by Nalini Singh
“I’m sorry, Xavier,” he said, knowing the priest would prefer the truth at once. “Gloria is gone, murdered.” He’d gotten the confirmation without having to tap his contacts. Brenna had hacked through a records database, found the death certificate. It had listed “sudden cardiac failure” as the cause of death, but her spotless apartment had told a different story.
Xavier let out a long, slow breath before dipping his head and murmuring a quiet, heartfelt prayer. Judd waited in silence until the other man raised his head. “She dared to reach for something beyond what was permitted,” Xavier said. “And they killed her for it.”
“Perhaps.” He told Xavier something Drew had shared with him, having heard it from the Rat alpha. “There are rumors of other dead Psy in the city. Do you know anything about that?”
Xavier shook his head. “Our mutual friend may know more.”
“Yes.” So would another man. A man, Judd thought, that his outwardly careless younger brother-in-law called if not friend, then at least a friendly acquaintance. He’d ask Drew to follow up on the issue with that contact once he returned from the mountains.
Now, he listened to the insects going about their business in the back garden and waited.
The stir in the darkness came not long afterward.
Judd focused. “You’re late tonight.”
The Ghost leaned against an old oak tree, his face swathed in shadow as always. “I was delayed by an unexpected guest.”
“Dead Psy in the city,” Judd said, asking the most important question, “do you know anything about it?”
“No,” the Ghost murmured. “I’ve been busy with other matters. What has occurred?”
Judd had an inkling about the nature of the Ghost’s “other matters”—and if he was right, then the most dangerous rebel in the Net was about to become even more lethal. “I’ve got nothing but rumors at present.”
“If I discover anything, I’ll share it with you.” The Ghost moved deeper into the shadows as the clouds parted to expose the moon’s pearly light. “But San Francisco doesn’t hold much interest for me at present.”
Judd heard something in that statement, something that made his instincts snap to wakefulness. “What are you planning?”
“The three of us came together because we believe the Council is destroying the Psy race and taking the rest of the world along,” the Ghost said. “The Councilors now have their knives out for each other. Any resulting war will devastate the Net, kill millions—Psy, human, and changeling.”
Judd agreed . . . and he also understood. “You’re planning to kill them all.”
“If necessary,” the Ghost said. “There can be no war if there is no Council.”
And, Judd thought, it would leave the Net entirely in the Ghost’s grasp.
CHAPTER 15
Metal. Intruder.
Indigo was at full alert when her eyes snapped open. She felt Drew come to life at almost the same instant. Glancing at him, she saw his eyes had gone night-glow, the wolf at the forefront.
“Psy,” he mouthed more than said.
She gave a decisive nod. Nothing else would account for that scent. It was as distinctive as blood on snow, and it cut against changeling senses with the jagged brutality of twisted metal. Not all Psy carried that metallic taint, and the current theory was that it clung only to those who had given in irrevocably to Silence . . . lost their soul to the emotionless chill of the PsyNet. Whatever the truth, there was no reason for it to be here, deep in the heart of SnowDancer territory.
Glancing at the kids—all asleep—Indigo made a snap decision. “Go.”
Drew shifted and flowed away from the campsite as she walked to Harley’s tent and reached in to squeeze his shoulder.
The boy woke at once. Putting a finger to her lips, Indigo bent down. “I need you to keep watch. Sound the alarm if you sense an intruder.”
To his credit, the boy extricated himself from his tent without waking his tentmate, his eyes already watchful. “I’ll use the wolf’s call.”
Confident he was up to the task, she shifted without bothering to strip off her T-shirt and streaked off after Drew. The metallic scent was strong, fresh, and not difficult to track, even if Drew hadn’t gone ahead. Reaching the end of the trail, she found herself in a small moonlit glade bearing the faintest traces of boot prints.
Putting her nose to the earth, she attempted to find the intruders’ exit route and came up blank. Teleportation. Which most likely meant the Council—or a Councilor, at least—was involved in this somewhere. Teleport-capable telekinetics were a scarce resource, and they were almost always pulled into the Council ranks, according to Judd. Frustrated, she looked up as Drew appeared from the other side of the glade, having apparently circled the area.
