Newsletter Exclusives [Volume I]

by Nalini Singh

  The wolf was momentarily amused by the memory of the looks on their faces when Hawke had made the decree; it had belatedly sunk into those teenaged heads that now was not the time to be antagonizing their alpha. Anyone with even a single functioning brain cell could see that Hawke was in a bad, bad mood. Could you blame him? His mate had been away from the den for two damn weeks already. And she was scheduled to be away for another two weeks at least.

  Yes, he’d spoken to her over the comm, but it wasn’t the same as having her here, where he could touch her, where he could scent her, could hold her.

  He growled at some small creature that dared rustle about in the bushes and the creature went quickly silent. The immediate obedience satisfied the wolf’s ragged temper.

  Man and wolf, both, they were in a helluva mood.

  The only good thing about the entire scenario was that he’d managed to hold himself together when it mattered. He was an alpha—his pack relied on him to think with a clear head. And he was capable of doing that despite Sienna being so far from him, as long as no one provoked him. Even Drew, who had very little care for his skin, had stopped teasing Hawke about missing Sienna a week into Sienna’s trip. The other man knew what it was like to miss his mate, and he knew exactly when the teasing was no longer something Hawke could take in good humor.

  The wolf looked around, checking the perimeter remained safe. Just because he was in an ill-tempered frame of mind didn’t mean he’d lower his guard and allow danger to enter his territory and harm his pack.

  Continuing on after confirming that everything was as it should be, he lifted his nose into the cold night air and drew in a long breath. Wolf and man, they both knew that they had to get this tension under control; Sienna might be his mate, but she was also a young soldier in the pack and she deserved every opportunity to further her skills.

  She didn’t need those skills to garner respect from the pack; she already had that from every single SnowDancer. After the furious way she’d defended the pack, prepared to do so to the death, there wasn’t a SnowDancer alive who looked at her as anything but a worthy mate for their alpha. However, there were skills she didn’t have simply because she’d never had the chance to learn them.

  And Sienna hated not knowing things.

  Which was why she was currently in Kenji’s den. After that, she’d be moving into Jem’s den. Each of the two lieutenants would teach her something new, something in which they had a specialization. It was the same opportunity SnowDancer offered all its young soldiers, though not every one of those soldiers took the pack up on it. Not every wolf wanted to go from den to den; some were far more suited to the stability of a single den, and learning from a single teacher.

  Sienna, however, was quicksilver fire and brilliant light; she absorbed information like a sponge. Hawke had no intention of clipping her wings or caging her just because he needed her so much.

  But that didn’t mean he couldn’t sulk and scowl.

  And he was doing it at night in the depths of the forests around the den, wasn’t he? It wasn’t as if he was growling at everyone in the pack. By the time he got back after this patrol, he’d have his temper under some kind of control. And if anybody did rub the raw edge of his mood the wrong way, even knowing that he was an alpha wolf who’d been apart from his mate for two long weeks, well, they deserved what they got.

  The only ones he’d excuse were the cubs, who ran up innocently to him and asked him when “Sinna” would be back. For them, he had endless patience, the wolf understanding that those small hearts had no intention to hurt, and could have no idea of what it did to him to talk to them about his mate when she was so distant from him.

  And now, he was going so nuts that he could scent a faint hint of her on the breeze. Wolf opening its mouth in a grin that wasn’t a grin at all, he decided to follow that scent. If a packmate was messing with him by putting Sienna’s things in the forest, he’d hunt down the imbecile and teach them a lesson he or she would never forget.

  The scent got increasingly strong as he ran toward what must be the origin—Hawke was unsurprised that he’d immediately angled himself in the correct direction. He could track Sienna through snow and wind and rain and hail and anything else the world threw at them.

  Paws flying over the debris on the forest floor, he tried not to growl, despite his anger. He was going to sneak up on the asshole who was attempting to play a nasty trick on him and bite hard enough to leave marks that wouldn’t heal for days. Then he’d—

  The wolf froze, the silver-gold of its fur rippling in the cool night breeze. Because in the clearing in front of him was a picnic blanket on which a woman lay braced on one elbow, her eyes turned toward him, as if she’d known he was coming. Those eyes were starlight, her hair appearing a silken black under the silvery light of the moon. But he knew it wasn’t black at all but a deep ruby red. Lush and brilliant and strong.

