Psy & Changelings 11 - Tangle of Need

Senior Sentinel, mated to Tamsyn, father of Roman and Julian
    Nell SD Maternal dominant
    Nikita Duncan Psy Councilor, mother of Sascha
    Pierce SD Senior Soldier, based in Europe
    Riaz Delgado SD Lieutenant
    Riley Kincaid SD Lieutenant, mated to Mercy, brother of Drew and Brenna
    Sam Human member of SD, Soldier
    Sascha Duncan Psy member of DR, cardinal Empath (E), mated to Lucas, mother of Naya, daughter of Nikita
    Shawnelle (Shawnie) SD juvenile
    Shoshanna Scott Psy Councilor, wife of Henry
    Sienna Lauren Psy member of SD, mated to Hawke, sister of Toby, niece of Judd and Walker
    Tamsyn (Tammy) Ryder DR Healer, mated to Nathan, mother of Roman and Julian
    Tatiana Rika-Smythe Psy Councilor
    Tomás SD Lieutenant
    Vasic Arrow, Teleporter (Tk-V)
    Walker Lauren Psy member of SD, mated to Lara, father of Marlee, uncle of Sienna and Toby
    WindHaven Falcons Allied to SnowDancer and DarkRiver

Eclipse
    THE PSYNET IS a place of incomparable power and stark beauty, the millions of minds in the psychic network starbursts in the inky black. For the majority of Psy, it is their lifeline, as vital as air.
    To disconnect from the Net is to die.
    But as autumn whispers on the horizon in the year 2081, it is the Net itself that is dying. Stagnant rivers of rot snake ever deeper into the center, and it is a rot that twists and corrodes, damaging sense and reason to leave only unthinking menace behind.
    If the Psy do not find a solution to this cancerous growth, the rot could soon begin to seep into the minds of those uplinked to the Net.
    Or perhaps … it already has.

Chapter 1
    RIAZ CAUGHT A flash of midnight hair and a long-legged stride and called out, “Indigo!” However, he realized his mistake the instant he turned the corner. “Adria.”
    Eyes of deepest blue-violet met his, the frost in them threatening to give him hypothermia. “Indigo’s in her office.” The words were helpful, but the tone might as well have been a serrated blade.
    That did it. “Did I kill your dog?”
    Frown lines marred her smooth forehead. “Excuse me?”
    God, that
tone
. “It’s the only reason,” he said, holding on to his temper by a very thin thread, “I can think of to explain why you’re so damn pissy with me.” Adria had been pulled into den territory during the hostilities with Councilor Henry Scott and his Pure Psy army a month ago and had remained behind to take up a permanent position as a senior soldier. She’d fought with focused determination by Riaz’s side, followed his orders on the field without hesitation.
    However, off the field?
    Ice.
    Absolute.
    Unrelenting.
    Glacial enough to bite.
    Folding his arms when she didn’t reply, he stepped into her personal space, caught the subtle scent of crushed berries and frost. A strangely delicate scent for this hard-ass of a woman, he thought, before his wolf’s anger overrode all else. “You haven’t answered my question.” It came out a growl.
    Eyes steely, she stepped closer with a slow deliberation that was pure, calculated provocation. She was a tall woman, but he was taller. That didn’t seem to stop her from looking down her nose at him. “I didn’t realize,” she said in a voice so polite it drew blood, “that fawning over you was part of the job requirement.”
    “Now I know who Indigo learned her mean face from.” But where his fellow lieutenant’s heart beat warm and generous beneath that tough exterior, he wasn’t sure Adria had any emotions that registered above zero on the thermometer.
    Adria’s response was scalpel sharp. “I don’t know what she ever saw in you, but I suppose every woman has mistakes in her past.” The slightest change in her expression, the tiniest fracture, before it was sealed up again, her face an impenetrable mask.
    Scowling, Riaz was about to tell her exactly what he thought of her and her judgmental gaze when his cell phone rang. He answered without moving an inch away from the woman who was sandpaper across his temper, rubbing him raw with her mere presence. “Yeah?”
    “My office,” Hawke said. “Need you to head out, do a pickup.”
    “Be there in two.” Snapping the phone shut, he closed the remaining distance between him and Adria, forcing her to tip back her head. “We will,” he said, realizing those striking blue eyes with an edge of purple had streaks of gold running through them, beautiful and exotic, “continue this later.”
    That was when Adria’s cell phone rang. “Yes?” she answered, without