Coming over until their muzzles almost touched, he shook his head.
Damn.
She shifted. They needed to talk and better it be here than back at the campsite. It was no use scaring the kids when there was nothing to be done at this moment. “No hint of a trail?” She fisted her hand in his fur as she asked for confirmation of his nonverbal report, his coat incredibly soft beneath the protective roughness of the guard hairs.
Another shake of his head before he tugged away and shifted to crouch across from her, a sleekly muscled man with lake blue eyes that held the slightest night-glow edge—the wolf looking out from behind the human skin. “Tk’s.” His voice was low, deep, wolf.
“That’s what I thought.” Attempting to ignore the way that rough tone raised every tiny hair on her body, she spread her fingers on the stubby grass. “Why here?”
“Isolated—or it should’ve been.” Drew angled his head in a way that had nothing to do with the human half of him.
“Maybe they were using it as a meeting place, realized we were up here, and poofed.”
There was some merit to that, Indigo thought, her own wolf prowling inside her mind, its anger cold and rational. SnowDancer territory was unwelcoming to intruders, but by the same token, it was also so vast that if someone wanted to have a meeting away from watchful eyes, and could access the area without alerting the sentries, it was the perfect location. “We need to log this, get some extra patrols going up here in case they decide to return.”
“We can do that back at camp.” Drew shifted with those words, and for a moment she sat still and admired the beauty of the large silver wolf looking back at her with curious copper-colored eyes.
Raising a hand, she indulged herself as she wouldn’t dare do while they were in human form, running her fingers through his fur in a long, slow caress. “You sure are a pretty wolf, Drew.”
That got her an affectionate nip on the chin, a nuzzle into her neck. Feeling a smile creep across her face, she let him tumble her to the ground. The Psy were gone and, given the fact that their swift departure indicated they’d caught wind of the camp, unlikely to return tonight. A few more minutes wouldn’t make any difference.
Staying in human form, she wrestled with Drew as he attempted to pin her, slipping out from underneath his paws and circling around to take him from behind. He was too fast for her, sliding out and away to leap on her. Laughing, she wiggled out from under his playful hold before shifting herself.
He pounced again, but she was already tumbling out of the way. Across from her, he crouched with his front feet forward, his back arched, a clear invitation to play. It was too tempting to resist. Jumping at him, she mock-attacked, growing low in her throat. He attacked back . . . but he was really just trying to get his teeth on her tail.
Laughing inwardly, she slipped and he almost got her . . . but she slammed her body against his, pushing him off balance. Then she went for his tail. Yipping, he danced out of the way, his eyes brimming with a joy that could come only from the heart of the wolf that lived within.
It was tempting to keep playing, but they couldn’t leave their charges alone all night. Touching muzzles with him, she turned and led the way back to camp, where
they pulled Harley off watch, then used Drew’s cell phone to report their findings. Judd happened to be on the midnight-to-six shift at the den, and Indigo could see his gaze sharpen even on the tiny screen of the cell phone. “Did they leave anything behind?” the Psy male asked.
“Not that we could see,” Indigo reported, very conscious of the living heat of Drew’s body as he pressed up behind her—so he could look at the screen. “Silvia did find something metallic earlier today. It could’ve come from anywhere, however. There’s a high chance it was washed down by the rivers.”
“No harm in the techs having a look at it anyway.” Judd made a note. “Threat assessment?”
“Low,” Indigo said. “I don’t see any reason to change our plans. Drew?”
“I’m with you. If they’d wanted to attack,” he added, “their best chance would’ve been tonight while they had the element of surprise, and they didn’t take it.”
Judd nodded. “I’ll organize some extra patrols in that area, starting from when you leave. Your presence there at the moment should act as a deterrent.”
Indigo nodded. “Make sure you send up only experienced men and women. The Psy are too dangerous for the novices to handle.”
