Wolf Rain (Psy-Changeling Trinity #3)(87)

Sascha’s breath caught, her free hand fisting on the table. “He deserves better than this, deserves a chance to—” She broke off, staring down at the table.

Unable to see her friend in such pain, Memory jerked from her seat to go around and hug Sascha from behind, wrapping her arms around the empath’s neck. She was so used to thinking of Sascha as she was now—mated to an alpha leopard, mother to a panther cub, confident in her skin—that she forgot Sascha had been the first E to break the cruel chains of Silence.

Her cardinal light had been buried for more than two decades.

“We’ll be foolishly hopeful together,” Memory whispered, pressing her cheek to Sascha’s temple. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

A wet laugh as Sascha placed her hand on Memory’s forearm. “Deal.”



* * *



? ? ?

LATER, while Memory got out the ingredients for hot chocolates, Sascha called her mate at the pack’s city HQ. “My cub’s there, too,” she said to Memory as she input Lucas Hunter’s call code. “Daycare’s attached to the HQ, with full access from one section to the other.”

The call connected. “Kitten,” said a deep male voice.

Sascha had asked to use the wall comm, but when Memory went to step out so the two could talk alone, Sascha waved her over instead and introduced her to Lucas. Green-eyed and black-haired, with muted gold skin, he had the same deadly intensity to him as Alexei’s alpha. The four jagged lines that marked the right side of his face, akin to the claw marks of a large cat, just added to the sense of contained power.

“Hello, Memory,” he drawled with a slow smile. “I hear you enjoy hurling insults at wolves.”

“It was one time,” Memory protested, remembering too late that she’d also once called Alexei a plain old chicken. “Anyway, he deserved it!”

Lucas’s grin deepened. “Wolves always deserve it. I’m going to use ‘big, wolfy chicken’ the next time Hawke annoys me.”

Memory found her mouth tugging up at the corners; she had zero doubts that Lucas Hunter was a deadly predator, but he was also charming in a very feline way. She could see why Sascha had fallen for him—but she felt no attraction herself. She liked her man to be a growly grouch who courted her with delicious food and used his teeth on her lips.

“I’m going to finish making the hot chocolate so you two can talk,” she said. “Oh, and you can insult any wolf but Alexei. He’s mine.”

A sigh. “And another sane woman falls for a flea-bitten dog on steroids.”

“Pay no attention to him.” Hands on her hips, Sascha scowled at her mate. “He and Hawke are friends.”

“Sascha darling, we need to talk about that terrible lie you keep spreading.”

Memory’s shoulders shook as she boiled milk for the hot chocolates. It looked like Lucas could growl, too, when he wanted to, but Sascha was more than capable of tangling with her alpha mate. Though the two weren’t talking about anything intimate, Memory felt a slight intruder . . . but she stayed. It was nice to be around such open affection.

She wondered if this was what it was like in a wolf den. Love worn openly, lives shared with packmates, care expected and given. Her stomach got all warm at the thought. Being so entwined in the daily lives of people who were her own, it was her vision of heaven.

“Naya snuck out of daycare again,” Lucas said a few minutes into the conversation, his tone amused. “She likes to hide under Mercy’s desk. Mercy always kicks off her shoes when in the office—prime biting material.”

“Oh, Lucas, you shouldn’t encourage her.” Sascha’s voice held affectionate laughter.

“It’s Mercy you need to talk to—every time Naya launches a successful stealth attack on her toes, Mercy pets her and calls her a strong hunter.” Pride prowled below the humor. “At which point, Naya runs in here to tell me of her successful mission.”

“I want to snuggle her face so much right now,” Sascha murmured.

“Tell me what’s wrong, kitten.” A voice that sounded like a purr.

Memory did step out then, to give the couple privacy. She was hoping to see Alexei, but couldn’t spot him. Returning inside after Sascha ended her call not long afterward, she took the hot chocolates to the table and the two of them settled into their chairs.

“I’d like for Judd to take a look at your mind,” Sascha began. “I want him to see if he can spot any back doors I might’ve missed. He’s an expert in a way I’ll never be. But, Memory, the decision is yours.”

Memory’s stomach churned at the idea of a stranger inside her mind, but any surviving back door was a major threat. Renault had been too panicked to exploit any holes in her defenses on their most recent encounter—he might be calmer and luckier next time. “Yes,” she said to Sascha. “I want to make sure my mind is airtight.”

“I’ll call, see if Judd is nearby.”

Only five minutes later, Alexei walked through the door ahead of a dark-eyed and dark-haired man who moved with a fluid grace that shouted “telekinetic.” Memory’s stomach muscles clenched.

“Forgot to give you these earlier.” Alexei tugged on one of her curls as he dropped a bunch of granola bars in front of her. “I got a smack on the hand from the cook for snagging more than my fair share.” A scowl. “You better eat them or I won’t steal you more.”