The flecks continued to glitter. Eerie, but oddly compelling at the same time.
"I'm not the only one." The other man blew out a breath. "Cruz's eyes are changing the more he uses his ability, and so are those of a number of others. This"--he pointed to his own eyes--"it's not what Cruz's eyes are doing. None of the changes are the same and none of the changes are stable, but there is a definite change in the eyes of the majority of Forgotten with high-level abilities."
Lucas whistled, suddenly understanding why Dev was so pissed off. "It'll put a marker on the backs of all your most gifted members."
A hard nod. "It's like we've hit a default setting," Dev said. "As if once an individual reaches a certain level of active psychic power, previously dormant genes turn on and start to fuck with their eyes."
"Maybe Dev's people can modify the contacts we developed for Sienna and the others," Hawke said to Lucas. "Has to be easier to hide these fluctuations than it was to hide cardinal eyes."
Dev looked immediately interested. "Seriously, any help you can offer, we'll take," he said before locking gazes with Lucas again. "I think Jon was the first to exhibit the change. When we spoke, he told me he doesn't remember people commenting about his eyes until he turned eleven or so."
Since the remarkable violet shade of Jon's eyes definitely invited comment, Lucas could find no fault with Dev's theory. "Jon was on his own, forced to use whatever he had to survive." Ethics made for cold comfort when you were a starving child.
"No surprise his abilities woke faster as a result," Dev agreed without hesitation.
The response further strengthened Lucas's liking for the Forgotten director. "We'll forward you the information on how to produce the contacts." They were highly specialized and had to be custom-made for the individual, but the Forgotten had the resources to do that. "You ready to head down?"
Dev nodded and, saying good-bye to Hawke, the two of them were soon back in the car. They were a half hour out from the aerie where Dev, Katya, and Cruz were staying when Dev received a message on his phone that made him frown. "You know a lynx pack in Calgary?"
Lucas thought immediately of Bastien's mate, Kirby. Her grandparents' pack, IceRock, was the only one in that immediate region. "Yeah. What's the issue?"
"There's a small Forgotten population just off the pack's eastern border. They've had a good if not close relationship with the pack to this point, but they're getting nervous about vehicle movements late at night that seem to be going in and out of pack territory--black SUVs that look military grade to them, but they're not trained."
The information didn't fit with Lucas's impression of IceRock. "I'll ask, but as far as I know, the pack's a peaceful one." A family-centered group that was happy to be left alone, though it was cautiously following DarkRiver's lead in making friendships with its neighbors.
"Appreciate it." Dev slipped away his phone. "My people tend to be jumpy, especially with children in the mix."
"Don't blame them." The Forgotten had lost a number of their young in horrific circumstances. "I'll touch base with the lynx alpha soon as we get back."
"We're leaving in two hours, so if you get any information after that, give me a call."
Letters to Nina
From the private diaries of Father Xavier Perez
October 19, 2075
Nina,
I've been working with my Psy friend whenever possible. He appears only rarely but we've found ways to stay in touch while he maintains his cover. In his absence, I use the welcome provided to me as a man of God to uncover information that helps us fight the evil that rules the Psy race.
I've been surprised at how many of the Psy treat me with respect, despite their official disbelief in any plane of existence beyond this one. Again, it's shown me that not all Psy are the same. They have their good and their bad, their lazy and their strong.
I'm still angry at God, still full of rage, but there are glimmers of hope in the darkness. I don't know if I'll ever again be a man of absolute faith as I once was, but it seems my faith is too powerful to be killed even by horror.
But one thing I know: I'll never be fully at peace with God until the day I see you again . . . whether in this lifetime or the next.
Xavier
Chapter 36
LUCAS WAS MEETING Sascha and Naya at Tamsyn and Nate's, the other couple having invited them for dinner, but he stopped by his own aerie to make the call to the lynx alpha. Kiya Teague was around Lucas's age but had become alpha far more recently; the pack's previous alpha remained strong and healthy and respected though he was in his seventh decade of life.
