kiss on her hair. "Tell your damn brats to leave her alone."
"Lucas!" Sascha sounded shocked.
Tamsyn laughed. "Don't take him seriously. He took my adorable brats out for a run yesterday with Kit and some of the others."
"Sorry, I'm not completely used to the way you interact."
Coming around to hug his mate from behind, Lucas began nibbling on her neck.
"Don't worry, honey." The healer smiled at Sascha's attempts to make Lucas behave. "You've only been cat for a few months. Give it time."
Nate took Tamsyn's hand. "We'd better go pick up Roman and Julian before Lysa decides she's no longer our friend."
Lucas waited until Tammy and Nate were out of earshot before saying, "Why don't we head home to talk? It won't take long if we run."
"What about me?" Sascha asked, looking from one to the other. Honestly, they kept forgetting she couldn't go furry.
Lucas gave her his back. "Hop on, darling." His smile was this side of sinful, reminding her of the very first time he'd offered her a ride.
Later. It was a mind-to-mind warning that turned into a promise.
Seconds later she was on his back and they were running. She trusted him absolutely, even at this breakneck pace. The changelings could move in either form. Holding on to the muscular body of her panther, she considered what she'd learned tonight. Only one thing was certain - Vaughn's life was about to become very, very complicated.
A cold rush of wind across her face. The low rumble of Lucas's growl as he warned away something in their path. The rich scents of the forest. It all dragged her firmly into the physical. Glorying in her freedom to indulge, she threw herself into the experience as only a former inmate of Silence could.
But the exhilarating ride was over too soon and they were at the lair. Leaving her alone with Vaughn, Lucas went to grab some drinks. Sascha glanced at the male lounging against the window ledge across from her. "Vaughn."
"I know." The jaguar folded his arms across his chest, his tattoo hidden by the gray sweatshirt he was wearing over his jeans.
Lucas walked back into the room. "Catch." He threw a beer to Vaughn and handed her a bottle of cranberry juice - alcohol had an odd effect on Psy minds.
She waited until both men had taken long drafts from the dark green bottles. "I saw something in the Web."
Lucas wrapped one arm around her neck and began to play with the end of her braid. "What?"
"Maybe Vaughn should be the one to explain." She felt uncomfortable. "I didn't mean to breach your privacy. I'm really sorry."
The jaguar threw the half-empty bottle from hand to hand. "I knew you'd see the bond."
"With Faith?" Lucas stopped tugging at her braid. "Why didn't you tell us you'd mated?"
"Because Faith doesn't know." Vaughn thrust a hand through his hair, his frustration evident. "She's not ready."
"You can't ignore a mate," Lucas pointed out. "The bond has a way of showing itself at unexpected moments."
"She's feeling trapped as it is - how do you think this is going to look to her?" Vaughn rocked back on his heels. "Could other Psy detect the bond?"
Sascha took a moment to think about it. "They shouldn't. The mating bond is changeling in nature, completely separate from the PsyNet. But" - she paused - "Faith is linked to both. I don't know how that's going to affect things. You need to tell her."
"It might make her run. She's had enough as it is."
Sascha knew he was right. Vaughn was the sentinel Sascha had always been the most wary of - there was something dangerously primal about him. His animal roamed very close to the skin. She couldn't imagine how Faith was going to deal with such an aggressive male. The F-Psy was new at emotion, at feeling anything. To ask her to embrace not only a male like Vaughn, but also the extreme devotion implied by the mating bond, might be to ask for far too much.
But as Lucas had already stressed, the bond couldn't be ignored. "She might surprise you," Sascha said. "She's seeing some horrific things without any training in how to deal with them, but she hasn't crashed. I think Faith is tougher than even she knows."
Vaughn's body was a tight wall of muscle as he faced them. "How do we get her out of the Net? Will the Web be able to support both of you at the same time?"