Tangle of Need

Adria knew everyone would want a chance to attend the celebration, but the pack’s territory couldn’t be left undefended. “One-hour rotating shifts?” she suggested from her seat on a sofa beside dark-eyed Simran. “We have enough people even without the lieutenants.” Indigo, Riaz, Judd, and Riley would need to remain at the Pack Circle.

Kieran linked his hands behind his head and leaned back, balancing his chair precariously on two legs. “Works for me.” The smooth brown of his skin gleamed with health. “But anyone on the inner perimeter will have to do a two-hour block—have to allow travel time. Outer perimeter’s going to be a problem. It’s too far.”

“Cats have agreed to cover it.” Elias shook his head. “Don’t know when we stopped trying to skin them for their pelts and started to trust them.”

“Shame, I could’ve used a new rug,” some wit commented from the back.

Adria grinned. Like the others, her own wolf was still getting used to an alliance that had gone beyond blood and to the heart. For a pack like SnowDancer to trust its borders to anyone, much less a leopard pack strong enough to be a threat, spoke of ties so deep, nothing would fracture them.

The change hadn’t happened overnight. It had taken years … years while she’d been trapped in amber, driven by a painful hope that had died a slow, cruel death. But, she thought, never would she have to look back and wonder if she’d given up too soon. No, she’d tried. Until her heart broke.

“Back to the shifts,” Eli said, deep brown hair the shade of burnt toffee sliding across his forehead. “Anyone who takes the inner perimeter only has to do a single shift for the night, so if you want one of those, let me know.”

There were a few raised hands, mostly from those who wanted to have the early part of the evening off so they could attend the ceremony with their children. “And,” one of them pointed out, “it’s not like the party’s going to stop.”

A round of laughter followed, deepening when Drew quipped something in his usual sly way. Adria had been surprised to see him at the first meeting she’d attended, his place in the hierarchy was so mutable, but she supposed he was technically closest to the senior soldiers. Of course, Riley’s brother and Indigo’s mate had a way of being welcome anywhere he went—she’d spotted him with the mechanics the other day.

“Okay, now that that’s sorted,” Elias said, glancing once again at the board on which he’d scribbled his notes. “We need to talk about—”

“Hey, Eli,” Kieran interrupted, gray-green eyes wicked with mischief. “Is that one of those scratch-and-write boards they use at elementary school?”

“What?” Unfazed, Elias continued to write on the pink slate. “You just noticed?”

Adria laughed, wondering if Sakura had given the board to her father. From beside her, Simran said, “I think it’s great.”

“You’re a girl,” Kieran pointed out. “It’s pink. Manly men spit on pink.”

Roundly booed by the females in the room, Kieran threw out his arms. “Hey, hey, I like girls.” Pure charm. “A lot.”

“Quiet,” Elias said in his no-nonsense way, “or we’ll be here all day. Next thing we need to sort out are some new training modules. We now have a climber with Level 4 certification in the group, so she’ll be doing a lesson tomorrow for those of you who climb like bears after hibernation.”

It took Adria a second—and Elias’s amused look—to realize she’d been volunteered.





Chapter 13


“WORKS FOR ME.” Climbing had always been a huge joy for her—to the point that Martin had once joked she must’ve been a cat in a former life. It was in fact the one thing they’d enjoyed doing together almost to the end. As if in facing the challenge of a mountain or a sheer cliff face, they’d become partners once more rather than adversaries. “I can handle the lesson on my own,” she said, gently closing the lid on memories that had no place in her new life, “but I hear Drew’s a good climber, too.”

“Yes, he is. Which is why he’ll be running things with you.”

Drew saluted her from across the room. She couldn’t help but smile—how could she do anything but love the man who adored the woman who was, in every way that mattered, her sister. “Level?” she asked Elias.

“Beginner to intermediate. We can’t keep letting the cats show us up when it comes to climbing.”

Several “Hell yeahs” sounded from around the room.

Adria shook her head. “Don’t get any ideas about scrambling around in the trees like they do”—their bodies were just built differently—“but I can get you to a competent level if we do the lessons once a week for, say, two months.”

“Done.” Elias glanced around. “You know if you need the course—stick your name down so I can make sure you’re not on shift at the time.”

A lazy voice—Brody—drawled a question from the back. “I’d like to get in some advanced sniper training while things are quiet. Can you rope in Judd or Dorian?”