“Agreed. Hawke will be joining you tomorrow, so you can discuss this further then.”
Hanging up after a couple more words, Indigo frowned. “It takes some kind of balls to come into our territory knowing how tough we are on intruders.” SnowDancer had a reputation for shooting first and asking questions of the corpses.
“That,” Drew said, slipping his arms around her waist and tugging her against him, “or sheer arrogance.”
Indigo didn’t reply straightaway, her brain cells fried by the wave of flame that licked up her body. For a moment, she considered turning her face to that of the beautiful wolf at her back and letting the heat take over. It would be good—that much was certain. He was big and gorgeous and playful and gave every indication that he’d be a generous, affectionate lover.
Tightening his arms around her, Drew propped his chin on her shoulder. “With all the Psy stuff that’s been happening this past year, I want to think something sinister is going on, but that feels like an overreaction to what was most likely a simple territorial violation.”
It was difficult to think past the pounding hunger of her pulse. “Nothing’s ever simple with the Psy,” she said, turning her head a little so she could feel his hair brushing against her cheek.
He kissed her on the jaw, a quick, almost absentminded caress. “True.”
“But yes, there is a chance they were just using the location as a safe meeting place.” Unable to resist, she reached up to touch his face. He pressed his beard-roughened jaw into her palm, and as her wolf hummed in contentment inside her, she remembered how much she’d missed this contact after they’d had their blowup. If she seduced him—and it made her guilty to even consider it—they’d be going right back there.
She treasured his friendship too much to risk it. Because no matter what, sex would change everything, create a subtle tension that nothing would ever erase. “We should get some sleep,” she said, not stopping to wonder why she was so certain she wouldn’t be able to remain friends with Drew after intimacy when she had perfectly cordial relationships with her former lovers. “Early morning wakeup tomorrow.”
Drew yawned and released her. The sudden chill caused by the absence of his body heat made goose bumps rise over her flesh.
“I want to talk to Hawke about Harley,” Drew said, moving to his own sleeping bag. “Kid’s not really fluctuating as much as everyone thinks—and from the looks of it, he’s promising to be a high-level dominant.”
“I was wondering if you’d picked that up.” She slipped inside the unzipped halves of her sleeping bag.
Drew scowled at the raised bumps on her arm. “You’re cold.”
“I’ll be fine.” She was an adult wolf—cold wasn’t something that really bothered her, even in human form. As for the emotional reasons behind the unexpected strength of her reaction—she wasn’t going there.
“And Silvia,” Drew murmured, his voice drowsy, “there’s something about her.”
“Hmm. She’s a maternal dominant.” The girl would be an anchor for the pack once she gained a little more confidence.
“G’night, Indy.”
She thought about telling him not to use that nickname, but then he curled his body around hers, sliding one arm and leg under the top flap of her sleeping bag, and she decided to let it go for tonight . . . and allowed sleep to tug her under.
Hawke turned up at camp early the next morning—but he wasn’t alone. “Andrew,” drawled the lissome young female he’d brought with him, “so this is where you’ve been hiding.”
“Maria—” Drew’s words of welcome were cut off when the petite but curvy woman jumped up and planted her plump, ruby red lips smack-bang on his, her legs wrapping around his waist as he caught her beneath the thighs.
Indigo narrowed her eyes at her alpha, unable to erase the image of Drew’s fingers closing over Maria’s taut flesh. “You brought me another camper?” Catty, she thought, that was catty.
A gleam in those pale eyes, but his tone was even as he said, “Maria’s a soldier, as you very well know, and she’s a capable one.” Hawke looked over to where the kids were grinning and wolf-whistling at Drew and Maria. “I thought it’d be good experience for her to come up here, spend some time coaching the younger kids.”
Drew was putting the girl on her feet now, having broken the kiss—though his hands remained on her tiny waist. Color burned hot and bright over his cheekbones, and Indigo wanted to believe it was embarrassment, not desire. Except that he was a healthy young male, and Maria of the big breasts, flashing dark eyes, and lush hips was giving him some hotly explicit signals, her hands splayed on his chest, all but openly petting.
