Amy glanced up and pinned Leone to the spot with a cool, clear stare. "Are you going to come in, or just stand there letting all the heat out?" she said.

Startled, Leone took a step into the room, and then hesitated.

"You're back."

"So it would seem. Unless there's a spell in here for astral projection." She held up another Wiccan Wheel spell book. "Who does these? They're beautiful."

Hesitantly, Leone approached. "It's a Garoul imprint. Connie and I started it. It's doing really well. There's been a groundswell in magical interest since the millennium."

Amy closed the book and set it aside. Leone was unsure if her connection with it had somehow soured Amy's joy. She was prepared to blame herself for anything and everything, her misery and self-loathing ran so deeply.

* 228 *

"How are you feeling?" Amy said.

"Okay. I got the stitches out. There'll be scars, but I'm fine."

Amy nodded at this, seeming satisfied.

Before the silence could stretch too far, Leone blurted, "How did things go in Vancouver?"

"Easy, really." Amy uncoiled from the couch and stretched.

Her top rode up and firelight danced on an inch of creamy belly.

"Like clockwork. I've already spoken to Marie and Connie. They can fill you in."

"Where are they?" Leone realized her mother and Connie were absent.

"They went over to Connie's for tonight. They're going to clean the cabin up a little. Connie says she's ready to face it." Amy sighed. "Poor Connie, she loved that cabin, yet she destroyed it and all her beautiful things in it. She must have hated herself so much at the time."

"Connie's adjusting fine now that the initial rage has gone.

She's one strong woman to survive a rogue attack and come through it. Elicia, too."

"I'm so angry they had to go through it at all. But then I'm angry about a lot of things these days."

"Oh." Leone felt very uncertain about this information.

"Marie left soup in the kitchen for supper. I'm going to turn on the stove and heat it. Do you want some?"

"Yes, please."

Amy nodded to the couch. "Sit. I won't be a minute."

Leone squeezed into a corner, sitting bolt upright.

When Amy returned she noted the stricken look on Leone's face, her stiff posture and awkward body language. She snuggled into the opposite corner of the couch, drew her knees up to her chin, and stared at Leone's rigid profile.

"Why did you lie to me?" she murmured. Leone started, turning her head to meet her squarely.

"I thought I was protecting you. We didn't know who had attacked Connie, and we needed her work completed for the almanac.

I was to look after you until we found the rogue wolf. Sometimes * 229 *

rogues come sniffing around an established den but they soon clear off. We thought Connie fell victim to one of those. No one realized it was a concerted attempt to capture our code."

"So you offered round-the-clock protection and slept with me. And to make me sleep with you, you pursued me with spells, and charms, and witchcraft?" She indicated the green cord around Leone's ankle.

Leone's face scorched.

"Okay, so I took the opportunity to try to woo you back. Connie showed me some spells...and I was desperate. I'd do anything to correct my teenage mistake."

"It wasn't a teenage mistake, Leone. Your mother was right.

We had to split up. You would have harmed me. I never realized how right she was until you lunged for me after Virgil was...after he was..." She cleared her throat. She still had problems with his death but accepted it was the fate he had consistently, and persistently, brought upon himself. "If the gun hadn't gone off, you would have really hurt me, whether you intended to or not."

"I thought you were leaving me, and the wolf side was never going to let you go. It's what Marie warned me of when we were young. Now I understand the power she was talking about. Amy, there's a part of me that will always see you as my mate. I don't think I can bear losing you again."

Amy nodded. She was beginning to understand how this worked for the wolven side of Leone, but there were still questions.

"How can I be your mate? You didn't trust me with your great secret. Yet you slept with me and dragged up all that old emotion.

Were you ever going to tell me the truth? Or was I always going to be on the outside forever?"

"I wanted to tell you. I loved you. I wanted to ask you to stay.

But I couldn't until you and the code were safe." She turned to fully face Amy on the couch. "From the first day you arrived, I wanted to be with you. You can't deny that. You know that. You saw it."

Amy nodded. It had been apparent from very early on that Leone still had feelings for her.

* 230 *

"I was trying to win you, and protect you. And you made it so goddamn difficult," Leone said.

"I had no assurances you weren't going to use me up like before. And once I found out there was a code, I knew I was being used in some way. I just couldn't figure out how. And by the time I did, it was far too late for me to trust you, or any of the Garouls. You should have come clean from the start."

They were sitting opposite each other now. Arms wrapped around knees, curled in their respective corners.

"I can only tell the Garoul secret to my mate, and I didn't have time to win back your love. If you hadn't been replacing Connie, you would never have found out about the code. If you'd just come for a visit, I could have wooed and won you. And then told you the truth. But until I claimed you as my mate, there was no way I could let you know."

