The werewolf's friends got a laugh out of that, covering their mouths as if their comrade wouldn't know they were having fun at his expense by hiding their teeth. Sadie knew she had to be careful. She wasn't worried about them trying to hurt her, but she didn't want to alienate them.

"Tell you what . . . I'll play you for it."

"Hey, court's ours lady," her target said, looking nervous. She was an unknown and, even as an overconfident as werewolf males tended to be, he wasn't willing to risk getting shown up by a woman, even if she was a vampire. He started to turn around and...