Blood Trail

and her lids looked bruised.

    I can take her, Vicki realized. I'm younger, stronger. I'm ... out of my mind. She forced the muscles of her face to relax, denying the awareness of power. 'I hadn't realized London was so far from Toronto," she remarked conversationally, as though the room were not awash with undercurrents of tension.

    "You must be tired from your long drive," Nadine returned, and only Vicki saw the acknowledgment of what had just passed between them. "Come in and sit down."

    Then they both looked away.

    At that signal, Vicki and Henry found themselves surrounded by hearty handshakes and wet noses and hustled into seats at the huge kitchen table. Henry wondered if Vicki realized that she'd just been accepted as a kind of auxiliary member of the pack, much as he was himself.
    He'd spent long hours on the phone the last two nights arguing for that acceptance, convincing Nadine that from outside the pack Vicki would have little chance of finding the killer, that Vicki would no more betray the pack than she'd betray him, knowing as he did that Nadine's agreement would be conditional on the actual meeting.

    "Shadow, be quiet."

    The black pup - about the size of a small German shepherd - who had been dancing around Vicki's knees and barking shrilly, suddenly became a small naked boy of about six or seven who turned to look reproachfully up at Nadine. "But, Mom," he protested, "you said to always bark at strangers."

    "This isn't a stranger," his mother told him, leaning forward to brush dusty black hair up of his face, "it's Ms. Nelson."

    He rolled his eyes. "I know that, but I don't know her. That makes her a stranger."

    "Don't be a dork, Daniel. Mom says she's okay," pointed out one of two identical teenage girls sitting on the couch by the window in a tone reserved solely for younger brothers.

    "And she came with Henry," added the other in the exact same tone.

    "And if she was a stranger," concluded the first, "you wouldn't have changed in front of her.
    So she isn't a stranger. So shut up."

    He tossed his head. "Still don't know her."

    "Then get to know her quickly," his mother suggested, turning him back to face Vicki, "so that we can have some peace."

    Even though she was watching for it, Vicki missed the exact moment of change when Daniel became Shadow again. One heartbeat a small boy, a heartbeat later, a small dog. ... Not that small either, and I can't call them dogs. And yet, they aren't quite wolves. A cold nose shoved into the back of her knee and she started. And does that make this, him, a puppy or a cub? Ye gods, but this is going to get complicated. Trying not to let any of this inner debate show on her face, she reached down and held out her hand.

    Shadow sniffed it thoroughly then pushed his head under her fingers. His fur was still downy soft.

    "If you start scratching him, Ms. Nelson, you'll be at it all night," one of his sisters told her with a sigh.

    Shadow's nose went up and he pointedly turned his back on her, leaning up against Vicki's legs much the way Storm had leaned against Rose that night in Henry's condo. Which reminded Vicki. ...

    "Where's Peter and Rose? Peter. ..." She paused and shook her head. "I mean, Storm, met the car and I was sure I saw Rose - I mean, Cloud - when I first came in."

    "They've gone to get their Uncle Stuart," said the graying man next to Henry. Although he'd taken part in the welcome, those were the first words he'd actually spoken. He extended his hand across the table. An old scar puckered the skin of his forearm. Vicki wasn't positive, but it looked like a bite. "I'm Donald Heerkens, their father."

    "I'm Jennifer." The closer of the two girls on the couch broke in before Donald could say any more.

    "And I'm Marie."

    And how the hell does anyone tell you apart? Vicki wondered. Sitting down, at least, they appeared to be the exact same size and even their expressions looked identical. Mind you, I'm hardly one to judge. All kids look alike to me at that age. ...

    The two of them giggled at their uncle's mock scowl.

    "So now you've met everyone who's here," Marie continued.

    "Everyone except Daddy," Jennifer added, " 'cause like you already met Rose and Peter." The two of them smiled at her in unison. Even their dimples matched.

    Daddy must be Stuart, Vicki realized; Nadine's husband, Daniel's father, Donald's brother-in-law, Peter's and Rose's uncle. The dominant male. Meeting him should prove to be interesting.

    "Nice thing