Nalini Singh: Kiss of Snow

For you, my readers

In alphabetical order by first name

Key: SD = SnowDancer wolves DR = DarkRiver leopards

Aden Arrow, Telepath (Tp)

Alexei SD Lieutenant

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

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

Anthony Kyriakus Psy Councilor, father of Faith

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

Ava SD, mother of Ben, friend of Lara

Barker DR Soldier

Ben SD pup, son of Ava

Brenna Kincaid SD, tech, mated to Judd, sister of Andrew and Riley

Clay Bennett DR Sentinel, mated to Talin

Cooper SD Lieutenant

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

Elias SD Senior Soldier, mated to Yuki, father of Sakura

Evangeline (Evie) Riviere SD, sister of Indigo

Faith NightStar Psy member of DR, cardinal foreseer (F-Psy), mated to Vaughn, daughter of Anthony

Ghost Psy rebel

Hawke SD Alpha

Henry Scott Psy Councilor, husband of Shoshanna

Indigo Riviere SD Lieutenant, mated to Andrew, daughter of Abel and Tarah, sister of Evangeline

Jem (real name: Garnet) SD Lieutenant

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

Kaleb Krychek Psy Councilor

Kenji SD Lieutenant

Kieran Human member of SD, Soldier

Kit DR Novice Soldier, brother of Rina

Lara SD Healer

Lucas Hunter DR Alpha, mated to Sascha

Lucy SD, nurse, assistant to Lara

Maria SD Novice Soldier

Marlee Lauren Psy member of SD, daughter of Walker, cousin of Sienna and Toby

Matthias SD Lieutenant

Max Shannon Human, Nikita’s security chief, married to Sophia

Mercy Smith DR Sentinel, mated to Riley

Ming LeBon Psy Councilor

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

Nikita Duncan Psy Councilor, mother of Sascha

Riaz SD Lieutenant

Riley Kincaid SD Lieutenant, mated to Mercy, brother of Andrew and Brenna

Rina DR Soldier, sister of Kit

Riordan SD Novice Soldier

Sascha Duncan Psy member of DR, cardinal empath (E-Psy), mated to Lucas, daughter of Nikita

Shoshanna Scott Psy Councilor, wife of Henry

Sienna Lauren Psy member of SD, Novice Soldier, sister of Toby, niece of Judd and Walker

Sophia Russo Former Justice Psy (J), works for Nikita, married to Max

Tai SD Novice Soldier

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

Tarah Riviere SD, mother of Indigo and Evangeline

Tatiana Rika-Smythe Psy Councilor

Teijan Rat Alpha

Toby Lauren Psy member of SD, brother of Sienna, nephew of Judd and Walker

Tomás SD Lieutenant

Vasic Arrow, Teleporter (Tk-V)

Vaughn D’Angelo DR Sentinel, mated to Faith, jaguar changeling

Walker Lauren Psy member of SD, father of Marlee, uncle of Sienna and Toby

Xavier Perez Human priest

Yuki SD, lawyer, mated to Elias, mother of Sakura

1979.

The year the Psy race became Silent.

Became cold, without emotion, without mercy.

Hearts were broken, families torn apart.

But far more were saved.

From insanity.

From murder.

From viciousness such as unseen in the world today.

For the X-Psy, Silence was a gift beyond price, a gift that allowed at least some of their number to survive childhood, have a life. Yet over a hundred years after the icy wave of the Silence Protocol washed away violence and despair, madness and love, X-Psy are, and remain, living weapons. Silence is their safety switch. Without it . . .

There are some nightmares the world will never be ready to face.

HAWKE FOLDED HIS arms and leaned back against the solid bulk of his desk, eyes on the two young females in front of him. Hands clasped behind themselves and legs slightly spread in the “resting” stance, Sienna and Maria looked like the SnowDancer soldiers they were—except for the fact that their hair straggled in a wild mess around their faces, matted with mud, crushed leaves, and other forest debris. Then there was the torn clothing and the sharp, acrid scent of blood.

His wolf bared its teeth.

“Let me get this straight,” he said in a calm tone that had Maria turning pale under skin that was a warm, smooth brown where it wasn’t bruised and bloody. “Instead of staying on watch and protecting the pack’s defensive border, you two decided to have your own personal dominance battle.”

Sienna, of course, met his gaze—something no wolf would’ve done in the circumstances. “It w—”

“Be quiet,” he snapped. “If you open your mouth again without permission, I’m putting both of you in the pen with the two-year-olds.”

Those amazing cardinal eyes—white stars on a background of vivid black—went a pure ebony, which he knew full well indicated fury, but she clenched her jaw. Maria, on the other hand, had gone even paler. Good.

“Maria,” he said, focusing on the petite changeling whose size belied her skill and strength in both human and wolf form. “How old are you?”

Maria swallowed. “Twenty.”

“Not a juvenile.”

Maria’s thick black curls, heavy with mud, bounced dully as she shook her head.

“Then explain this to me.”

“I can’t, sir.”

“Right answer.” No reason they could offer up would be a good enough excuse for the bullshit fight. “Who threw the first punch?”

Silence.

His wolf approved. It mattered little who’d incited the exchange when neither had walked away from it, and the fact of the matter was, they’d been meant to work as a team, so they’d take their punishment as a team—with one caveat.

“Seven days,” he said to Maria. “Confined to quarters except for one hour each day. No contact with anyone while you’re inside.” It was a harsh punishment—wolves were creatures of Pack, of family, and Maria was one of the most bubbly, social wolves in the den. To force her to spend all that time alone was an indication of just how badly she’d blundered. “The next time you decide to step off watch, I won’t be so lenient.”