  Seeing him, she smiled. “I knew you wouldn’t take long to find me,” she said. “I have to catch the morning flight back.” She sat up. “Kenji only let me off for half a day—and Drew’s going to cover your duties for that time, including this patrol.”

  Hawke’s wolf was beside her before he felt himself move. When he growled at her for what she’d done to him, she laughed and ran her fingers through his fur, rubbing the side of her face against his. “Indigo called me.” Her voice was a caress. “She said you were in the worst mood she’d ever seen you in.” Another rub of her cheek against his, his strong and wild and possessive mate rubbing her scent into his skin as if he didn’t already carry it embedded so deep within that nothing could ever erase it.

  “I didn’t need the call,” she whispered. “I’ve been on edge myself. I almost threw fire at Kenji’s head today when he was being perfectly reasonable. Good thing I didn’t or Jem would’ve ripped me limb from limb.”

  Folding down into a sitting position as she spoke, the wolf placed its head in her lap. She stroked him, soothing the animal, soothing them both. And she told him how much she’d missed him, petting him with her words as well as her hands. “As your mate, I need to do these placements,” she said. “I need to learn and become part of every den in our territory.”

  Of course she’d think of that. Sienna was too smart not to see how much the wolves not based at the Sierra Nevada den needed to spend time near and with the extraordinary woman who was the mate of their alpha.

  “But it’s so hard being away from you,” she added. “It feels like I’ve left part of myself behind.”

  The wolf heard the ache in her voice, but he also heard the determination. It might torment her to be apart from him, but she’d do it because it was necessary. His mate was as much an alpha as Hawke—she was just growing into her skin.

  Content, the wolf closed its eyes, soaking her in and building a store of memories and sensations that would carry him through the two weeks to come.

  Later, when he shifted into his human form, she stroked the man too, and he stroked her in turn. She met him kiss for voracious kiss, touch for touch, and hunger for hunger.

  The moonlight glimmered over their skin afterward, their bodies lying aligned, their eyes looking into each other’s. The wolf rising to brush against the inside of his skin, Hawke threw back his head and howled, the sound one of untrammeled joy.

  A hundred howls answered his, his people speaking to him in the song of the wolf, as, beside him, lay the woman who was the song of his heart.

  Copyright © 2017 by Nalini Singh

  Making Dinner

  Author’s Note: This is set around the same time as the start of Heart of Obsidian but contains no spoilers for that book.

  It features Mercy and Riley from Branded By Fire.

  Making Dinner

  By Nalini Singh

  Seated at the breakfast counter, Mercy chopped a carrot, eating half in the process. “I never knew I liked carrots so much.”

  Riley grinned from where he stood on the opposite side of the counter,
and passed her another. “So, the pupcubs like their vegetables.”

  Laughing at the word he insisted on using for their unborn children, she began to chop again, while Riley sliced the sweet green peppers she loved. “I have a belly now, did you notice?” she asked the wolf who was her mate.

  “I examine you very carefully every day, kitty-cat”—gleaming eyes of chocolate brown—“and the belly hasn’t yet appeared.”

  Mercy scowled and got up, walking around to his side of the counter. Lifting up her T-shirt, she patted the slight curve of her abdomen. “See?”

  Kneeling down, Riley closed his hands over her hips and pressed a kiss to her stomach. “Your mama’s seeing things, but I love her anyway.”

  She pulled playfully at his hair, tugging him to her when he rose. “Smartass.” Nipping at his lower lip, she pushed him back to the counter. “I want my soup.”

  “Demanding cat.” Tapping her lightly on the butt, he continued to chop and slice as she stood beside him. “Why don’t you take off your clothes so I can judge this non-existent belly of yours?”

