“You know how to work it?” the woman asked me. I nodded, took the glass tray from the scanner’s storage compartment, and smiled at Corwin. “About that hair sample?”

He held his sideburn taut and flashed his claws. A clump of reddish hair fell into the tray. I put it onto the examining platform. Green beams flashed and the printer whirred. Finally it stopped and the slip of paper slid from the slot. I pulled it. The lines were there, a series of short, faint slashes of color. But in the wrong place. I twisted the paper, trying to get the right angle of light. Light yellow-green. No match. There goes my only suspect.

“Are you satisfied?” Curran asked.

“Yes. He’s clear.”

Obeying Curran’s nod, Corwin rose and left.

“We agreed to a trade,” Curran said.

“I remember. What can I do for you?”

Curran looked to the open door and Derek staggered in, unsteady on his feet. He slumped against the doorframe, his face haggard. He looked like he needed a few more hours of sleep and a good dinner. I felt a pang of guilt. Just a tired kid, caught in a pissing contest between me and his boss.

“You can take him with you,” Curran said.

I blinked. “As what?”

“As a bodyguard. As a connection to the Pack. Take your pick.”

“No.”

Curran just looked at me.

“We agreed to an exchange of information,” I said. “At no point did I say that I’d take someone with me. Besides, why the hell would I want a wolf who’ll report my every breath back to you?”

“I’ll bind him with a blood oath. He’ll do nothing to harm you, physically or otherwise. He won’t spy on you.”

Derek tensed against the wall and I tried to be reasonable. “Even assuming that I believe you, I can’t take him with me. Look at him. He’s a kid. If I get in a fight, I won’t know whose neck to save, mine or his.”

“I can hold my own,” the kid said hoarsely.

“You can’t force me to take him,” I said. “I don’t want his blood on my hands.”

“If you won’t take him, his blood will be on your hands.” Curran crossed his arms over his chest. “You caused this. You took possession of my wolf in front of the entire Pack.”

“You left me no choice. Was I supposed to squeal for your help? I came here in good faith and walked into an ambush. The responsibility is yours.”

Curran ignored me and plowed on. “You’ve brought my authority into doubt. I can’t just let it go. As of now I have three options. I can teach you a public lesson in humility, and oh, I would very much like to do that.” His face left me no doubt as to exactly how much. “But I have to suffer you because you’re the Order’s point of contact. I can punish him, which I don’t want to do. Or I can give him to you and let it be known that he was yours since our last meeting. You looked distressed and the blood oath had driven him berserk. It will let him save face.”