Nalini Singh - Tangle of Need

In alphabetical order by first name

Key: SD = SnowDancer Wolves DR = DarkRiver Leopards

AdenArrow, Telepath (Tp)

Adria MorganSD Senior Soldier

AlexeiSD Lieutenant

Alice EldridgeHuman scientist, in coma after a century in cryonic suspension

Amara AleinePsy member of DR, former Council scientist, twin of Ashaya, mentally unstable

Anthony KyriakusPsy Councilor, father of Faith

Ashaya AleinePsy member of DR, former Council scientist, mated to Dorian, twin of Amara

AvaSD, maternal female, mother of Ben

BastienDR, brother of Mercy

BowenSecurity Chief, Human Alliance

Brenna KincaidSD, tech, mated to Judd, sister of Andrew and Riley

CooperSD Lieutenant, mated to Grace

Council (or Psy Council)The ruling Council of the Psy race

DaltonSD Librarian

Drew Kincaid(full name: Andrew) SD Soldier, mated to Indigo, brother of Riley and Brenna

EliasSD Senior Soldier, mated to Yuki, father of Sakura

Evangeline (Evie) RiviereSD, sister of Indigo, daughter of Tarah and Abel

Faith NightStarPsy member of DR, gift of Foresight (F), mated to Vaughn, daughter of Anthony

FelixSD, horticultural expert, submissive

GarrickFormer alpha of SnowDancer, killed when the Psy psychically broke and programmed several of SnowDancer’s dominants to attack their own pack

GhostPsy rebel

HawkeSD Alpha, mated to Sienna

Henry ScottPsy Councilor (presumed dead), leader of Pure Psy, husband of Shoshanna

Indigo RiviereSD Lieutenant, mated to Drew, sister of Evangeline

Jem (real name: Garnet)SD Lieutenant

Judd LaurenPsy member of SD, Lieutenant, mated to Brenna, uncle of Sienna, Toby, and Marlee

Kaleb KrychekPsy Councilor

KenjiSD Lieutenant

KieranHuman member of SD, Senior Soldier

KitDR Novice Soldier

LaraSD Healer, mated to Walker Lauren

Lucas HunterDR Alpha, mated to Sascha, father of Naya

LucySD, nurse, assistant to Lara

MariaSD Novice Soldier

MatthiasSD Lieutenant

Max ShannonHuman, Security chief for Nikita Duncan

Mercy SmithDR Sentinel, mated to Riley

Ming LeBonPsy Councilor

Nathan (Nate) RyderDR Senior Sentinel, mated to Tamsyn, father of Roman and Julian

NellSD Maternal dominant

Nikita DuncanPsy Councilor, mother of Sascha

PierceSD Senior Soldier, based in Europe

Riaz DelgadoSD Lieutenant

Riley KincaidSD Lieutenant, mated to Mercy, brother of Drew and Brenna

SamHuman member of SD, Soldier

Sascha DuncanPsy member of DR, cardinal Empath (E), mated to Lucas, mother of Naya, daughter of Nikita

Shawnelle (Shawnie)SD juvenile

Shoshanna ScottPsy Councilor, wife of Henry

Sienna LaurenPsy member of SD, mated to Hawke, sister of Toby, niece of Judd and Walker

Tamsyn (Tammy) RyderDR Healer, mated to Nathan, mother of Roman and Julian

Tatiana Rika-SmythePsy Councilor

TomásSD Lieutenant

VasicArrow, Teleporter (Tk-V)

Walker LaurenPsy member of SD, mated to Lara, father of Marlee, uncle of Sienna and Toby

WindHaven FalconsAllied to SnowDancer and DarkRiver

THE PSYNET ISa place of incomparable power and stark beauty, the millions of minds in the psychic network starbursts in the inky black. For the majority of Psy, it is their lifeline, as vital as air.

To disconnect from the Net is to die.

But as autumn whispers on the horizon in the year 2081, it is the Net itself that is dying. Stagnant rivers of rot snake ever deeper into the center, and it is a rot that twists and corrodes, damaging sense and reason to leave only unthinking menace behind.

If the Psy do not find a solution to this cancerous growth, the rot could soon begin to seep into the minds of those uplinked to the Net.

Or perhaps … it already has.

RIAZ CAUGHT Aflash of midnight hair and a long-legged stride and called out, “Indigo!” However, he realized his mistake the instant he turned the corner. “Adria.”

Eyes of deepest blue-violet met his, the frost in them threatening to give him hypothermia. “Indigo’s in her office.” The words were helpful, but the tone might as well have been a serrated blade.

That did it. “Did I kill your dog?”

Frown lines marred her smooth forehead. “Excuse me?”

God, that tone . “It’s the only reason,” he said, holding on to his temper by a very thin thread, “I can think of to explain why you’re so damn pissy with me.” Adria had been pulled into den territory during the hostilities with Councilor Henry Scott and his Pure Psy army a month ago and had remained behind to take up a permanent position as a senior soldier. She’d fought with focused determination by Riaz’s side, followed his orders on the field without hesitation.

However, off the field?

Ice.

Absolute.

Unrelenting.

Glacial enough to bite.

Folding his arms when she didn’t reply, he stepped into her personal space, caught the subtle scent of crushed berries and frost. A strangely delicate scent for this hard-ass of a woman, he thought, before his wolf’s anger overrode all else. “You haven’t answered my question.” It came out a growl.

Eyes steely, she stepped closer with a slow deliberation that was pure, calculated provocation. She was a tall woman, but he was taller. That didn’t seem to stop her from looking down her nose at him. “I didn’t realize,” she said in a voice so polite it drew blood, “that fawning over you was part of the job requirement.”

“Now I know who Indigo learned her mean face from.” But where his fellow lieutenant’s heart beat warm and generous beneath that tough exterior, he wasn’t sure Adria had any emotions that registered above zero on the thermometer.

Adria’s response was scalpel sharp. “I don’t know what she ever saw in you, but I suppose every woman has mistakes in her past.” The slightest change in her expression, the tiniest fracture, before it was sealed up again, her face an impenetrable mask.

Scowling, Riaz was about to tell her exactly what he thought of her and her judgmental gaze when his cell phone rang. He answered without moving an inch away from the woman who was sandpaper across his temper, rubbing him raw with her mere presence. “Yeah?”

“My office,” Hawke said. “Need you to head out, do a pickup.”

“Be there in two.” Snapping the phone shut, he closed the remaining distance between him and Adria, forcing her to tip back her head. “We will,” he said, realizing those striking blue eyes with an edge of purple had streaks of gold running through them, beautiful and exotic, “continue this later.”