Psy & Changelings 02 - Visions of Heat

going to agree to a deal. There’s nothing to deal with. We don’t have proof that Marine’s murder was a setup.”
    “Like Lucas said, it’s a last-case scenario, but we do have Enrique’s confession on record.” He told her about the former Councilor’s crimes and his punishment. Vaughn had been there that night, had taken vengeance on Lucas’s behalf because his alpha had been locked in an attempt to save his mate’s life. “He gave us everything.” Before they’d ripped him into a thousand bloody shreds.
    Face pale, Faith squeezed his arm with her free hand. “You agreed with them that you couldn’t use that.”
    “We won’t. Not unless we have no other choice.”
    “No, Vaughn! Not ever. If you back the Council into a corner, they will come at you with everything they’ve got. And they’ll kill your most vulnerable, the children, first.”
    His vows as a sentinel slammed up against his unspoken vows to her. “You’re my mate.” A loyalty that overshadowed any other.
    “That’s why I’m asking you to never use that recording on my behalf.” Stopping, she looked up into his eyes. “I need to know that I didn’t bring death into this new family. I need to know I’m something good.”
    “You’re everything good.” He enfolded her in his arms. “Don’t worry. We have the capacity to take them on—we had to devise a countermeasure after Sascha’s defection. The cubs will be safe.” Exposing them to danger had never been a possibility.
    “But how many adults will die in the fight?”
    “You’re Pack.” And Pack stood together. He’d bled for them and they’d do the same for him.
    “I can’t have their blood on my conscience.” She hugged him hard. “Promise me you’ll never use that recording in a fight for me. Not even as a last-case scenario.”
    “And if I don’t?”

CHAPTER 25
    “Then I’ll turn myself in to the Council.” An intractable expression clouded her face. “I’ll do it the first chance I get.”
    He knew she was stubborn enough to go through with the decision. “You’ve left me no choice.” And the beast was angry at that, at her. But what enraged him most was having his hands tied. Judd had taken out the killer. Lucas and Sascha were meeting Nikita. He could do seemingly nothing to protect the one person he needed to protect. “Get on.” He didn’t want to speak any longer.
    Faith didn’t argue, letting him hoist her onto his back and then holding on as he raced through the forest, an animal on two legs, a jaguar caught tight in the grip of a trap that had no acceptable way out. Tonight he saw nothing of the beauty around him, felt no exhilaration, no joy. He was furious at everything and everyone. The Fates, the Psy who was his mate, and mostly, himself.
    Ignoring the waves of tenderness coming down the mating bond, he poured himself into the forest and let the beast take over. Though he remained human in shape, his mind, his heart, his soul became jaguar. And the cat didn’t allow human foolishness to color its thinking. It just was.
    Vaughn didn’t know how long he ran in that semishift state, but they were close to the car when his keen hearing picked up something very odd. He came to a complete stop. Faith clutched at him and he knew she was about to speak.
    “Shh.” He kept the sound extremely low.
    But she’d heard. The second he released his grip on her legs, she slid down with utter quietness, allowing him to ease her down using his strength. Once there, she remained motionless. He scanned the surrounding area with his animal senses and felt every one of his instincts flare in warning.
    Glancing over Faith’s head, he looked back the way they’d come. The perfect tree stood almost directly in his line of sight. He turned his back to her and she jumped on. Moving with the catlike silence that was second nature to him, he retraced his steps to the large sequoia and began to climb, using his claws to dig into the wood. Faith held on tight and didn’t say a word as he went ever higher. He was proud of her.
    When he spotted what he was looking for, he shifted position so she could get off and sit down in the hiding place formed by the intersection of several branches. Only then did she whisper, “What did you hear?”
    He made sure she’d be invisible from the ground. “Something that doesn’t belong.” Leaning in, he kissed her. His way. Hard, savage, and raw. “Don’t leave this tree until I or one of the pack return