Mercy Thompson 01-05 - THE MERCY THOMPSON COLLECTION

said. “You go ahead and cry, baby. Ain’t no one going to say you don’t have the right. Get it over with and cry some for me—’cause if Kyle catches me crying, he’s gonna think I turned into one of those sissy boys.”
    Jesse laughed, but left her head where it was.
    Warren looked at me. “You go on. You got someone else’s shoulder to cry on. You tell him I got Jesse’s back. And, Samuel, you stay with me, too. We don’t need any more drama, and I doubt that Adam is up to showing his weakness to someone who could be his rival until the adrenaline eases a bit.”
    Sam stretched, yawned, and lay down.
    â€œThanks, Warren,” I said.
    He smiled and tipped the front of his imaginary cowboy hat. “Shucks, ma’am, I’m only doin’ my job. Darryl’s gonna feed the masses again, and I’m riding herd on the stragglers.”
    Jesse pulled back and wiped her eyes, a smile on her face. “Have I ever told you that you’re my favorite cowboy?”
    â€œOf course I am,” he said smugly.
    â€œYou’re the only cowboy she knows,” I informed him.
    He glanced at his watch. “You got about two minutes left.”
    â€œMercy?” Jesse asked, catching my arm before I could go. “What about Gabriel?”
    â€œWe’ll find him,” Warren said, before I could respond. He smiled at me. “I have good hearing, and the house was plenty quiet enough last night to hear a phone call in the kitchen.” He bent down so he could look Jesse in the eye. “Running around when we don’t know anything won’t help him. Zee’s looking into it, and waiting for him is our best option at the moment.”
    â€œIf Zee couldn’t help us, he’d have told us by now,” I said, looking only at Jesse. I wasn’t talking to Warren; I was talking to Jesse. No oath breaking here. “We’ll get Gabriel out of this.”
    â€œMaybe we’ll sic Sylvia on them,” said Warren.
    â€œYou heard?” Of course he had. News travels fast in the pack.
    â€œHeard what?” Jesse was coming back online, I thought. Warren’s hug had been exactly what she needed.
    â€œSylvia threatened to set the police on me if I darkened their doorstep again. Gabriel isn’t working for me anymore.” I frowned. I hadn’t thought about it, but it might affect Jesse, too. “I don’t know if you’re considered one of the prohibited people—but since she got mad because I didn’t warn her that Sam was a werewolf before Maia adopted him as her new pony, I expect that werewolves of any kind are going to be a hot button for a little while. Once we get him home, you need to talk it over with Gabriel.”
    She nodded. “If we get him home, I’ll be happy to fight with Sylvia about my right to hang out with Gabriel.”
    â€œGood for you,” said Warren.
    She stepped back from him and almost fell over Sam. “Hey,” she said to him. “How come you let Warren and Dad take care of Mary Jo?”
    â€œHe’s not himself,” I said. “It wouldn’t have been a good idea.”
    Sam gave me a look full of guilt and turned his head away.
    I thought about that guilty look all the way in the house and into the living room where the pack was scattered all over the furniture and the floor. There were more wolves—latecomers receiving the blow-by-blow account of the fight. And I hadn’t seen Adam’s pack this relaxed since . . . ever. I hadn’t hung out with the werewolves much until this last year—and it hadn’t been a peaceful one for the pack.
    Honey caught me on my way to get Adam, who was sitting on one end of the leather couch. I hadn’t noticed her in the garage—and I would have because Honey doesn’t go unnoticed, partly because she is very dominant and partly because she is very beautiful—so she must have been one of the latecomers.
    â€œMary Jo was recognized as more dominant than Alec?” she asked. She didn’t sound happy, which was odd. Because her mate, Peter, was a submissive wolf, Honey was considered the lowest member of the pack except for Mary Jo, though by personality and fighting power she was actually closer to the top. Maybe the idea that they might rank her where she belonged offended her idea of what a lady should be. Maybe she worried it would cause trouble in the pack, or