Psy & Changelings 11 - Tangle of Need

feel unwelcome after the battle, it was true. There had been more than a few smiles thrown her way and the teasing they received as a newly mated couple was merciless, but—“Some people are scared of me,” she whispered.
    Hawke chuckled. “Baby,
most
people are scared of me.” He nuzzled a kiss into her neck. “It goes with the territory.”
    RIAZ ducked his head into Hawke’s office the morning after his confrontation with Adria, but found the alpha missing. “Riley,” he called out, running to catch up to the lieutenant. “You seen Hawke?”
    “He’s gone to join Felix’s team.” Riley glanced at the small datapad in his hand. “No set time for returning to the den—try him on his sat phone.”
    “No, I think I’ll run down and pitch in.” Hard, manual labor would be good for him. He was strung tight from the primal fury that had raged through his body in the midnight hours. And it wasn’t Lisette’s face that had haunted him. Not last night.
    “Felix says the ground is perfect for planting, as if it had been fertilized.” Riley’s eyes were intent. “He’s never seen anything like it. I guess none of us have.”
    No, nothing had ever come close to the deadly beauty of Sienna’s cold fire. “I know she’s young,” Riaz said, remembering not just the red-gold glow of that voracious flame but also the screams that had come before, the sickening crunches of bone as SnowDancer after SnowDancer fell, bloody and broken. “But anyone who can control that much power has my respect.”
    Riley’s response was unexpected. “Make sure you share that view with packmates when the opportunity rises.”
    “Trouble?” He hadn’t sensed anything, but he wasn’t as connected to the heartbeat of the den as Riley. Based here his entire life, the senior lieutenant was not only an anchor for his packmates, Hawke included, he was also a man trusted by everyone from hard-eyed soldiers and busy maternals, to rebellious juveniles, and elders.
    “No,”the other male now said. “But the battle was the first time most of the pack became aware of what Judd and Sienna can do. Right now, everyone’s high from the success, but once the adrenaline fades and they start to think about it—”
    “—people will begin to realize exactly how dangerous those two are.” Riaz nodded, seeing where Riley was headed. “We need to bolster that good feeling now, so even when the high wears off, everyone will continue to see them as strong packmates who’ll use their strength to protect the weak, not Psy they need to be wary of.” Wolves might be predators, but the majority weren’t dominants. SnowDancer’s most vulnerable members would be all but helpless against the kind of power wielded by Judd and Sienna, and, though most people didn’t realize the strength of his telepathy, Walker.
    “Yes.” Riley kept his voice low as they spoke. “I’m probably being overcautious, but”—a rueful smile—“that’s why they pay me the big bucks.”
    “No, you’re right. Better to subtly reassure everyone now, when they’re already predisposed to love the Laurens, rather than later, after fear’s crept into the fold.” He made a note to have some quiet, casual conversations with certain people. “You need me for anything today? If not, I’ll head down to join the planting team now.” He needed to do
something
physical—his skin felt stretched too tight, too thin over the raging need of his body.
    It had never been this bad. As a lone wolf, he was predisposed to periods of solitude that would drive his packmates crazy, and could last even longer without touch. He hadn’t been with anyone for roughly four months when he’d met Lisette six months ago and felt that stunning, indescribable kick to the gut that was the instinctive knowledge of his mate.
    Intellectually, he’d understood that while it wasn’t common, it could happen in such a way—that a wolf could turn around and just
know
a woman was meant to be his own, without ever having spoken to her, but nothing could’ve prepared him for the impact of that moment. Every cell in his body had sung at the nearness of Lisette’s presence, his senses utterly attuned to her, his body vibrating with the realization that it was
her
.More than a lover, more than a friend, a mate was meant to be a changeling wolf’s other half and he’d found his.
    The soul-savaging fact that she belonged to another … it might’ve stopped the mate bond coming into being,