Silence Fallen (Mercy Thompson, #10)

by Patricia Briggs

Matt’s status, instead of making this a fight, made it an offer of help acceptable to Adam’s wolf. Matt had hoped it would work. But dominant wolves were unpredictable. This could have ended in bloodshed. “Shit,” said Adam, the words dragging out of him like pulling a body out of quicksand. “Shit. Damn it to hell. I’ve been bitten by a fucking vampire.” “Change,” Matt suggested. “That will help.” Adam shook his head and gritted his teeth. “Can’t,” Adam said. “Can’t lose face with Bonarata. I have to stay human. I have to get out of here tonight to get Mercy—and before I do, I need to figure out why the hell Bonarata stole her in the first place. Stupid fucking vampires.” “Agreed,” said Matt. “Though pretty undiplomatic if we are being recorded. Is there anything I can do to help?” “Not now,” Adam said. “I’ll fight this out myself. Now that I know what’s going on. I think I’ve got this.” He took a deep, ragged breath. “This will teach me not to listen to my wolf. It’s been telling me there is something wrong since”—Adam looked at Matt and flashed him a surprisingly sweet smile, given the sweat trickling down his forehead—“since Mercy disappeared, I guess. And that was the problem. Too hard to tell one hissy fit from another.” He fell silent. Matt put a hand tentatively on the other wolf’s shoulder, and when Adam didn’t shrug him off, he left it there. They didn’t share a bond, but Matt was older than he looked, and there were ways to feed power through touch. Adam lifted hi...