A few were found by gleeful packmates, who solemnly delivered them to Indigo . . . who just as solemnly accepted each offering. His wolf was pleased with this day's work.

Tai came up to him after Indigo left. "Teach me," he demanded.

"What?"

"Courtship. Because, from the smile on Indigo's face, you're really good at it."

Andrew thought of last night, of the power of the emotions that had pa.s.sed between them. She'd opened her arms to him when he'd returned to the bed, and he'd felt her wolf's presence in every atom of her being as they lay intertwined. It had been a stunning intimacy, but-"She hasn't accepted the mating yet." You could never, ever be certain of a dominant female's choice until that moment.

"I know I'm only a novice, but I think that's because female wolves like to run their men ragged." A scowl. "And because she's having too much fun playing with you."

Andrew was still thinking over Tai's words as he entered his room that night, having spent all day with the search team. They'd discovered only one other camera, but they weren't going to let up. The b.l.o.o.d.y things were so small and cunningly camouflaged that they could be easily overlooked.

Frowning, he stopped on the way to the shower.

There was something wrong with the room, but he couldn't put a finger on it. Shucking his clothes, he washed, then walked out. He still couldn't figure out what was different . . . until he went to grab a pair of sweatpants from the dresser.

A laugh escaped him.

Platypus had been given an eye patch embroidered with a skull and crossbones.

Picking up the little note under the bear's paw, he saw Indigo's scrawl: I think he looks rather dashing, don't you? Come sleep with me when you get back.

That was exactly what he did. "When are you going to mate with me?" he asked her in the midnight hours, as he slid into the melting heat of her body.

Her eyes, gone wolf-gold, gleamed in the darkness at him. "We're considering it."

His own wolf bit back a grin of triumph, even as his heart expanded. "I'm going to sleep with you every night."

"You sound very certain." An edge of dominance.

"Oh, I am." Instead of snarling at her, he kissed her slow and easy. "You'd miss me if I wasn't here."

Her body arched up as he stopped his strokes. "Drew." It was a warning.

But he was bigger and heavier, so he pinned her to the sheets. "Admit it." Kisses on her lips, nibbles on her jaw, licks on the line of her throat. "Say it."

She twisted her body and almost managed to put him on his back. Laughing, he pinned her again. "Hey, you nearly broke a very important part of my anatomy in half." Unable to resist the slick heat of her, he began to move again, deep and hard.

Indigo fractured under him moments later, and he wasn't far behind. He realized she hadn't said what he'd asked her to, hadn't admitted that vulnerability, and that worried him, because for the mating bond to snap into place, she had to open her soul to him.

No shields, no walls, no protections.

Still, he thought, cuddling her close, she was without a doubt taking an active part in the mating dance, and that was a very good sign. Patience, he counseled his wolf, just a little more patience.

CHAPTER 42.

Councilor Henry Scott looked at the man he'd put in charge of the SnowDancer operation. "You a.s.sured me they wouldn't uncover the surveillance."

"They shouldn't have, but at the current pace, they'll have the entire area cleared within a week, two at most."

Henry shook his head. "We can't rely on having that length of time. We need to act now." While they still maintained something of an element of surprise.

"I have a team ready to go. When would you like us to mobilize?"

"Tomorrow. Focus on the primary target."

"It'll be done."

"Wait." Henry flicked up a second image. "Send a couple of your men to remove him, too." There was no point in waiting, not when a dual a.s.sa.s.sination would have a much stronger impact.

CHAPTER 43.

Early the next morning, her heart smiling at the way she'd woken to find Drew sprawled all over her-and the bed-Indigo sat beside Joshua on the pebbled sh.o.r.e of the lake nearest the den.

The search for the cameras was ongoing in the mountains, with different men and women being rotated in each day, but she and Hawke had both agreed she needed to continue to work with their young. They didn't want to lose all the progress they'd made to date.

"So?" she asked the boy beside her, examining his expression, his posture, for any hint that he continued to have problems with his wolf.

A quick smile. "I'm doing better. Hawke's been keeping an eye on me, too."

"Good." Indigo's wolf looked out at the boy, made a judgment. "Your wolf is still very near the surface."

"Yeah, but Hawke said it's like that for some of us."

"He should know." Hawke's own wolf was difficult to spot, because his eyes never changed color-which, of course, was an answer in itself. "But he can control it. Has he been teaching you to handle your wolf when it gets pushy?"

Joshua nodded. "The things you've been teaching me-about focus and discipline-that's helping as well. I think I'm coming to an understanding with my wolf."

