"Maybe they want to forget what they've become." Tamsyn's tone was sad. "Jax degrades memory, too."
Nate grunted. "Whatever the reason, it's still the weak ones who take it."
She understood. No matter what the race - changeling, human, or Psy - it was the weak, broken, or damaged members who succumbed. Brenna's lips tightened. Pain was no excuse for becoming an addict - she hadn't taken the easy way out and oh, how she'd wanted to. But the worst were the dealers, the scum who preyed on the vulnerable.
"So," Nate asked, "you know who did this?"
Her stomach curdled. "Can we talk about that afterward? I think Judd should be awake for it."
"Fair enough. I have to let Lucas and Hawke know you're here."
"Can you hold off for a few hours?" It would give Judd time to recover at least a little and she needed him at her back. If what she believed was true, then she couldn't do this alone.
The leopard male studied her for several seconds. "Give me a good reason."
Squeezing her eyes shut, she took a deep breath. The iron-rich scent of blood was overpowering to her senses. Her eyes snapped open. "Because I scented my family on Judd before the rain washed the markers away."
"Shit."
Judd returned to consciousness two hours after they'd arrived, his eyes looking a touch feverish but otherwise clear. Too clear, given the extent of his injuries.
"What, you gave yourself a psychic blood transfusion?" Tamsyn asked in a tart tone at odds with the concern on her face.
Judd flexed the hand of his bandaged arm, the thin white gauze appearing deceptively weak. "I need some food to replace the energy I lost." Not an answer.
Tamsyn scowled, but Brenna felt only warmth from her. Like Lara and Sascha, the DarkRiver healer was inherently gentle. "Why does everyone think they can get fed in my kitchen?"
Nate hugged his mate from behind, kissing the curve of her neck in open affection. "Because even Psy know you're a soft touch."
The other woman's scowl disappeared and she turned to steal a proper kiss from her mate. "Why do I put up with you?"
Nate murmured something so low that Brenna couldn't hear. Looking away from their easy intimacy, an intimacy which held hints of the deepest sensuality and love, she found Judd watching the pair. He glanced at her only after Tamsyn broke from Nate to walk toward the cooler. Dark chocolate eyes met hers. "That's what you should have."
His candor shook her...because it meant he'd accepted this thing between them, this beautiful, powerful thing. "Yeah? Well, maybe I want you instead." She didn't care that their relationship didn't fit into any established box, didn't care that her wolf didn't recognize him as her mate. "Just you."
"I made lasagna for dinner," Tamsyn called out. "That work for you?"
He continued to look at her, as if he'd drink her up with his eyes. "Anything is fine."
"Maybe I shouldn't waste my lasagna on you, then." Tamsyn grabbed a container from the cooling unit. "How about some cardboard instead?"
Brenna found herself amused in spite of the blood that continued to scent the air and the taut expectation that stretched between her and Judd. Lips twitching, she waited for his response.
"Cardboard has no nutritional value." Utterly toneless. "Lasagna would be a better choice."
Tamsyn threw up her hands. "I'd forgotten how bad you lot could be. Then again, Sascha was never as bad as you."
Something crashed upstairs.
Tamsyn didn't seem to notice, but then said, "Honey, could you go up and see if Kit's surviving our little darlings? Sounds like they're both up."
"He's fine." Nate didn't budge.
"I won't attack your mate," Judd said to the leopard. "I have no reason to."
Nate's response was a grunt. Brenna scowled. It was true that predatory males tended to be extraordinarily protective where their mates were concerned, but surely Judd had earned the cats' respect by now.
Fur ruffled, she was about to voice her feelings when Judd glanced at her and gave a slight shake of his head. "It is his home." His voice was pitched to reach her ears alone. "He has a mate and children to protect and I am an intruder."