Memory dared to peek into the PsyNet. The black wave had split in two; one mind stood sentinel on either side of her own. Protection or enforcement?
As she watched, wondering if she’d gone from one prison to another and—eyes hot—vowing to break out again if she had, the Arrows began to drop small glittering psychic constructions around her mind. She stared at them uncomprehendingly until Alexei’s voice brought her back to the real world.
A kick of her heart, her skin suddenly tight. Because she’d forgotten the predator in the room with her while distracted by those on the psychic plane. Her eyes skated away from the dangerous amber of his . . . and caught on the red marks on his shoulder.
A wave of dull heat crawling over her skin, she curled her fingers into her palm. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” He scowled. “Scrambling away from me like I’m a drunk bear with randy intentions when all I did was cuddle you? Yeah, you should be sorry for that.”
Memory wanted to glare at him, but shame bit at her. “I hurt you.” She pointed to the evidence.
He glanced down . . . and laughed. Threw back his head and laughed as she’d never heard anyone laugh in her whole life. It was like fur over her senses, a delicious taste on her tongue, a cascade of butterflies in her stomach. She stared, drunk on the sensations.
Astonished by his intrinsically male beauty.
Grinning afterward, he shook his head and the slightly overlong strands of his hair shimmered in the light coming from the hallway. “To a wolf, lioness, that doesn’t even count as a love bite.” Wickedness danced in his eyes, and she, a woman who knew nothing about courtship rituals except for what she’d seen on the comm, understood that he was a man who’d never have an empty bed unless he wished it.
“Arrows said they put warning beacons around your mind,” he told her, his lips yet curved. “All stamped with Arrow markers—only a person with a deathwish would cross the threshold.” He slid his claws back in, but his eyes remained wolf. “An Arrow will respond in a matter of seconds to any incursion. Squad’s also attempting to track Renault on the Net—no joy with a facial lock. They tried just now when I passed on his name. He’s got shields that block a teleporter from targeting him.”
Pressed up against the back wall by now, Memory hugged her knees to her chest and said, “Why?” The Arrows didn’t know her, had no reason to help her.
Alexei had no reason to help her.
She needed to know the price she’d pay when they discovered the truth about her. Found out she’d helped Renault commit his atrocities.
“You’re an empath.” Alexei yawned and stretched that muscular body, scratching absently at the ridged line of his abdomen. “And because no one has the right to cage an innocent being.”
Empath. Innocent.
Shivering, Memory hugged her knees even tighter and closed her eyes, shutting out a world that would find her out sooner or later.
“You fall asleep there and I’m going to pick you up and put you in your bunk. I might even—horror of horrors—cuddle you again.”
She flicked open her eyes to see that Alexei had risen to his feet in predator silence. Hands on his hips, he raised an eyebrow, and it was a silent dare. Something unfamiliar and strangely bright woke inside her, forcing her onto her feet. She wanted to spit a quick comeback, but her brain chose that moment to decide it was exhausted beyond bearing, all resources expended in the fight against Renault.
Everything went blank.
Chapter 11
Dr. Menet’s fifteen-year study uncovered no common genetic markers among known rogues. However, my research has unearthed three families with at least two rogues in successive generations. Families A and B have provided DNA for further examination. Family C, with three rogues in as many generations, is currently not part of this study.
—Changeling Rogues: Broken Minds & Broken Families by Keelie Schaeffer, PhD (Work in Progress)
HAWKE PULLED ON a T-shirt over his barely dry body, his hair damp from his shower, and his heart a raw knot. Not wanting to think about why, he turned his attention to the woman with cardinal eyes and ruby red hair who stood beside the edge of their bed, attempting to pull on a pair of jeans. Other than the jeans, she wore only a white lace bra and cool-yellow panties with thin white stripes.
Sienna’s breasts bounced as she jumped up