Indigo felt her claws prick the insides of her skin just as Hawke put two fingers to his mouth and whistled. “Time to go hunting. I want everyone in wolf form.”
Good, Indigo thought, because she was in the mood for blood. Preferably of the “sweet young thang” kind.
Andrew wanted to kill Hawke—slowly and with great pleasure. Of all the women to bring up here . . . “Why?” he muttered to his alpha when Maria detached herself at long last to go stash her pack, her hips swaying in invitation as she blew him a kiss over her shoulder.
Hawke’s gaze was so innocent, Andrew knew it was pure bullshit. “I asked for a volunteer—she raised her hand.”
“Uh-huh.” Shoving his fingers through his hair, Andrew glared at the man he fully intended to strangle at the first opportunity.
“Maria’s sweet, she’s sexy, and she wants to bang your brains out.” Hawke’s grin was pure, amused wolf. “I don’t see a problem here—especially since you obviously need to get banged.”
His alpha knew exactly which buttons to press, but then so did Andrew. “Projecting, Hawke?”
Ice blue flared with something hotter, more brilliant, but Hawke didn’t rise to the bait. “Smart-ass. Tell me about the problem last night.”
Andrew laid it out, momentarily pushing aside the complication caused by Maria’s entrance into his courtship of Indigo. “I went out and had another look this morning before you arrived. Nothing.”
Frowning, Hawke stared out at the winter green of the forest. “We’ll keep an eye on the situation, see what develops. Judd’s heard nothing from his contacts that implies a Council operation, but we’ll stay on alert.”
“Cats?”
“I left a message for Lucas,” he said, naming the leopard alpha. “Riaz and Elias are running things at the den today, so they’ll contact us if the cats discover anything.” Looking around, he took a deep breath of the chill morning air. “Let’s enjoy this day—not often we get a chance like this.” Reaching back to his nape, he pulled up his T-shirt, stripping it off as Andrew got rid of his own.
They’d both changed into wolf form by th
e time the kids ambled back. Maria, too, had shifted. She was a frisky little wolf, pretty and dainty, even in her animal form. Andrew thought she was sweet enough, but she wasn’t the woman he wanted. That woman was an elegant, long-legged wolf with fur of a rich dark gray, and a distinctly haughty look in her golden eyes when she strolled up to stand beside Hawke.
He wanted to bite her.
Maria nipped his flank instead.
I am so going to kill Hawke for this.
CHAPTER 16
The juveniles were exhausted that night, crawling into their sleeping bags as soon as darkness fell, but they’d dragged those bags outside, so they could sit and listen to the older members of the pack talk. A few had chosen to remain in wolf form, sitting curled up close to the laz-fire, a portable heating device that gave an excellent approximation of flames but with zero chance of creating a forest fire.
As Andrew watched from his spot on a log opposite Hawke and Indigo, his lieutenant—and yeah, he was discovering quick-fast that he was a possessive bastard—showed their alpha the little metal ball Silvia had discovered. Hawke played the object over his hand after sniffing at it to see if the wolf’s nose could tell him anything. “We’ll see what Bren and the other techs can do with this,” he said. “I don’t like anyone putting their shit on our land—Council or conglomerate.”
Maria nudged Andrew with her elbow when Hawke and Indigo fell to discussing what adjustments they’d have to make to the watch patrols to free up soldiers for this area.
“Are you off shift next weekend?” she whispered, her breast soft and warm against his upper arm as she snuggled closer. “I have tickets to a new show. It’s got really great reviews.”
Andrew kept his arms hanging over his knees, his fingers loosely intertwined. “I thought you were seeing Kieran.” He’d noticed—and been grateful—that she’d stopped throwing lures his way after hooking up with the boy.
A sniff, firelight glinting off the soft ebony of her curls as she ducked her head. “Yesterday’s news.”
