Mercy Thompson 01-05 - THE MERCY THOMPSON COLLECTION

who’d been playing for too long. Pack is for comfort when you hurt, I thought, putting my head back down. And for the first time in a long time, maybe the first time ever, I appreciated being a part of one.

    I WOKE UP BECAUSE THE TOP OF MY HEAD WAS TOO warm. The sensation was vaguely familiar so I started to go back to sleep when sharp, pokey things started digging into my scalp. And then I remembered why there shouldn’t be a cat sleeping on my head.
    I sat up and stared into the cool gaze of the slightly singed calico Manx who expressed her irritation with my abrupt change of position with an irritated meow. She smelled of smoke, and there was a raw spot on the top of her back, but otherwise she seemed to be fine.
    Adam didn’t move, but Ben rolled over and opened his eyes.
    â€œHey, cat,” I said, tearing up, as she adjusted to my new position and maneuvered herself so she was within easy petting distance of both Ben and me. “I thought you were toast.”
    She pushed her head under my hand and rolled so my hand slid through her coat. Ben started to reach out, but stopped as soon as he moved his fingers. They looked better than they had before—though they still looked like something that might appear in a horror movie.
    â€œI didn’t realize you didn’t know,” Ben said, his voice still rough. “I should have told you. Adam went to your room. I went to Sam’s and found her under the bed.”
    I wiped my eyes and nose on my shoulder (both hands being occupied with cat and covered with cat hair anyway). Then I leaned forward and kissed Ben’s nose.
    â€œThanks,” I said. “I’d have missed her a lot.”
    â€œYeah.” He stretched out on his back, hands carefully laid across his belly. “We’d have missed her, too. Only cat I’ve ever seen who tolerates werewolves.” He sounded oddly vulnerable. I don’t think he was used to being the hero.
    â€œDon’t feel too flattered,” said Adam dryly. “Medea likes vampires, too.”
    â€œAdam?” I said.
    But he was asleep again. And I could feel him in my head, just as he should be.

10

    I WOKE UP, AND MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS SURPRISE that I was so sore. Then I remembered the huge fae who’d knocked me silly. In the wake of my home burning down and Adam getting hurt, the encounter with the fae in the bookstore had become incidental. There was a goose-egg-sized knot on the back of my head, nothing wanted to move very much, and my ankles—both of them—ached.
    Sam was snoring, something he actually didn’t do very often. He was stretched out across my feet, which couldn’t have been very comfortable for him, though he seemed happy enough. He must have felt my attention because he rolled onto his back and stretched—an instant of half wakefulness that ended with him going back to snoring.
    Adam was still sleeping like the dead, as he had for most of the night—except when he woke up coughing blood tinged gray with smoke particles. Sometime during the night, he’d rolled away from me, and now he slept on his side. I ran a hand over his shoulder blade and he moved into my touch without waking up.
    â€œHey,” I told him. “I love you.”
    He didn’t answer, but I didn’t need one—I knew how he felt. Only after I rolled painfully off the edge of the bed did it occur to me that Ben was missing. A glance out the window told me it was still morning, not early, but not late enough to make me feel like a slugabed either.
    I limped stiffly to the bathroom. One hot shower later I could move again. And even if my clothes were on their second day—and smelled of blood and smoke and all—I felt ready to face the morning. After a little dithering, I put my shoulder holster back on.
    I didn’t feel any urgent need to go armed—but I didn’t have anywhere to put the SIG out of harm’s way either. Adam probably had a gun safe around somewhere, but I didn’t know where it was. So I wore the shoulder harness under my T- shirt, which was loose enough to conceal it. I’d have a hard time drawing the gun, but that shouldn’t matter: it was loaded with lead bullets, and the house was full of werewolves. If I had to draw the gun, I was probably dead anyway.
    On that cheery thought, I left the bedroom and shut the door quietly behind me. The lovely smell of sausage and butter pulled me into the