Nalini Singh: Branded by Fire

Willow stared at her, hurt and terror momentarily trumped by astonishment. “A wolf?”

“Yeah.” She shrugged. “I know. But he doesn’t bite”— lie —“so don’t worry.”

Willow didn’t look particularly convinced, but she stayed in position as Mercy whistled. Riley appeared within a minute—with her clothes, boots, and phone. Grateful, she got dressed. When Riley shrugged off his T-shirt and offered it to Willow, the lynx hesitated.

“Don’t worry,” Mercy said, unable to stop staring at the claw marks on his back, “wolf germs wash off real easy.” Damn, she’d scratched him hard. It made her cheeks burn to realize how far gone she’d been.

Willow took the T-shirt after a few more seconds and pulled it on. It covered pretty much everything. And they might be changeling, but sometimes, with strangers, they were human, too. The girl stood up and met Riley’s gaze, showing a courage that made Mercy’s cat growl in silent approval. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He glanced at Mercy, a question in his eyes.

She gave a slight nod. “You tired, kitten?”

Willow shook her head. “I rested a lot.”

But she’d run a hell of a long distance from home. Still, the girl was a predatory changeling. Smaller than a leopard, but a predator nonetheless. They had pride in spades. And this one had earned her right to that pride. “All right. Give me a sec and we’ll be off.” She coded in Lucas’s number.

“Mercy,” he answered. “We have Willow’s parents. Alive.”

“How?”

“Tranqs. Heavy-duty.” A pause as if he was discussing something with another person. “Couple of pack medics living nearby are giving them the once-over, but they should be on the road soon. Bring the cub to Tammy’s.”

Hanging up, she smiled at Willow. “Your mom and dad are okay.”

A flash of hope followed by distrust. “They wouldn’t wake up, and they smelled really bad.”

On occasions like this, a great sense of smell could screw things up. Especially for the little ones. “Someone drugged them—it made them very sleepy.”

Willow bit her lip.

“This is a waste of time,” Riley said. “She can see for herself when we get there.”

Willow nodded like a little machine.

“Come on then,” she said, wondering if the kid realized she’d just sided with a wolf, “time to run.” She went in front, Willow in between, Riley at the back.

When the kid began to flag, Riley simply picked her up, swung her onto his back, and kept running. Willow held on tight. The leopard in Mercy growled in approval—whatever his faults (and they were many and legend), Riley knew how to take care of the innocent.

In the PsyNet,there was a ripple of reaction to the . . . what had it been? A bombing? An accident? Whatever it was, it made news uploads across the country. People asked for more information, and those closest to the restaurant tuned in to the local stations, hoping to supply it.

The public data was sparse as Enforcement and Rescue had reacted within minutes. However, a human student had managed to grab some camera-phone footage. It was obvious the Psy female had been at the epicenter.

There was a flurry of speculation—not unpredictable, especially after Ashaya Aleine’s violent defection from the Net—but the ripple eventually calmed. It was an isolated episode, people said, most likely an accident caused by chemicals in the woman’s briefcase. She’d been a research scientist—from the evidence, it appeared she’d made an error of judgment and put two volatile substances together.

There was no cause to consider it anything else.

Mercy led Riley and Willow to her vehicle, parked a little way from the cabin. “Buckle up,” she said, starting the engine.

“Done.” Bright eyes met hers in the rearview mirror. “See?”

Even as Mercy nodded, she glimpsed Riley twist around to look over his shoulder. “Good girl.”

That light exchange set the tone for the drive to Tammy and Nate’s place—but Willow got real quiet the instant they opened the doors and she stepped out. “I can’t smell my mom and dad.” Her hand clenched on Mercy’s.

“They had a longer way to travel,” Riley told the girl with a blunt honesty predatory changeling children appreciated. Most of them were very good at sniffing out lies. “Probably be here in the next half hour. Go on in and grab something to eat.” It was well after the breakfast hour.

“I’m not hungry.” Willow kicked at the grass.

Mercy tugged at her hand, making her look up. “Your mom let you skip meals?”

A shake of the head.

“So?”

A sigh. “I’ll go eat.” But she dragged her feet all the way to the house . . . at least until Tammy’s twins came running out in human form, jumping up and down at the idea of a Big Girl to play with. Their new pet, a kitten named Ferocious, ran up on their heels, determined not to be left behind. Taking advantage of Willow’s fascination with the gorgeous gray thing, the twins basically kidnapped their new friend with promises of letting her cuddle Ferocious.

“A kitten for a pair of leopard cubs?” Riley murmured.

Mercy grinned. “That kitten thinks it’s the master of the universe—Jules and Rome growl at any other cat that dares swipe at her.” Laughing at his expression, she nodded at the house. “Let me make sure Willow’s okay.” When she arrived in the kitchen, it was to find Ferocious purring loudly in the lynx girl’s lap, while Julian and Roman stood on either side of her, their little hands on her bare arms as they told her all the “amazing” things their pet could do.

“Your boys are wonderful,” Mercy said to Tammy. They’d understood instinctively that Willow needed caring, so they were doing the job.

The healer smiled in maternal pride. “Have you eaten?”

Mercy was shaking her head when Lucas’s mate, Sascha, walked into the kitchen. “Morning, Mercy. Lucas said to let you know he’s out front.”

Satisfied Willow would be well looked after—and in all probability, petted and spoiled—Mercy headed out to find Lucas giving Riley’s back a considering glance as the damn wolf turned to retrieve something from the car. Fuck.

Lucas, Mercy was well aware, would know for certain that those marks had been made with leopard claws. But he didn’t say anything when Riley turned back, cell phone in hand. “Must’ve slipped out of my pocket. I’m going to let Hawke know what’s going on.”

Lucas nodded and moved a little distance toward the house to give Riley privacy. Changeling hearing was incredibly acute. But it was her alpha’s eyes that worried Mercy as she followed him over. “Any idea what happened?”

“Nate said the house had obviously been invaded. The son is missing, signs of a struggle.” Eyes narrowing, he looked her up and down. Then drew in a deep breath. “Good, you took care of it.”

She categorically did not want to be having this conversation. “Yeah. Can we move on now?”

“No.” A glint lit those intelligent green eyes from within. “Riley’s got some interesting marks on his back, and you’re not touch-hungry all of a sudden. And is that a bite I see on your neck?”

“What’s one got to do with the other?” She tried to brazen it out, but couldn’t stop herself from sweeping her hair around to hide the incriminating mark. Of course Riley had to bite her somewhere obvious—it was exactly the sort of thing dominant males loved to do, the first stage in claiming a female for their own.

Lucas’s lips curved, the savage markings on his face—four jagged lines, like the claw marks of some great beast—standing out in stark relief. “Dorian’s going to love this.”