| Old Pink Eye

Jack looked doubtful. 'I thought you tried to, last night.'

Ryder Chung crouched down in front of Jack, his almond eyes seeming to hold the amber light. 'As I said, we just want to talk – and you to listen. We'll even overlook the trouble you've put us to in arranging this little get-together. It's just logic,' he said calmly. 'We're all wolves, right? We've all got to stay hidden. And if you want to live and hunt in Chicago…'

'Five local humans each year,' added Red Fayo. 'That's your kill quota.'

'Exceed that,' said Mike, 'and we have to fillet you.'

Jack glared at Ryder coldly. 'Five human kills?'

He nodded. 'We've calculated, any more than that, you risk exposing the wolf's presence. We have an annual murder rate here of seven hundred. That can't be allowed to spiral out of control.'

Jack shook his head in disbelief. 'You're talking about killing innocent people, not balancing books! What gives you the right to dish out life and death by numbers?'