Her wolf growled, unhappy at the idea of bending for any man.
But was it really submitting, Indigo dared ask for the first time, if the man was bending toward you in return?
Having been wide
awake since around three a.m., Hawke finished reading the latest draft of the proposed new building/land agreement in which SnowDancer was to be a silent partner and was about to push away from the desk when his phone beeped. Seeing the caller ID, he reined in his impatience. “Lucas, what is it?”
“We got hit with the Pure Psy e-mail last night,” the DarkRiver alpha said, “and a couple of our juveniles came to me with stories of being approached in online chat rooms.”
Hawke’s wolf peeled back its lips at the boldness of the group. “Juveniles okay?”
“Just insulted,” Lucas said, a thread of pride in his tone. “I’ve got Dorian watching the chat rooms in case they try again. We might be able to get something out of it. I’ll keep you updated.”
Hanging up after a few more words, Hawke fired off a quick note to Drew with the new information, then strode to the door. He enjoyed being inside less than even most changelings, but this work was as important to the health of the pack as his more physical protection. So—his lieutenants by his side—he’d learned to do it well.
But, having cleared his desk, and with Indigo more than capable of holding the fort—and Riaz in charge of the security/search patrols in the mountains today—he surrendered to the wild hunger within and headed out for a run in wolf form. Several early risers among his pack saw him but none broke into his solitude. They all understood that, sometimes, a wolf needed to roam on its own.
However, he’d barely cleared the doorway when he caught a scent that instantly ruffled his fur the wrong way. She smelled like autumn fire and some rich, exotic spice. Far too potent a scent for someone so young, someone from whom he should keep his distance. Instead, he drew the spice-laced air into his lungs and ran at a ground-devouring lope that brought him to a small rise from where he could watch his prey.
Wearing a small pack and carrying what looked like a sleek holographic camera, she walked down the track that would eventually bring her to one of the midway areas in den territory, where he knew she’d parked the car she’d signed out of the garage for her trips to and from DarkRiver land. But it would still take her a couple of hours to reach that spot at her current pace.
When she stopped and raised her face to the dewy morning sunlight, releasing her breath in a long, slow exhale, he went motionless. Her unhidden joy at being in the stark, stunning beauty of the Sierra Nevada sang to him, and it was a dangerous pull. He should step back, should move in the opposite direction.
He should.
He turned and angled down through the trees until he appeared on the path beside her instead. Jerking back in surprise, Sienna stared at him with wide eyes. When he did nothing but wait for her, she continued on the trail, shooting him small looks filled with suspicion until it became clear he was intent only on keeping her company.
Then her stride relaxed, and they walked.
In silence.
It had been
over a week since the day Andrew had ambushed Indigo in her bath, and he was feeling cautiously optimistic. The lieutenant wore his scent in her skin and, from what he could tell, wasn’t worried about it. Aware how long it had taken his brother to gain the same concession from Mercy, Andrew allowed himself a little swagger—because that acceptance meant Indy’s wolf was starting to get over its uncertainty when it came to him.
Of course, part of it likely had to do with the fact that the lieutenant was turning out to be as possessive as any male changeling. He wore her scent in his skin, too—along with more than a few marks. And he was very, very happy—no,
delighted
—with the whole state of affairs, he thought, grinning as he touched the love bite on his neck.
Their packmates, of course, found the whole situation highly entertaining, a welcome break from the constant vigilance of the security patrols in the mountains. The techs had found only three more transmitters after the main sweep, and it was looking like they might have unearthed most if not all of them, but SnowDancer wasn’t about to lower its guard when the Council had dared invade the very heart of the pack’s territory.
Of course, that didn’t mean wolves stopped being wolves.
Andrew dealt with the ribbing with a grin and a shrug, while Indigo scowled. Neither response had any effect on the gossip—or the good-natured advice Andrew began receiving from the women in the pack.
“Give her her space,” a dominant female advised him, “but not too much.”
“Whatever you do, for God’s sake don’t treat her like a girl. She’s a woman.”
“Andrew, I love you, but you’re the most sneaky, cunning wolf I’ve ever known—use it.”
After several days of this, Andrew cornered one of the ladies. “Not that I’m not grateful,” he said, “but why are you all being so helpful?”
