He looked out to the forest, but his eyes were blind, seeing something that had happened a long time ago. "I burned her corpse and buried the ashes. I slept in our bed, and when I awoke, Mariposa was waiting for me-in my head where only Sarai belonged."

He sighed, scooped up a handful of snow, and threw it off to the side. "I wasn't Sarai, to be blinded by the child she had been. Besides, I could feel her madness. I knew when Mariposa decided she wanted me, so I escaped. I ran to Africa, and the distance helped thin the link. By that time I figured out that if I was too close, she could make me do whatever she wanted." He opened his mouth and panted several times as if he were in wolf form and distressed.

"For years I waited, sure that she would die. But she never did." Asil hugged himself, then turned and faced Charles once more. "I think it must be some side effect of what she did to Sarai, that she stole Sarai's immortality as she stole our bond. I could not for the life of me understand why she'd do either-but if her intent was to create such a creature as her family was known for...it all makes sense. She watched her whole family murdered, watched her mother die protecting her from the spell designed to kill everyone in her home."

Charles heard the sympathy in the other man's voice and countered it with truth. "So she killed your wife, who had taken her in, protected her, and watched over her. She tortured her to death to provide herself with something that could protect her." Black witch, his instincts had said-and black witches were a nasty bunch, one and all. "And now she wants you-probably for the same thing."

"Yes," whispered Asil. "I've been running for a long time."

Charles rubbed his forehead again, but this time because he felt a headache coming his way. "And now you decided to come here and present yourself to her, gift-wrapped."

Asil gave a choked laugh. "I suppose that's how it seems. Until you told me she was here, I was still convinced that my suspicions were unfounded." His face lost the touch of amusement, and he said, "I am glad I am here. If she has some part of my Sarai, I have to stop her."

"I was considering calling Bran here," Charles told Asil. "But I'm starting to believe that might not be the smartest move."

Asil frowned.

"Who is more dominant?" Charles asked him. "You or me."

Asil's eyes had been darkening during their conversation, but at Charles's question they brightened fiercely. "You. You know this."

"So," said Charles, staring him down until the other's amber eyes turned away in defeat, "how did the witch, using your mate bond and your ties to the pack, control me?"

* * * *

As soon as Charles went out to talk to Asil, Anna had begun her change. She needed to deal with that wolf with her tongue rather than fang and claw. He was too good at riling her mate-and Charles was still volatile from his encounter with the witch.

She didn't give any thought to Walter until she was naked and panting in the cold night air. She might have had three years to get used to being nude in front of people she didn't know well, but he hadn't.

She glanced at him, but he had his head turned away from her and was staring intently at a nearby tree trunk, the perfect gentleman.

She quit worrying about him and scrambled into her chilly clothes and boots because she could sense Charles's rising rage at Asil; Asil had put the Marrok and his pack at risk. But more than that, she was worried that neither Charles nor Asil realized how close Charles was to his breaking point. She found it curious that she did.

Boots on, coat on, Anna rolled out of their sleeping place and onto her feet. She didn't bother with the snowshoes-it was still early night. She glanced at the waxing moon; only a few more days until full moon. For the first time that didn't make her sick with anxiety. With Walter in wolf form at her heel she trekked across the bench where Charles and Asil waited.

It was a bad sign, she thought, that neither Charles nor Asil seemed to hear her approach.

"Could she be tapping the Marrok for power, like Leah does?" Anna asked.

Both men turned to stare at Walter and her, Charles clearly unhappy that he hadn't noticed their approach. Asil, the legs of his jeans soaking wet, seemed more concerned with Walter, who had his ears pinned back and was showing his teeth.

Anna put her hand on Walter's neck as she performed the introductions. "Asil, this is Walter. Walter, this is Asil-the wolf we told you about."

Asil frowned at the black wolf, who stared right back and lifted his lips to display his fangs.

"Stop that," she told Walter, hoping he would listen to her. What they didn't need right now was a dominance fight. It always took a while for a new wolf to establish his place in the pack. Interesting that Walter didn't immediately assume Asil was higher-ranked. "We need everyone in fighting shape."

"Walter rescued someone from the witch's wolf and ended up Changed," Charles said. "He's agreed to help us."

He could have phrased that a lot differently, Anna thought. Her hand touched the top of Walter's head protectively. Instead of dismissing the new wolf, Charles had made it clear that the wolf was under his protection and was a valuable participant in their attempt to foil the witch.

Pleased as she was, she didn't want Charles and Asil to fight, so she said again, "Could Mary...Mariposa be drawing on the Marrok's power through the pack bond?"

Charles quit frowning at Asil, and said, "It certainly felt like my father's power. But my father cannot hold me like that."

Asil looked grim. "A strong enough witch can control any werewolf who doesn't have a pack to protect him. It is forbidden by witch law, but it is possible. One of the problems Sarai and I had with Mariposa was that she was making people do things-like kill family pets. And she has had time to grow even more powerful. I think that because she is, through me, a de facto member of the pack-she might have managed to combine your father's powers with her own."

Anna wasn't certain of the implications, but Charles was obviously very unhappy.

"Are we still going down to talk to the Marrok?" Anna asked. "Even if he can't come here, shouldn't we warn him?"

Charles went very still.

"What do you think your father would do if we told him the whole of it?" Asil asked.

Charles didn't answer.

"Yes," Asil agreed. "That's what I think, too. He'd be out here-after he forced all of us to go home. No matter that it would be an incredibly stupid thing to do. He protects his own and has as much confidence in his reputation of invulnerability as everyone else does. Killing Doc Wallace left him hurting-and he won't risk losing anyone else for a long time. Certainly not his son."