Psy & Changelings 01 - Slave to Sensation

she whispered, knowing Tamsyn was right.
    The explanation fit. No wonder she was fracturing. Her cardinal powers had been brutally contained for twenty-six years, growing endlessly with no release. The pressure point had been reached.
    â€œI think that’s what you are, Sascha. A healer of souls.”
    A single tear streaked down Sascha’s face. “They told me I was broken,” she whispered. “They told me I was flawed.” Because of their lies, she’d contained her light, her rainbow of stars, trapping the healing gifts of her mind. “They crippled me. And they had to have known!” Her mother certainly had to have understood her child’s unusual mind. She was Council—she knew their history, what had to be hidden . . . what had to be destroyed.
    â€œWhen they tried to get rid of violence,” Tamsyn said, shifting over to sit beside Sascha, one arm around her shoulders, “they also got rid of one of their most precious gifts.”
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    Lucas walked out to the front yard, Nate and Dorian by his side. Vaughn and Clay were hidden in the shadows and Mercy was prowling the treetops behind the SnowDancers.
    Hawke stood in the yard flanked by two wolves Lucas knew to be his lieutenants. Indigo was a stunningly beautiful female with the cold eyes of a snow wolf. Tall and slender, she was undoubtedly deadly. Riley was a solid-looking male who appeared to move slow. It was an illusion. He could take down a fully grown wolf in about three seconds flat. Without changing form.
    â€œWhy are you here?” Lucas asked.
    Hawke walked forward, leaving his lieutenants behind. Lucas did the same. Two alphas meeting in neutral territory. Except it wasn’t. This was a DarkRiver safe house. The wolves shouldn’t have set foot near it without a damn good reason. He’d accepted Hawke’s previous intrusion because the alpha had come alone. Bringing others was a sign of aggression.
    â€œWe want to talk to your Psy,” Hawke said without prelude.
    Lucas felt fury ripple through him. “No.”
    â€œI trust you, cat, but I don’t trust any of the Psy.” Hawke’s eyes held bloodlust. “I won’t let the lives of my people hang in the hands of one of those creatures without meeting her for myself. This is the fourth day since Brenna was taken—we have only two days before he kills. And you’re asking us to wait .”
    â€œIf you trust me, why do you need to see her?”
    â€œWouldn’t you do the same if the situations were reversed? What if it was Rina in the hands of that monster?” His entire face went unnaturally calm. “We’re not here to pick a fight so you might want to tell the cat up in the trees to stay back.”
    Lucas wasn’t surprised Hawke had picked up Mercy’s scent—the man hadn’t become alpha of a lethal pack by being weak. Neither had Lucas. “Mercy’s not the one you should be worried about.”
    â€œDamn it to hell, Lucas. Don’t break our alliance over a fucking, worthless Psy. They’re nothing—”
    Lucas slammed a fist into Hawke’s jaw. Hard. The wolf went down. Growls echoed around the yard as sentinels and lieutenants crouched down for battle.

CHAPTER 21
    Standing over the fallen wolf, Lucas forced himself not to bare his teeth. “She’s mine. Think about that the next time you open your big mouth.”
    Getting up, Hawke slashed his hand down. Indigo and Riley straightened from their crouch. “Hell, Lucas. You could’ve told me you’d really mated to her.” He rubbed at his bruised jaw and winced. “You have a right like a damn freight train.”
    â€œYou shouldn’t be here.”
    â€œI was the one who brought you your Psy safe and sound.”
    Lucas stared at the other alpha and even through the protective rage running through him, he knew Hawke was right. He did have a right to meet the woman he was being asked to entrust with the life of one of his people. Riley, too, must need assurance that his sister’s life was in safe hands. “Do all your wolves know about this place?”
    â€œNo. Just like not all your leopards know the location of our tunnels.” It was a reminder that Lucas and his sentinels had tracked down the SnowDancers’ main hideout.
    Since the start, their alliance had been cool and distanced, two predators circling each other, not quite sure when the