Tangle of Need p-11

by Nalini Singh

  Tangle of Need

  ( Psy-Changelings - 11 )

  Nalini Singh

  Adria, wolf changeling and resilient soldier, has made a break with the past—one as unpredictable in love as it was in war. Now comes a new territory, and a devastating new complication: Riaz, a SnowDancer lieutenant already sworn to a desperate woman who belongs to another.

  For Riaz, the primal attraction he feels for Adria is a staggering betrayal. For Adria, his dangerous lone-wolf appeal is beyond sexual. It consumes her. It terrifies her. It threatens to undermine everything she has built of her new life. But fighting their wild compulsion toward one another proves a losing battle.

  Their coming together is an inferno...and a melding of two wounded souls who promise each other no commitment, no ties, no bonds. Only pleasure. Too late, they realize that they have more to lose than they ever imagined. Drawn into a cataclysmic Psy war that may alter the fate of the world itself, they must make a decision that might just break them both.

  Tangle of Need (2012)

  (Book 11 in the Psy-Changelings series)

  A novel by Nalini Singh

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  In alphabetical order by first name

  Key: SD = SnowDancer Wolves DR = DarkRiver Leopards

  Aden Arrow, Telepath (Tp)

  Adria Morgan SD Senior Soldier

  Alexei SD Lieutenant

  Alice Eldridge Human scientist, in coma after a century in cryonic suspension

  Amara Aleine Psy member of DR, former Council scientist, twin of Ashaya, mentally unstable

  Anthony Kyriakus Psy Councilor, father of Faith

  Ashaya Aleine Psy member of DR, former Council scientist, mated to Dorian, twin of Amara

  Ava SD, maternal female, mother of Ben

  Bastien DR, brother of Mercy

  Bowen Security Chief, Human Alliance

  Brenna Kincaid SD, tech, mated to Judd, sister of Andrew and Riley

  Cooper SD Lieutenant, mated to Grace

  Council (or Psy Council) The ruling Council of the Psy race

  Dalton SD Librarian

  Drew Kincaid (full name: Andrew) SD Soldier, mated to Indigo, brother of Riley and Brenna

  Elias SD Senior Soldier, mated to Yuki, father of Sakura

  Evangeline (Evie) Riviere SD, sister of Indigo, daughter of Tarah and Abel

  Faith NightStar Psy member of DR, gift of Foresight (F), mated to Vaughn, daughter of Anthony

  Felix SD, horticultural expert, submissive

  Garrick Former alpha of SnowDancer, killed when the Psy psychically broke and programmed several of SnowDancer’s dominants to attack their own pack

  Ghost Psy rebel

  Hawke SD Alpha, mated to Sienna

  Henry Scott Psy Councilor (presumed dead), leader of Pure Psy, husband of Shoshanna

  Indigo Riviere SD Lieutenant, mated to Drew, sister of Evangeline

  Jem (real name: Garnet) SD Lieutenant

  Judd Lauren Psy member of SD, Lieutenant, mated to Brenna, uncle of Sienna, Toby, and Marlee

  Kaleb Krychek Psy Councilor

  Kenji SD Lieutenant

  Kieran Human member of SD, Senior Soldier

  Kit DR Novice Soldier

  Lara SD Healer, mated to Walker Lauren

  Lucas Hunter DR Alpha, mated to Sascha, father of Naya

  Lucy SD, nurse, assistant to Lara

  Maria SD Novice Soldier

  Matthias SD Lieutenant

  Max Shannon Human, Security chief for Nikita Duncan

  Mercy Smith DR Sentinel, mated to Riley

  Ming LeBon Psy Councilor

  Nathan (Nate) Ryder DR Senior Sentinel, mated to Tamsyn, father of Roman and Julian

  Nell SD Maternal dominant

  Nikita Duncan Psy Councilor, mother of Sascha

  Pierce SD Senior Soldier, based in Europe

  Riaz Delgado SD Lieutenant

  Riley Kincaid SD Lieutenant, mated to Mercy, brother of Drew and Brenna

  Sam Human member of SD, Soldier

  Sascha Duncan Psy member of DR, cardinal Empath (E), mated to Lucas, mother of Naya, daughter of Nikita

