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Branded by Fire

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All those years they'd danced around each other, all those insults they'd hurled at each other, all those times they'd stood nose to nose, toe to toe, it had been preparation, he thought. They hadn't been ready for each other then. But now they were and damn if he was going to let fate steal the future from them.

Branded by Fire
NS 6 UK
Author Nalini Singh
Publication date July 2009
Publication Order
Preceded by
Hostage to Pleasure 		Followed by
Blaze of Memory

Branded by Fire is the sixth book in the overall series. Chronologically, it follows the short story “Movie Night” and precedes the novel Blaze of Memory. There's a deleted scene called "The Party."

Synopsis[]

Though DarkRiver sentinel Mercy is feeling the pressure to mate, she savagely resists when Riley Kincaid, a lieutenant from the SnowDancer pack, tries to possess her. The problem is not simply that he pushes her buttons; the problem is that he’s a wolf, she’s a cat, and they’re both used to being on top.

But when a brilliant changeling researcher is kidnapped from DarkRiver territory, Mercy and Riley must work together to track the young man—before his shadowy captors decide he’s no longer useful. Along the way, the two dominants may find that submitting to one another uncovers not just a deadly conspiracy, but a passion so raw that it’ll leave them both branded by fire…

Characters[]

Main Characters[]

Recurring Characters[]

New Characters[]

Mentioned or non-Speaking Roles[]

Plot[]

Please be aware this book contains depictions of abduction, mind control, attempted mass shootings, terrorist activities, and suicide.

Prologue[]

Recent changes have thrown the Psy into chaos, darkness, and burgeoning emotion.

Chapter 1[]

At Dorian's mating ceremony, Mercy's envious of and bummed out by all the sickeningly happy couples. Every one of her closest friends are mated but her and the only one she's attracted to is all wrong. Things are too tense for her to leave in hopes of finding a mate right now. There's also a risk that her cat will never accept a mate, being too dominant to give in to the mating bond.

It's been eight months since she's been with anyone, which is a long time for changelings. She talks aloud, asking the universe for a lover and Riley appears, annoying the hell out of her. Instead of taking him up on his offer, she picks a fight, but he simply blocks her, pissing her off further. Telling her that he's more dominant than she is, is the final straw and he ends up pinning her.

The universe grants Mercy her wish.

Chapter 2[]

A Psy walks into a diner and while trying to take her order, a waitress thinks she sees desperation on the other woman's face right before the Psy's briefcase explodes.

Chapter 3[]

Riley wakes up to his brother, Andrew, in his room. Drew probes him for details of the person he was with the night before, noting that Riley had gotten rid of any scent markers before coming back to the den. He distracts Drew by saying that Brenna and Judd fought so he should go check on their sister. As he gets up and dresses, Riley thinks about how he's always looked after Brenna and always will, even though she's mated. After her abduction, Mercy had torn a strip off him for being up in his own head and feelings about it rather than supporting her in the ways she needed. He intends to make things with Mercy more than a one-night stand.

Drew returns after seeing that it was a ruse and now Brenna also knows that something's up with Riley, and he knows he's screwed because their sister's relentless.

Although Mercy enjoyed her night with Riley, she doesn't want anything more because she doesn't intend to get involved with a wolf who'll expect her to be submissive and she's worried that people will judge her. Her grandmother, Isabella Garcia, calls her to say that she's sending two of her sentinels from her pack, AzureSun, to her to see if she might be their mate. Mercy tells her no and she's not interested because she's found someone, but her grandmother says Eduardo and Joaquin are probably already in DarkRiver and if whoever she's seeing can't handle a little competition, then he's not right for her.

Lucas asks Mercy to check on the Grove because SnowDancer reported a scent of death in the area so the wolves are coming to assist.

Chapter 4[]

Mercy's worried that Riley will let their fling affect their working relationship as pack liaisons by trying to protect her in the field. When they meet at the Grove, he certainly isn't happy she covered the bite mark he'd left on her neck.

They find a changeling lynx kid named Willow Baker on the verge of going rogue, having killed a dog, but not eating it. Her family has permission to live in the area because they recently took jobs in Tahoe. Mercy calls Lucas to send someone to check on the Baker family. Figuring she'll get through to the girl better in her leopard form, Mercy undresses to shift and Riley's mad that her back's bruised from their liaison and hadn't told him at the time, but it hadn't hurt then.

Mercy finds Willow in her cat form in the middle of a litter of lynx cubs. She's in shock and Mercy helps her calm down through touch, letting her know that someone bigger and stronger was there to take care of her, and Willow finally relaxes. Taking her back to where Riley and her clothes are, Mercy shifts back and gets Willow to as well. Riley gives the girl his t-shirt and she tells him that some people took her brother, Nash, and hurt her parents, who wouldn't wake up. Riley reassures Willow that her parents are alive; they'd been hit with a tranquilizer, which was why they smelled bad. Willow's not sure whether or not to trust his word that her parents are ok since her nose had told her otherwise. They need to get her to Tamsyn's where Willow's parents will meet them.

Mercy and her cat both approve of how Riley takes care of the lynx girl.

Chapter 5[]

The bombing sends ripples through the PsyNet. Rumour says it was a Psy researcher who hadn't been careful enough when storing volatile substances in their briefcase.

Chapter 6[]

At Tammy's, Roman and Julian plop their little grey kitten, Ferocious, on Willow's lap and regale her with stories about their pet, using touch to help settle her.

Nate tells Mercy and Riley that there were signs of a home invasion and a struggle at the Baker house.

Lucas is glad Mercy took care of her touch hunger and slyly notes that Riley's sporting claw marks from a cat on his back, which are evident because Willow's still wearing his shirt. She threatens that if he tells Dorian, her best friend, she'll tell Hawke he wants to go on daily bonding runs. Running to get Riley a replacement shirt, she says that she's not admitting anything.

Willow's brother, Nash, has definitely been abducted and since he's a predatory changeling who would not have gone willingly, it indicates that whoever's behind this is smart. They also covered up any scents by spraying heavy perfume all around the Baker house. What they don't understand is why anyone would take a kid in university.

Mercy and Riley growl at each other and Lucas asks if they're going to tear each others' throats out or just tear off their clothes. Riley tells him it's none of his business and she tells him to keep a shirt on. He says she should keep her claws in, then.

Enid and Iain Baker arrive and are relieved their little girl is safe, they'd been terrified she'd been taken, too. Willow's been sneaking out at night to play in the woods, nothing unusual for a changeling kid, but they'd been drugged somehow. She must have escaped being drugged, too, by being outside when it happened.

Iain suspects that Nash was taken because of his work on nanotech. He'd started university at the age of 13 and has been working on his own projects the past couple of years. It sounds like the work of the Human Alliance to Mercy and Riley, after how the Alliance had gone after Ashaya.

On their way to the Bakers' house, Riley calls Mercy by her legal name, Melisande, which is a surefire way to get one's ass kicked.