  Stealing a stick of celery, she munched. “Let’s see how good your soup is first.” She shifted to wrap her arms around him from behind, leaning her chin on his shoulder. Solid and strong and gorgeous, that was her Riley.

  A kiss to the side of his neck. “I love you.”

  Turning, he smiled that slow Riley smile that was just for her. “I—” He paused and looked to the door, the smile for her changing into one full of affection. “We’re about to have visitors.”

  Mercy didn’t change her position. “Go away!” she called out when heavy steps sounded on the verandah.

  “Aw, sis,” Sage said, shouldering his way through the door, “don’t be like that. We bought dessert.” He held up a box from a gourmet bakery in town. “Upside down pineapple cake.”

  Mercy’s stomach growled. “Okay, you can come in.” The demons knew all her weaknesses. “Boots off, all three of you.”

  Bastien and Sage groaned, bent down, but Grey winked and walked in. “I already took them off.”

  “That’s why you’re my favorite brother.”

  “Hey!” Two disgruntled male voices.

  Riley’s chest rumbled as he chuckled. “Grey, you’re on potato peeling duty. We weren’t cooking for six extra people.”

  “Ha ha.” Bastien walked over. “I’ll make a potato bake. You have bacon?” He was already opening the cooler. “Cheese, onions...milk.” The ingredients gathered, he made a space for himself beside Grey. “Thin slices, Shadow,” he said, using their baby brother’s nickname. “Yo, Herb, grate the cheese.”

  Sage gave Bastien the finger for using that hated nickname, but got to work. Looking over at Mercy, her middle brother jerked up his chin. “Why do you get off kitchen duty?”

  “Because I can trade it for sexual favors.”

  “La-la-la-la,” Grey sang. “I do not hear anything. My sister does not have sex. Ever. She doesn’t even know what it is.”

  Rolling her eyes, Mercy kissed a grinning Riley’s neck again, then walked around to retake her seat on the counter stool, beside where Sage stood. “So,” she said to Bas, “you’re dating someone new.”

  Bastien pointed a knife at her. “No, just no. You do not go near her.”

  Glancing at Sage, Mercy waited. He grinned and took his revenge on Bas. “She’s a kindergarten teacher, drawl like molasses, smart as heck.”

  “Hmm, sounds like I need to meet her.”

  Bastien gave her the death glare. “I swear to God, Mercy, if you scare her away, I will teach your pupcubs the worst tricks I know.”

  Mercy just smiled. She had no intention of scaring Bastien’s girl away—if the other woman turned out to be legit. Her brothers might be demons, but they were wonderful demons who deserved to be loved. “Riley, darling, put some chillies in the soup. I want it hot.”

  Her mate shot her a narrow-eyed look. “Stop baiting, Bas, kitty-cat.” A slow smile. “You know he’s sensitive about his kitten-defurring tools.”

  Mercy, Sage, and Grey hooted with laughter at the reference to the trick Mercy had played on Bastien’s last would-be-girlfriend, while Bas gritted his teeth and chopped onions with the speed of a professional chef. “Why?” he asked. “Why did I have to be stuck with such loving family members?”

  Having pity on him, Mercy walked around to hug him from the side and press a kiss to his unshaven cheek, the bristles rough against her lips. “I promise to be nice.”

  Bastien wrapped an arm around her waist and snorted. “She can handle you, so do your worst, Carrot Top.”

  Mercy elbowed him to get away, reaching up to pull at his own dark red hair. However, she was intrigued and encouraged by the fact he thought his girl was tough enough to handle her—the fact was, anyone who couldn’t handle Mercy couldn’t handle Bastien. Her brother might not be a lieutenant, but he had a steel core. They called him a shark in the financial world; he was the reason DarkRiver had such a good investment portfolio.

  Stealing a piece of cheese, she walked over to ruffle Grey’s hair. “What’s up with you, baby brother?”

  Grey, who despite his wicked eyes was the sweetest of her brothers, smiled and pecked her on the cheek. “Studying, training, chasing girls when I get the time—which isn’t often. Emmett’s busting my ass.”