That got him a chuckle, the touch of warm, capable hands on his face, and a smacking kiss. “Silly boy. She’s ours and we love her—and we’ve all worried at how hard she rides herself on behalf of the pack. You make her happy.”
The simple words were a revelation.
So he was ready to handle the next stage in their courtship when Indigo invited him to an official family event.
“Dinner with my parents at their place,” she said casually, as if it wasn’t a major deal. “Evie isn’t back yet, but my aunt, Adria, and her lover, Martin, will also be there. They’re flying in from near the Oregon border.”
Having a vague memory of Tarah’s sibling being much younger, he asked, “Are you close to Adria?”
“Yes.” A smile. “She’s nearer to my age than my mother’s.”
Instinct whispered that there was more at play here than a simple familial relationship, but he kept his silence. It would be far easier to get Indy to talk once he’d met her aunt, gained an idea of what it was that had caused Indigo’s wolf to … almost shy away at the mention of her name.
As it was, he found himself surprised by the reality of Adria. The physical resemblance between the three women was startling; standing side by side, Tarah, Indigo, and Adria were almost mirror images of each other at different stages of life. But where Tarah was submissive, Adria was dominant. Where Tarah kissed him on the cheek in maternal affection, Adria gave him a narrow-eyed, assessing glare. And where he knew Tarah relied with open contentment on her mate, there was a real push-pull vibe going on between Adria and her lover, Martin.
Indigo, he realized at once, was far more like her aunt than her mother.
“So,” Adria said after they shook hands, “you’re the one.”
He liked her—but then, he had a thing for cool-eyed, stubborn women. “I am.”
Lines formed on her forehead, her eyebrows drawing together. “You’re not what I expected.”
He knew that wasn’t a compliment. “I have a way of surprising people.”
“Hmm.” The wolf prowled behind eyes a shade lighter than Indigo’s. “I’ve seen you in our sector, but we haven’t spoken. Tell me about yourself.”
As he obeyed the brusque order, his wolf more amused by her bristling protectiveness than anything else, he noticed something. Martin, while standing beside Adria, didn’t join in the conversation. That, on its own, meant nothing—Riley had a way of standing silent as a sphinx beside Mercy. There was, however, never any doubt in people’s minds that Riley was a hundred percent tuned in, not only to the conversation but to every tiny aspect of his mate’s presence.
Something was disturbingly different here.
The stiffness of Adria’s spine when her lover’s shoulder brushed her own, the white lines around Martin’s mouth, the way neither of them made eye contact with the other—the two were pissed at one another. Andrew took that in his stride. Being with a strong woman occasionally meant some fireworks. He couldn’t imagine Indigo without her sass.
His wolf growling in agreement, he continued to talk with Adria until Tarah came over to catch up with her sister. Moving to where Indigo was standing against the wall finishing off an apple, he tugged on her ponytail. “What’s with abandoning me to your aunt the inquisitor?”
She bumped her hip to his. “Don’t say your smile didn’t work?”
“Smart-ass.” Reaching behind her, he patted that ass.
“Watch it.”
“I intend to—later tonight.”
Indigo threw him a quelling glance, but he caught the laughter behind it. “What did you think of my aunt?”
“She’s like an older version of you,” he said with complete honesty. “She’s got her ‘death stare’ honed to perfection.”
Holding her apple core in one hand, Indigo put her other one on his shoulder. “Give me a few years.”
Deeply content at the thought of watching her grow further into her skin, he stood beside her as the others spoke. It took him a little while to realize that in spite of his skill at reading the undercurrents in any given situation, he’d missed something here. Martin and Adria weren’t pissed at each other—only one of them was angry.
Adria put her hand on Martin’s arm … only to have it shaken off. Adria’s face betrayed a stark heart pain in the terrible moment before she brought up her shields, cool and controlled once more.
Fighting the urge to punch Martin for putting that expression on the face of such a strong woman, Andrew thought back to the other little things he’d noticed, the way Martin had almost pointedly walked into the room first, saying, “Strongest should bring up the rear, right?”