He'd had the support to keep on being alpha, but had decided to pass the baton to Kiya rather than see her move away from IceRock to establish her own pack. He remained available to her should she need his advice, the transition apparently seamless from what Lucas had heard. It was exactly how a healthy pack was supposed to function, how the switch had happened in DarkRiver until Lachlan died unexpectedly two years after stepping down; the loss had left Lucas without guidance when he'd been a bare twenty-five years old.
He'd never have been able to do it without his sentinels, particularly Nathan. The current most senior sentinel had been Lachlan's youngest sentinel at the time; he'd provided a crucial link between Lucas and Lachlan's older sentinels, men and women who were now all retired but who'd always been there for the young panther who'd had to rebuild a heartbroken pack.
"Lucas," Kiya said with a smile that lit up her pixyish face, her skin a tawny shade of brown and her eyes shaded by lashes that reminded Lucas of a doll's.
Petite Kiya Teague was the most cheerful alpha Lucas knew. It was mildly disconcerting. Lucas's panther kept wanting to pat her on the head, but the human side of him knew never to try the condescending gesture. She'd probably rip off his arm because, bouncy personality aside, Kiya was a true alpha. Nowhere near as powerful as Lucas, but powerful enough to nurture a healthy pack and to hold his gaze.
"What can I do yer for?" she asked, her hazel-brown eyes sparkling. "This about our Kirby?"
Lips curving at the possessive emphasis on Kirby, Lucas shook his head. "Got a question for you from the neighbors on your eastern edge."
"The human settlement?" Kiya's smile faded into a frown. "Why're they going to you instead of coming to me?"
Interesting that she didn't seem to know her neighbors were Forgotten . . . but then the Forgotten didn't exactly advertise their presence. Lucas sometimes forgot that he had far more information about them than the average alpha. "We have a mutual acquaintance," he said, then grinned. "And they're scared of you."
She drew up the entire five feet and one inch of her body. "You making fun of me, Lucas Hunter?"
He held up his hands. "Wouldn't dare. They really are worried--it's to do with the late-night SUV movements in and out of your territory."
Kiya's scowl faded at once. "Well, damn, I could've put their minds to rest in a heartbeat. I'll do that today unless you have objections?"
"No, I think they'd probably appreciate a personal response." Lucas was guessing at the Forgotten's reaction, but in the back of his mind he was also always thinking about Trinity; the accord would only work if friendships and relationships developed across racial lines. "So, what're you doing so late at night?"
"It's not us," the IceRock alpha replied. "We were worried about those SUVs, too. They didn't quite come onto our territory, but they were passing right by and, well, we're not a big pack like DarkRiver, don't have a sprawl of land. We wanted to make sure no one was setting up to steal some from us."
Lucas knew cats, knew exactly what the lynx pack would've done. "What did you see when you followed their trail?" He couldn't have asked the question so directly had he and Kiya not already developed a good working relationship built on the fact that they were now family.
Eyes gleaming, the lynx alpha said, "The SUVs are going into the massive old estate on the other side of our territory. It used to be owned by a huma
n CEO who went bankrupt back when I was a cub. Been left to crumble into a ruin ever since--our cubs used to sneak over to play on the property until we built a fence they couldn't climb."
"Why?" If the place had been deserted, most alphas wouldn't have minded cubs playing there so long as they didn't cause any damage.
Kiya's expression turned dark. "The CEO built a big-ass pool and even though it was emptied out, it was still a large concrete hole in the ground--and when it rained, the water gathered. Wasn't safe and we couldn't get the owners on record to fence it up, so we just built our own fence."
Lucas's pulse had kicked up at the word "pool," stayed that way. He thought of what Miane had told him about Tanique's psychometric readings. Saltwater and lynxes. "That pool full now?" He knew she'd know--cats couldn't help being curious, especially about a neighbor so close to their border.
A nod that caused her ponytail to bounce, her hair dark, dark brown with glints of red highlights. "Construction folks started coming in about a year ago, when the new owners must've bought it. They put a glass building over the pool and cleaned up the house, which was in pretty good condition surprisingly.
