by Nalini Singh
It was an astute breakdown of her nature. "I need to recover to full strength, but that should only take another day or two. After which, I'll return to hunt down the individual who attempted to poison me."
"You think they'll show their hand." Leaning back against the now fully functional door, Valentin shook his head. "Your family is known for being sneaky, yes? Cat sneaky."
"Cat sneaky" was not a term she'd ever heard applied to the Mercants, but it was strangely apt. "Your point?"
"My point is that if I'm right about the sneaky, and your babushka is right about this being an inside job, then the coward responsible will go quiet when he or she realizes the poison failed." His voice dropped into a deeper register. "They'll just wait for another chance, even if it takes weeks or months. Poisoners are patient."
Silver took in that stubbled chin, the messy hair, the corded muscle of his folded arms, and knew none of it was as important as his brain. "You're understanding the subtleties of the attempt on my life very well for a self-confessed rowdy bear who rammed my door open."
"Huh, fancy that." He attempted to look innocent.
"Don't give up your day job for the stage," she advised.
Laughing, all teeth and a charismatic power that hit her with psychic force, he dropped the terrible act. "You going to listen to me, moyo solnyshko?"
"Since I've already come to the same conclusion, yes." Silver compartmentalized the reaction she'd just had to Valentin; she'd deal with that later, when he wasn't in front of her inciting further perplexing responses by using endearments that made no sense. She wasn't sunshine. She was ice-cold. "I'll have to action my hunt in a way that doesn't nudge the poisoner into heading underground."
It didn't surprise her that her newly downloaded messages were devoid of any updates from her grandmother.
"Ena going it alone?"
Silver was also no longer surprised by his perceptiveness. "She's used to bearing the weight alone." None of Ena's three children had the drive or the ability to steer the family.
"Zoya was like that," Valentin said. "Even her seconds had to work to gain her trust." His hair fell over his forehead again. "Your grandmother's reverted because you're hurt. She'll settle down once she sees you healthy and strong again."
If Ena didn't, Silver would force the issue.
Valentin nodded at her nest of devices. "Anything urgent?"
"No, it's under control. Lenik has been taking over many of my duties with Kaleb as EmNet demands more of my time." There was no reason to conceal that fact when Anastasia had been dealing with Lenik on various matters of late.
"He's not as good as you."
"He's excellent." She'd trained him herself and knew that he was highly capable; his only issue was a lack of confidence. "You're just not used to him yet."
"Didn't say Lenik wasn't good at his job." Valentin walked forward, engaging her attention despite her order to herself to not be distracted by the bear in her room. "Just said he isn't as good as you." Leaning down, he grabbed her organizer and phone away from her before she could move.
Her computer was next.
"You're going to tell me to rest," Silver predicted, coating her voice with frost. "You should probably know I'm an adult and have been for some time. I do not need to be tucked into bed."
Laughing with an openness that said he wasn't the least chilled by her tone, Valentin put the tech on the bedstand. "Oh, trust me, Starlight--I've noticed you're an adult." He ran his eyes down her face, over her upper half, and to the legs still concealed under the blanket, and made a return journey as slowly. "I've noticed a lot."
Silver tried to ignore the visceral impact of his scrutiny as she ran her own eyes up and down his body. "I've noticed you have more holes in your garments than cloth."
"I like the airflow." Not the least abashed, the bear who'd been provoking her for months affected a put-upon look. "I took your tech because I wanted to invite you for a walk. That's what civilized hosts do."
Silver knew he probably had something up his sleeve, but information was her drug of choice--and she could handle this particular bear. Sliding her legs out of bed, she remained seated on it as she quickly fixed her hair, having placed a hairpin on the bedstand for easy access.
Valentin's mouth fell open, a glowing ring of amber circling his irises.
When he spoke, his voice had dropped several registers, and she had the intense feeling of something big and wild looking at her in utmost fascination. "I always thought you must spend an hour in front of a mirror to get that icy-cool look."
