kitchen in general. Three women bonding over household choresmy mother would be pleased if she could see us. That thought hardened my resolve that next week, some of the men would do cleanup. It would be good for them to expand their skill set.
Theres this kid in my second-period class. Auriele ignored the ringing phone as she hefted a stack of plates up to the cupboard with a grunt of effort. It wasnt the weight of the dishes that was the problemAuriele was a werewolf; she could have lifted a four-hundred-pound anvil onto the shelf. It was that she was short and had to stand on tiptoe to do it. Jesse had to dodge around her to get to the phone.
All the teachers love Clark, Auriele continued. All the girls and most of the guys, too. And every word out of his mouth is a lie. Enrique cheated off my paper, he told me when I asked him why they both had all the same mistakes. Enrique, he just gets this resigned look on his face; I expect that Clark has done this to him before.
Hauptman residence, said Jesse cheerfully. Can I help you?
Is Adam there?
So I told him Auriele stopped talking abruptly, her sensitive ears caught by the familiar voice on the line.
I need Adam. My husbands ex-wifes voice was thick with tears. Christy Hauptman sounded desperate and half-hysterical.
Mom? Jesses voice was shaky. Mom, whats wrong?
Get Adam.
Mom? Jesse gave me a frantic look.
Adam, I called. Christys on the phone for you.
He was in the living room talking to Darryl and a few of the pack who had lingered after breakfast, so I didnt have to raise my voice much. It wasnt the first time Christy had called needing something.
Dealing with Christy was usually enough to give me a stomachache. Not because of anything she could do to me or Adam. But Jesse, who loved her mother but was currently fighting to keep liking her, suffered every time that woman called. There was nothing I could do to stop it.
Hes coming, Mom, Jesse said.
Please, Christy said. Tell him to hurry.
Desperate, hysterical tearsthose werent unusual. But she sounded scared, too. And that wasnt anything Id heard before.
Adam walked into the room, and from his grim face, I could tell hed heard at least part of what Christy had said. He took the handset from Jesse but hugged her with the other arm. Jesses eyes grew watery under his comforting hold. She gave me a frantic look before bolting away, out the door, and up the stairs, presumably to her room, where she could collect herself.
What do you need? Adam said, most of his attention still on his daughter.
Can I come home?
Auriele glanced at me, but I was already wearing my blank face. She wouldnt be able to tell what I was thinking from my expression.
This isnt your home, Adam said. Not anymore.
Adam, Christy said. Oh, Adam. She sobbed, a small, hopeless sound. Im in trouble, I need to come home. Ive been so stupid. He wont leave me alone. He hurt me, he killed a friend of mine, and he follows me everywhere I go. Can I come home, please?
That wasnt anything Id expected. Auriele quit trying to pretend she wasnt listening to every word and jerked her face toward the phone.
Call the police, Adam said. Thats what they are there for.
Hell kill me, she whispered. Adam, hell kill me. I dont have anywhere else to run. Please.
Werewolves can tell when people are lying. So can some of the other supernatural critters running aroundlike me, for instance. Over the phone is a lot trickier because a lot of the telltale signs involve heartbeat and smellneither of which is possible to detect over a phone line. But I could hear the truth in her voice.
Adam looked at me.
Tell her to come, I said. What else could I say? If something happened to her when we could help I wasnt sure if I could live with that. I knew that Adam couldnt.
Auriele continued to watch me. She frowned, finally turned away, and started to dry the dishes again.
Adam, please? Christy pleaded.
Adam narrowed his eyes at me and didnt say anything.
Adam, Mary Jo said from the doorway. Mary Jo is a firefighter, tough and smart. She is owed by the pack for the years that she was yours. Let her come home, and the pack will protect her.
He gave Mary Jo a look, and she dropped her eyes.
Its okay, I said to Adam, and tried to make it not a lie. Really.
I bake when Im stressed. If I had to make enough chocolate chip cookies to feed Richland while she was here, it would be okay because Adam needed me to be okay with it.
If shetried anything, she would be sorry. Adam was mine. She had thrown him away, thrown Jesse awayand I had snatched them up. Finders keepers.
Maybe she didnt want them back. Maybe she just needed to be safe. My gut wasnt convinced, but jealousy isnt a logical emotion, and I had no reason to be jealous of Christy.
All right, Adam said. All right. You can come. Then, his voice gentle, he asked, Do you need money for plane tickets?
I went back to the dishes and tried not to hear the rest of the conversation. Tried not to hear the concern in Adams voice, the softnessand the satisfaction he got from taking care of her. Good Alpha werewolves take care of those around them; its part of what makes them Alpha.
I might have been able to ignore it better if all the wolves still in the house hadnt drifted into the kitchen. They listened to Adams finalization of the details that would bring Christy here and snuck occasional, furtive glances my way when they thought I wouldnt notice.
