Psyche Shield

by Chrissie Buhr

  I needed the job, and working alongside the Wolves would help us train. The decision came quickly. “If I can draw the line about what I’m not willing to do, then yes, I’m in.” We talked until the wee hours of the morning when I finally sensed Billie and the others heading home.

  Good run?

  Is there any other kind? How was your night? she sounded energized.

  Productive. I got a job. Maybe.

  Really? Congratulations! We’re almost at the crest of the hill, she informed me, and I raised an illusion for the Wolves to run behind without leaving my seat.

  Glenn didn’t mention the mental conversation, his questioning look saying it all. “They’re almost home.” Soon Wolves filled the living room, some still wearing fur and others looking for their clothes. The commotion woke those sleeping on the first floor.

  Billie came directly to my side, her bright blue eyes sparkling. They’d even brought some game home for the injured Wolves, depositing it in the dining room where the floor would clean easily. Sierra hopped to the meal on three legs and dug in, gratefully filling her belly with fresh meat.

  Matthew joined us at the table. His nearness made me nervous, and I did my best to squash it. “How did it go here?”

  “Quiet. We discussed Mages and magepower. I want to hire her. She’d be an asset on any job and working with her will help us train,” Glenn informed Matthew and met his Alpha’s gaze across the room. Jason lounged in one of the recliners, his sizeable wolf body filling it completely. He gave his approval.

  “You’re hired,” Glenn informed me. Billie nuzzled my hand affectionately, not yet ready to leave her wolf form behind.

  “I never thought I’d be doing security work,” I told her while looking down into her crystal blue eyes.

  Matthew stared intently at me, drawing my attention away from Billie. “I want to hear more about illusion. That was very strange when you dissolved under my teeth.” Billie sensed the memory rise in me and smelled my fear. I couldn’t help it, and she set her chin on my knee protectively. She met Matthew’s gaze, and he drew back a couple of inches respectfully. He hadn’t intended any aggression towards me, and we all knew it.

  I reassured her with a hand on her neck. “Trust your nose. Illusion doesn’t work on scent.”

  His expression barely changed. “It’s a good thing I didn’t know that before.”

  “She’d be dead,” Glenn replied somberly, his eyebrows rising slightly.

  Matthew eyed me closely, a calculative look on his face. “I doubt it. I didn’t even manage to sneak up on her. She didn’t want to fight me. She was buying time for Billie to arrive.”

  I nodded carefully, the memory still vivid. “I didn’t want Billie to lose her pack. Using magepower against you would have burned this bridge. That’s not something Wolves are likely to forgive. But I honestly don’t know what I would have done if Billie hadn’t shown up. We were lucky she got there in time.”

  “Matthew’s lucky Billie didn’t kill him. Wolves aren’t known for thinking clearly when our mate is threatened,” Glenn commented, my fear of Matthew and Billie’s reaction to it speaking for itself.

  Neither am I,” I admitted yet again.

  Glenn considered me and Billie thoughtfully before he spoke. “You’ve agreed to help us train. Do you know what we’re asking of you?”

  I glanced down at Billie and met her gaze. “I do. We both do. Sometimes you’re going to hunt me, and you won’t be able to give either of us any warning. It has to come out of nowhere.”

  “Will we survive hunting your mate?” he asked his Beta, leaning forward and smiling mischievously. She met his eyes in an indiscernible challenge, and he straightened once again, the grin fading from his face.

  Too tired to laugh properly at them, my body simply shook in mirth. “I think your chances will improve when another Alpha isn’t out for my blood.”

  “We’ll limit the hunters to Wolves you trust,” Matthew offered, knowing that excluded him for the time being.

  “That’s probably a good idea.” I appreciated the offer and yawned uncontrollably.

  You’re exhausted, she noticed and nuzzled my hand again. Thank you for watching over them so we could run. Why don’t you go to bed? I’ll join you soon.

  “You took the words right out of my mouth. Good night, everyone.” I waved at the room and climbed the stairs. Falling asleep instantly, I slept so soundly I didn’t even hear them downstairs.

