Written in Red (The Others, #1)

by Anne Bishop

The Others looked at humans and did not see conquerors. They saw a new kind of meat.

Wolf who took up a position at the door was the bookstore’s own brand of security. A would-be shoplifter having his hand bitten off instilled a strong sense of honesty in the rest of the humans who came to Howling Good Reads. Having to walk over the blood—and walk past the Wolf who was still crunching on a couple of fingers—left a lasting impression, not to mention a few nightmares.

“We need a Liaison, Tess.” “A fool’s idea, if you ask me. The only humans that want the job are thieves who think they can steal from us or ones hiding from their own law. The last one you threw out for being a lazy bag of shit, and the one before that . . . the Wolves ate the one before that.” “We weren’t the only ones who ate him,” Simon muttered.

“Do you know the joke about what happened to the dinosaurs?” Burke asked as Monty opened the office door. He turned back, offering the other man a hesitant smile. “No, sir. What happened to the dinosaurs?” Burke didn’t smile. “The Others is what happened to the dinosaurs.”

“Is the hazard pay for being on this team worth the risk?” Monty asked. “Lieutenant, if things go really wrong between us and the Others, no amount of pay will be worth the risk. But there also won’t be any place in Lakeside that is safe, so maybe taking those risks is what will make the difference for everyone.”

Opening the Private door all the way, he looked at the tableau and thought, A Crow, a prophet, and a vampire walk into an office . . .

Meg hadn’t been upset when she saw him as Wolf. She had, in fact, been foolishly brave, daring to push the leader away from food. And they had played. He couldn’t remember ever playing with a human. Chasing one you were going to eat didn’t count.

Yes. Erebus would want blood from the man who tried to take Meg, who touched Meg. “You want us to save any meat for you?” Blair asked. He wasn’t human. Would never be human. “I want the heart. I’ll come by for it later.” When Meg was asleep.