Tangle of Need

She jerked up her head the instant he came into view, her face ravaged by tears. “Go!”


Wanting to hunt down whatever had so devastated her, but aware it wasn’t a physical foe he could defeat, he went down on his haunches and took her into his arms. She began to struggle, all sharp elbows and tightly fisted hands. “Let me help, damn you.” It wasn’t the smoothest or most charming of things to say, but it came from the gut and the heart, his voice rough with the wolf’s frustration at being unable to do anything.

Another heartrending sob, and then she was melted wax in his arms, as if she couldn’t deal with the agonizing depth of her pain and hold him off at the same time. Cuddling her as close as he could, his knees spread to tuck her in between, he cupped the back of her head with one hand, wrapped an arm around her waist … and simply held her as she cried.

He’d seen strong women cry before, but never like this. Until it felt as if she were being torn apart from the inside out. Hand clenched in her hair, tangling in her braid, he pressed his cheek to the inky black and let her fingernails dig into his back as she wrapped her arms around him in a fierce embrace.

A minute, a lifetime, later, those hands turned into fists again and she punched at him. The blows had no impact because of her position, but the agony in them was excruciating. His wolf raged at its helplessness, but even then, it pressed against Riaz’s skin, wanting to soothe, to reassure. But all they could do was hold her, the scent of crushed berries in ice drowning in salt.

The wind was quiet, the sun lower in the sky when she went silent, lying against him in a way that said all the fight had been taken out of her. He’d known her a fragment of time, but he hated seeing her so defeated. Adria was pride and spirit and strength. Not a woman who gave up. “Did you lose someone?” Death was the only thing he could think of to explain the depth of her despair.

“It’s been long dead.” Rasped out words. “I just wasn’t ready to mourn until now.”

He rubbed his cheek against her hair, one wolf attempting to comfort another. “Do you feel better?”

“I feel like I got run over.” And that quickly, she was Adria again.

Shoving away and to her feet, she walked to the pool at the bottom of a tiny waterfall he could just make out, cupping her hands in the cold water and using it to splash her face. At any other time, with any other woman, he would’ve waited, but he could tell from the stiff curve of her spine that she hated the fact he’d seen her like this, so he turned and walked away.

His wolf snarled but didn’t resist. Because it, too, understood that Adria was no helpless maiden in distress. Riaz had seen her fight beside him with unwavering courage, witnessed her steely-eyed determination as she crawled into the line of fire to drag an injured packmate out of the danger zone, trusted her to watch his back when the enemy threatened to surround them.

A woman like that would not want any man—much less one with whom she had only the most fragile of cease-fires—to see her defenseless and fractured by grief. He wondered if this would create another barrier between them, as she sought to distance herself from the memory. The idea pricked at his insides, a sharp, unexpected discomfort.





ALICE



FROM: Sascha<[email protected]>

TO: Lara<[email protected]>

CC: Tammy<[email protected]>;

Ashaya<[email protected]>;

Amara<[email protected]>

DATE: Sep 3, 2081 at 11.14 a.m.

SUBJECT: Patient A

Lara—I spoke to Tammy and Ashaya, got the latest update on our patient. Though my last attempt didn’t work, I’ve been going through my book (yes, again), and reading between the lines, it seems I have a distinct empathic skill that may help our patient.

I can’t prove it, as there’s no way to test the theory except on someone in her condition, but if you don’t think it’ll interfere with anything else we’re attempting, I’d like to try it.


FROM: Ashaya<[email protected]>

TO: Sascha<[email protected]>

CC: Tammy<[email protected]>;

Lara<[email protected]>;

Amara<[email protected]>

DATE: Sep 3, 2081 at 11.17 a.m.

SUBJECT: re: Patient A

As you all know, earlier today, Lara injected Patient A with a chemical agent Amara and I suggested. It may lead to a rise in the patient’s level of consciousness. I think it’s reasonable to assume that will only make her more receptive to Sascha’s empathy. I can’t see any harm in it, in any case. Amara agrees.

FROM: Lara<[email protected]>

TO: Sascha<[email protected]>

CC: Tammy<[email protected]>;

Ashaya<[email protected]>;

Amara<[email protected]>

DATE: Sep 3, 2081 at 11.58 a.m.

SUBJECT: re: re: Patient A