VISIONS OF HEAT

Which left out Sienna Lauren. The teenager was probably the cause of Hawke’s scowl. The alpha confirmed Vaughn’s guess a second later.

“Sienna’s so damn much trouble, I’m starting to think the brat’s a she-wolf in bloody disguise.”

“You’re too easy on her.” Indigo’s words didn’t go with the spark of amusement in her eyes.

Hawke let out a low growl. “You think it’s so funny, I’m putting you in charge of training her in self-defense. She fights like a housecat, all hiss and no bite.”

Indigo paled and that was one thing Vaughn had never expected to see. “How long?”

“As long as it takes.” Smile satisfied, Hawke returned his attention to Lucas and Vaughn. “We’ll keep an eye out for your people. Give Sascha darling a kiss from me.”

The wolf barely avoided having his throat torn out by Lucas’s claws.





Vaughn shadowed Lucas back to the site of the joint Psy-changeling housing development, close to where Hawke had called the meeting. His alpha, his friend, paused at the edge and took a slow breath. “It hurts Sascha to see Nikita. It damn near tears her up.”

“I know.” Vaughn understood exactly what it did to a child to watch her mother walk away.

“It’ll be better once there’s another Psy in DarkRiver. The Laurens are different. They’re locked into their own familial Net. Another mind in the Web is what she needs.”

Vaughn fisted his hands. “I can’t force Faith.”

“What about persuasion?” Putting his own hands into his pockets, Lucas rocked back on his heels.

“I’m not in enough control.” The blunt truth.

“Trust yourself. You can’t hurt her.”

“The cat’s getting desperate.” Desperate enough that Vaughn could feel claws constantly pressing against his flesh, a mere thought away. How the hell could he trust himself with Faith’s delicate skin?

“Then feed it,” Lucas finally said. “We aren’t Psy and Faith has to accept that before she makes any choice. Show her what you are.”

“I’ve hardly been gentle with her so far.”

“But you haven’t demanded what you need either. I can feel your tension and it’s already affecting the younger males in the pack.” Another blunt truth—as sensitive as they were to scents in either form, Vaughn’s unceasing sexual need was probably rubbing the juveniles raw. “Take her or find a cat to scratch the itch.”

He bristled. “Would you fuck around on Sascha?”

“Exactly.” Lucas shook his head. “You can’t live without her. Do you even want to try?”

Hell no! And that quickly, he knew what he had to do. “Can you deal without me for a day or two?” The cat had had enough. It was taking over.

Lucas’s attention shifted to the car gliding to a quiet halt on the other side of the site. “Good hunting. I’m going to go kiss my own woman.”

Vaughn melted back into the forest, his beast stirring in anticipation of the most important hunt of his life. He was through playing by Faith’s rules. The jaguar was loose and it was hungry. A roar came from his throat, rough and dangerous. Faith NightStar was about to come face-to-face with a predator determined to possess her.

No compromises. No mercy.





Faith completed the forecast for BlueZ Industries, Semtech, and Lillane Contracting, then turned off the trigger panel. “I’m going to walk the grounds.”

“Understood.”

Only when she was outside and hidden by several large trees did she take a deep breath and rub her hands down the front of her jeans. She’d put them on instead of her usual dress in response to an early morning vision.

A jaguar was coming for her.

The vision had been a warning: choose. But she’d already made her decision, already accepted his claim. After today she’d never again return to this house, her safe place, her familiar place. Though she’d failed in her quest to track down Marine’s killer—he hadn’t bitten at her open mind last night, or this morning—she had to leave the PsyNet. Vengeance would still be hers. She knew.

Returning to the house, she did three more predictions before lunch. “Are you sure you feel no stress?” Xi Yun asked after the third.

“I think I’ve pushed myself far enough today.” She’d need her strength to handle the predator heading in her direction.

“I can request a medical team attend you.”

“That’s not necessary. Given the increase in my raw psychic potential, I was trying to see how far my powers had come.”

“Yes, of course. You should’ve told me in advance. I’ll forward you the details of the scans. It appears your mind is regulating your body more efficiently during the forecasts. No stress lines at all.”

“Excellent.” An idea came to life. “I’ll probably sleep deeply after this morning’s exertion, so please ensure I’m not disturbed for at least twelve hours after I retire.”

“Noted.”