"Can't see through to the pool anymore--smoked glass. They've also added to our fences, put up opaque ones on their side." Disappointment and approval vied for lead position in her tone. As alpha, she obviously appreciated the better safety measures, but feline curiosity had her itching to know what the heck was going on with IceRock's new neighbors.
"It's clear it's someone with money," she added, folding her arms. "We figure maybe a celebrity, what with the cloak-and-dagger blacked-out SUVs in the night and the bodyguards."
"Weapons?"
Her eyes cooled. "I paid the bodyguards a visit when my dominants told me they were patrolling our border with guns, pointed out that if they so much as touched a hair on my people's heads, I'd rip off their own heads and use them for football practice." She smiled that bouncy smile. "They electrified their fences after that and stopped the patrols. Fair enough. All our people know not to go beyond our own fence in that area."
Lucas chuckled but his mind was racing. "Look, Kiya," he said. "There might be more going on than a publicity-shy celebrity. Can you get me images a teleporter can use to 'port inside the compound?"
"No problem." She braced her hands on her hips on the heels of the confident statement, her shoulders squared. "You going to get my pack in the middle of something, Lucas?"
"It's possible." He held her gaze, a gaze gone the yellowish-hazel of her lynx. "But it's also possible there's a changeling or changelings being held captive in that compound."
Kiya's hiss was violent. "I'll get the images to you later tonight," she said, her lynx still in her tone. "If your teleporter friend needs assistance, you give him my number and tell him to call."
*
SASCHA was seated at Tamsyn's kitchen table chatting with the healer when a vehicle entered the drive. She expected Lucas to walk through the door, but it proved to be Clay and Talin with the kids. All four, Jon included, had gone to a tea shop for Noor's requested birthday tea party, had decided to say hello to Tamsyn and family before they went home.
"We had this many cakes!" Noor held her hands as far apart as they'd go, her dark eyes shining.
Scooping up the little girl, who had on a pretty blue dress with white lace and ribbons, her glossy black hair tied back with more ribbons, Sascha cuddled her in her lap. "Let me see how full your tummy is," she said, gently patting Noor's abdomen. "Uh-oh, I think it's about to explode."
Noor giggled. "Kee got cream all over his face!"
Sascha wasn't surprised at the news that Keenan had been present at the tea party. The two children were best friends--the fact that their psychic gifts worked in concert was a peripheral matter. It was their friendship that was most important. "Who else did you invite?"
"Ben!" Noor beamed at the mention of the mischievous little wolf. "He came with his mom. Issy and Behali came, too, but Jules and Rome couldn't come because they went on a special date with their grandma. We brought them a big box of cake." She went quiet all at once, her next words a worried whisper. "Will Naya be sad she didn't come?"
Such a generous heart, Sascha thought, her own aching with love for this child of the pack. "No, baby," she said, "Naya's too little." Talin had offered to take her along after Noor invited both Naya and Anu's toddler, but Sascha knew her rambunctious cub wasn't yet at an age where she could sit in a tea shop and behave. Anu had made the same call. "She had a party at the nursery with the other little cubs to celebrate her own birthday."
It was DarkRiver tradition for first birthdays, with parents invited along to join in, and Naya had loved it. "We got her a cake shaped like a leopard paw, and she and her friends got to make mud pies and dance while wearing dress-up clothes."
"That's fun!"
Utterly delighted with this sweet girl who'd survived so much, Sascha kissed her on the cheek just as the twins, who'd returned from visiting Tamsyn's mother an hour earlier, stuck their heads inside the open back door and yelled for Noor to come play. Wriggling off Sascha's lap, Noor ran to join her playmates, calling out for Jon--who was standing next to Clay--to come with her. The sixteen-year-old ambled out, his phone in hand and his ball cap worn backward.
Naya was already in the backyard with the twins.
Sascha had no idea what Tamsyn's cubs were teaching hers, but she had a feeling it involved getting into as much mischief as possible in as short a time as possible. The one thing the boys would never do was allow Naya to come to harm, and even if the kids wandered off, this was central DarkRiver territory.
Zach and Annie were the closest neighbors but other packmates roamed nearby. The children could explore in safety and freedom. She had to keep telling herself that, keep reminding herself that no one could snatch Naya while her cub was out of her sight.