  Shawnelle (Shawnie) SD juvenile

  Shoshanna Scott Psy Councilor, wife of Henry

  Sienna Lauren Psy member of SD, mated to Hawke, sister of Toby, niece of Judd and Walker

  Tamsyn (Tammy) Ryder DR Healer, mated to Nathan, mother of Roman and Julian

  Tatiana Rika-Smythe Psy Councilor

  Tomás SD Lieutenant

  Vasic Arrow, Teleporter (Tk-V)

  Walker Lauren Psy member of SD, mated to Lara, father of Marlee, uncle of Sienna and Toby

  WindHaven Falcons Allied to SnowDancer and DarkRiver

  Eclipse

  THE PSYNET IS a place of incomparable power and stark beauty, the millions of minds in the psychic network starbursts in the inky black. For the majority of Psy, it is their lifeline, as vital as air.

  To disconnect from the Net is to die.

  But as autumn whispers on the horizon in the year 2081, it is the Net itself that is dying. Stagnant rivers of rot snake ever deeper into the center, and it is a rot that twists and corrodes, damaging sense and reason to leave only unthinking menace behind.

  If the Psy do not find a solution to this cancerous growth, the rot could soon begin to seep into the minds of those uplinked to the Net.

  Or perhaps … it already has.

  Chapter 1

  RIAZ CAUGHT A flash of midnight hair and a long-legged stride and called out, “Indigo!” However, he realized his mistake the instant he turned the corner. “Adria.”

  Eyes of deepest blue-violet met his, the frost in them threatening to give him hypothermia. “Indigo’s in her office.” The words were helpful, but the tone might as well have been a serrated blade.

  That did it. “Did I kill your dog?”

  Frown lines marred her smooth forehead. “Excuse me?”

  God, that tone. “It’s the only reason,” he said, holding on to his temper by a very thin thread, “I can think of to explain why you’re so damn pissy with me.” Adria had been pulled into den territory during the hostilities with Councilor Henry Scott and his Pure Psy army a month ago and had remained behind to take up a permanent position as a senior soldier. She’d fought with focused determination by Riaz’s side, followed his orders on the field without hesitation.

  However, off the field?

  Ice.

  Absolute.

  Unrelenting.

  Glacial enough to bite.

  Folding his arms when she didn’t reply, he stepped into her personal space, caught the subtle scent of crushed berries and frost. A strangely delicate scent for this hard-ass of a woman, he thought, before his wolf’s anger overrode all else. “You haven’t answered my question.” It came out a growl.

  Eyes steely, she stepped closer with a slow deliberation that was pure, calculated provocation. She was a tall woman, but he was taller. That didn’t seem to stop her from looking down her nose at him. “I didn’t realize,” she said in a voice so polite it drew blood, “that fawning over you was part of the job requirement.”

  “Now I know who Indigo learned her mean face from.” But where his fellow lieutenant’s heart beat warm and generous beneath that tough exterior, he wasn’t sure Adria had any emotions that registered above zero on the thermometer.

  Adria’s response was scalpel sharp. “I don’t know what she ever saw in you, but I suppose every woman has mistakes in her past.” The slightest change in her expression, the tiniest fracture, before it was sealed up again, her face an impenetrable mask.

  Scowling, Riaz was about to tell her exactly what he thought of her and her judgmental gaze when his cell phone rang. He answered without moving an inc
h away from the woman who was sandpaper across his temper, rubbing him raw with her mere presence. “Yeah?”

  “My office,” Hawke said. “Need you to head out, do a pickup.”

  “Be there in two.” Snapping the phone shut, he closed the remaining distance between him and Adria, forcing her to tip back her head. “We will,” he said, realizing those striking blue eyes with an edge of purple had streaks of gold running through them, beautiful and exotic, “continue this later.”

  That was when Adria’s cell phone rang. “Yes?” she answered, without breaking eye contact with the big, muscled wolf who thought he could intimidate her.

  “In my office,” Hawke ordered.