Chapter 7[]

Kaleb Krychek asks Silver Mercant to look into the reports of Psy being publicly violent. She theorizes Pure Psy's behind it.

The Information Merchant gets a job request.

Chapter 8[]

The home invasion has all the hallmarks of the Human Alliance, the question is why they'd risk pissing off DarkRiver again.

Riley asks if Mercy's unhappy with him because he's a wolf or because she enjoyed their night together. Either way, he intends to keep playing their game until she caves.

He finds a small metal device like the ones they found on the humans who attacked Ashaya, Dorian, and Keenan, but this one's been ripped out. He and Mercy suspect Nash had been going after Willow when she crept out, much like they had after their own siblings when they were younger.

Even though everything points to the Alliance, Judd is going to check with his contacts to see if the Psy are behind it.

Chapter 9[]

In the yard, they find an identity bracelet engraved with the words "Happy birthday, Bo. -From Lily."

While dressing again after shifting to hunt down any scents, Mercy tells Riley she has no time for a man who wants her to submit and he asks if she thinks she can't handle him. As they argue, she steps on a thorn and stubbornly tries to hide it, but Riley takes care of it, already thinking of her as his.

A nosy neighbour got a description and license plate of a van that had lingered in the area. She also asks about Mercy's relationship with Riley, but Mercy tells her that nothing's going to happen between them.

It's unlike the Human Alliance to be sloppy with the chip and the van, making them wonder if they're red herrings. Although the chip seems to be the link to Nash, who's apparently a genius and has been courted by several Psy companies who are otherwise very insular when it comes to hiring researchers and developers outside their race.

Riley's getting broody, likening Nash's abduction to Brenna's and Mercy tells him to cut the pity party and focus because this isn't about him.

Chapter 10[]

DarkRiver sends some people who are out of state to MIT, Nash's school, to see if his friends know anything. With the search stymied for now, Mercy and Riley go over cross-training schedules for the juveniles.

Rina calls Mercy to report that two hot guys are heading towards her place and asks if she should let them pass without challenge. Mercy says they're free to a good home.

Mercy and Riley grab a bite to eat and a Psy enters. They sense something is off and they start moving when he puts his hand into a paper bag. They rush him before he can draw a machine gun. The would-be shooter mutters that he can't remember. A Rat nearby indicates to Mercy that she'll make sure word of the incident gets to DarkRiver.

Enforcement is glad they handled it, saving a lot of lives. There was the bombing in San Diego, which only killed the bomber and injured a waitress, and in Los Angeles, a guy drove a truck through a diner. The truck had jammed as if the driver had hit the brake at the last minute, giving people time to move, and then shot himself.

A group of non-predatory changeling juveniles were in the restaurant when the shooter came in and are quite shaken so Mercy and Riley walk them home. The girls have a serious case of hero-worship for Mercy.

Chapter 11[]

Anthony Kyriakus is onto Krychek's subtle machinations and is a little concerned about his control over the NetMind. At a Council meeting, they discuss the shooter and other violent events Henry Scott offers to scan the attempted shooter's mind, who's restrained at the Center and begging that he has to do something.

Chapter 12[]

Riley's a little feral Mercy got a little scraped up in the incident and, knowing he's worked up, Mercy teases him. When he pushes for more of a relationship and she refuses, he calls her a coward. He doesn't like seeing her hurt and she tells him that she's not his concern, she's only tolerating his behaviour because she knows he can't help it. Still, Riley's never been like this with any other woman and he really loses it when he scents strange leopards near her aerie.

Chapter 13[]

Anthony and Henry go to meet the attempted shooter, but he takes a pen from an M-Psy, who appears to also be under compulsion, and stabs himself through the ear. The M-Psy also kills himself. By the power required to puppet the two victims, Anthony knows it has to be someone within the Council structure.

Chapter 14[]

The wolf and the leopards bristle at each other, pissing off Mercy, who objects to being fought over. The leopards say Riley has no right to be in the territory and she says he has more right to be there than they do. Since all three refuse to back down, she says fine, let's go for a run, and leads them on a hard run through woods familiar to her and Riley, but not the visitors from AzureSun. She tells Riley to go, not wanting him to get hurt while on DarkRIver land.

Alongside her objection, Mercy's also finding how nice it feels that Riley sees her as a woman, not just as a soldier. Then he scolds her for not being at home in a hot bath. She rolls her eyes and says that's what her plans for the night were until the testosterone display. She tells him to go and she'll take care of the cats; Riley's like yeah you will. He realizes he'd lose her if he didn't trust her to handle the leopards.

Now that Riley's shown he'll listen to her instead of his instincts, then there's a chance they might just work, but a relationship between a lieutenant and a sentinel could have repercussions on both packs.

Riley wakes from a nightmare involving Willow and Brenna's abduction and, disturbed by it, drives to Mercy's in the middle of the night. He sits on the porch, intending to wait for dawn, but she has him come inside and he asks her please ask no questions. She just holds him in her bed until they both fall asleep.

Lucas hears from the kidnapper.

Mercy knows what's haunting Riley and it does something to her to know that he came to her when it got too bad.

The site they were given is a half-demolished building. And she says she's first to go into the meeting with the kidnapper while wearing a bulletproof vest. Riley argues with her, saying there's no need for her to show off and she snaps back that she doesn't need to prove herself to anyone. Mid-argument, Riley nips her bottom lip and threatens to spank her.

The kidnapper's name is Bowen and warns them that he's armed, but doesn't intend to shoot.

Chapter 15[]

Bowen says Nash is safe and when they grabbed him, they hadn't known his little sister was there and traumatizing her was an accident. He wants to meet with Hawke and Lucas and give them all the information he has on the Human Alliance. He and his team of ten people have a bounty on their heads and need to ally with someone stronger or else they'll be dead within days.

Needless to say, the chances of getting what they want aren't looking great, nor is anyone willing to hear him out while he has Nash. Bowen says Nash is at room 10 at the Happy Inn down the street. They'd told him that they had his sister, too, in order to force his cooperation so he wouldn't get hurt. The leopards go and retrieve him.

Meanwhile, another Psy under a compulsion that's crushing his brain, tries to throw himself off a cliff instead of following the psychic orders.

Lucas meets with Bowen. The human hadn't known about DarkRiver's experience with Santano Enrique who took Kylie and Brenna from DarkRiver and SnowDancer and so hadn't known his actions would open old wounds. They took Nash because he was at risk of abduction by the rest of the paramilitary arm of the Human Alliance. The changelings aren't sorry they eliminated his friends who came after Ashaya.

The leaders of the Alliance had told them that Ashaya Aleine would help humans, help them rise from the bottom of the heap. But that quickly escalated into a declaration of war against DarkRiver, then two days ago, they were told to go grab Nash. Bo had his chip removed. The implant, they were told, would help protect against the Psy; he doesn't know if it does, but he does know that he could be tracked through it. Bo says they hadn't had enough time to warn DarkRiver. Lucas lets him know they know where their hideout is, where Lily currently is alone. Bowen tells him that if they touch her, he and his people will strike back.