It was a weird, circular logic, but Amy could see the dilemma.

It was laughable. If she'd let herself easily fall back in love with Leone, she'd have been told about the code almost from the start.

But instead she had resisted because of their history, and found the code all by herself. All that had done was seed even more distrust between them.

"Leone, are the Garouls the only werewolf family, is everyone else a rogue wolf? Like Virgil, or Elicia? Turned after an attack."

"Usually humans don't survive an attack. And if they do, the shock of mutation on their system normally kills them soon after.

Virgil and Elicia are rare, but not unique. There are rogue werewolves out there, but not as many as the movies would make you think.

The majority are born into a clan like the Garouls. There are many ancient families all over the world." She plucked nervously at the cord around her ankle until Amy reached over and slapped her hand. "Stop that."

"What is it for? You've got one, too." Leone pointed at Amy's bare feet. Amy handed her the spell book.

"Look under Charms."

* 231 *

It was a spell called Wander less.

A binding and a span for each year parted.

A triple knot to hold your lover close.

Bind left foot and journey's never started.

The thread will break when spell holds fast.

"Oh, Amy. You don't need magic for that."

"How can I be sure you won't hurt me? If you become a wolf and want to...mate?" This was the heart of the matter for Amy.

Though she knew beyond all doubt that Leone wanted her, for Amy it had to be more than just being claimed.

She wanted to be loved, and furthermore, loved forever. She wanted to come home and to be held there, with care and comfort, and never have to go away again. The world was a cold, calculating place, but she could survive in it, and had done so easily. But she was always alone, scattered and incomplete. A half heart.

Now, in this valley of utter madness, of werewolves, and potions, and spell casting, she had discovered the ability to love again. She had traveled the world over, but here was where all the love in her life was held.

"If you were my mate that wouldn't happen. I would always be in human form when we made love. I would never hurt you. I chased you at the river because I thought you were leaving me. I was always nervous you might not accept me once you found out what I was."

"Now I know, and I want to understand how it might be for us." "My sex drive will be stronger, and some nights I'll want you over and over. I never really get enough of you...ever. But I'll never be wolven. I'd end up hurting you."

"What about Connie and Marie?"

"What about them?"

"I saw scratches on Marie."

"From Connie. A wolven mating is more...active."

"Oh." Amy blushed. "Have many Garoul mates crossed over * 232 *

to the wolven side? I know Connie had to, and Patrice wanted to for Claude. But any others?"

"It's dangerous. I'd never ask you to. It's something you have to want."

Amy mulled this over. "Has a Garoul ever entered a...a life bond with any of the other wolven families?"

Leone shook her head. "I've never heard tell of it. Not to say it didn't happen in old Europe." She shrugged.

"Leone. Tell me what the code actually does?"

"But you broke it."

"Only a line or two. What I mean is, what information does it contain that's worth getting killed for? Is it a treasure map? Does it bestow some great supernatural power?"

Leone laughed, "No. It's a sort of rulebook and survival guide all rolled into one. Some of the recipes and infusions help with wounds and transmutation. There's medical advice, pack etiquette, and general news. It tells of our origins and the history of our pack.

And most importantly, everything you'd need to know to pass in the human world. It's used to educate and inform. No gold, no magic powers, just good old-fashioned knowledge. It's just an ancient handbook."

"So new code is hidden every year in the almanacs."

"Yes. Since the Middle Ages, when we started to disperse from southern France. The almanacs were how the Garouls kept in touch, then and now. We have other, more modern methods now. We own Ambereye, a software development house, where we embed information in computer programs, for instance."

"Wow. Who's it for? Who reads it?"

"We do. All of us, from all over. The software is in games for the kids to play and learn about their heritage. Mom is the Alpha and it's her job to maintain our historical records and information gathering, and to pass it on to the next generation. I'm in training to take over her role as her firstborn daughter. The Garouls are matriarchal, so command passes down the maternal line to females only."

"So you'll always be tied to Little Dip," Amy said.

"Yes. I will spend most of my life here. If I had a mate I would * 233 *

want her to share the valley with me." She looked over at Amy.

"Could you do that? After all the traveling you've done, places you've been, would Little Dip ever be enough?"

"Leone, this place has always been home. I've struggled all these years to stay away. This is where I want to be, because the people I love are here."

"They are?"

"They are."

Leone thought this over. "Are the people you love in this room?"

"They are."

Leone made a play of looking around her. "There's only me in this room."

"There is."

Leone gave the brightest smile and reached for Amy, pulling them prone on the couch. She winced and wriggled into the cushions for comfort.

"You're still sore." Amy eased her weight off Leone, concerned she was hurting her.

"Not much. Maybe you could kiss me better. Somebody shot me, don't ya know."