  Chapter 13

  Billie followed Sadie’s progress up the stairs to their bedroom, her feet heavy and her eyes barely open. She’d love nothing more than to join her. Energized from the run, she wanted to twist the sheets with her sexy mate. She could easily spend the next hour just holding her and watching her sleep, but her duty remained with her packmates a little longer.

  Billie met Jason’s eyes contentedly. He perched in wolf form on one of the cozy chairs and surveyed his pack, proud and satisfied. Her Alpha and her mate didn’t understand or like each other, but they’d begun to accept the place the other had in her life. They respected each other, and she could live with that. Even the incessant bickering had become a strange but effective compromise, a way to meet on common ground.

  Wolves lounged throughout the lower level of the house. Some dozed and others recounted their adventures on the run. Amy trotted down the stairs with Nathan on her arm. His pallor, still ashen from blood loss, had nevertheless improved since they left.

  The Medic bubbled with infectious happiness as usual. “Hiya, everyone! Oooh, deer.” The couple eagerly shifted into wolf form and joined Sierra. Most of her packmates were the grey wolves found in the local mountains. The arctic wolf, red wolf, and grey wolf eating together looked out of place. Once the injured and Medic ate their fill, the remainder of those who stayed behind shared the leftovers.

  Billie interrupted her own conversation with Matthew to appraise the injured Pup. “How are you doing?”

  “Lots better. I like healing so quick.” He grinned as he rested his chin on Amy’s head. Their height difference matched perfectly for it, and Billie found the gesture endearing. “I slept right through to when we heard you down here.”

  “What was up with that?” Amy asked. “It was totally quiet and then all of a sudden, wham. The house was loud.” By Nathan’s expression, the noise had startled him too.

  Billie considered the question for a moment and the answer came to her. She laughed out loud. “Sadie went to bed. She must have forgotten about the illusion and dropped it when she fell asleep.”

  Amy raised her chin, pretending irritation. “Would you ask her to drop it gently next time, ’cause that was rude.”

  “I got a good long sleep out o’ it. I ain’t complaining.” Nathan stuck up for Sadie. Everyone knew he had a soft spot for her.

  Matthew eyed the stocky Wolf. “Phil says you fought well for a Pup with no training. I could use someone like you.” He met Billie’s gaze pointedly.

  Billie nodded, approving of Matthew’s suggestion. “He already has decent wilderness survival skills and a level head. From what I’ve seen he has great potential as a tracker. He’d be a good addition to your team.” She gave her assessment. If Matthew wanted Nathan on his team, she’d support it.

  Nathan had some knowledge of what that meant through Phil, but he asked for more details. Matthew laid it out, including the downside of the job. He wouldn’t surprise the Pup. “What would ya want me to do?”

  “I like the sound of most of it, and I can live with the rest.”

  “Wilderness tracking is where we’re weakest right now,” Matthew admitted. “We’re good, but not good enough. You can fill that niche. No one is ordered onto my team. Once on it, we follow orders without question. What’s your answer?”

  “Sure. ’Specially if it means people quit calling me a Pup.”

  “It’ll be a while before that happens.” Amy reached up with one hand and patted his cheek affectionately.

  Matthew cont
inued, ignoring Amy’s comment. “We all work for Jason’s security company. The job sharpens our skills and we’re available at a moment’s notice. We’ll get you a job there too.”

  “As soon as you’re healed, you’ll start training with them and with me,” Billie agreed and waved Kathryn over. “You’re the best tracker we have. Will you teach Nathan?”

  “I would be my pleasure.” She inclined her head towards the Pup.

  “I’ll keep the first aid kit stocked,” Amy complained. “I spend more time patching up these guys and Billie than everyone else combined.”

  “I’ll be careful,” he promised her.

  “No, you won’t,” she pouted. “You’ll hop to it and do what needs to be done. I like that about you, so I won’t ask you not to do this. But if you lie to me about an injury again, I’ll ...” It took her a moment to come up with a threat that would work. “I’ll paint neon hippie flowers on your Harley!”

  “You have a Harley?” Glenn asked, ignoring the strange but effective threat as he joined the conversation.

