Kiss of snow psy changel.., p.1
Kiss of Snow (Psy-Changeling Series), page 1
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Berkley Titles by Nalini Singh
Psy-Changeling Series
SLAVE TO SENSATION
VISIONS OF HEAT
CARESSED BY ICE
MINE TO POSSESS
HOSTAGE TO PLEASURE
BRANDED BY FIRE
BLAZE OF MEMORY
BONDS OF JUSTICE
PLAY OF PASSION
KISS OF SNOW
Guild Hunter Series
ANGELS’ BLOOD
ANGELS’PAWN
(A Berkley Sensation eSpecial)
ARCHANGEL’S KISS
ARCHANGEL’S CONSORT
Anthologies
AN ENCHANTED SEASON
(with Maggie Shayne, Erin McCarthy, and Jean Johnson)
THE MAGICAL CHRISTMAS CAT
(with Lora Leigh, Erin McCarthy, and Linda Winstead Jones)
MUST LOVE HELLHOUNDS
(with Charlaine Harris, Ilona Andrews, and Meljean Brook)
BURNING UP
(with Angela Knight, Virginia Kantra, and Meljean Brook)
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
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This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.
Copyright © 2011 by Nalini Singh.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Singh, Nalini, 1977–
p. cm.
eISBN : 978-1-101-52872-3
1. Shapeshifting—Fiction. I. Title.
PR9639.4.S566K57 2011
823’.92—dc22 2010054169
http://us.penguingroup.com
For you, my readers
CAST OF CHARACTERS
In alphabetical order by first name
Key: SD = SnowDancer wolves DR = DarkRiver leopards
Aden Arrow, Telepath (Tp)
Alexei SD Lieutenant
Amara Aleine Psy member of DR, former Council scientist, twin of Ashaya, mentally unstable
Andrew (Drew) Kincaid SD Soldier, mated to Indigo, brother of Riley and Brenna
Anthony Kyriakus Psy Councilor, father of Faith
Ashaya Aleine Psy member of DR, former Council scientist, mated to Dorian, twin of Amara
Ava SD, mother of Ben, friend of Lara
Barker DR Soldier
Ben SD pup, son of Ava
Brenna Kincaid SD, tech, mated to Judd, sister of Andrew and Riley
Clay Bennett DR Sentinel, mated to Talin
Cooper SD Lieutenant
Council (or Psy Council) The ruling Council of the Psy race
Elias SD Senior Soldier, mated to Yuki, father of Sakura
Evangeline (Evie) Riviere SD, sister of Indigo
Faith NightStar Psy member of DR, cardinal foreseer (F-Psy), mated to Vaughn, daughter of Anthony
Ghost Psy rebel
Hawke SD Alpha
Henry Scott Psy Councilor, husband of Shoshanna
Indigo Riviere SD Lieutenant, mated to Andrew, daughter of Abel and Tarah, sister of Evangeline
Jem (real name: Garnet) SD Lieutenant
Judd Lauren Psy member of SD, Lieutenant, mated to Brenna, uncle of Sienna, Toby, and Marlee
Kaleb Krychek Psy Councilor
Kenji SD Lieutenant
Kieran Human member of SD, Soldier
Kit DR Novice Soldier, brother of Rina
Lara SD Healer
Lucas Hunter DR Alpha, mated to Sascha
Lucy SD, nurse, assistant to Lara
Maria SD Novice Soldier
Marlee Lauren Psy member of SD, daughter of Walker, cousin of Sienna and Toby
Matthias SD Lieutenant
Max Shannon Human, Nikita’s security chief, married to Sophia
Mercy Smith DR Sentinel, mated to Riley
Ming LeBon Psy Councilor
Nathan (Nate) Ryder DR Senior Sentinel, mated to Tamsyn, father of Roman and Julian
Nikita Duncan Psy Councilor, mother of Sascha
Riaz SD Lieutenant
Riley Kincaid SD Lieutenant, mated to Mercy, brother of Andrew and Brenna
Rina DR Soldier, sister of Kit
Riordan SD Novice Soldier
Sascha Duncan Psy member of DR, cardinal empath (E-Psy), mated to Lucas, daughter of Nikita
Shoshanna Scott Psy Councilor, wife of Henry
Sienna Lauren Psy member of SD, Novice Soldier, sister of Toby, niece of Judd and Walker
Sophia Russo Former Justice Psy ( J), works for Nikita, married to Max
Tai SD Novice Soldier
Tamsyn (Tammy) Ryder DR Healer, mated to Nathan, mother of Roman and Julian
Tarah Riviere SD, mother of Indigo and Evangeline
Tatiana Rika-Smythe Psy Councilor
Teijan Rat Alpha
Toby Lauren Psy member of SD, brother of Sienna, nephew of Judd and Walker
Tomás SD Lieutenant
Vasic Arrow, Teleporter (Tk-V)
Vaughn D’Angelo DR Sentinel, mated to Faith, jaguar changeling
Walker Lauren Psy member of SD, father of Marlee, uncle of Sienna and Toby
Xavier Perez Human priest
Yuki SD, lawyer, mated to Elias, mother of Sakura
X
1979.
The year the Psy race became Silent.
Became cold, without emotion, without mercy.
Hearts were broken, families torn apart.
But far more were saved.
From insanity.
From murder.
From viciousness such as unseen in the world today.
For the X-Psy, Silence was a gift beyond price, a gift that allowed at least some of their number to survive childhood, have a life. Yet over a hundred years after the icy wave of the Silence Protocol washed away violence and despair, madness and love, X-Psy are, and remain, living weapons. Silence is their safety switch. Without it . . .
There are some nightmares the world will never be ready to face.
