What the Mark Knows

sin and woodsmoke, and the second was that my chee

ger's collarbone like a spill of copper thread. The man beneath me was breathing slowly. His skin was warm, and beneath the warmth there was a pulse that beat fast

ted m

the canvas. A strong jaw, unshaven. Deep blue eyes, open now, watching me with

counselor,

ent was cold and sharp, and it raised gooseflesh along my arms. I found m

time i

cles in his shoulders moved under his skin. "Elias will have coffee on the fire. You should dr

m then. "I was

of his mouth turn

d walked me to the tent he kept for guests and then had not left. I had asked him to stay. I remembered the exact shape of the words in my mouth, how they had felt like a confession, and I reme

. "What happened last ni

for his shirt. "Whatev

my client's brother, which makes you a witness, whi

rt over his head. "I am a feral wolf who lives in a

trooms and I knew how a good opposing counsel could turn a private night into a pub

that were a little too bright and a warm golden tan that had gone pale around the mouth. My cheeks were flushed, and there w

tomorrow," Kade s

ld not be

be doing a l

k wolf was close to the surface this morning. I could see it in the way he held himself, in the faint shimmer at the edge o

n the holding cell. You knew who

in the hills, a long rising note that faded into the mist. Kade lis

" he

ow

ersation for an

e this

past me toward the camp gate, where Elias was joggin

n eyes and a red wolf that he wore like a second coat, always close to the surface, always ready to run. This morning h

our ago," he said. "The guard said it was ma

ded the

ent over a set of scales. The handwriting beneath it was a clerk's handwriting, neat and im

ered, resident of the eastern green belt. The bond is recognized under the Mate Licensing Act. You are required to appear befo

ud, because my voice was the only thing in tha

Kade said n

to be a clerical error, or a joke, or..." I stopped myself, because I could hear how thin it sounded.

an error,

ught his face at an angle, and I could see the truth on it before he spoke.

. "On your wrist. I

re chained and frightened, and I put it down to instinct, and

new who you were, and I bit you, and I have been waiting s

tents the howl came again, closer now, and Elias took

. The words had not changed. Fiv

andy hair and the careful way he was holding himself,

o explain that to me,