Psy & Changelings 10 - Kiss of Snow

Novice Soldier
     
    Sascha Duncan Psy member of DR, cardinal empath (E-Psy), mated to Lucas, daughter of Nikita
     
    Shoshanna Scott Psy Councilor, wife of Henry
     
    Sienna Lauren Psy member of SD, Novice Soldier, sister of Toby, niece of Judd and Walker
     
    Sophia Russo Former Justice Psy ( J), works for Nikita, married to Max
     
    Tai SD Novice Soldier
     
    Tamsyn (Tammy) Ryder DR Healer, mated to Nathan, mother of Roman and Julian
     
    Tarah Riviere SD, mother of Indigo and Evangeline
     
    Tatiana Rika-Smythe Psy Councilor
     
    Teijan Rat Alpha
     
    Toby Lauren Psy member of SD, brother of Sienna, nephew of Judd and Walker
     
    Tomás SD Lieutenant
     
    Vasic Arrow, Teleporter (Tk-V)
     
    Vaughn D’Angelo DR Sentinel, mated to Faith, jaguar changeling
     
    Walker Lauren Psy member of SD, father of Marlee, uncle of Sienna and Toby
     
    Xavier Perez Human priest
     
Yuki SD, lawyer, mated to Elias, mother of Sakura

X
     
    1979.
    The year the Psy race became Silent.
    Became cold, without emotion, without mercy.
    Hearts were broken, families torn apart.
    But far more were saved.
    From insanity.
    From murder.
    From viciousness such as unseen in the world today.
    For the X-Psy, Silence was a gift beyond price, a gift that allowed at least some of their number to survive childhood, have a life. Yet over a hundred years after the icy wave of the Silence Protocol washed away violence and despair, madness and love, X-Psy are, and remain, living weapons. Silence is their safety switch. Without it . . .
    There are some nightmares the world will never be ready to face.

Chapter 1
     
    HAWKE FOLDED HIS arms and leaned back against the solid bulk of his desk, eyes on the two young females in front of him. Hands clasped behind themselves and legs slightly spread in the “resting” stance, Sienna and Maria looked like the SnowDancer soldiers they were—except for the fact that their hair straggled in a wild mess around their faces, matted with mud, crushed leaves, and other forest debris. Then there was the torn clothing and the sharp, acrid scent of blood.
    His wolf bared its teeth.
    “Let me get this straight,” he said in a calm tone that had Maria turning pale under skin that was a warm, smooth brown where it wasn’t bruised and bloody. “Instead of staying on watch and protecting the pack’s defensive border, you two decided to have your own personal dominance battle.”
    Sienna, of course, met his gaze—something no wolf would’ve done in the circumstances. “It w—”
    “Be quiet,” he snapped. “If you open your mouth again without permission, I’m putting both of you in the pen with the two-year-olds.”
    Those amazing cardinal eyes—white stars on a background of vivid black—went a pure ebony, which he knew full well indicated fury, but she clenched her jaw. Maria, on the other hand, had gone even paler. Good.
    “Maria,” he said, focusing on the petite changeling whose size belied her skill and strength in both human and wolf form. “How old are you?”
    Maria swallowed. “Twenty.”
    “Not a juvenile.”
    Maria’s thick black curls, heavy with mud, bounced dully as she shook her head.
    “Then explain this to me.”
    “I can’t, sir.”
    “Right answer.” No reason they could offer up would be a good enough excuse for the bullshit fight. “Who threw the first punch?”
    Silence.
    His wolf approved. It mattered little who’d incited the exchange when neither had walked away from it, and the fact of the matter was, they’d been meant to work as a team, so they’d take their punishment as a team—with one caveat.
    “Seven days,” he said to Maria. “Confined to quarters except for one hour each day. No contact with anyone while you’re inside.” It was a harsh punishment—wolves were creatures of Pack, of family, and Maria was one of the most bubbly, social wolves in the den. To force her to spend all that time alone was an indication of just how badly she’d blundered. “The next time you decide to step off watch, I won’t be so lenient.”
    Maria chanced meeting his gaze for a fleeting second before those rich brown eyes skated away, her dominance no match for his. “May I attend Lake’s twenty-first?”
    “If that’s the use you want to make of your hour on the day.” Yeah, it made him a bastard to force her to miss most of her boyfriend’s big party, especially when the two were taking the first, careful steps into a relationship, but she’d known exactly what she