They believed their leaders and were betrayed by them so they're going rogue. Lucas notes that they're being opportunistic and Bowen says that if they didn't try to ally with DarkRiver, then they'll be dead within days and there won't be anyone working to stop the increasingly aggressive Human Alliance. Lucas tells him to take his people back to their hideout, stay there, and stay out of trouble. DarkRiver and SnowDancer will handle the Human Alliance their way, Bowen can play his games somewhere else.

Bowen offers to swear allegiance and tells Lucas to check incoming flights from Europe, he'll find soldiers coming in without attracting notice. His contact still at the Alliance headquarters says they're going after a new target in the area.

The Psy continues to crawl towards the cliff.

Judd tells Riley some of the juveniles were planning to toilet paper Jon, probably in retaliation for something he did, but Jon was found duct taped to a tree. Lots of itching powder was found on Jon and the SnowDancers had obviously been dosed with it.

Chapter 16[]

In Venice, the Human Alliance has lost two members who disagreed with its recently aggressive goals. They speculate about who leaked the information about the team sent to San Francisco because the leader intends to eliminate the mole. He wants human supremacy with himself as their leader.

Chapter 17[]

Sascha handles the misbehaving juveniles by making them all say one nice thing about each other, meaning Jon had to say one nice thing about every single person he dosed with itching powder. They think it's cruel and unusual punishment.

Mercy blurts out that she slept with Riley, which Sascha already knew because Lucas had told her. She asks if it was good, then is horrified she asked such a personal question, blaming it on having lived among cats for too long. Mercy confesses it was amazing, but thinks a cat/wolf pairing is just wrong. Sascha waves that away, reminding her that they're more than just their animals and says there's nothing wrong with being attracted to Riley, who won't know what hit him.

Mercy's feeling the pressure of the situation with the Human Alliance, the prank war between the juveniles of both packs, and her hunger for Riley.

While in a meeting, Hawke gets a video call from a soldier who found a Psy collapsed and bleeding from his eyes, ears, and nose; there's also petechial hemorrhaging in the whites of his eyes. They find a loaded gun in his car nearby. His ID says his name's Samuel Rain, a robotics expert. With Hawke's blessing, Lucas has Mercy contact Faith to have her father arrange a teleport for the injured Psy. From the evidence, Riley suspects that Samuel tried to kill himself rather than use the gun. If that's true, then Lucas worries what will happen when the PsyNet truly breaks.

Chapter 18[]

Mercy and Riley argue over how controlling he is and he asks what the harm is in indulging themselves? She says fine, but if he goes too far then they're done. He says she can try to end things between them. He already considers her his and decides on a sneaky campaign to win her over rather than full frontal assault.

Chapter 19[]

Judd reports that the Council's downplaying the incidents of violence. They're going to see more murder-suicides as Silence is fracturing, although there's a high probability that they're under compulsion, according to his friend, the Ghost. Although Judd has some guesses as to his identity, he's not going to speculate, noting that the Ghost is just as protective towards the Psy as an alpha is towards his pack.

The Council's definitely up to something, but the Human Alliance is more important right now. Judd confirms that Bowen was right that there's another team in San Francisco and Mercy has Clay pass along the descriptions of the soldiers they found on video feeds to Teijan.

The next time Eduardo tries to woo Mercy, she tells him that he doesn't have a chance and should just go home. Since she doesn't wear Riley's scent and mates don't always recognize each other on sight, he figures he does have a chance. She points out that as a female dominant, she might never mate with anyone; the thought that Riley might mate with someone else is upsetting to her.

Mercy heads to CTX to work on some of their opsec and runs into one of her brothers, Sage, who normally covers crime, and grills him about the shooter in Berkley. He tells her that a Psy professor held a physics class hostage for 20 minutes before putting his gun to his head and pulling the trigger. There are other similar incidents in Chicago, Tahoe, and elsewhere.

Riley relays to Mercy the information Judd provided and they've both checked on the kids at the attempted shooting. He mentions that Hawke's in a bad mood because of Sienna and she asks what's up with the two of them, but Riley refuses to gossip about his alpha. Even though they're allies, their animals don't trust each other, which Mercy sees as a very good reason for them to avoid romantic entanglements with each other. Although she's really afraid of how deeply she's falling for him, especially because if the alliance fails, then she has to be able and willing to take Riley out.

Riley knows she's right.

Chapter 20[]

The Ghost doesn't hate Silence in itself, but rather how the Council uses it, and is looking into who's behind the violence because signs of the compulsions are leaking on to the PsyNet.

Chapter 21[]

Mercy's brothers convince her to go to dinner with them in Chinatown and dancing afterwards. Bastien suspects Mercy's hung up on a guy and guesses that it's Riley since he's the only one who seems to get under her skin, but he's still surprised when she confirms it. She asks him not to tell anyone. He wants to kick Riley's ass, but she doesn't want him to interfere. Then she should have thought of that before she told his ex that he ate live kittens for breakfast. Mercy protests that she hadn't expected his girlfriend to take her seriously. Bastien asks what else his ex was supposed to think when Mercy had staged a cage of kittens and some “defurring” tools in his kitchen?

Riley's worried about how his relationship with Mercy will affect both their packs and he wonders how she feels about kids, if they’re even possible between two very different changelings.

Chapter 22[]

While in an interpack meeting, Hawke receives a video call from a soldier who found a Psy near the edge of a cliff bleeding from his eyes, ears, and nose; his ID says his name's Samuel Rain, a robotics expert at a Psy company. Lucas says they have a contact who can get him to Psy medics and Mercy calls Faith to make it happen, which Riley notes isn't something that's been shared with SnowDancer.

If this Psy followed the same pattern as several of the others, Riley suspects he was trying to kill himself rather than use the loaded gun that was found in his car nearby. Lucas is worried about what will happen when Silence truly breaks. While the video call's still in progress, the Psy disappears as someone teleports him out remotely.

As the meeting adjourns, Hawke knows that Riley and Mercy have hooked up. In the den corridors, she yanks Riley's chain and walks off; it's obviously a challenge for him to pursue her. Only Brenna's watching with unholy glee, thinking their relationship's hilarious since Riley always said he wanted a submissive mate only for him to get involved with a sentinel. He threatens to duct tape her mouth shut and she starts singing "Mercy and Riley sitting in a tree..."

Brenna's actually happy because Riley had changed after her abduction, becoming harder and withdrawn. She loves that Mercy's keeping him from becoming a stranger she doesn't recognize. He throws his little sister over his shoulder and delivers her to her mate, Judd, to whom she stage whispers that Riley likes Mercy. Riley tells Jud he's not doing his job as her mate because she has too much time on her hands and is using it to bug him, only now Judd's intrigued by the new development in Riley's love life, too.

