Mercy Thompson 01-05 - THE MERCY THOMPSON COLLECTION

Unlike Paul, Adam’s landing was deliberate and controlled. Before Paul could react, Adam twisted his body and drove the shin of his free leg into Paul’s chest.
    In karate movies, they break celery to mimic the sound of breaking bones. Trust me, my hearing is acute, and I know these things: Paul’s ribs didn’t sound anything like celery. A human might have died from that blow; he certainly would have needed CPR. Werewolves are tougher than that.
    Paul’s hand slammed the mat.
    â€œHe yields,” said Adam.
    â€œAdam wins,” announced Darryl. “Do you accept Paul’s yield, Alpha?”
    â€œI do,” replied Adam.
    â€œThis fight is over,” said Darryl.
    Adam leaned down to Paul. “That edge you lost in your fight with Mary Jo is what allowed me to take the time to find something that would hurt you—instead of kill you. You can thank her for your life.”
    Paul moved his head, exposing his throat to Adam. “I will, Alpha.”
    Adam smiled. “I’d give you a hand up—but we’d better have Warren look at your ribs first. One punctured lung is enough.”
    I’d been keeping an eye on Henry throughout the fight. I glanced at him just as he stepped onto the mat.
    â€œAlpha,” he called. “I chal—”
    He never got the whole word out—because I drew my foster father’s SIG and shot him in the throat before he could.
    For a split second everyone stared at him, as if they couldn’t figure out where all that blood had come from.
    â€œStop the bleeding,” I said. Though I made no move to do it myself. The rat could die for all I cared. “That was a lead bullet. He’ll be fine.” Though he wouldn’t be talking—or challenging Adam—for a while. “When he’s stable, put him in the holding cell, where he can’t do any more harm.”
    Adam looked at me. “Trust you to bring a gun to a fistfight,” he said with every evidence of admiration. Then he looked at his pack. Our pack. “What she said,” he told them.

12

    WHEN THE PACK ESCORTED ADAM IN A TRIUMPHANT procession into the house, I hung back with Jesse and Sam—both of whom looked pretty wrung out.
    Paul had left the dojo the same way Mary Jo had, in the stretcher—and he should be resting beside her in one of the downstairs bedrooms that were considered pack property rather than Adam’s. Any member of the pack could and did claim one for sleeping or reading or whatever they needed. With Adam in the house, neither Paul nor Mary Jo would have a problem with control while they healed—their wolves knew their Alpha was in residence to keep them safe.
    There were some awful things about being a werewolf. Lots of them. But there were some okay parts, too—and some that were nice. One of those was knowing that as long as the Alpha was around, you had a safe place to be.
    Henry hadn’t died from the blood loss, so far as I knew, and had probably already healed. A bullet is a small thing, and the hole it cuts is clean if it doesn’t hit anything hard on the way through—like bone. He’d be up before either Mary Jo or Paul. Of course, what happened to him after that was in question. I suppose it would be Adam’s decision.
    Warren hung back until everyone else except for me, Sam, and Jesse were gone. And then he shut the door.
    â€œAdam will miss you in about five minutes,” he told me. “And in six minutes you’re going to need to get him upstairs and in bed without letting the whole pack know that in ten minutes that man is going to be unconscious on the floor.”
    â€œI know,” I told him.
    The big cowboy smiled tiredly, though, like me, all he’d done was watch the challenge. “That was a nice bit of fighting. I suspect he could have taken Paul without Mary Jo stepping in.”
    I nodded. “But now Paul is back in the pack again, happier than before. And I don’t think that could have happened without Mary Jo.”
    â€œI hate this part,” said Jesse shakily.
    â€œThe part where everyone is safe, and you want to find a quiet corner and bawl like a newborn?” Warren glanced at me. “I reckon it’s better than when people aren’t safe—but it’s not my favorite, either.” He wrapped his arm around Adam’s daughter’s shoulder and she snuggled into him.
    â€œThere you go,” he