Mine to Possess

Surrounded by the extraordinary power of both races, it was difficult not to feel weak.

“Don’t.” Clay’s voice was firm. “You’re you because you’re human. I like you.”

She rolled her eyes even as her lips threatened to curve. “I like you, too, even if you’re only half human,” she teased. “But sometimes, being only human—”

“Be quiet and listen,” he ordered in that dominant tone that intrigued her even as it infuriated. “Do you know about the eighteenth century’s Territorial Wars?”

CHAPTER 34

“Sure, we learned about it in school.” Thousands of changelings had died in the bloodshed, taking the other races with them.

“Do you know the name of the man who helped draft the laws that ended the war?”

“Adrian Kenner,” she said, flipping through her memory files to retrieve the name. “He was a side note in a history textbook.”

“A side note to the other races, maybe,” Clay said. “He’s considered a critical figure in changeling history. All our children know his name. What most people forget, though”—he brushed his lips over hers—“is that Adrian Kenner was only human, too.”

She wiggled up the bed until they were face-to-face. “Really? But how? Why?”

“The predators would’ve torn each other’s throats out. A nonpredatory negotiator would’ve been ignored by the predators.” Matter-of-fact words. “As for the Psy—they tried but the changelings wouldn’t trust anyone who had the ability to mess with their minds. Plus, they had a nasty way of looking down on us for being animals.”

“The Psy were like that before Silence?”

“Why do you think Silence took so well? The seeds were there.”

Talin mulled his words over. “You’re saying we’re neutral territory.”

“No, you’re the bridge. Changelings trust only Pack. Psy stay in the PsyNet. But humans move freely between all three—or did, before Silence.”

She bit her lip. “The Forgotten—more of them married humans than changelings.”

“Yes. It’s almost impossible to breach the walls of a changeling pack. We’re as unwelcoming to outsiders as the Psy.”

“You’re not so bad,” she murmured. “I like how you care for each other.” The depth of that loyalty was an almost visible force.

“But we need the occasional human to come in and shake us up. All the humans who’ve mated into DarkRiver have made us stronger, given us bonds outside the pack. You’re not only human, Talin. You’re beautifully, powerfully human.”

She nodded, but her mind was less on his words than why he’d said them. For her. To bolster her confidence. Was it any wonder she loved him? “I’m so glad I came to you,” she said, just as a low beep cut through the air.

“That’s my cell phone,” Clay told her. “It’s on the bed stand—can you grab it?”

Knowing it had to be important if he was willing to cut short their conversation, she turned, grabbed it, and gave it to him. She stayed with her head on his arm but put enough distance between them that she could see his face as he flipped open the phone. “Thanks for getting back to me,” were his first words.

“Yes.”

“When?”

“I’ll see you then.” He closed the phone.

She figured it had to be pack business and was practical enough to know it would most likely not include her. It was, she thought, one thing to become his lover, quite another to be welcomed into DarkRiver. “You have a meeting?” She tried to keep her voice bright, unwilling to spoil the morning by asking for something he didn’t want to give her.

“We have a meeting.” There was a satisfied glint in his eye.

Her determination not to ruin things gave way to interest. “With whom?”

“A SnowDancer. I gave him a call last night before the dance. I had a feeling Judd still had some very interesting contacts inside the PsyNet.”

“But, the SnowDancers are wolves.” She frowned. “How could he have contacts?”

“He’s Psy. Mated to a SnowDancer wolf.”

Excitement tore through her with the force of lightning unleashed. “Would he be able to find out if they’re taking the children, confirm if it is the Psy?”

“Damn Psy walks like an assassin—who knows what info he can get his hands on.” He kissed her without warning, derailing her thoughts with the dark heat of it. “But I know what I want to get my hands on.”

Half an hour later, she glanced at her neck in the bathroom mirror and scowled. “Why didn’t you just bite me?” she asked, rubbing at the mark he’d left.

“I did.” Patting her on the bottom as he passed, half-dressed in jeans, his hair wet, he gave her an unrepentant grin. “Want me to do it again?” His gaze angled downward.

Blushing, she pushed him out of the bathroom and continued brushing her own wet hair. “Make me tea!” she called out after him, knowing they had time since this Judd person was coming down from the Sierra Nevada.

“How the hell do you make tea?” he muttered. “I don’t have tea.”

“Yes, you do. It’s on the top shelf—I got some from Tamsyn.” She really had to go grocery shopping if she was going to be living with Clay. That thought froze her. “Clay?”

He heard her, though her voice had been a whisper. “I’m making the damn tea.”

“I had a question.”

“What?”

“Are we living together?”

A few seconds of silence and then he was in the doorway, his eyes cat-green. Walking over, he kissed the mark on her neck. “You try to leave and I will hunt you down.”

Relief poured through her, but she smacked at his thigh with the back of her brush. “Like a rabid dog? Very romantic.”

“I’m serious. This is it. Forever.”

She met his gaze in the mirror and wondered how long forever would be. As yesterday’s inexplicable allergic reaction had proved, the disease in her blood was getting stronger day by day. But, she thought with a fresh wave of fury, damn if she was giving in. “Forever.” She’d fight hell itself to stay with him this time.

He rested his hands on her hips and bent down until their faces reflected side by side. He was so beautiful— all masculine arrogance and possessiveness—that she knew she’d have to be on her guard constantly. Otherwise, she’d give him everything he wanted.

His fingers pushed up, touched skin. “You want me.”

“We’ll be late.” But she leaned into him, luxuriating in the strength contained within that muscular body, needing him enough to indulge this small selfishness.

“Judd hasn’t been mated long,” he murmured, hands slipping up to curve over her unbound breasts.

Her breath caught at the bold move, at the sultry image of his hands moving under her T-shirt. “What’s that got to do with anything?” The last word was a moan as he began playing with her breasts, sure of his right to touch her as he pleased.

“It was early when he called.” He flicked out his tongue in a quick catlike caress she was already addicted to. “He’ll be delayed.”

It took her desire-fuzzy brain several seconds to get his meaning. “Oh. Oh!” The last was a cry as he did something with those big hands that was surely illegal. But even as she surrendered to him, part of her knew that this was an illusory happiness. The ache in her belly, the endless need, it was a silent cry for something Clay could no longer give her.

Now that she’d met some of the couples in the pack, learned more about the leopard side of Clay’s soul, she