CARESSED BY ICE

“Yes.”


“I had rank once.” As an Arrow. One of the elite. “What I realized is that blind trust in any hierarchy is idiocy.” He’d been nineteen when he’d understood how ruthlessly he’d been betrayed and used.

“We’re not Psy.” Hawke scowled. “Do you see Indigo or Riley bowing and scraping to me?”

That was also true—the predatory changelings held their leaders to tough standards. He’d seen a grim example of that in Parrish’s execution. Not one of the hyena pack had asked for mercy for their leader. The ritual death had, in fact, been administered by the incoming alpha. Bloody justice but justice nonetheless.

It was a system of checks and balances that had been denied to the Psy populace for over a century. “Even if you make me a soldier, I’m unlikely to obey your every order.”

“If I’d wanted mute obedience, I’d have found a pack of sheep.” Hawke’s response was almost a snarl. “You in or not?”

He would never walk away from Brenna. Or from his loyalty to his family. “Yes.” He was prepared to accept a lower rank than he had held in the PsyNet, though it chafed. Pride. An emotional weakness, but he’d never claimed to be perfect. It was his race’s goal of icy perfection that had stolen their humanity.

Hawke grinned. “You should’ve asked what rank you’d be assigned before you accepted. Too late now.”

“I assumed low-to midlevel soldier.” And Psy did not make baseless assumptions.

“I go through this whole song and dance telling you you’re too fucking strong to be left to roam and you think I’m going to give you a rank that’ll confuse the hell out of the pack?” Walking forward, the alpha slashed out with his claws, the move so fast that Judd didn’t have time to react. It would’ve been logical to blast out with Tk power, but his martially trained mind processed Hawke’s body language and came to the conclusion that he wasn’t under attack. Reaching up, he felt four thin lines on his neck. Surface cuts but enough to color his fingers.

Hawke slashed his own palm and let it drip to the snow. Acting on instinct, Judd spread his bloody hand and caught a drop of Hawke’s blood. It burned hot, as if it carried fire. Something snapped tight inside of him, but when he looked into the psychic plane of the LaurenNet, he found no new connection.

The burning sensation lingered even after he dropped his hand. “What was that?”

“The completion of a blood bond.” Hawke closed his hand into a fist, stemming the flow of blood. “You’re now a SnowDancer lieutenant.”

Judd looked down at the snow stained pink and then back to those pale eyes. “You despise the Psy.” He didn’t know the reason for that hatred, but he knew it existed.

“To hate you all without reason would make me a bigot.” Hawke’s mouth twisted. “And I prefer not to think of myself that way.” There was something deeper in the alpha’s voice, layers of emotion Judd couldn’t read.

“Is it Sascha?” Hawke had a distinct liking for Lucas’s mate.

A smile wiped the grim expression off his face. “She did kind of throw my opinions about Psy sideways, but—” He shook his head, as if halting himself before he said too much. “I trust those who’ve proven their loyalty. You’ve done that over and over—being warm and cuddly isn’t a requirement. Welcome to the pack.”

Judd went down to clean off the blood with snow, somehow knowing the result could not be so easily wiped out. Hawke was doing the same. The wolf’s cut had already clotted. While Judd’s healing was a result of his Tk-Cell abilities, Hawke’s was thanks to changeling strength. Alpha changeling strength.

“So,” Judd said, “what do lieutenants do?”

“A hell of a lot of work.” Hawke’s grin was a touch evil.

“Guess the holiday’s over.” The dissonance spiked in tune with his sense of belonging, his pride, and his thoughts of a woman with eyes of shattered blue.





Brenna gasped the second she opened the tech chamber door. “Hawke blooded you!” Giving an excited shriek, she jumped into his arms, legs wrapping around his waist.

He caught her reflexively. “Careful. My abilities have regenerated.”

“I thought—” She shrugged. “I thought the time apart might have helped dampen the feelings from last night.”

“You’re right.” He saw no need to mention that the dissonance was no longer strengthening at a steady pace—it was getting exponentially worse. At no time during the day had it halted altogether. Nonessential parts of his brain were already compromised.

She rubbed her nose against his in playful affection. “So you’re a lieutenant now.”

“Does that make a difference to you?” He was genuinely curious.

“Baby, I knew you were bossy the first day I saw you. This just confirms it.” She nipped at his lower lip. “The only difference is that I’m happy for you. You and I were always going to be.”