Riley stalks off to find Mercy. Brenna says to Judd that she hopes Mercy puts him through the wringer and brings him out whole on the other side. Judd warns her that he won't be the same person he was before, which she knows, she just wants her brother to be happy again. She thinks Mercy's the person to make that happen because she's strong enough to challenge Riley and refuse to let him retreat.

Mercy saw Riley get distracted by Brenna, but merely waved to him and gets a head start to lead him on a chase. For a little while, she's disappointed because she thinks he fell for one of her tricks, but in reality, he'd caught on and tricked her in turn, ambushing her when she comes down out of the trees.

Laniea, an M-Psy who trusts Anthony Kyriakus, reports that they’ve removed the compulsion, which relieved pressure on his brain, but Samuel Rain’s chances of recovery are slim.  The damage is so extensive, they don’t know if he’ll wake from his coma, and indicates a very experienced telepath was behind the mind control.

Chapter 23[]

Lucas has ordered Mercy to take some time off because she's been working so hard, so she has time to stew in how much she's missing Riley. When Ashaya asks her to take a chip from the humans who ambushed her and her family to her twin, Amara, in SnowDancer territory, Mercy jumps on the distraction.

At Amara's lab, Mercy notices a set of vials. Amara reassures her that she isn't creating another virus, which was exactly what Mercy had wondered, but is a form of play to create different colours. As part of her attempts to help Amara adjust to life outside the PsyNet, Sascha had recommended play, which seems frivolous to Amara. Mercy suggests she look at it as a way of testing out ideas without worrying about the end result. As she leaves, Amara mixes up a vial that matches the colour of Mercy's red hair.

Chapter 24[]

The Information Merchant sends off a partial list that contains treasonous secrets.

Chapter 25[]

Riley comes across Mercy in her cat form sunning on a rock in SnowDancer territory and he invites her to go check on some wild bears in the area that might have fallen sick. Naturally, she gives him some very feline attitude, but agrees. When he shifts to wolf, she pounces on him and they play a little, as well as along the way to the bears' area. Alarms go off in Riley's brain, warning him that this means something, but he ignores it.

Having been chewed out for not giving Sienna a position within the pack, an insult to anyone over the age of 18, Hawke goes to discuss with Judd her level of control. He runs into Ben, who's also on his way to the Lauren family's quarters to see his best friend, Marlee. Ben tells him that Judd's out doing "kissy stuff" with Brenna and Sienna answers the door at his little knock.

After checking out the bears, Mercy and Riley find another sunny rock and shift back to human; they both think that the bears are fine. He gives her a massage since she's sore from training, and things escalate from there.

Chapter 26[]

People across the city are paying in cash for seemingly innocuous items like cleaning chemicals while avoiding being seen on camera.

Chapter 27[]

Mercy asks Riley if he does actually want a less dominant woman to settle down with. He turns it back on her, asking if she doesn't value submissive packmates. Privately, she's hurt by the ostensible admission, but says she respects less dominant packmates and loves the ones she's close with, like her mom. She asks about his mom, but he shuts down and says he has to leave. Of course she wants to press, not just out of curiosity, but because he matters to her and he hasn't really let down his walls around her. She doesn't, though, because she doesn't want to hurt him by pushing him before he's ready.

At a Council meeting, there's still no progress on determining the identity of the mastermind behind the violence. Anthony asks Henry Scott if Pure Psy is behind the incidents, knowing his fellow Councilor's affiliation with the group, but Henry dodges the implied allegation and says that Pure Psy's known for supporting the Silence Protocol and acts of violence are antithetical to their goal. Shoshanna says there are rumours that the incidents are because of breakdowns in Silence. Tatiana thinks that they should at least consider Henry's suggestion of mass rehabilitations, or at the very least eliminate the troublemakers quicker.

Nikita suggests opening the Center for voluntary reconditioning, arguing that survival instincts - something that's impossible to entirely condition out - will cling to the familiar in light of recent events. Reconditioning would mean a calmer PsyNet, which would work against the rebels. Shoshanna's dubious, but Tatiana thinks it might work because at their core their race fears the monsters within.

Mercy's questions about what Riley wants in a mate are still echoing in his mind, annoying him, as if he's in the wrong for wanting a mate who would be safe at home where they'd be protected, unlike his mom and sister.

Indigo relays the Rats' report that the Human Alliance soldiers are moving around the city, but are unable to provide any specifics. Toby stops to give Riley a gift, which sparks Indigo's curiosity. Riley teases her, saying that she's been hanging out with Mercy too much. Indigo says of course she has since they're the pretty much the only two in the area with the same level of dominance. Startled, Riley reminds her that Garnet's also a lieutenant, but Indigo points out that she's in the LA den so Mercy's closer. Riley wonders if that means the leadership's unbalanced, but Indigo brushes it off since these things change with each generation. In Riley's mom's day, she was one of six female lieutenants with four male lieutenants.

The present is a puzzle box in the shape of a leopard that he made with Walker's help and Indigo asks what he's done to warrant the intricate piece of woodworking. Riley says he's been teaching Toby tracking and other woodcraft. She says he's a good big brother and uncle, which is how he and Toby view their relationship since Riley's sister's mated to Toby's uncle, Judd. Riley wonders if he's too grounded, too uninteresting to hold Mercy's interest, but then again, if he wants a non-dominant mate who will be safe at home, then why should he worry about what Mercy thinks?

Chapter 28[]

Sascha meets with Toby and he tells her the sparks of emotion in the LaurenNet are getting stronger. She suspects that his empathy only developed in the LaurenNet because an empath was needed, if he'd remained in the PsyNet his E abilities wouldn't have been needed nor allowed to develop and would have remained dormant. He admits that he can sense an old, deep sadness in Riley and asks if that knowledge is unethical. She reassures him that it's not since he didn't consciously exercise his powers, it's no different than a changeling smelling someone's emotions by simply breathing.

Hawke's given Sienna a soldier position and she's become incredibly polite, mature, and even compliant with him, which is bizarre for her. She's normally more like Mercy, wild, passionate, and a vivid personality. Riley's worried about her, comparing it to a changeling trying to choke their beast and knows it's wrong. Hawke's worried, too.

Joaquin asks Mercy out to breakfast and she says sure, why not since pancakes are hardly a date and she's hungry, having just gotten off a shift. They have a friendly chat, but he notes she still doesn't wear Riley's scent, which she blames her cat for.

Riley calls Mercy to get her to meet him, but she balks and tells him not to expect sex on demand. Upset at the accusation, Riley says he just wanted to talk and fills her in on Sienna's concerning behaviour, which Mercy also recognizes as very wrong. She's even stonewalling her uncle, Judd. Mercy agrees to see if Sascha can talk to Sienna.

As the conversation turns to their relationship, Mercy says that things between them will only end badly, but fighting it's just as bad.