  “On my way.” Hanging up, she raised an eyebrow at Riaz in a consciously insolent action. “My alpha has requested my presence, so get out of my fucking way,” she said with utmost sweetness.

  Eyes of beaten gold narrowed. “Guess we’ll be walking together.”

  Not giving an inch until he stepped back and turned to head to Hawke’s office, she walked in silence beside him, though her wolf bared its teeth, hungry to draw blood, to bite and claw and mark. Damn him. Damn him. She’d been doing fine, coping after her final separation from Martin. That had been a bloody battle, too.

  “You’ll come crawling back to me. Maybe I’ll be waiting. Maybe I won’t.”

  Adria stifled a raw laugh. Martin didn’t understand that it was over. Done. It had been over the night a year ago when he’d stormed out of their home, not to return for four months. The truly stunning thing was that he’d had the gall to be shocked when she’d told him to find someplace else to sleep and slammed the door in his face.

  “Cat got your tongue?” An acerbic comment made in a deep male voice that ruffled her fur the wrong way.

  “Go bite yourself,” she muttered, in no mood to play games. Her skin felt too sensitive, as if she’d lost a protective layer, her blood too hot.

  “Someone should bite you,” Riaz responded in a near snarl. “Pull that stick out of your ass at the same time.”

  Adria growled just as they reached the open door to Hawke’s office. The alpha looked up at their entrance, open speculation in blue eyes so pale, they were those of a wolf given human form. However, when he spoke, his words were pragmatic. “You two free to go for a drive?”

  Adria nodded, saw Riaz do the same beside her. “What do you need done?” he asked, his tone far calmer than the one he’d leveled at her.

  “Mack and one of his trainee techs went up to do a routine service of the hydro station,” Hawke told them, shoving back strands of hair the silver-gold of his pelt in wolf form, “but their vehicle’s not starting, and they’ve got components that need to be brought back to the den for repairs.”

  “No problem,” Riaz said. “I’ll take one of the SUVs, pick them up.”

  Even as Adria was thinking the task was a one-person job, Hawke turned to her. “You’re now one of the most senior people in the den.” His dominance was staggering, demanding her wolf’s absolute attention. “I’d like you to get reacquainted with the region, given that you haven’t spent an extended period of time here since you turned eighteen.”

  She nodded. “I’ll ask Riley and Eli to work some time into my shift schedule.” It was a necessary detour from her normal duties—falling just below the lieutenants in the hierarchy, senior soldiers were often called upon to lead, and as a leader she had to know every inch of this land, not only the section she’d been assigned to during the battle. “It’d be better if I do it on foot.” She’d see, scent, so much more.

  “You can explore in detail later on. I want you to have a good working knowledge of the area as soon as possible.” He handed her a thin plas map. “The trip up to the hydro station will take you through some critical sections—and you have certification in auto mechanics, correct?”

  “Yes.” It had been an interest she’d turned into the secondary qualification all soldiers were required to possess. Later, it had kept her sane, the ability to fix broken things and make them whole again. “I’ll take a look at the vehicle.”

  “What about the replanting?” Riaz asked, his voice clawing over her skin like nails on one of those old-fashioned chalkboards the pups liked to draw on. “Felix’s team have enough security?”

  “They’re fine.” Walking to the territorial map on the stone wall of his office, Hawke tapped the large crosshatched section where the battle with Pure Psy had taken place. “Felix’s volunteers and conscripts”—a sharp grin—“are planting the area with fast-growing natives, but for now, it’s so open it’s easy to monitor, especially with the cats sharing the watch.”

  Adria thought of what she’d seen on that battlefield filled with the screams of wounded SnowDancers; the cold red and hypnotic gold of a flame so hypnotic and deadly, and wondered at the cost paid by the young Psy woman who held all that power—and their alpha’s heart. “What are the chances of another serious Pure Psy attack?” she asked, intrigued on the innermost level by a relationship that appeared so very unbalanced on the outside, and yet one that her wolf sensed was as solid as the stone of the den.

  It was Riaz who answered. “According to Judd’s sources, close to nil. They’ve got worse problems.”

  “Civil war,” Hawke said, shaking his head. “If he’s right, all hell is going to break loose—so we make sure we’re prepared to weather any storms.”