Shaking off her own fascination at the otherness of him that oddly wasn't other at all, Silver said, "That would be a waste of my time." Which was partly why she'd practiced in the dark until she could do it blindfolded. Power was often about perception. "A moment while I put on my shoes."
She pulled the dark blue canvas sneakers out from just under the bed. "Will I need a coat?"
"Yes, temperature's dropped." Valentin glanced around. "Looks like Nova forgot to lend you one. Hold on." He returned in a minute with a thick sweatshirt. "Here."
Silver stared at the large black item of clothing printed with the logo of a human rock band. "The hoodie wasn't enough?" A hoodie that had disappeared from her room, possibly to be laundered. "You wish to ensure my drowning?"
"Why do I put up with you, Starlichka?" Valentin's growling voice caused the tiny hairs on her arms to stand up straight. "You can get something from Nova later." He lobbed the sweatshirt into her lap. "The light will be gone if we delay."
Silver had the sense she shouldn't be doing this, but she couldn't figure out a logical reason why. Valentin was right; the light would be gone in about an hour, and she needed to make the most of her time here. It'd be wasteful if she didn't use this opportunity to build up her personal database about changeling packs. That information could only help her do her job.
She pulled the sweatshirt over her head, careful not to jar her hair.
It swept over her in a fresh citrus-edged scent that told her it had been recently laundered. However, underneath that was the warm, earthy scent of the man who usually wore the sweatshirt; it felt as if he'd wrapped his big body around her.
Silver went motionless.
But before she could consider what to do about the strange intimacy of being surrounded by him, Valentin was pulling open the door and stepping out. Silver decided she could bear the discomfort, given the advantages of having the alpha of StoneWater as her guide.
She began to roll up the sleeves of the sweatshirt as she walked over to join him.
"Here," he said and took over the task. "Done."
She had to admit he'd been far more efficient with two hands than she had with one. "Spasibo."
He smiled.
And it was different.
She couldn't quite understand how or why, but she knew it had something to do with how she'd thanked him without any hint of the edgy challenge that was always present between them, two alphas struggling for control.
Their eyes met. Held.
"Valentin!" A woman of a height near to Silver's, her build athletic and her eyes a stunning greenish gray, jogged down the hallway. "We had an attempted incursion." The woman, who Silver recognized as Anastasia Nikolaev, had a grim expression on her face.
"When?" Valentin's tone was harder than Silver had ever heard it.
"Just now. I got the report from one of the sentries." Anastasia held up a hand, tapped her ear. "Thanks, Yasha."
Dropping her hand, the other woman looked at Silver, then Valentin. "It was a reporter." Her lip curled, her mouth unexpectedly lush in an otherwise angular face. That face was capped by short strands of ink-black hair that suited the handsome lines of her features. "Parazit. He was trying to sneak in to get an exclusive of Silver Mercant's torrid affair with the StoneWater alpha."
Silver blinked at the coda. Beside her, Valentin glared at his sibling. "Save the jokes, Stasya. I need the facts."
"Those ar
e the facts." Smile wide, the other woman folded her arms across generous breasts. "It was Yasha who caught the journalist. You know how fucking scary he can look--he made the man all but pee his pants. The asshole was from a tabloid."
Silver asked the most pertinent question. "Why would a tabloid reporter think I was having a torrid affair with your alpha?"
Anastasia raised both eyebrows. "Sascha Duncan with Lucas Hunter? Or that gorgeous redhead--though her hair's more dark cherry--with the SnowDancer alpha? What made her choose a wolf, I'll never know." A mournful shake of her head.
"Also," the other woman added, "you did disappear into the clan after Valentin was spotted in your vicinity." She returned her attention to her brother. "You got snapped climbing up her apartment building, Mishka."
"I wasn't trying to hide," Valentin said, his expression harsh when Silver would have expected him to laugh and shrug it off. "Any risk the reporter could have gotten through?"
"Our perimeter is solid. Pasha's scanners picked up the reporter, but Yasha acted even before Pasha could feed him the incursion report."