Chapter 29[]

A young, powerful Tk is in shock after killing his roommate with a bureau. He's offered mild rehabilitation instead of a sentence and he agrees, seeing Silence as his salvation.

Chapter 30[]

Mercy fills Sascha in on Sienna’s situation and how Riley’s pushing for a relationship even though they’re not mates and she’s not what he wants in a mate.  She doesn’t know what to do, Sascha tells her to have fun while figuring it out.

Clay refers to kids (Jon and Noor) at Tammy’s, Tally dinner with Ria for a strategy meeting for human women dealing with changeling men.  Dorian says Ashaya’s with Amara, so Keenan’s at Tammy’s, too.  Vaughn says Faith and Brenna are also at Tammy’s as they’ve become good friends.  Judd’s probably over there, too, since he doesn’t like letting Brenna out of his sight.  Mercy says they’re all just as overprotective and Sascha agrees, telling them that Lucas had ordered her to go lie down earlier, which she did not take kindly to.  Mercy does privately note that Sascha seems more fragile.

Teijan reports that humans are buying up chemicals that could create a low-tech bomb so the Rats are keeping an eye out.

Riley asks Hawke if he can ask a hypothetical question, which Hawke knows isn’t truly hypothetical, but his answer’s to find Mercy and get with her.  Riley says no wonder he has bb if that’s his pick-up line, but he knows why and warns him that several men, including himself, will kill Hawke if he touches Sienna because she’s too young.  Hawke feigns ignorance.  But they won’t kill him for simply spending time with her.  He knows that Riley’s just as tightly wound as he is, he just hides it better.

Since Andrew told Brenna that Riley’s not sleeping well, she goes to check on him, worried that it’s because of her abduction and torture.  He reassures her that, that’s not it.  The problem is that he wants sex, which is too much information for her to know about her brother. Her dramatic reaction lifts his mood.

He’s always been responsible, never roamed, and Brenna says maybe it’s time for him to roam with Mercy, at which point he kicks her out of the gym, unwilling to discuss it with his little sister.  Ultimately, the problem is that their loyalties are to their packs and it would kill them to have to choose, knowing that the mating bond will likely supersede their bonds to their alphas.

Chapter 31[]

The team of humans from Venice are all there because the Psy hurt them in some way: one’s family was killed by a Psy and they framed his father for the crime, another had a Psy reach into his head and take whatever they wanted, while another’s simply tired of always being at the bottom of the food chain.  Even though they’ve almost gotten caught, and much of their supplies confiscated, they’re determined to carry out their mission.

Chapter 32[]

When Mercy gets home after a night shift, Eduardo bids goodbye to Mercy, but Joaquin plans to stick around.  She repeats her declaration of disinterest and heads to bed.  As the two visiting sentinels are leaving, Riley is arriving.  As he’d promised if he showed his face again, Riley kicks Joaquin’s ass.  He stops just short of ripping out his throat and tells Joaquin to leave or he won’t stop next time.  They shake hands and Joaquin wishes him luck with Mercy.  Riley warns him to tell Isabella that if she sends anymore of her people, they’ll be coming home missing parts.

Mercy smells Joaquin’s blood on Riley and asks if he’s still alive, and Riley says he is.  She scolds him because she’d told him to stay away from the AzureSun leopards and he says he’s not a pet dog so stop trying to leash him.  She tells him to shower, then puts some bruise cream on him, and they both fall asleep.

Later, Riley calls Mercy to tell her that he’d gotten a tip about a warehouse and checked it out already, which pisses her off because he thought he was protecting her by keeping her out of the loop, which ultimately hurts the alliance between SnowDancer and DarkRiver.  He reports that they’d found the scent of humans and bomb-making materials.

Mercy tells Riley that they’re through and their only relationship from then on is that of pack liaisons.  Riley tells her she doesn’t get to end them over that, but it’s her choice and she’d trusted him only for him to break that trust.

Chapter 33[]

When Sascha asks Toby about Sienna, he’s hesitant to betray his sister’s confidence, which she understands so she boils it down to one question: Does Sienna need help?  He nods and says she’s terrified and it’s breaking her heart.  Before, she was okay because he could help with his empathic “rainbows,” but now she’s shut up so tight that they can’t get through her shields. 

Sascha promises to help and finds Sienna by the mural, white as a ghost and touching the painting. Obviously distressed, she babbles that she didn’t mean to and worries that Hawke will be pissed because she knows the mural’s important to him.  There’s a small fracture in the wall.  Sienna says she’s losing control of her emotions and her powers and confirms Sascha’s suspicion that her Cardinal ability is a combat one and isn’t telepathy. 

She admits that her problem’s probably because of Hawke because the first time she met him, all of her Silence and conditioning, everything, shattered all at once.  Sascha considers the possibility that Sienna needs Silence to control her abilities and asks if her familial network will hold if she leaves the den for awhile.  It should since Toby and Marlee are both settled and there’s no longer concern that they’ll instinctively try to rejoin the PsyNet.  Sascha tells her that she’s been working with their techs on contacts that will disguise Cardinal eyes. 

She wonders if Sienna might be a Cardinal X-Psy, but dismisses the thought because not only is the extremely dangerous designation incredibly rare, only the weakest survive to adulthood because the strong ones are destroyed by the ability before reaching adulthood.  Frantic, Sienna tells her that no one can know her ability or that she’s losing control and admits that Ming wanted her as one of his Arrows until he realized she was a potential threat and put the rehab order on her entire family.  She also thinks that she needs Silence.

Chapter 34[]

Both of Sienna’s uncles are worried about her.  Hawke doesn’t want to let her go, worried that the Council will discover she’s alive if she leaves the den.  Sascha explains the contacts and that they plan to cut and dye her uniquely coloured hair.  He asks why Sienna would be better off elsewhere and Sascha explains that it’s because he won’t be there.  He relents and hopes that she’ll get over her crush and if she doesn’t, then Sascha should tell her that he can’t give her what she wants.  Sascha gets the feeling that he’d already lost his mate.  He still wants her back in one week or he’ll come to get her himself.

Riley scents Eli’s whole family, including Sakura, D’Arn and Sing-Liu, and Tai and Judd.  Tai’s likely to make lieutenant and has a serious case of hero worship for Judd.  After what Sascha did for Brenna, Riley would take a bullet for her without question.

Hawke seeks out Riley and picks a fight so they can both vent their frustrations by beating the crap out of each other.  Afterwards, Riley admits he’d shut Mercy out of the investigation to protect her and Hawke tells him how dumb that was and that Mercy was right, he did put the alliance in jeopardy with that stunt.  Riley protests that Lucas wouldn’t fight Hawke over that incident, which is true because both alphas are going to let Riley and Mercy sort it out between them.  If he can’t, then Hawke will have to assign another liaison, which makes Riley bristle and insists he’ll handle it.  Hawke says that as alpha, he wants to tell Riley to walk away.  But as his friend, he thinks he should go for it since it’s rare for a man to meet a woman who gets to him that deeply.  That’s a huge wake up call for Riley.

