CARESSED BY ICE

It wasn’t much, but it was another piece of data to feed into the continuously running psychic program in Judd’s head. “Did you manage to track down any other confirmed users?”


“Yeah,” she said. “But they know shit—this guy is smart, never showed them his face. Coward. If not for you, we’d be mourning Drew today. I’m going to enjoy ripping out the killer’s throat when we find him.” A grim smile later, she was gone.

Judd appreciated Indigo keeping him updated, but he wondered at her motives. Notwithstanding anything he’d done, he remained outside the SnowDancer hierarchy and the wolves trusted no one who wasn’t their own. But there wasn’t any room in his head for that unimportant issue right now.

Exiting the den, he made his way through the icy cold of the piercing winter’s day to the frozen edge of the waterfall. Hawke was already standing there, arms folded. At his feet sat two wolves. From their size and attitude, Judd could tell they weren’t changelings. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen the SnowDancer alpha surrounded by the wild wolves who roamed some of the same range as the changelings. He’d even heard it rumored that the creatures considered Hawke their alpha, too—something more likely to be true than not. Hawke was so close to his animal that at times, it wasn’t clear who or what was looking out of those pale eyes.

The wolves watched Judd approach, but didn’t make any aggressive sounds or movements. “You’re late,” Hawke said.

“I was delayed by a number of the pack.”

Hawke nodded. “After what you did for Drew, I think they want to throw a damn parade in your honor.”

“I hope you put a stop to that idea.”

“I don’t know—maybe it would finally put your niece into a good mood.”

So that was what this meeting was about. “What’s Sienna done now?”

His late sister’s seventeen-year-old was walking a very thin line. She’d been almost fully conditioned when they’d defected, which had left her in a difficult position, even more so because of the problems that came with age in relation to her abilities. But overshadowing that was the fact that she seemed to have made it her new purpose in life to annoy Hawke in as many and as varied ways as possible.

“She’s convinced some of the juveniles she can read their thoughts and that I’m paying her to do exactly that.” Hawke was scowling, but there was amusement in his eyes. “I’ve got confessions coming out my ears.”

“I’ll talk to her.” Walker had taken charge of the two younger kids—his daughter, Marlee, of course, and their nephew, Toby. It had been natural for Judd to do the same with Sienna—he could help her in ways Walker couldn’t. Of course, his niece didn’t think she needed an adult keeper.

Hawke waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll deal with her.”

In the first few months following their defection, Judd would’ve nixed that idea. But after having witnessed the way Hawke handled the wolf juveniles, he knew that while Sienna might get her hide stripped on the sharp edge of his tongue, she wouldn’t come to any real harm. “Then why did you ask to meet?”

“You.” A harsh response that made the wolves growl. “You’re a problem.”

“So much for the parade.” He paused. “Does the pack know the details of what I did?”

Hawke shook his head in an immediate negative. “They think you somehow deflected the bullet. We’ve been helping that rumor along.”

“Good.” That meant his newfound skill remained a tactical advantage. “Then what’s the problem?” If the alpha tried to separate him from Brenna, he’d have a fight on his hands. A bloody one.

“You’re causing havoc in the pack. What’s your fight count to date?”

“Do you want the exact number?” Judd had been facing off challengers since the day he walked into the den.

Hawke snorted. “I know the number. I also know you’ve won every single one of those fights.” He went down on his haunches to pet the wolves. They growled and butted their heads against his touch before loping off into the woods. Hawke stood back up. “Which leaves me with a powerful male in my pack who stands outside the pack structure.”

He recalled Indigo’s recent behavior as well as certain other acts. “Some of your people have already begun treating me as if I have status.”

“Yeah. They figure they’ll just wear you down.”

“Wear me down to what?”

“Joining the pack fully or getting the hell out.” A blunt choice. “I can’t have a strong lone wolf in my territory.”

“You want to give me an official rank.” Everyone in the pack had one. Status could be changed in one of two ways—through a physical fight or by the utilization of a complex system of skill sets and respect he didn’t completely understand. However, he’d been in SnowDancer long enough to guess at some of it—Lara’s status was apparently the same as Indigo’s, while the elderly librarian, Dalton, had Hawke’s ear anytime he cared to speak.