Talin's cloud-gray eyes met hers at that moment, and the tawny-haired woman walked over to touch Sascha's hand in silent comfort. Talin knew what it was to lose children she'd sworn to protect, and that sorrow would never leave her.
"Noor and Jon," Sascha reminded her softly while everyone else was distracted, Tamsyn having risen to make sure the children drank some water before continuing to play. "They survived and thanks to you and Clay, they're thriving."
Talin swallowed. "It's tough though, isn't it, Sascha? My heart pounds so hard whenever either one of them goes missing for even a short time. I have to physically stop myself from messaging Jon every hour when he's out with his friends." A shaky smile. "You think it ever goes away? This worry?"
Sascha shook her head. "Dezi's mom used to make her check in after a night shift for years." The only reason she didn't anymore was that Dezi was no longer living alone; her mate would raise the alarm if she didn't make it home.
"But she's a senior soldier!" A startled response.
"You see my point." Sascha's dry response made the other woman laugh. "It sounds like the tea party was a success," she said at a normal volume, which she knew would be audible to all the changelings in the room.
"Noor loved it." An affectionate glance over at where Clay was helping himself to a cup of coffee from the carafe. "Jon and Clay liked the scones."
Clay, the sentinel who'd been the most remote and dangerous when Sascha joined DarkRiver, offered a thumbs-up. His dark green eyes were feline, his body relaxed. "Good stuff, scones." He glanced at Tamsyn, who'd returned to take her seat at the kitchen table. "You should make those."
The healer grinned. "I do. You've just never been fast enough to get any."
Moving over to perch on one of the breakfast stools at the counter, Talin stole Clay's coffee cup when he came around. She took a couple of sips before handing it back, pressing a kiss to Clay's jaw at the same time. Smile quiet, Clay took the mug in one hand, then braced his other one on the counter behind Talin. "I'll work on my scone-racing skills."
The solemn comment had them laughing.
Nathan w
alked in at that instant, his black hair tumbled as if he'd been running his hands through it. "Stealing all the women, Clay?"
"I can barely handle the two women I have now," the sentinel replied. "And one of them is less than three feet tall."
"You're late, Nathan Ryder." Having risen even before he appeared in the kitchen, Tamsyn embraced her mate.
Nathan kissed her temple as he held her close. "Got held up helping Emmett deal with a couple of cubs who need a little extra supervision."
The healer and senior sentinel were the longest mated couple Sascha knew this well, and their love, it was a deep, warm pulse that existed in their every breath. There was passion, too, but that was a private thing and Sascha would never intrude. What she picked up was what any cardinal empath would pick up simply by being in the same room with the mated pair.
Watching them, she saw what she and Lucas would one day become. So very rooted in one another that they were woven into the very fabric of each other's being. When Nathan held Tamsyn, when she placed her hand over his heart, they needed to say no words, ask no questions.
Today, as Tamsyn shifted to stand by his side, Nathan tangled his hand gently in her deep brown hair. He was a handsome man, with a face that held enough lines to be interesting, including the grooves around his mouth that said he laughed often.
"You hear the latest odds on Mercy?" he asked the room at large. "Rumors are four girls."
"I don't believe it." Clay's eyelids lowered to hood his eyes. "I'm sure those two are playing everyone."
Talin grinned. "Mercy's probably having a great time dropping 'inadvertent' hints to start these rumors--and I bet you she's talked Riley into helping." She waggled her eyebrows at Tamsyn. "I don't suppose you want to end the speculation?"
"When it's so much fun watching you all try to figure it out?" The healer shook her head. "Plus, it's not going to be long now."
"I wouldn't bet on that," Talin said. "Last time I spoke to Mercy, she said the pupcubs are having too good a time inside her. She's convinced she's going to be the first ten-month multiple pregnancy on record."
As everyone chuckled, the children padded inside, Jon included. He was carrying a cheerfully naked Naya in one arm. Sascha's daughter was currently smacking kisses on his cheek and saying, "Pe! Pe!"