Auriele took the last cup from my hand. I unplugged the sink and shook the water from my hands before drying them off on my jeans. My hands arent my best feature. The hot water had left my skin pruney, and my knuckles were red and swollen. Even after washing dishes, there was still some black grease embedded in my skin and under my nails. Christys hands were always beautiful, with French-manicured nails.
Adam hung up the phone and called the travel agent he used to coordinate his not-infrequent business travel: both business business and werewolf business.
She can stay with Honey and me, said Mary Jo to me, her voice neutral.
Mary Jo and Honey were the other two female werewolves in the pack. Mary Jo had moved in with Honey when Honeys mate had been killed a few months ago. Neither of them liked me very much.
Until Mary Jo made the offer of hospitality, Id been half planning to put Christy up with one of the other pack members because I hadnt thought it through. I knew that putting Christy in with Mary Jo and Honey would be a mistake.
Adam and I were working hard to increase the pack cohesion, which meant that I was trying very hard not to further alienate either Mary Jo or Honey. I was doing pretty well at keeping our interactions to polite neutrality. If Christy moved in with them, she would use their dislike of me and fan it into a hurricane-force division that would rain down on the pack in a flood of drama.
Once I recognized the power of Christy as a divisive force, I realized that it wasnt just a problem for my relationship with the pack, but also for Adams. Putting Adams ex-wife in the same house with Honey and Mary Jo would be stupid because it would force Mary Jo to take Christys side on any tension between Christy and Adam or Christy and the pack. The same thing would be true of anyone Christy stayed with.
Christy was going to have to stay here with Adam and me.
Christy needs to be here, where shell feel safe, said Auriele before I could reply to Mary Jo.
Uhm, I said, because I was still reeling under the weight of just how much it was going to suck having her not just here in the Tri-Cities, but here in my home.
You dont want her here? asked Auriele, and for the first time, I realized that Auriele, like Mary Jo, had liked Christy better than she did me. Shes scared and alone. Dont be petty, Mercy.
Would you want Darryls ex staying at your house? asked Jesse hotly. I hadnt realized shed come back downstairs. Her chin was raised as she flung her support my way. I didnt want her to do that. Christy was her momJesse shouldnt be trying to choose between us.
If she needed help, I would, Auriele snapped. It was easy for her to be certain because Darryl, as far as I knew, didnt have an ex-wife. If you dont want Christy here, Mercy, she is welcome at my house.
Aurieles offer was followed up by several others, accompanied by hostile stares aimed at me. Christy had been well liked by most of the pack. She was just the sort of sweet, helpless homemaker that appealed to a bunch of werewolves with too much testosterone.
Christy will stay here, I said.
But since Mary Jo and Auriele were arguing hotly about where Christy would be happiest, and the men were paying attention to them, no one had heard me.
I saidI stepped between the two women, drawing on Adams power to give weight to my wordsChristy will stay here with Adam and me. Both women dropped their eyes and backed away, but the hostility in Aurieles face told me that only the Alphas authority in my voice had forced her to stop arguing. Mary Jo looked satisfiedI was pretty sure it meant that she thought Christys staying here might give Christy a chance to resume her position as Adams wife.
Though Adam was still on the phone, my pull on his authority had made him look around to see what was happening in the kitchen, but he didnt slow his rapid instructions.
Having her here isnt a good idea. Shed do okay at Honey and Mary Jos. Jesse sounded almost frantic.
Christy stays here, I repeated, though this time I didnt borrow Adams magic to make my point.
Mercy, I love my mother. Jesses mouth twisted unhappily. But shes selfish, and she resents that you took her place here. Shell cause trouble.
Jesse Hauptman, snapped Auriele. Thats your mother you are talking about. You show her some respect.
Auriele, I growled. This morning needed a dominance fight between the two of us like it needed a nuclear bomb. But I couldnt let her dictate to Jesse. Back off.
Teeth showing in a hostile smile, Auriele turned her hot gaze on me, yellow stirring in the cappuccino depths of her eyes.
Leave Jesse alone, I told her. Youre overstepping your authority. Jesse is not pack.
Aurieles lips whitened, but she backed down. I was right, and she knew it.
Your mom will feel safer here, I told Jesse without looking away from Auriele. And Aurieles also right when she says we can protect Christy better here.
Jesse gave me a despairing look. She doesnt want Dad, but that doesnt mean she wants anyone else to have him. Shell try to get between the two of youlike water torture. Drip. Drip. Drip. You should hear what she says about you.
No. No, I shouldnt. Neither should Jesse, but there was nothing I could do about that.
Its all right, I told her. Were all grown-ups. We can behave for a little while. How long could it take for a werewolf to hunt down a stalker and scare him off? A stalker, by definition, should be easy to find, right?