Chapter 1
HAWKE FOLDED HIS arms and leaned back against the solid bulk of his desk, eyes on the two young females in front of him. Hands clasped behind themselves and legs slightly spread in the “resting” s
His wolf bared its teeth.
“Let me get this straight,” he said in a calm tone that had Maria turning pale under skin that was a warm, smooth brown where it wasn’t bruised and bloody. “Instead of staying on watch and protecting the pack’s defensive border, you two decided to have your own personal dominance battle.”
Sienna, of course, met his gaze—something no wolf would’ve done in the circumstances. “It w—”
“Be quiet,” he snapped. “If you open your mouth again without permission, I’m putting both of you in the pen with the two-year-olds.”
Those amazing cardinal eyes—white stars on a background of vivid black—went a pure ebony, which he knew full well indicated fury, but she clenched her jaw. Maria, on the other hand, had gone even paler. Good.
“Maria,” he said, focusing on the petite changeling whose size belied her skill and strength in both human and wolf form. “How old are you?”
Maria swallowed. “Twenty.”
“Not a juvenile.”
Maria’s thick black curls, heavy with mud, bounced dully as she shook her head.
“Then explain this to me.”
“I can’t, sir.”
“Right answer.” No reason they could offer up would be a good enough excuse for the bullshit fight. “Who threw the first punch?”
Silence.
His wolf approved. It mattered little who’d incited the exchange when neither had walked away from it, and the fact of the matter was, they’d been meant to work as a team, so they’d take their punishment as a team—with one caveat.
“Seven days,” he said to Maria. “Confined to quarters except for one hour each day. No contact with anyone while you’re inside.” It was a harsh punishment—wolves were creatures of Pack, of family, and Maria was one of the most bubbly, social wolves in the den. To force her to spend all that time alone was an indication of just how badly she’d blundered. “The next time you decide to step off watch, I won’t be so lenient.”
Maria chanced meeting his gaze for a fleeting second before those rich brown eyes skated away, her dominance no match for his. “May I attend Lake’s twenty-first?”
“If that’s the use you want to make of your hour on the day.” Yeah, it made him a bastard to force her to miss most of her boyfriend’s big party, especially when the two were taking the first, careful steps into a relationship, but she’d known exactly what she was doing when she decided to engage in a pissing contest with a fellow soldier.
SnowDancer was strong as a pack because they watched each other’s backs. Hawke would not allow stupidity or arrogance to eat away at a foundation he’d rebuilt from the ground up after the bloody events that had stolen both his parents and savaged the pack so badly it had taken more than a decade of tight isolation for them to recover.
Holding on to his temper by a very thin thread, he turned his attention to Sienna. “You were,” he said, the wolf very much in his voice, “specifically ordered not to get into any physical altercations.”
Sienna said nothing in response. It didn’t matter—her rage was a hot pulse against his skin, as raw and stormy as Sienna herself. When she was like this, the wildness of her barely contained, it was hard to believe she’d come into his pack Silent, her emotions blockaded behind so much ice, it had infuriated his wolf.
Maria shifted on her feet when he didn’t immediately continue.
“You have something to say?” he asked the woman, who was one of the best novice soldiers in the pack when she didn’t let her temper get in the way.
“I started it.” Color high on her cheekbones, shoulders tight. “She was just defending—”
“No.” Sienna’s tone was steady, resolute, the anger buried under a wall of frigid control. “I’ll take my share of the blame. I could’ve walked away.”
Hawke narrowed his eyes. “Maria, go.”
The novice soldier hesitated for a second, but she was a subordinate wolf, her natural instinct to obey her alpha too powerful to resist—even though it was clear she wanted to remain behind to support Sienna. Hawke noted and approved of the display of loyalty enough that he didn’t rebuke her for the hesitation.
The door closed behind her with a quiet snick that seemed shotgun-loud inside the office’s heavy silence. Hawke waited to see what Sienna would do now that they were alone. To his surprise, she maintained her position.
Reaching forward, he gripped her chin, turning her face to the side so that the light fell on the smooth lines of it. “You’re lucky you don’t have a broken cheekbone.” The flesh around her eye was going to turn all shades of purple as it was. “Where else are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
His fingers tightened on her jaw. “Where else are you hurt?”
“You didn’t ask Maria.” Stubborn will in every word.
“Maria is a wolf, able to take five times the damage of a Psy female and keep going.” Which was the reason Sienna had been ordered not to get into physical confrontations with the wolves. That and the fact that she didn’t have her lethal abilities under total control. “Either you answer the question, or I swear to God I really will put you in the pen.” It would be the most humiliating of experiences and she knew it, every muscle in her body taut with viciously withheld anger.
“Bruised ribs,” she gritted out at last, “bruised abdomen, wrenched shoulder. Nothing’s broken. It should all heal within the next week.”
Dropping his grip on her chin, he said, “Hold out your arms.”
A hesitation.
The wolf growled, loud enough that she flinched. “Sienna, I’ve given you a long leash since you came into the pack, but that ends today.” Insubordination from a juvenile could be punished and forgiven. In an adult, in a soldier , it was a far more serious matter. Sienna was nineteen going on twenty, a ranked novice—letting her actions slide wasn’t even an option. “Hold out your fucking arms.”
Something in his tone must’ve gotten through to her because she did as ordered. A few small cuts on that creamy skin kissed gold by the sun, but no gouges that would’ve spoken of claws. “So Maria managed to rein in the wolf.” If she hadn’t, he’d have kicked her right back into training. Losing control of your temper was one thing; losing control of your wolf was far more dangerous.
Sienna’s hands fisted as she dropped them to her sides.