"Good. If need be, we can ramp up security while Silver is in Denhome."
"Got it--I'll keep you updated." Walking backward deeper into Denhome, the other woman smiled at Silver. "In case you are in the market for a torrid affair, I know a number of bears far more erudite than this hulking beast next to you."
"According to my understanding of the matter, erudition isn't necessary for a torrid affair."
Valentin laughed, the sound huge and real in a way Silver couldn't explain. "Burned by ice, Stasya."
His sibling didn't seem to take offense. She called out, "Have fun!" from behind them. "Do everything I'd do!"
Evaluating the situation as they reached the Cavern, Silver said, "I didn't believe I'd draw trouble to your pack." The attempt on her life had been a thing of stealth, not orchestrated by an individual who'd expose themselves to the light. She'd never considered that the media would be a concern. "I apologize."
"We can handle it." Valentin pointed a finger at a curly-haired child of approximately three who was about to run headlong toward him. "Not now, Dima. I'm taking our guest for a walk."
The child's face fell for an instant before his dark eyes gleamed and he ran headlong toward Silver instead. Valentin intercepted him with a primal swiftness that would've surprised many.
A bear changeling wouldn't win a race against a cheetah--or a wolf--by any measure, but Valentin would beat Silver in a footrace without trying. A smaller bear might not be able to overtake her, but their physical endurance was legendary. She'd be long down before the bear stopped moving.
Bringing the grinning child to his face, their noses a bare half inch apart, Valentin rumbled in his chest. "What did I say?"
Giving a big sigh, the boy Valentin had called Dima shook his head.
"Exactly." He squeezed the child into a big hug that had Dima smiling again. "Now go join your friends for your own walk, and stop getting into trouble."
After the child ran off to the knot of cubs at the entrance, Silver said, "What was he planning?"
"Dima's suddenly developed the habit of clinging to people's legs like a barnacle." The words held deep affection. "It'll pass, but for now, he's often a one-sided weight when I'm walking around."
"I see." She halted, her eyes on a couple who'd begun kissing in the center of the Cavern the instant the area cleared of children, the male's arms tight around the woman, her fingers digging into his back.
They broke apart an unusually long time later.
"Two minutes, eleven seconds!" called out a woman who'd been watching.
"Beat that!" The couple pumped their fists in the air.
"Pfft," a male said. "I can kiss on a single breath for at least three minutes."
"Yeah? How about you show us?"
"Or are you all words and no action?"
The heavily built bear spread his arms. "Which lovely lady wants to volunteer to be the object of my lusty affections?" His gaze landed on Silver. "Ms. Mercant? I could show you-- Never mind, I like my head on my neck."
Silver glanced at Valentin. He gave her that terrible innocent look. "You can watch this uncivilized show every night," he told her. "Once the cubs get back from their outing, it'll be much harder to make a clean getaway."
"Let's go." She replied politely to the greetings sent her way, but didn't stop again until they stepped outside Denhome.
The foliage began almost immediately at the entrance, but for two narrow pathways in among the trees and heavy shrubs. There was one larger cleared area that she already knew was used for a limited number of vehicles, though it was empty at present. "Where do the cubs like Dima play?"
"They're free to run amok inside--Cavern's full of natural light and more than big enough. It also has the pond to splash in and rocks to clamber over," Valentin told her. "But we take them out several times a day to let them play in the open air. That play is how we teach them the beauty and the danger of the wild."
He led Silver into the rich green of the trees.
It didn't take extraordinary deductive skills to recognize why the clan maintained such an impenetrable wall of forests across their territory--even from the air, no one would be able to pinpoint the exact location of the place they called Denhome. Looking back, Silver had trouble finding it, even though she knew it was there; the camouflage of trees, shrubs, and moss on the mountain was flawless.
"This way, Starlichka." Valentin shot her an assessing look after pointing out a hidden path through the undergrowth. "Nova'll skin me alive if I overtire you. Then she'll make high heels out of my skinned flesh."
