But another conversation was taking place on the LaurenNet.
You've disabled the Silence Protocol. There was no judgment in his brother's tone. It's already influencing the familial Net.
Judd realized Walker was right. We've been living with emotion since the children started adapting. It won't harm them.
No. Walker's psychic presence was a star that had an odd twisting motion at the center. He wasn't a martial Psy, and no one had ever been able to figure out what that twisting motion meant. There's a new mind in the Net.
Judd blinked and looked again. There she was, linked to the Net through him and protected by his powerful mind. None of the others could touch her, though her strong, affectionate nature was already influencing the flows of the tiny LaurenNet. Brenna. She couldn't see this, couldn't see her wild silver star with ricocheting shards of vibrant blue, but it was something that calmed his psychic mind. He could protect her now, no matter where she was. He'd know if she shed a single tear.
She's making the Net stronger.
Of course she was. She's a wolf.
You're sure?
Judd knew they were no longer talking about Brenna. I'm safe. Reaching back, he took his mate's hand in his. Have you seen the other changes in the Net? Faint sparks of color where there had once only been black and white.
I think it represents a formerly suppressed aspect of Toby's abilities. It doesn't fit the parameters of any known designation, but I have my suspicions.
So did Judd. We'll talk later.
Hawke narrowed his eyes as Walker stepped back. "I leave you going blue and thinking I'm going to have to dig a grave, and return to find you...well exercised." A pause that took in the rucked-up snow. Behind Hawke, Lara did a bad job of hiding a grin. "You want to explain that?"
"No." Judd felt Brenna's blush in his mind and knew she'd realized her packmates could smell the scent of their recent explosive union. He liked the idea of her being covered in his scent. "There's nothing to explain."
Hawke grunted, amusement in his eyes. "Right. Let's head back."
"Give me a minute." It was Riley.
Judd met the other man's eyes as everyone else dispersed. Beside him, Brenna went very quiet. Her brother came forward. "You ever make her cry, I'll break every bone in your body, tear you to pieces, and hold a barbeque for the wild wolves."
"Riley!" Brenna sounded shocked.
Judd wasn't - despite Riley's calm exterior, the male was as ferally protective as Andrew. "I think Brenna is more than capable of doing that herself."
"Judd!"
Riley's face broke out in an uncharacteristic grin. "Yeah, she is." Reaching out, he kissed his gaping sister's cheek before pulling back and shifting. Then he was gone.
"I can't believe you said that." Brenna was scowling when he turned to her. "I would never hurt you."
He wanted to laugh at her outrage. "I adore you." And now he could truly protect her - what he hadn't told her was that Enrique's alterations had put undue pressure on her brain. Because her brain was changeling, not Psy, it hadn't had any way to vent that pressure. Sooner or later, things would've gone to a critical state.
The reason for her present health was that, even dormant, the bond had somehow leached off enough of the overload - dispersing it through his psychic channels - that she didn't collapse. But now he could consciously regulate the pressure, reducing it and shielding her, until she learned to do it herself. It would be hard but not impossible, not with Brenna's strength of will. "You are the most stubborn, most beautiful woman I know."
"Oh...how am I supposed to stay mad when you say something like that?" She stamped her foot but her lips were curving up into a smile. "You're pretty, too." She grinned at his scowl. "But you're the most infuriating man I've ever met."
"Too bad. You're stuck with me."
Standing on tiptoe, she spoke against his lips. "I like being stuck to you."
He was about to kiss her when she wrenched away. "You want a kiss? Come and get it." A taunt, an invitation, a lovers' game.
Judd had never played much. He had a feeling that was about to change. "You should know never to dare an Arrow."
"You're all talk, Judd Lauren." A blur of movement and she was gone.
Feeling his heartbeat speed up, he pushed off after her. He'd get his kiss. And more. Using the bond, he sent her explicit images detailing the prize he intended to claim.