Psy & Changelings 06 - Branded by Fire

Mercy might’ve had for Dorian disappeared. “I’ll be by in, say, two hours? That okay?”
    “We’ll probably still be curled up in bed, watching cartoons.” Her eyes filled with affection. “My mate and son have discovered a mutual love of superheroes and breakfast in bed. They’re determined to convert me.”
    The image Ashaya had sketched—of a lazy family morning—was so appealing that Mercy was almost surprised. Almost. Because she’d realized long ago that family was an integral part of her dream. “Don’t get crumbs on the sheets.” As she hung up to the sound of Ashaya’s laughter, she realized that Sierra Tech, where Amara worked, was smack bang in the middle of SnowDancer territory.
    Riley’s territory.
    The leopard came to attention. So did the woman. And that fast, all sensible thought was buried under a crashing wave of anticipation.
     
     
    Riley finished going over his worklist for the day, and handed out the assignments by phone. Unfortunately, the routine task didn’t succeed in keeping his mind off Mercy—for the first time in months, he’d dreamed not of Brenna’s abduction, but of a redheaded cat who refused to come to him. It had left him sweaty, the sheets tangled around his limbs like so much plastic.
    Even in his dreams, she defied him.
    However, despite his jaw-clenching frustration, he was almost finished when Hawke came in and grabbed a seat. “What’s my assignment?” he asked after Riley hung up.
    It was a serious question. Riley’s job was to coordinate their resources. Hawke was the best they had. It would’ve been a waste not to use him—though Riley always had to have a backup in place in case Hawke got pulled away on alpha business. “I’ve got an assignment you’ll love.”
    Hawke blinked, the slow, lazy blink of a predator very much on alert. “If the name Sienna appears in that assignment, I’m going to shred you open, tie your intestines in a bow, and feed you to the feral wolves.”
    Riley smiled and kept going as if Hawke hadn’t spoken. “You need to take care of a certain juvenile Psy female you gave sanctuary to when her entire family defected from the PsyNet.”
    “I should’ve given orders to eat them all.”
    “Psy taste rubbery,” Riley said straight-faced. “I know. I tried to chew off Judd’s arm once while we were hunting.”
    “Stop laughing,” Hawke said, though Riley hadn’t made a sound. “Just tell me what she’s done now.”
    “Nothing.” Riley dropped the bombshell and waited as Hawke’s mouth fell open.
    His alpha took several seconds to recover. “Nothing?”
    “Nothing,” Riley repeated. “But you’ve been slacking off. You need to find her a position in the pack.”
    “She’s—”
    “No more excuses, Hawke.” Riley folded his arms. “She’s been eighteen for almost three months now, and she’s been in training with Indigo for what—ten months?” He brought up Sienna’s file on his handheld. “No, you stuck her in training over a year ago. She can protect herself well enough to do a number of tasks.”
    “She’s volatile.” Hawke’s jaw tightened.
    “She’s a telepath, a strong one.” Sienna was a cardinal—her abilities were off the scale.
    “She’s got abilities aside from telepathy. I’ve seen her lose control—she can do serious damage.” Hawke shoved a hand through his hair.
    “So can you,” Riley said pointedly. “She’s learning. Just because she—”
    “Don’t go there.” A growl.
    Riley raised an eyebrow. “I was going to say, just because she’s Psy doesn’t also mean she’s not an eighteen-year-old going stir-crazy.”
    “Fine.” Hawke was gritting his teeth. “I’ll handle it.”
    “Then I’ll leave it with you.” He’d made his point and Hawke was certainly not stupid. “I’m going to go up, check out the bear population in sector 2. There’ve been reports they’re getting sick.” If it was something serious, their vets would need to go up and investigate. Because whatever was affecting the bears could trickle down through the other animal groups in the area, decimating entire herds. And as the pack that claimed territorial rights over this area, SnowDancer was also its caretaker.
    More than that, Riley needed a chance to get out of the den before his frustration led him to strike out. The wolf was starting to claw at him, pacing this way and that, wanting blood if it couldn’t have sex.
     
     
    Mercy handed Amara the chip Ashaya had packed