"I'm feeling closer to my normal self after my rest today." It was no lie. "The fact I received immediate medical attention has no doubt contributed a great deal to my recovery. I owe you."
Valentin lifted his hand, the scars on the back catching her attention. Dropping it before his fingers brushed her hair, his gaze strangely gentle, he said, "You would've done the same. We're even--no debts between us."
It wasn't the kind of calculation with which Silver was familiar. In her world, a possible future act didn't hold equal weight to an actual act. But had Valentin collapsed on her doorstep, she would've immediately summoned help. Not because it would've been a good political move to have a powerful changeling alpha in her debt--though that advantage would've no doubt occurred to her later--but because the Mercants had more than one guiding law.
The first was: Family. Always.
There was, however, another one that was highly unusual.
"We are the product of an eon of honor," her grandmother had said to her when Silver was a child. "Mercants began as the loyal knights to a great king. Our ancestors were strong and proud and known for their steadfast integrity. That we function in the shadows does not mean we must no longer be true to that lineage."
Silver wasn't sure she believed in the founding legend of the Mercant family, but she had to admit their familial principles were very different from all other powerful Psy families of which she was aware. Because the applicable law in this situation was: Harm no innocents.
Valentin might not consider himself in any way an innocent, but he'd never been an enemy of the Mercants. A business competitor, yes, but that was a different playing field. There was no honor in taking a fight off the field of battle. Another law from their ancestors.
So, yes, Silver would have called for help.
A hidden part of her psyche stirred, struggled against the chains that contained it. Are you sure family honor is the only reason you would've helped him?
Chapter 13
SILVER HAD LONG ago learned to deal with that caged aspect of her nature, giving it no freedom but that which allowed it to act as her conscience. The primal, passionate emotions of the girl she'd been had no place in her adult life. She shut it down in instinctive self-preservation.
"Careful." Valentin caught her upper arm when she stumbled over a root, the heat
of him burning through the sweatshirt to sear her skin.
She stiffened.
Breaking contact at once, he thrust a hand through his hair. "Sorry," he said, his tone gruff. "I know you don't like contact."
Silver's greatest strength was her mind, so she picked up the subtlety in his statement: He'd said she didn't like contact, not that the Psy race didn't like contact. The use of the word "like" was probably inconsequential, simply the way changelings saw the world. "That file you have on me again?"
A smile that didn't warm his eyes, the onyx absent of even a hint of amber. "Maybe."
Silver found herself holding that gaze for motives that had nothing to do with proving her dominance. "I appreciate the assistance. Falling on my face wouldn't have been a comfortable experience."
Amber ringed his irises, his smile a wild thing.
Silver's pulse jerked.
"We're here anyway," Valentin said, "so no more risks."
Following his gaze, Silver saw the spreading branches of a large tree that was a burst of yellow leaves speared to translucency by the late afternoon sunlight. She couldn't spot a single green or brown leaf amongst the shower of pale yellow, but the sloping earth below was carpeted with leaves that had turned brown, orange, and a deeper yellow.
Even more arresting than the natural view was the family of bears busy at play in the large stream at the bottom of the gentle slope on which the tree stood: One large bear with light brown fur and two darker cubs. The adult stood calmly in the water while the cubs splashed and jumped and chased what might've been real or imaginary fish. "Changelings?"
Valentin nodded. "Size and behavior are the clues--though the latter is occasionally negotiable."
Most changeling animals were larger than their wild counterparts. This appeared to hold doubly true for bears. The adult standing watch over the cubs could mow down any predator that came at it. Psy wouldn't stand a chance unless they had the psychic strength to smash a changeling mind or the telekinesis to fight them on a physical level.
"I can't tell if the adult is male or female," she murmured, having never had reason to learn that distinction, as StoneWater bears rarely ever shifted in the city. Even drunk, they seemed to be conscious that if they didn't watch their physical strength, they could very easily kill humans, Psy, and nonpredatory changelings.