“What happened in Kerrville?” Serenity asked.
“The Reniers went to trial,” he said. “Faster than I had any right to hope. Seems they were wanted for a dozen different crimes, but no one had ever been able to find them, let alone bring them in.”
“And they were found guilty?” Serenity asked softly.
Jacob nodded. “Funny thing is, not a single respectable Renier showed his face during the trial or after. None of their kin came to their defense.” He sighed. “I stayed to see them punished, but I didn’t take any satisfaction in it.” He cradled Serenity’s hands between his own. “My days as a hunter are finished.”
“As well they should be. Do you think I’d let you wander around the country without me?”
“I’ll never leave you.” He bent to kiss her. The benevolent stars continued their stately dance across the sky.
“I made a visit on my way home,” Jacob said a little while later. “To the place where Ruth is buried.” He pulled Serenity into the crook of his arm. “I know she’s at peace now. She always was. I was the one who didn’t know it.” He nuzzled Serenity’s hair. “I told her about you. Maybe it’s loco, but I felt her give her blessing.”
“I don’t think that’s loco at all,” Serenity murmured. “I’m glad. She was a good woman. I know that because she loved you.” She sighed and snuggled closer. “What about the feud? If no Reniers showed up to defend the gang or try to interfere, maybe it’s finally over.”
“Maybe it is.”
“If werewolves can learn to live in peace with each other, maybe werewolves and regular people can, too.”
“I guess it has to start somewhere.”
“I think right here is a very good place. I figure we could get married next week, if that isn’t too soon for you.”
“Tomorrow wouldn’t be too soon.”
She hesitated. “You know, we might not ever have any children,” she said softly.
He tipped up her chin. “You tend to collect people the way other folks collect stamps. I figure someday a kid is likely to show up needing a home.”
They kissed again, long and slow. A shooting star flashed its tail like a salmon returning to the place of its birth.
“I wonder where Zora is,” Serenity said, lifting her head from Jacob’s shoulder. “It isn’t like her to be gone so long, and I know she wanted to see you as soon as you returned.”
“She did, Serenity.” He drew back and pulled a folded piece of paper from his vest. “She left this for you. I was waiting for the right time….”
Serenity took the letter out of his hand. The writing was almost childishly precise, each letter carefully formed as if for a school assignment. She read the message, then folded the paper up again.
“You know what it said?” she asked Jacob.
“She told me.” He touched Serenity’s cheek. “You can see why she has to go?”
“Yes.” She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. “She has to find her own way. There is a path for her, too. She has to shed her skin before she can live in the sun again. But…I wish she’d said goodbye.”
“She couldn’t. As long as she doesn’t say it, she can believe she’s coming back.”
“She’ll come back,” Serenity said. “This is her home.”
“That’s what she has to find out. Like I did.” He gazed into her face, the golden flecks in his eyes like tiny constellations in a deep gray sky.
“There’s one more thing I haven’t told you,” he said.
She braced herself. “What is it?”
“I love you.”
ISBN: 978-1-4592-0895-7
CODE OF THE WOLF
Copyright © 2011 by Susan Krinard
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