young.
Just like Tamsyn was too young at nineteen to be the senior healer for the DarkRiver leopard pack. Her mentor had been Lucas's mother, Shayla. The attack on Lucas's family had not only stolen their healer, it had left DarkRiver in a state of constant alert. That didn't mean they had given up. No, they were quietly building their strength until the day they could destroy the ShadowWalkers - the pack that had murdered their own.
She knew Nate would be one of those who went after the rogue pack when the time came. He stood tall and strong beside Lachlan, his concentration on whatever it was they were discussing. At twenty-nine years of age, he was one of the pack's top soldiers and would soon be a sentinel, assuming Cian's position when the older man retired from active duty. The sentinels were the pack's first line of defense.
They were the strongest, most intelligent, and most dangerous predators of them all.
"Tammy, you're back!"
Startled, she looked away from Nate and into Lysa's bright green eyes.
"I only got in an hour ago." Even now, she didn't quite believe she was home - the six months she'd spent at the teaching hospital in New York had been the hardest of her life.
"So the course is over?"
"Yes. That part of it anyway." She could finish the rest of her medical training in nearby San Francisco. Most changeling healers relied on their inborn gifts, but Tamsyn had made the decision to study conventional medicine as well.
It was one more way to compensate for her inexperience, for the healing gifts that hadn't yet matured to full strength.
She refused to allow her youth to disadvantage her pack.
"Nothing went wrong while I was away?" She'd hated leaving DarkRiver in someone else's care, though she fully trusted the healer who'd stepped in to hold the fort during her absence.
"Maria?"
"She left this morning. Itching to get back home exactly like you." Lysa smiled. "It was nice of Maria's pack to lend her to us and she was great, but damn, I'm glad to have you back." Tamsyn returned her friend's fierce hug. "I'm glad to be back."
Lysa set her free. "Go on. I know you're wanting to catch up with Nate."
"No." She glanced over her
shoulder. "He's busy with Lachlan."
"The man's your mate, girl. You can drag him away."
Mate. The word made her heart skip as it had since the day she'd turned fifteen. That was when the mating instinct had awakened, when she'd realized she was one of the lucky ones -
she'd been born into the same pack as her mate, had known him since childhood. "It's not official yet." Lysa rolled her eyes. "As if that matters. Everyone knows you two are meant for each other."
Maybe, but they were nowhere near to consummating the relationship. Nate was determined she get the chance to explore her freedom before settling down. What she had never been able to make him see was that he was her freedom. She didn't want to be apart from him. But Nate was stronger than her. And at ten years her senior, he was used to giving orders and having them followed.
"I should freshen up," she said, dragging her eyes away from him a second time. "I just dropped off my bags before coming here." Searching for him.
"All right. I'll see you after you've settled in." Lysa smiled. "I have to go talk to Lachlan about something." Nodding good-bye, Tamsyn began to move away from the large clearing ringed by trees that was the pack's outdoor meeting place.
NATE had seen Tammy arrive, waited for her to come to him. And now she was walking away. "Excuse me," he said to Lachlan, no longer caring about the discussion at hand. Some Psy named Solias King was apparently making what he thought were discreet inquiries about DarkRiver's territorial reach and ability to defend itself. Lachlan was fairly certain the man wanted to steal their land.
"This is important - oh." The DarkRiver alpha looked up and followed the path of Nate's gaze. His frown turned into a grin. "No wonder you're distracted. Guess we won't be seeing you for a while. We'll have to track this idiot down ourselves." Good-natured laughter followed Nate out of the Pack Circle as he tracked his mate's scent through the trees. He caught her in under a minute. The second his palm clasped the back of her neck, she froze. "Nathan."
Her skin was delicate under his hand and he was very aware of how