Wild Invitation A Psy Changeling Anthology - By Nalini Singh Page 0,114

body.

He drew circles on her back with his fingers. "I'm glad you approve. As you know, I was a virgin not long ago." She laughed at the teasing reminder of how she'd offered to be gentle with him. "You're a fast learner, Mr.

Lauren." Yawning, she dragged up the sheet to cover them. "How was the watch?"

"Trouble free," was the concise answer, but then he said, "Judd was there for a while."

Sensing he meant more than he was saying, she spread her fingers over the taut heat of his chest. "Did he want to catch up?"

Walker was quiet for a long time.

"We talked about a boy I once knew. A trainee Arrow."

And then, as the final vestiges of the night faded from the sky, her mate spoke to her about the schoolroom that had been his for so many years, told her things she understood without asking that he'd shared with no one else, not even his brother. Tears clogged her throat at all that he had witnessed, the pain of the children...and the realization that her mate was inviting her into a part of his life she'd only glimpsed till now, sharing one of his secrets with her.

THAT morning marked the day the pack shifted into high gear, all of the remaining evacuees scheduled to return within the next forty-eight hours. While not needed to heal injuries, Lara was needed nonetheless, as was Walker. The week passed in a rush of helping the pups resettle into the den, soothing their worries, and - for Lara - talking privately with packmates who'd been so badly injured that in any other situation, they'd be dead.

Tai had been dodging her in true wolf style, but near the end of the week she finally cornered him by the waterfall closest the den.

Crushed skull, catastrophic damage to internal organs, as well as a laser burn on half of his body, Tai had been so critical, she'd shut herself in her office and burst into tears for a single stolen minute during the aftermath of the battle, her heart breaking at the sense that he was slipping through her fingers.

Taking a seat beside him on the stony outcropping that overlooked the crashing thunder of water, their feet hanging over the edge, she drew in a deep breath of the crisp air. The sky was a stunning mountain blue, the fine spray from the waterfall cool against her skin, but her wolf was focused only on the young male beside her. "How are you, Tai?"

"Fine."

Pure exasperation.

"Seriously, Lara, do I look like I need counseling?"

No, he didn't. Vivid blue-green eyes uptilted at the edges and skin of golden brown, his shoulders broad, he looked strong and young and gloriously alive. But he was a dominant, and admitting weakness was a thing he'd fight with gritted teeth and clenched fists. So she kept her tone undemanding as she said, "Most changelings don't have to confront their mortality until they're good and ready." Male and female alike, they thought they were invulnerable at this age, and that was how it should be. "You were forced into it."

Tai stared at the waterfall, eyes unblinking. And she thought he'd simply refuse to speak. If he did, there was little she could do about it - yes, she outranked him, but an order would gain her nothing, not with a wolf as strong and as determined as Tai. He had to trust her.

"You know what bugged me the most when I took that blow to the head?" he said almost ten minutes later. "When I realized I probably wouldn't come out of it alive?"

Breathing out a silent sigh of relief, Lara shook her head. "What?"

"That I'd never have a stupid fight with Evie ever again." He gave her a lopsided smile, that handsome face suddenly beautiful. "Dumb, huh?" It eased her worry to hear no bitterness in his tone. "Do you enjoy the fighting or what comes after?"

His grin grew deeper.

"A gentleman never tells." His smile faded into an intensity of purpose that brought a memory into sharp focus; something Hawke had said to her over two years ago - that Tai held the potential to one day be a SnowDancer lieutenant. Now, the young male looked back out over the foaming crash of the water. "There are so many things I want to do with my life, but Evie? She's at the top of every list I've made since the first day I realized neither of us was a pup anymore." Evie,