  “The irritation hits?” Riaz asked, and Adria knew he was referring to the sporadic attempts to lay booby traps in den territory.

  “Yeah,” Hawke agreed with a scowl. “Scent trails point to the perpetrators being a number of the Pure Psy survivors who just can’t let it go. They’re disorganized and their traps are laughable. Still, I have all the sentries taking care not to accidentally fall into a hole. A hole for crissakes!”

  Adria’s wolf nodded in disgusted agreement. It really was time to retreat when you had to resort to digging holes and covering them up with leaves in the hope that SnowDancer’s people wouldn’t sniff them out a mile away. “They’ll get tired sooner or later, but it might be an idea to make finding these traps a bit of a joke contest between the sentries.”

  Riaz angled his head toward her in a very wolfish way, even as Hawke’s frustrated expression turned to one of interest.

  “From what I’ve seen,” she said, keeping her eyes resolutely away from the man to her right, “the amount of time they have to waste neutralizing the traps is starting to frustrate the soldiers who patrol the borders, and it’s the kind of thing that can grow into anger. That’s not good for our people, especially coming off the stress of the battle. But if you make it so the sentry with the most sightings gets a prize at the end of each week—”

  “—it becomes a game,” Riaz completed with a thoughtful nod. “That’s very good.”

  Hands behind her back, Adria squeezed the wrist of one hand with the other to keep from snapping back that she didn’t need his endorsement. The response was so far from her usual even-tempered nature that she bit down on the inside of her lip to snap herself out of it, her gaze focused straight ahead. Except the stranger who’d taken over her body couldn’t simply shut up. “Thank you.” Honey sweet. “I’m so glad you approve.”

  A growl tangled up the air currents.

  “Wolves do like a game,” Hawke said, his face suspiciously bland. “I think Drew’s the best person to organize it—I’ll get that in motion.” He glanced at the time projected on the wall. “You two better head out so you can get back before dinner.”

  Walking out of the office with the man whose very scent—dark, of the forest, with an edgy undertone of citrus and a brush of woodsmoke—made her skin itch, she said, “We should get some food.” The drive wouldn’t be quick, plus Mack and his tech hadn’t planned to be up there this long and would be hungry.

  “Should be something in here,” Riaz said, entering the senior soldiers’ break room.

  They worked with honed efficiency to slap together some
sandwiches, and were ready to go ten minutes later. Clenching her abdominal muscles as she got into the vehicle with Riaz, Adria told herself to concentrate on the route, the geography, anything but the potent masculine scent of the man in the driver’s seat … because she knew full well why he incited such violence in her.

  RIAZ drove them out of the garage and into the mountains, very aware of the arctic silence from the passenger seat. The more time he spent with Adria, the more he realized how unlike Indigo she was, in spite of the superficial similarity of their looks. One of the reasons he’d always enjoyed the other woman’s company was her up-front nature—Adria, by comparison, was a closed box, with Do Not Enter signs pasted on every surface.

  He understood that. Hell, he had his own “no go” zones, but with Adria, it was armor of broken glass that drew blood. “This track,” he said, doing his job because, personality clash or not, he knew his responsibilities, “is the most direct route to the hydro station.”

  “Not according to the map Hawke gave me.” A quick, penetrating glance. “So what’s wrong with the other road?”

  Reining in his wolf when it bared its teeth at what it read as a challenge, though the rational part of him knew he was just revved up for a fight after her earlier provocation, he said, “Sheer cliff face right in the middle.” As a lieutenant who’d had her under his command on the field, he appreciated her intelligence and determination to learn—regardless of how often she used that sharp mind to slice into him with verbal claws.

  Making two tight turns, he continued onward through the mountains that seemed to touch the sky. “Meant to delay any aggressors if they ever get that far.”

  Adria didn’t say anything for several long minutes, studying the map and their passage into the mountains. “I’ll need to request another senior soldier go with me on some of my exploratory trips”—her naturally husky voice low in thought—“so I don’t miss things like that. I didn’t have reason to memorize or even know all this as a teenager, and I’m sure security details have been changed in the meantime anyway.”