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His eyebrows rose. “I did wonder what happened to your truck, but I’d assumed it was the motorcycle hoodlums who keep assailing your home.”

“We do get assailed a lot there.” I sighed, reminded that I’d leftthatproblem unfinished. Dubois might even now be knocking on my door.

Mom cleared her throat, probably not caring about the assailing of a human apartment complex.

“You will become the bipedfuris in an attempt to open the case?” she asked Duncan.

There weren’t any tears in her eyes. Maybe she’d come to terms with her fate. If she’d hoped to end her life the night she’d picked a fight alone with a bear, she must have.

“We think that’s what triggered it,” I said.

“You can take that form at will? Even with the full moon not near?” Mom waved toward the window, more focused on Duncan than me or the case. “And no threat leaping upon you?”

“It’s more easily bestirred by those things,” he said, “the same as the wolf, but I can call upon it at will.”

“I would like to see that. A bipedfuris. When you changed in my driveway before, I only glimpsed it. I would love to see it up close. Before you came here, I’d only heard the tales from those who were old when I was young.”

“So you’re game to try this?” I lifted the case.

Mom flicked dismissive fingers. “There are no artifacts that can heal the Taint. Rosaria, the wise wolf, confirmed that. But I would be delighted to see a bipedfuris before my time passes. What a gift.”

Duncan smiled and bowed.

“He already thinks highly of himself,” I told Mom. “Don’t stroke his ego.”

“Some stroking is usually required when one wants to win the favor of an exceptional mate,” she said, holding my gaze, making it clear she thoughtIshould be stroking something of Duncan’s.

“She called me exceptional.” Duncan waggled his eyebrows at me.

“She’s buttering your buns because she wants to see you get tall and furry.”

“Men do love to have things buttered.”

“Oh, I know.” I refused to do that, but I pulled out a bar of fine dark chocolate infused with hazelnut liqueur and dusted with chopped hazelnuts. Slowly—tantalizingly—I peeled open the wrapper and offered him two squares.

“Ah, delightful.” He popped one into his mouth.

“Chocolate rewards for good behavior also work,” I told Mom, then laid two squares on her bedside table in case she was in the mood.

“We all have our ways.” She waved as if in dismissal, but she also picked up a square to eat.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll disrobe.” Duncan looked around, as if he might find a dressing screen or a walk-in closet in my mom’s two-room log cabin. There hadn’t even been indoor plumbing when it had originally been built.

“We don’t mind.” Despite her age and weakened state, Mom managed something of a salacious smile.

“Ah.” Duncan scratched his jaw and looked around again. Were his cheeks a touch pink?

I knew he wouldn’t mind getting naked in front of me—in fact, I hadn’t noticed that he minded getting naked in front of many people—but maybe a friend’s mother was a different story.

“Show her how well trimmed you are.” I swatted him on the chest but also nodded toward the doorway, in case he would prefer to undress in front of Lorenzo and then make a dramatic entrance. “She’ll be impressed.”

“As so many ladies are.” Duncan recovered his equanimity enough to wink and bow to me.

“He’s a little full of himself,” I told Mom as she watched with a bland expression.

“Those with power always are.”

Duncan issued a disgruntled sound, then started removing clothing, apparently deciding that doing it in front of Lorenzo wouldn’t be any better than in front of us.