  She knew Emmett was pushing Grey, and she knew why. Her gorgeous little brother was a very strong dominant with aggressive tendencies that made him perfect soldier material. Only the thing was, most people didn’t realize it, he was such a sweetheart—and because his strength had developed later on in his teens than it did in most changelings. But it had become crystal clear to every one of the senior people in the pack that Grey was built to protect, built to be one of the cornerstones of the pack.

  Not only that, he had the right personality and temperament to be in the highest level of the pack’s hierarchy. “Don’t worry, Shadow,” she said. “You can handle Emmett.”

  Her eyes met Riley’s as she walked over to let him wrap her in his arms, the soup she’d asked him to make for her bubbling on the stove while her brothers stuck the bake in the oven and argued over whether or not to make the entire box of chicken schnitzel they’d discovered in the freezer.

  Leaning up, she whispered, “See, I was worried about having multiples, but then I realized I’ve been riding herd on three hooligans most of my life.”

  The hooligans protested as Riley grinned and drew her in for a kiss. When he released her, her heart was threatening to thud out of her ribcage, her claws pricking at the warm wall of his chest as her leopard rubbed against the insides of her skin. Had they been alone, she’d have dragged him to bed and spent an hour kissing and nibbling her way across his muscled body.

  Eyes telling her he was reading her mind, Riley ran a finger down her nose and to her lips. She nipped at it, made his smile deepen.

  “Tut, tut, that’s what got you into this situation in the first place,” Sage said in a sonorous tone. “Barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen.”

  Turning to lean her back against her mate’s wide chest, Mercy smiled at her brother, in charity with the world. Riley’s touch had a way of doing that to her. “So, what’s the betting pool saying today?” Everyone was trying to figure out (1) how many babies she was carrying and (2) whether the babies would shift into leopard or wolf form.

  “What betting pool?” Total innocence from Bastien, the ring leader and treasurer of said betting pool.

  Knowing that look, Mercy knew she’d get nothing. Bas could be a Sphinx when he wanted to be. “Come for a walk,” she said to Riley instead. “The demons will finish making dinner.” Pointing at Bas, she said, “Don’t ruin the soup.”

  As Riley walked outside with her, their fingers tangled, she drew in a deep breath of the crisp air. Forgoing shoes, they strolled lazily to a spot that overlooked a meadow bursting with wildflowers, and stood with their arms around one another, watching the sun set.


  It was a beautiful, romantic moment, but for Mercy, the greatest romance was in the way Riley unconsciously angled his body to protect her from a light wind. That was her wolf, protective to the core. They’d butted heads about it, would undoubtedly do so again in the future, but she knew some things were instinct. Asking him not to take care of her in such a way would be akin to asking him to change the very core of his being.

  And she wanted to change nothing about Riley. “You’re going to be an amazing father, you know that?”

  A startled look, pleasure in eyes gone wolf. “I think we should spike the betting pool so we take it.”

  Mercy’s leopard prowled forward in interest. “How?”

  When he told her his plan, she threw back her head and laughed in delight. And when he nibbled on her ear, curling her toes, she hauled him in for a kiss as hot as her blood. The last rays of the setting sun hit the wild amber of his eyes as their lips parted, the beauty in them haunting. Fascinated, her leopard rose to the surface of her own mind.

  He growled playfully at her, said, “Run.”

  Backing away, she gave him a teasing little wave…then she ran, joy in her every step. Riley might be protective, but he hadn’t forgotten who he’d mated, hadn’t forgotten that she was a sentinel with fire in her heart and the hunt in her soul. God, but she loved her amber-eyed wolf.

  ~

  Forty-five minutes later, the three demons who were her brothers—suddenly pious as monks—took great pleasure in pointing out that she had twigs and leaves in her hair, while Riley’s clothing bore grass stains.

  Copyright © 2013 by Nalini Singh

  Sunday Morning

  Author’s Note: This is set around the same time as the start of Heart of Obsidian but contains no spoilers for that book.

  It features Sophia and Max from Bonds of Justice.

  Sunday Morning