Not finding anything, he strode to the front of the store, hoping to meet one of the human pack who would squeak about his being naked. But he hadn’t gotten that far when Vlad called out, “Simon? Is that you?”

He bounded up the stairs and into the office. “The next time I find anything any of those females have left around the store, I’ll—” He stopped when he saw Vlad’s face. “Your kin?”

“They’re fine. Joe met them at the train station yesterday. Tolya called me last night to give me the phone number of the motel as well as his room number in case I needed to reach him.” Vlad held out the receiver. “It’s Jackson.”

Simon leaped toward the desk and grabbed the receiver. “Jackson? What did Hope do now?”

Hesitation. “What do you know about bison?”

What an odd question. “They’re tasty. Hard to hunt unless you’re with a strong pack or bring down a young one.” Things Jackson already knew. “Joe sent us packages of bison meat. They arrived yesterday. The female pack is cooking a roast to give all the humans a taste.”

“What about live bison?”

“What about them?” Then he remembered Meg’s prophecy about the River Road Community. “Meg saw some bison grazing at a mixed community we’re building—Others and Intuits.” And she saw you there.

“Hope’s newest vision drawing shows me bringing young bison to you at a place around Talulah Falls.” A waiting silence. “Is this how it works with blood prophets in the wild?”

“I don’t know,” Simon replied. “Maybe it’s because Hope, Meg, and Jean—because she’s part of this too—grew up in the same compound. Or maybe it’s because those three have a connection to terra indigene who have bonds to each other. This is new for the girls as well as for us.”

Jackson sighed. “Hope sees me traveling to bring bison to you, and she’s asking me if I’m going to leave her and Grace forever. Your Meg sees me there. I don’t know what to do. Traveling alone... Things feel strange around here. Close to Endurance, the human-controlled town, the water tastes sour and the air feels hot. The Intuits who have gone there for supplies felt it too.”

“You need books?”

Vlad looked at Simon and showed his fangs. Simon revealed his own fangs.

“We’re taking care of a human pup. Physically a juvenile, but you know what I mean.”

He did. “It would be good for her to have books. We’ll see what we can send.” He’d have the female pack make a list of what a juvenile would like to read.

“Nyx,” Vlad said quietly. “If Jackson is coming here, could he go to Prairie Gold first? Then he and Nyx could travel together.”

Simon relayed the request.