  “Back home I do. I’d like to go get it and my other stuff soon if I can. I talked to my sister after we got back and let her know I’m okay. Be nice to see her ’n show her I’m not the total jerk she saw last. She’ll like Amy.”

  Billie knew the sentiment. Pack didn’t replace a Wolf’s old family. “We’ll make it happen. I’d like to take Sadie to see my family too.”

  “I don’t have any family to introduce you to.” Amy twisted her head to look into her mate’s eyes apologetically. “Just some distant cousins and great nieces and nephews that don’t know I’m still alive.”

  “Could be worse,” Billie commented offhandedly. “You could have Sadie’s family.”

  “True,” Amy’s face lightened. “I’d like to be a fly on the wall at that family reunion!”

  “I was at the last one. I’ll skip it,” Nathan huffed. Billie silently agreed with the Pup. She hoped Sadie would find kin she could relate to, but realistically she anticipated more like Cassandra. Either way she’d go if Sadie asked.

  “Christmas with your family, then?” Amy suggested brightly.

  “That’s the plan. It’s less likely to be followed by a funeral.”

  “Killing a relative would be a real holiday downer.”

  “No doubt,” Billie regretted the topic and wanted a new one. She raised her eyes to the ceiling, her lips thinning. “She’s really out. I knew she was tired, but I didn’t realize. She should have said something.”

  “She’s tough. Determined,” Glenn complimented.

  After Glenn’s initial attitude towards Sadie, his praise surprised and pleased her. She dallied only a little longer with her packmates before saying goodnight.

  Kato waylaid her as she crossed the living room, his serious expression giving her reason for concern. “Please tell my Muzi that I must go attend to important matters. I will return as soon as I may.”

  “I’ll tell her. Is something wrong?” Kato’s disappearance without so much as a goodbye would crush Sadie.

  “Events are unfolding untimely.”

  “I don’t understand,” Billie told him, her eyes locking with his as she searched for a better explanation to give her mate.

  “I hope to offer an explanation upon my return.”

  She suspected he couldn’t say more around the others. If so, she wouldn’t inquire and instead asked, “Will you at least say goodbye to her?”

  “I must go now and cannot wait until she wakes. She must rest and regain her strength. I ask you to care for our family knowing you will do so regardless.” He placed a hand gently on Billie’s cheek.

  “I’ll take care of them. Come back soon,” she pleaded with the Eldest Wolf, hearing an extended absence in his words. “Sadie needs you.”

  He didn’t answer, and Billie wished for a private conversation. Instead she bid him farewell, and he darted out the doggie door in wolf form. As he disappeared into the night, she continued up the stairs.

  Standing in the doorway, she watched Sadie sleep for a few minutes. Her mate slept deeply, her breathing heavy and rhythmic. Billie didn’t even sense a dream within her quiet mind. The love she felt for this woman couldn’t compare to anything she’d known before.

  Her mate was Pack. Billie’s packmates had distrusted Sadie the moment they found out she was a Mage, hated and hunted her like the enemy. Even after she’d proven herself, they’d denied Sadie Pack Status. Some still feared and distrusted her, but one by one they came around. Asking her to stand guard over their children and injured showed the level of confidence they had in her. She didn’t know if Sadie realized how much that meant to a Wolf. Their wish had been granted, and her mate stepped forward unwaveringly to fill any Pack need.

  No matter how complicated her life had become by having a Mage as a mate, she wouldn’t wish for anything else. She accepted the whole package, even if it included relatives straight out of a horror flick. Billie knew from the beginning what kind of person her mate was. She’d proven it time and again, and her packmates finally began to see it.

  Tearing her eyes away from the sleeping woman, Billie showered quickly before slipping between the sheets. Lying next to her mate, she wrapped an arm protectively around her. Sadie scooted closer reflexively, her mind still quiet. Billie closed her eyes and fell asleep contentedly.

  Chapter 14

  Something woke me. Darkness poured through the closed curtains when I opened my eyes. The only light in the room came from Billie’s clock on the bedside table, announcing I’d slept less than three hours. My brain felt sluggish and cloudy. But something felt wrong. I couldn’t tell what, but a sense of dread began to escalate, and my heart raced. Cobwebs obscured my mind, refusing to budge, and I wiped my face with a hand before trying again.

