Narcissus in Chains--chapter 24

So after whining  about how perfect Richard is and how having Micah (her rapist) at her back she can't forget about Richard. Finally, she asks about taking Gregory home. Jacob tells her that if she can track Gregory by scent, then she can take him home.

That's the test. That's it.

I think they dumbed it down a little bit.

Anita and her boys, however, are all offended. Anita hasn't shifted yet! (she won't). And this is a test that only a powerful shapeshifter could do. Track a man's scent like a bloodhound. Right. Anita asks what the rules are, and Richard tells her no one can help. She asks if she can use her necromancy, because she had a vision of Gregory sitting on a pile of bones. Jacob says "I don't see how that will help at all" but nobody actually tells Anita no.

This is the stupidest part of the book. There are places that are MUCH more offensive, but this part is just plain dumb. The test is way too simple for a shapeshifter to do, and Anita cheats her way through it by summoning the spirit of the last dead lupa, Raina

Apparently this is something only a great alpha could do. Because it's not just summoning a dead thing, it's summoning the munin, the ghost of a dead wolf. The ghost of a fucking psychotic dead wolf. Raina takes over Anita, somewhat, gets snippy when she sees what a mess the pack is--it's too big for one man to control, of COURSE it's a mess--and after demanding some kind of sex or chaos in payment, says that Gregory is in the oubliette.

Note: Anita never finds out where this oubliette is. The test was to track Gregory down by scent, and she never does that. But she gets pissed as hell at Richard for putting Gregory down the same hole that Raina and Marcus put all their condemned bad boys, and Richard backs right down like a good puppy.

Anita gets so pissed off she takes a swing at Richard, and the chapter ends with her going "Oh fuck, I've started the fight."

Huh. Other than being MORONICALLY STUPID this chapter wasn't so bad. Are we getting a reprieve?

No. And we're not going to get that fight, either.