Chapter 35[]

Nikita Duncan doesn’t understand why she posed as a human to track down a very rare, quite expensive, out of print book that’s been banned by the Council.  As she wraps it to send it to Sascha, she tells herself that it’s the same reason as she does anything: power.

Chapter 36[]

Isabella calls Mercy to ask what this is she’s hearing about her and a wolf? She warns her that wolves are very different and are more brutal in their pack structure.  Mercy tells her it doesn’t matter anymore because Riley hurt her and they’re done.

Even though she’s with Kit, Sascha’s worried about Sienna, who’s at a gathering of older juveniles and young packmates who saw her visit as an excuse to socialize.  They’d told the pack that she’s visiting from Tally’s hometown.  She’s already doing better and if worse comes to worst, Judd will knock her out with a telepathic blast.  Kit is soldier neat.

Lucas talked Hawke into letting Sienna stay with them indefinitely by telling him how she’d improved since leaving the den.  Dorian drops off a package for Sascha that had been delivered to DarkRiver HQ.  It’s a book from Nikita - The Mysterious E Designation: Empathic Gifts and Shadows by Alice Eldridge.

Riley goes to Mercy to apologize and finds her taking out her anger on a poor defenseless tree that she mentally calls Riley.  He’s impressed by her fighting skills.  She can dual wield swords and promises if he asks nicely, she’ll play with knives for him one day.  He admits that he's confused by her and doesn't know what he's doing around her half the time, which is a new experience for him. He admits he's never submitted in his life and wonders if that's what she wants.

Chapter 37[]

Mercy tells Riley he already knows the answer to that. He knows that she'd chew up and spit out a submissive, which wouldn't make her happy. He admits he realized his mistake and she draws it out to make him squirm. He offers to apologize physically and she says she'll think about it, leaving him to amuse himself while she showers.

Grabbing a beer, Riley watches her from the bathroom doorway, telling Mercy he found a way to amuse himself. As he joins her, she asks if he's going to break her trust again and he says never on purpose, but he'll probably screw up when the wolf's riding him and promises to meet her halfway and give his all.

In bed later, he tells her what it was like raising his little sister, Brenna, from the time she could barely walk. He breaks down and admits he wasn't there for her when it mattered the most, thinking about how she must have cried out for him, but he wasn't there for her. Mercy tells him that he was there for Brenna while she was tortured, where does he think she learned the inner strength that saw her through that? Who taught her that she could beat anything? Riley didn't cage her, instead raising her to be a proud, strong wolf. Having never considered that perspective before, it will take him some time to absorb that. Mercy tells him to remember that Brenna made it and she would probably like her brother back.

Mercy tells him a story of when she was 15 years old, she had a crush on another cat and gave him a Valentine. He made sure to open it in front of all his friends and where she could hear, proclaiming that he'd never date another boy. It crushed her young confidence, but then she decided to get even. There was a competition - Miss Bikini Babe - to showcase a new line of swimwear and Dorian helped falsify her entry to say she was 18 years old, one of the requirements. She'd had a poster made of herself wearing a tiny polka dot bikini and the winner's sash and put it on his locker with the words "Dickless wonders need not apply." She got detention for the stunt and they were grounded for months, Dorian punished as her accomplice.

Chapter 38[]

The Information Merchant, confident in his safety as a high-level telepath, goes to meet his client, who shoots him with a dart before using a bullet because he knows too much. Whatever is in the dart prevents him from attacking.

Chapter 39[]

A sentinel from another leopard pack, Hamilton, meets with Mercy to pass along some files, He asks her if there's anyone else like her in DarkRiver and Mercy says she's one of a kind, disappointing him. He admits he's looking to settle down and she figures he came back around to see if she was his mate, but he says he can see he's too late, raising the hairs on the back of her neck.

There's a new layer to her scent even though she's showered since she was with Riley and it's giving hands off vibes, meaning she and Riley are in the mating dance. Hamilton's the first to pick it up since everyone else she's seen that morning is mated, so that marker wouldn't register as strongly. She threatens to kill Riley and Hamilton can't really blame him for not telling her since dominant women don't like to be tied down, so he wouldn't want to tell her until they were deeply entangled. She passes along Indigo's phone number before he leaves.

Riley calls Mercy to say the Rats found a body that washed up and it has the metallic tang that many Psy have. Admiring the Rats' intelligence network, he wants to meet more of them, but Mercy points out they're pretty wary since before the alliance SnowDancer had said they'd skin any Rats they found sniffing around. He notes that some falcons from the wing WindHaven will be flying over their territories as per negotiations.

Mercy takes samples from the body in a way that doesn't leave evidence and they discuss how to tip off Enforcement about the corpse without revealing their involvement. She sends the samples to Ashaya for analysis.

The NetMind pays Faith NightStar a visit to tell her that the PsyNet is dying, but the Psy aren't yet ready for help. She has a vision that the tipping point will come when the Ghost breaks Silence, the only question is whether or not the PsyNet will survive.

Chapter 40[]

Mercy tells Riley of her time roaming in South America and promises to take him to Carnaval one year. He's growing more proprietary, but she's not about to just fall for him without making him work for it. She tells him that there's a new game and, because he's so rule-bound, there are no rules. He'll have to adapt if he wants to play with a cat.

Nicki, apprenticed to the pack historian, reports to Sascha what she's found on the author of the obscure book Nikita sent her. Alice Eldridge was a human Ph.D. student who was studying different Psy designations in 1968, but then shifted her focus to empaths. Her work was considered groundbreaking; the original print run in 1972 through a university press was 2,000 and then a bigger publisher became interested. Eldridge died in a climbing accident in 1975 and copies of her study was destroyed, contributing to the erasure of empaths from history. In her search, Nicki also found a reference to another manuscript of Eldridge's on X-Psy.

Sascha admits to Lucas that her powers are changing and growing, which scares her, and he promises to support her and help her figure them out.

In the parkade at DarkRiver HQ, Mercy's brothers and father ambush Riley. Bastien's the first to challenge him, asking what right he thinks he has to touch his sister, and Riley tells him that Mercy gave him that right herself. Her dad, Michael Smith, asks him if he's going to hurt his daughter. Naturally, Riley says no, but Michael tells him that her grandmother says he's already hurt Mercy. Riley suddenly empathizes with Judd when he and Andrew made his life a living hell when he first got involved with Brenna. He says that Mercy's not that fragile.

Riley's de-escalating the situation since he sees Grey and Sage as pups and Bastien could be dangerous, but her dad's the one that he has to impress and he doesn't want to hurt any of them. Michael asks if she's ever beaten Riley in a fight, no but she has come close. He asks Riley how he took that, it was like swallowing sandpaper, but he won't walk away from her and Michael knows why.