  Billie, I called to my sleeping mate as I rolled to face her, dislodging her arm from its resting place on my stomach. Billie, wake up.

  She woke instantly, alert green eyes meeting mine. What’s wrong? She sensed my concern and assessed our surroundings automatically, ears and nose telling her what lay beyond our bedroom.

  I don’t know. Irritated at the answer, I rubbed my face vigorously again. The fog in my mind persisted. Can you hear anything?

  No. Everything sounds normal. What do you sense?

  I don’t know. Something is happening, but I can’t think clearly. Shit. This isn’t good. I’m getting up.

  She moved quickly, making no sound despite her dizzyingly rapid speed. The clock’s faint light turned Billie into a blurred shadow. Envious of her ability to wake up fully alert with even less sleep, I dressed as quickly as possible in the dark. Billie required very little light to see clearly. By the time I met her at the door, she wore a robe and listened intently. Quietly. Her senses didn’t pick up anything unusual, but she trusted mine.

  The door opened without a sound to my non-Wolf ears, and I tiptoed behind her down the hall. She noticed something and lengthened her stride, disappearing down the stairs. She listened to the environment intensely, but I didn’t hear anything, with my own ears or hers. Once I started moving, my mind began to wake up. What’s going on? What do you hear?

  Almost nothing. That’s the problem. It’s too quiet, she informed me.

  I followed at a slower pace and stretched my senses gradually. Wolves slumbered throughout the house. Behind me I sensed Nathan and Amy in one bedroom, Richard and Kathryn in another. Jason, Matthew, Glenn, and Owen slept lightly in the living room below me. Through our connection, I sensed Billie call out to her packmates, speaking too softly to be heard by anyone other than a Wolf in the same room.

  I didn’t find Kato or Sierra at all, and their absence finally woke me up. Extending my senses outward, I located Sierra in the backyard, half asleep. She wasn’t alone, but she didn’t know it yet. Oh my God, Billie! The Montana Wolves are here. Out back. They’re after Sierra!

  I sensed Sierra wake as she heard her packmates move in on her. Fear escalated in
stantly and then disappeared suddenly. I sensed nothing from my sister and nearly panicked before finding her unconscious mind, still alive but very quiet. Billie and the others reached the backyard, and I had enough sense to raise an illusion around the property.

  Wake up everyone upstairs. Her clipped order came through, and I knew she faced Sierra’s attackers.

  I’d nearly reached the bottom step and turned around. Sierra’s unconscious mind sent me into turmoil. Moving as quickly as I could back upstairs, I no longer worried about staying quiet. Nathan and Amy bolted awake when I threw the door open without knocking. “Get up. The Montana Wolves are here.” Leaving the bewildered couple before letting them respond, I flew to the other bedroom. I’d made enough noise to wake Kathryn and Richard, who dressed as I barged in.

  I ran back downstairs at top speed, four Wolves beating me to the lower level despite pausing to dress. Briefly I thought it strange that they bothered with clothes and rationalized that nudity would limit their movements inside the city. Belatedly, I found my own thought baffling. If I had to justify why my packmates needed clothes, I’d grown more accustomed to nudity than I thought.

  Reaching the back door last, I stopped abruptly at the threshold. The scene in front of me made my heart pound and my breath come short. Five Wolves had managed to sneak up on us inside the city in wolf form. I assumed the three in human form would have worn clothes if they’d arrived on two legs. Even under the cover of darkness, the bold maneuver reeked of desperation. Fortunately our nearest neighbors still slept, and I ensured we wouldn’t draw their attention.

  Graham stood on the far end of the yard in human form with his packmates flanking him and the foothills to his back. The Wolf at his side glared at us with identical eyes, and they even held themselves with similar defensive posture. His son and Beta, Stephen, had Sierra draped over his shoulder like a bag of grain. They could have fled into the foothills on four legs, but not with the unconscious Sierra in tow.