"Did you kill Emily?" Sam demanded, his hands planted on the wall on either side of Chase's head, yelling in his face. Like a drill sergeant, like an interrogator, just breaking him down through sheer force and volume.

Chase couldn't take it. Sam asked and he told him, the answer popped loose under pressure. "Yes!" he yelled back, sheer instinctual response.

I watched the word jump of out his mouth, almost involuntary and instantly regretted. I had the time to swear quietly, once, under my breath. And then I watched the world absolutely explode.

All Sam needed was confirmation—he reacted in a split second, grabbing Chase by the throat and throwing him into the table, right into the middle of a fight that had just broken out between Jacob and Ryan, a rolling wrestling locker-room brawl that was not affected in the slightest by the Chase's body knocking the table out from between them. Sam stalked after him as he scrambled to his hands and knees, kicking him in the ribs before he could get up, and this had to be stopped. Everyone else seemed to be occupied, so I had to stop it.

First things first—I jumped in front of them as the werewolves started to do their hyena thing, getting up and getting involved, and I made sure that they did not. "Stay!" I yelled, as if they were nothing more dangerous than dogs. "Stay back!" I could only hope they would listen—I remembered the first night I was here and I thought they would, they still somewhat worshiped me, still watched me when I walked and thought I was a mystery and a minor goddess. I was going to be their Alpha's mate someday and I was going to be the future of their species—at least as far as they knew. And I had a good yelling voice.

They paused in their tracks, for long enough that I could grab Chase by the collar and Jacob by the arm and haul them bodily out of their respective fights. Ryan and Sam came instantly after them, and Chase and Jacob weren't exactly cooperative themselves, but it was up to me to sort this out and damn it, I was going to do it. I was the only woman in this testosterone-fest, and in my opinion that made me smarter. I could think for ten seconds without wanting to smash someone's face in, and I knew what needed to be done.

I yanked Chase out of the way as Sam jumped for him and threw Jacob ahead of me, slamming him into the wall—calmed him down a little bit before I got there and dragged him through the window. Ryan started climbing through after us and I shoved him back, yelling "Nope! No, I don't think so!" I stuck my head back through the window so I could address everyone, and I put on my best yelling voice.

"Jacob and Chase are leaving now!" I yelled at them, especially at Sam and Ryan, who were practically foaming at the mouth. "They are leaving and you are not going to know where they're going! They will come back tonight at five o'clock, at which time we will have our stupid werewolf deathmatch, and that is that! five o'clock! Goodbye!"

"Leah!" Sam protested, reaching out for me but I snatched my hand away—I wasn't going to chance getting swayed by him, I wasn't going to give him a chance to ask.

"Leah, the vampires—" Ryan tried, but I was not buying it.

"It's sunny! There are no vampires!" I replied, dragging them away. "Goodbye!"

--

We went to the zoo.

Mostly we went to the zoo out of a total lack of anything else to do. It wasn't even my idea. After standing around for a little while on a platform in the underground with our arms crossed, trying not to think about our respective huge problems and think about something to do for six hours instead, eventually that was what Chase suggested. He lived in London and we didn't, and besides, I hadn't been to the zoo in years.

We went to see the wolves first. We also went to see them right before we left. It was just kind of a natural pull for us—we saw them down there all slinky and feral, padding over the man-made rocks, and we knew what it felt like. I felt as if I should wink to them or something, to nod to them and say yes, brothers, I know how it is. Maybe it was the Native American in me. Ha.

Here was something I hadn't anticipated: Chase and Jacob got along really, really well. Obviously it was awhile before we even started speaking, semi-traumatized as the three of us were, but before I knew it they were cracking stupid jokes and swapping dating stories. Boys were funny that way—there weren't layers to their friendships the way their were in female friendships, there wasn't that paranoia and the dialogue behind each others' backs. If things clicked, then they clicked. I think we had our first real cross-cultural connection.

It was Chase who told us we should be getting home, though, eyes on the skyline as the sun started to creep down towards it. "It's the last night of the full moon," he said. "If you guys want to do this as humans, we'd better get back there."

"If you take long enough," I mused, "you might end up fighting as wolves anyway. It would be interesting to see both."

"Yeah," Jacob said tonelessly. "Really interesting."

"At least the whole pack will be off the streets for part of the night," I said philosophically, leaning on the nearest seat in our Underground car. "Maybe it'll lessen the body count."

"You know, we don't all just go around eating people all the time," Chase said irritably.

This was news to me. "You don't?"

"Well," he admitted. "Okay, most of us do. But sometimes some of us don't."

"I don't understand."

"Other things work," he informed me. "Cats. Deer. Rare to medium steaks."

"Well, if you can eat that kind of thing, than why do you eat people?" I demanded. Good thing there weren't very many people in our car. "It is really not considered very nice!"

"Listen, Leah, it's hard to think of anything when you're in wolf form," he explained. "It's hard to think of anything besides eating people, at least, that's what the wolf wants to do. It's like being the world's worst alcoholic. Times about a million."

"Yeah, well," I said acidly, he was not off the hook. "If vampires can do it, then you can do it."

"Um," he said blankly. "Vampires don't do it."

"Don't worry about it," Jacob said, smiling wryly. "You don't know the weirdo vampires that we do."

"No," Chase said, eyebrows still raised. "I guess not."

--

"Okay," I instructed the two boys as we stood right in front of Lycaon's door. "No antagonizing. Don't antagonize anyone."

"Except me," Jacob protested.

"Except you," I agreed, "but you are only allowed to antagonize Ryan. And only when you're fighting him. Otherwise be nice."

"Wow," Jacob said, opening the door. "I never thought I'd see the day when Leah Clearwater was telling me to be nice."

"If you were nice in the first place, you wouldn't need it," I retorted. And then no more time for conversation, because the instant we walked in we had attention. Dozens of pairs of eyes, the kind of intense scrutiny that I had come to associate with London. Strangely enough I was starting to get used to it.

"Leah." Sam headed immediately toward me, with a speed that made me step instinctively in front of Chase, but he was coming to hug me and not to kill anyone. "Thank God you're back. I was worried."

"What, did you think I was going to get myself killed?" I asked with a very slight sharpness. It was gratifying, and incredibly cute that he was concerned, but he really should trust me. I could take care of myself—hadn't he noticed?

"You never know," he said neutrally. Behind him, I saw Spencer give me a sardonic smile and a wave from the bar. Smart guy—he was staying out of the way. I still sort of wished he would come hug me, too.

"Jacob," Ryan said briskly, stepping up to the dais. "Nice to see you. Five o'clock right on the dot."

"You know me," Jacob said, already taking off his jacket, rolling up his sleeves. Boy, they weren't wasting any time, were they? "Mr. Punctuality."

They moved down onto the floor, already circling each other—the werewolves forming a concentric circle around them, behind them along the walls. I got the feeling that perhaps they might be inclined to attack if someone looked weak. Like sharks with blood in the water. It wasn't terribly fair, but I thought it might happen. Then again, I was pretty much banking on Jacob not being weak.

"Leah, want to start us out here?" Ryan asked, kicking off his shoes.

"Start you out?" You're going to need to explain what you're talking about, crazy guy.

"Just yell go," Jacob translated. "We need somebodyto start us."

Oh. So I was the trackside bimbo again, waving the checkered flag. Fabulous. I have to say, this whole thing with being the only girl in sight had its perks, but it did encourage sexism, didn't it?

"Right." I said, not amused. "Whatever. Go."