Chapter 41[]

Mercy talks to Teijan, who's annoyed because the humans are evading his people's attempts to track them. Then she goes to Lucas to suggest using Bowen and his team, but he simply says "yeah." When she pushes, he tells her that he picked up on the mating dance that morning and Riley's not rational when it comes to Bowen and what he did. Mercy protests that she's loyal to DarkRiver, but Lucas hadn't wanted to put her in a difficult position, it wasn't a comment on her loyalty. Still, she's deeply hurt. Bowen's story checked out and Lucas currently has him tracking the Human Alliance team. He promises to inform her if anything of use comes of it.

Still upset over being kept in the dark, Mercy calls her mom who invites her to dinner, but she tries to say she's not in the best of moods. Lia, her mother, asks if Riley has anything to do with her mood. Startled, Mercy asks her where she heard that, and Lia gently chides her, saying that she'd hoped Mercy would tell her herself. When she didn't, Lia went and invited Riley to dinner the following night.

Ashaya reports to Mercy and Riley that the drug found in the wounds of the body that washed up match the one in the darts the team that attacked her and her family had, had. Amara tested the drug on herself and was deprived of her psychic abilities for five minutes. Thinking such a drug meant they could simply incapacitate Psy attackers instead of having to kill them, Mercy asks if it can be replicated. Ashaya refuses, saying that it'd be like a drug that prevents a changeling from shifting, a painful and soul-wrenching experience that her mate had, had to live with for most of his life.

Moreover, Amara's heart stopped 30 minutes after injection. Concerned for Ashaya after nearly losing her twin, Mercy goes to call Dorian, but she says that he's already on his way to her. The drug could obviously be used to kill, but possibly also simply weaken if there was an antidote or the victim's heart was restarted in time, as in Amara's case.

After the call ends, Mercy tries to brush Riley off and becomes angry when he tries to kiss her, shoving him away. The implications of mating with him are scaring her and she lashes out at him, saying that he's an okay lay but she needs her space and has no time for a relationship. Riley says in that case, their mating is going to be hell for both of them.

Chapter 42[]

Although he sees Silence as a cage, the Ghost sees how mild rehabilitation appeals to many and isn't sure if he should stop them from opting for it. He needs answers from someone who understands emotion.

Chapter 43[]

Mercy feels terrible for what she'd said to Riley, especially when he hadn't done anything to deserve it, and worse, he'll swallow his pride and come to her again because the mating dance won't allow him to stay away. She drives to the SnowDancer den where Andrew meets her at the entrance and walks her to Riley's quarters. Even though she bites his head off, he says he'll make sure Hawke knows she's there so she won't have to check in herself.

When Mercy asks Drew why he's being so helpful, he says he's entertained watching Mercy keep his brother off-balance. She threatens him with serious bodily harm if he shows back up at Riley's door again that night and he says Riley's lucky. Before he leaves, he warns Mercy to be gentle with his brother because he'd die for Mercy, but doesn't expect anyone else to do the same for him.

Riley's incredibly pissed at her, but still lets her in. They kiss and make up; he'd never expected Mercy to come to him. She's freaked out because the mating bond will break the bond to pack for one of them and she knows it will be her. Without her pack and her position as sentinel, she won't be the same woman and doesn't know if her cat can accept being part of a pack of wolves.

Chapter 44[]

Mercy and Riley meet with Nash, who explains he signed a nondisclosure agreement, which was contingent for their funding. Mercy says the more information they have, the better they can protect him and his family. Nash says that humans and Psy are most likely to make another kidnap attempt, but changelings are less likely. The company he works for is looking to see who might have leaked information to the Human Alliance.

The project's meant to be non-profit for medical applications, but at higher cost for other uses. Nash hadn't considered that others might use it to become stronger even though they're nowhere close to a functioning prototype.

The human team is watching Nikita Duncan and planning her death with some creepy objectification thrown in, too.

Mercy asks Tamsyn if she has kids with Riley if they'll shift. The healer explains that unions between different predatory species aren't common, so there isn't a lot of information, but what they do know is that the children will have the same animal form as the most dominant parent. If the parents are close in dominance, then it's a little less certain. Mercy doesn't care what they shift into as long as they can shift. Even though Dorian never talked about it, she knows how much his latency hurt him.

Kaleb Krychek's on his way home and finds a team of humans armed with missile launchers lying in wait for him.

Chapter 45[]

Mercy and Riley try to figure out why the Human Alliance is targeting San Francisco, particularly since the areas they've been frequenting would be just as likely targets in another city, and realize that not every city has Nikita Duncan. Mercy rants that the person running the operation's an idiot who deserves to have their head ripped off. Riley says that his mom would have loved her and tells her about them. They would have been so proud of him and if she has a son, she wants him to be just like Riley.

At Lucas' direction, Bowen calls Mercy to give her the list of targets he got from his informant. An all-out war will break out if the Human Alliance succeeds. Riley calls Faith and Mercy calls Sascha, who calls her mother for the first time since her defection. Nikita assumes it's about the book, but Sascha warns her to check her building for explosives since the Council's been targeted for assassination.

After Nikita hangs up to go act on that information, Sascha breaks down and sends for Lucas through their mating bond. Before he can show up, Dorian arrives, explaining that Ashaya sensed Sascha's need through the Web of Stars, although Lucas had called right after. He tells her that she's helped him enough times, so now he gets to return the favour. Other than asking him to confirm that Faith passed along the message to Anthony Kyriakus, she simply soaks up his comfort.

Lucas arrives, having hauled ass from the city, and Sascha admits that hearing her mother's voice hit her hard. She'd been avoiding business meetings with her, and he's been letting her. She doesn't understand why she's so upset and complains that her emotions have been all over the place lately. Getting a suspicion, he inhales her scent and she senses his spike of joy and protectiveness as he realizes she's pregnant.

Kaleb had been unable to to get through a block on the minds of the humans intent on killing him and then they were killed remotely. Each one had, had a chip in the back of their neck.

Explosives were found at a place where Anthony was scheduled to have a meeting, but he's safe. The bomb for Nikita was planted in the elevator shaft, most likely to be detonated remotely once she was in the cab, but last minute changes to her plans meant she hadn't gone to her penthouse right away.

Chapter 46[]

Mercy and Riley go to her parents' house for dinner and Lisa figures out that Michael, Bastien, Grey, and Sage all ganged up on Riley after she'd told them not to. Riley just reassures her that he's find and he has a sister, too. Lia accuses Mercy of bringing "another one into the family."

After confirming with a pregnancy test, Tamsyn explains to Sascha that the male half of a mated pair always knows first when their mate's pregnant. She's still reeling because when she was in the PsyNet, she'd been adamant to never bring a child into the same type of life she'd been forced to endure.

Sascha and Lucas are both terrified at the thought of having a child. Sascha because her mother was barely deserving of the title and Lucas because he's afraid he won't be able to protect them, but they both have faith in each other. She's going to study as much as she can and he teases her that she'll have a graduate degree by the time the kid is born; he won't have to read up because she'll read them to him.