At the time, Andrew had taken it as a joke between lovers, but now … “Who’s more dominant?” he asked, feeling a chill whisper through his veins. “It’s Adria, isn’t it?”
CHAPTER 30
Indigo’s body went
motionless beside him. “You know it is.”
Andrew realized at once that he’d have to fight one hell of a battle to wipe the impression this toxic relationship had to have left on Indigo, but there was no time to follow up on the topic, because Abel walked in then, having been delayed at work—as training and resource coordinator for SnowDancer soldiers across the entire state.
First Abel kissed his mate. Then he tapped his cheek so his daughter could brace herself with one hand on his shoulder and kiss him. After that, he hugged Adria and shook Martin’s hand. Then he walked over … and Andrew found himself being taken outside for a “little chat.”
“I’ll be blunt,” Abel said as they stood in the crisp night air, drinks in hand, “Indigo’s a grown woman who knows what she wants. She’ll choose who she’ll choose.”
Since Abel paused for a response, Andrew said, “Yes, sir.” Where his wolf had handled Adria fine, it was wary of Abel. It wasn’t a question of dominance, as Andrew outranked him, but of family.
Abel took a sip of his whiskey. “I’ve been asking about you.”
Andrew waited.
“Women like you.” A gleam in those deep gray eyes he’d bequeathed his younger daughter.
“You don’t need to worry about my loyalty,” Andrew said, wanting no mistakes or misunderstandings on that point. “Indigo’s the only woman I want.”
“I know that,” Abel said to his surprise. “When we first met, I looked at Tarah the way you look at Indigo.” A chuckle. “Still do, as a matter of fact.”
Andrew relaxed.
Too soon.
“Just so you know,” Abel said in that same warm tone, “you hurt her and I’ll break every bone in your body. Twice.”
Having survived both
Abel and dinner, Andrew walked into the kitchen and went to stand at Tarah’s shoulder while she cut the dessert cake into slices. “Tarah?”
Instead of answering, Tarah picked up a sliver of cake and turned to feed it to him. “So?”
He chewed, savored the burst of brandy and chocolate, swallowed. “Will you marry me?”
That got him a twinkling smile. “What is it you want to know, sweetheart?”
Utterly melted by her, he didn’t bother to pretend he hadn’t followed her in here with an ulterior motive. “Your sister is much younger than you.”
“Our parents were very happily surprised when I was almost twenty.”
Drew took a moment to think about that. Changelings were less fertile than humans or Psy, so while this kind of thing did happen, it was rare. “It must have been some celebration.”
Having placed the cake on the tray, Tarah motioned for him to lift down the cups and saucers from an upper cupboard. “Oh, it was,” she said as he obeyed. “Everyone thought I’d be jealous, but I thought she was the cutest, most adorable thing I’d ever seen.” A laugh husky with memory. “I used to steal her from my mother all the time and show her off like she was my own.”
He chuckled, thinking back to how Riley had treated him and Brenna when they’d been younger. “Adria can’t be much older than Indigo.”
“I found my mate early”—a dazzling echo of memory—“and we had our beautiful Indigo soon afterward. Adria was only four at the time, so they grew up more as sisters than anything else.”
Encouraged by her openness, he asked a question on a subject many would have said was none of his business. “How long has Adria been with Martin?”
“Ten years, on and off.” Having arranged everything on the tray, Tarah went to pick it up.
He slid his hands past hers. “I’ll get that.”
Looking up, she stopped him with a hand on his upper arm. “You were a wonderful boy, Andrew. I’m so glad to know the man you’ve become.”
Feeling the love in that touch, in those words, he asked the final, most important question. “How long has it been like that between them?”
“Since the start.” Pain pinched her expression. “They love each other, but Martin’s never quite been able to handle Adria’s strength … and it breaks her heart each time he makes that clear.”
As Andrew lay
naked in bed and watched Indigo get ready to join him, he thought over the implications of what he’d learned tonight. He didn’t have to be a shrink to see that Indigo’s views on relationships had to have been shaped by the two closest to her.
Her parents’ mating, while unsuitable to her own situation, fit the accepted parameters and was very, very successful. Adria, by contrast, had broken the mold, thrown in her lot with a less dominant man—and the results weren’t exactly inspiring.