Wolf Rain (Psy-Changeling Trinity #3) - Nalini Singh Page 0,161
one was a lack of impulse control, or other thrill-seeking behavior. “It’s a blunt hammer indicator.” The researcher put her hands into the pockets of her long cardigan. “On its own it means nothing—especially in a pack of predators. It must be accompanied by myriad other factors, and even that isn’t a guarantee a person will go rogue.”
Stopping beside a stream, she watched the ribbon of water for a long moment before saying, “That’s partly why I haven’t published my paper. It could do a lot of damage, mark people as being in danger of going rogue—and maybe turn it into a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” Alexei shoved a hand through his hair. “Brodie would’ve probably killed himself if he knew ahead of time.” Stark words. “My big brother, the brother I grew up with, would’ve never taken the risk. Not after seeing what happened to our father.”
Memory could see him struggling with his love for Brodie against all that had happened, because Brodie hadn’t known. Hugging him from the side, she drenched him in love. He crushed her close as he said, “What will you do?” to Dr. Schaeffer.
“I plan to make my research known to a small, tight circle, people I trust to follow the rules—the main one being that we only profile adults who come to us. I’ll keep on trying to work on the question of why a minority of people with the markers go rogue, while others live a full life. I’m missing something, and until I know it, it would be negligent of me to spread the information.”
Dr. Schaeffer shifted on her heel to face them. “Creating a usable profile has only ever been my initial goal. My true objective is to find a way to stop the process before a changeling goes rogue—or to at least be able to reverse it.” Echoes of old pain in her gaze. “Our pack’s lost people, too, and the scars of such a loss, they linger.”
“What you’ve been able to do for me, it’s a gift.” Rough words from Alexei. “Thank you.”
“Live your life with your mate, Alexei. Fear has no claim on you.”
Epilogue
Thank you for making a special trip to introduce us to your mate. You don’t know how much that meant to us. When we lost Brodie and Etta, we lost a son and daughter. Then it felt as if we’d lost you, too. We’re so joyful that’s no longer true.
—Note from Etta’s parents to Alexei
THREE DAYS AFTER returning from Matthias’s den to visit with Etta’s warmhearted and loving parents, and two weeks after the meeting with Dr. Schaeffer, Memory sat with Lucy. She and the nurse were sharing a small plate of pecan sugar cookies while they watched over pups playing in the safe area in front of the den.
The two of them were present to make sure the pups didn’t hurt each other or get into accidental trouble. Memory had already petted and comforted one who’d tried to climb a tree only to suffer a fall on his furry butt. As she did so, she’d noticed that her skin had darkened after so much time out of the cage and in the light of the sun. It had a glowing depth to it now, a rich health.
“Other than nursing, this is one of my favorite jobs.” Lucy finished off a cookie. “Watching these hellions is a blast.” She growled back at a pup who’d bounded over to growl at her.
Elodie threw back her head in a wobbly howl before racing back to join her playmates—some in human form, some in wolf.
“Mine, too,” Memory said. “Being with them, feeling their happy emotions, it just whisks any stress away.” She was on a constant rotation of PsyNet cleaning sessions, followed by recovery time, then E studies. Rinse and repeat. The bonus was that she could stuff her face with as many cookies as she wanted; her psychic burn was huge.
“Memory, look.” Laughing, Lucy pointed to a pup who had the tail of another pup in his teeth and was mischievously dancing around behind the second pup as the pup tried to see what his tail was caught on. It was obvious the first pup wasn’t hurting his friend, just playing a game, so they let it be.
“Thank you for being my friend, Lucy,” Memory said, the words just bubbling up inside her. “It means a lot to me.”
Lucy’s gaze was soft when she glanced over. “You say things like that and you wonder