The council discusses the assassination plans; venomous funnel-web spiders were released on Tatiana Rika-Smythe's property, which was probably a back-up plan after she cancelled a trip. The plan she was meant to be aboard had engine failure and it crashed into the ocean, killing all passengers. Kaleb sketches in the attempt on his life. They fired antitank rounds at Ming Lebon's vehicle, but Vasic Zen had teleported everyone out at the last minute.

The good news is, is that the programmed violence in the Psy has stopped. Henry thinks it's because of the voluntary reconditioning being a step in the right direction to perfect Silence.

Michael lets Mercy know he approves of Riley, although her brothers are pretty much only kept in check by Lia. Riley earns her approval, too, when Bastien challenges him, asking if he can take care of Mercy and he says she can take care of herself, but he'd do anything for her.

Chapter 47[]

The Human Alliance leadership has gone to ground, the chairman's undergoing plastic surgery to assume a new identity. Instead of failure, he sees it as the first skirmish and the Psy will soon prove themselves the monsters they are when they retaliate. The changelings, however, he plans to warn them against further interference. His own chip's a different version of the ones that were in the soldiers.

Chapter 48[]

Mercy shows Riley one of her favourite spots.

Chapter 49[]

The Ghost asks Judd if he should stop people from opting to strengthen their conditioning since he's not concerned with Silence in and of itself, but it's a powerful tool for the Council. Judd says that a choice made out of fear of change isn't really a choice. Silence has changed the Psy and taught them things that they didn't know before, like the techniques that kept Judd alive.

The Ghost, however, isn't sure he can ever choose emotion because if he loses control, the PsyNet would break.

Chapter 50[]

Three young trainee soldiers from SnowDancer have gone missing after a night at a club as have four young members of DarkRiver who were out to dinner, including Mercy's brother, Grey. She and Riley join the teams searching the city, assisted by Bowen and his team. His usual levelheadedness helps balance out Mercy's hotheadedness.

Their search leads them to the Palace of Fine Arts where they find the abductees unconscious, but alive. Hawke suspects that it's really a distraction and Mercy bristles at him when he gives her an order, pointing out that he's not her alpha. He brushes that aside as a mere technicality. Mercy says that even if they mate, she'll never accept Hawke as her alpha. They don't know what they're going to do. Riley's hoping to manipulate their dominance so he'd be the one to leave his pack.

Chapter 51[]

The Information Merchant left a contingency plan that announces to the world his last client was the Human Alliance as well as other secrets.

Chapter 52[]

CTX receives an anonymous tip that the Human Alliance has set a bomb to go off in the city in 30 minutes. Mercy and Riley work with Bowen and his team, who assumes he has a traitor, to find and disable the bomb.

Riley doesn't insist that Mercy walk away to where it's safe and she remembers what Drew said, that Riley doesn't expect anyone to sacrifice for him, but he'd give everything for those he loves. She takes his hand and tells him that she has something for him, then places his hand over her heart and opens herself to the mating bond.

They're still reeling from the bond snapping into place when one of the falcons drops out of the sky, barely surviving the fall. They rush to get him out of the area of the bomb's radius, but are forced to shift to their animals, which are lower to the ground, to cover the falcon and protect themselves as they're caught in the blast.

Riley's wolf has a broken leg, but is licking the muzzle of Mercy's cat to try and wake her. There's a huge gash along her side and Hawke applies pressure to the wound. Even though she'd refused to accept him as alpha, Hawke still sees her as Pack and is frustrated he can't share strength with her like he can Riley. Lucas and Tamsyn arrive to help. The leopard alpha tells Hawke that he can't have her and Tammy snaps at them to fight over her later, continuing to work on Mercy.

Chapter 53[]

The Council begins eliminating leadership of the Human Alliance, demoralizing the rest of the humans.

Chapter 54[]

Adam Garrett, the injured falcon, tells Hawke and Lucas that he was shot out of the sky while on his way to the city to meet with Hawke and Lucas as the new wing leader of WindHaven. He's severely injured and probably only survived because he's effectivelyan alpha. Luckily, his healer, Naia, is with him.

Jacques, Adam's second, shows them where the shooting happened and the two alphas find eight dead humans. Bowen confirms that two of them were the chairman's minions and one is his suspected traitor, Claude. The chips seem to have been triggered remotely, liquefying their brains until they ooze out of their ears.

Riley crawls into Mercy's bed and holds her to him, terrified he's going to lose her.

Bowen and his team return to Venice where he'll be taking over leadership of the Alliance and running it very differently. DarkRiver and SnowDancer have come to an agreement because he knows he screwed up - he's still kicking himself over Willow - and did what he could to make amends. When he got the call from Venice, he'd told Hawke and Lucas his plans to clean house and maybe build something better.

Tatiana Rika-Smythe's nearly skeletal from expending so much energy puppetting the chairman in her attempt to eliminate her fellow Councilors and rule the Net. Three weeks ago, she'd ensured that his chip, meant to block things like mind control, was defective. Now that he's no longer of use and a drain on her energy, he's dead. She considers programming the next leader of the Alliance.

Chapter 55[]

Mercy wakes up to find an exhausted Riley passed out next to her. They both deal with nearly having lost each other. They're in Riley's cabin, which he'd originally built for his mate.

Riley apologizes, assuming her sentinel bond broke since his lieutenant bond is still strong. Hawke joins them on the porch and claims he's Mercy's alpha, which she says is a load of crap. Lucas and Sascha join them, but before Sascha can say much, Mercy scents Sascha's pregnant and congratulates her. She says they're there to discuss the Web of Stars and SnowDancer's equivalent.

Lucas interrupts to suggest Sascha sit because, as he freely admits, he's incapable of reason while she's pregnant. She only acquiesces because Mercy and Riley should still be on bed rest as per their healers.

Sascha explains that their mating bond didn't remove either of them from their packs, as they'd feared, and neither have their networks merged. She thinks that a changeling networks needs an alpha at the core, but can't have two alphas, and since Hawke and Lucas already had a blood bond from the alliance, Mercy and Riley are able to bond without leaving their packs.

Hawke and Lucas want them to choose. Mercy and Riley are in agreement that they'll remain in their respective packs since in the changeling world mates come first and then Pack since the latter's built on ties of family. Mercy just says don't expect them to keep secrets from each other and Riley asks them not to declare war on each other any time soon. On the contrary, both alphas are eager now that they have the perfect liaison team.

Epilogue[]

Mercy and Riley are enjoying their mating celebration with DarkRiver with plans for another hosted by SnowDancer a month later. Poor Sascha's being petted and spoiled and generally can't get a moment of peace.

Sascha's ready to crack the book Nikita gave her because her child might inherit her abilities.

Riley asks Mercy how many "brat-lets" she wants, as many as it takes to drive him insane, so one redheaded little girl should do it.

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