That made Indigo relax, because the boy was talking of his wolf as a partner, not a combatant. "I hear you're seeing Molly," she said, having made a few discreet inquiries after Drew hinted at it this morning.

Joshua's eyes went wide right before a hot flush burned across his cheekbones. "Jesus, Indigo, do you have spies everywhere?"

"Yep." Laughing at his embarra.s.sment, she reached out to ruffle his hair. "She's good for you, puppy. And too good for you."

He bore the affection in silence but shot her a pleased look. "I know, but I'm keeping her anyway." Such a smug expression, she couldn't decide whether to laugh or growl. "She's much more mature than I am," he said bluntly, "so calm and easy with her wolf."

Surprised at his insight, she looked at him. "That doesn't bother you?"

"No." His shoulders were relaxed, his lips curved. "My wolf wants to please hers so much, it behaves . . . and I think we're both learning and becoming better from it."

It was such an astute comment that Indigo was silent for a while. Because she, too, understood about learning from another wolf.

"So," Joshua said into the silence, "are you and Drew going to mate?"

Indigo's wolf flexed its claws. "Why exactly," she said, looking at the boy who was very much her subordinate, "do you feel you have the right to ask me that question?"

Joshua winced at her tone. "Um, never mind. I'll just go get a clue now."

Her wolf resheathed its claws. "Don't forget your session tomorrow."

"I won't." A pause as he got to his feet. "And Indigo . . . thanks."

Indigo sat there staring at the water long after he left. Mate. She knew Drew was it for her, but the idea of taking that final step . . . it made her breath catch in her throat, her wolf pace from side to side within her mind.

"Indigo!"

Startled, she looked up to see Mercy scrambling down the bank. Dressed in a white peasant blouse embroidered with red roses around the deep neckline and faded jeans, the DarkRiver sentinel's freckles glowed against her creamy skin. Her red hair, in contrast, appeared lighter, shot with strands of blonde.

"When did you get back?" Indigo cried, rising to her feet and grabbing Mercy in a hug as the other woman reached the edge of the lake. Odd as it was, Mercy had somehow become one of her closest friends-and even odder, the feeling seemed to be mutual. They were both the lone high-ranking female dominants in a group of men in this area, and it was d.a.m.n nice to have someone to talk to who understood the unique issues they had to face.

Drawing back from the hug, Mercy said, "Just now. Riley's talking with Drew and Hawke, but I caught your scent and decided to follow you down here."

"Want to sit?"

Nodding, Mercy took a seat on the pebbles beside her, her gaze on the tranquil surface of the lake. "It's good to be home."

Indigo shot her a glance. "Do you think of SnowDancer territory as home, too?"

"Anywhere Riley is," Mercy said simply. "We stopped in at my parents', too, on the way up. Oh, and the DarkRiver building-Dorian would've never forgiven me otherwise."

Indigo laughed and asked a question she'd always wondered about. "Why did you and Dorian never . . . you know?"

"G.o.d, it would've been like sleeping with one of my brothers." Mercy shuddered. "But hey, I'm not the one with all the hot news. You and Drew, huh? Riley told me he scented the mating dance."

Indigo blew out a breath, tried to keep her words light in spite of the chaos of emotion within her. "I don't know how it happened. He just sort of snuck up on me."

Mercy patted her on the shoulder. "He's got sneaky down pat. But"-a pause-"there's a d.a.m.n powerful heart in there, Indigo."

"I know." Swallowing, she glanced at Mercy's suddenly solemn face. "I'm afraid, Mercy," she said, admitting the truth to perhaps the only person who'd truly understand.

Mercy didn't give her plat.i.tudes. Hooking her arms around her raised knees, she nodded. "It's terrifying," she said with frank honesty, "when you find yourself facing the one man who you know could cut through your defenses and lay you bare. Our animals don't like that, don't even like the idea of it."

"That scared part of me wants to snarl at him until he decides I'm not worth the effort," Indigo admitted. "But I know he'd never leave-and that makes me want to take his face in my hands and kiss the h.e.l.l out of him."

Mercy snorted. "That sounds like the kind of response Drew would provoke." A pause, then the leopard sentinel said, "I don't know if I should point this out, but . . . you do realize he's not at full strength yet."

Indigo whipped her head around so fast she got whiplash. "What?"

"Riley told me that Drew has gained in strength, in dominance, every year since he reached adulthood, and he shows no signs of stopping."

Indigo had known that, vaguely-but she'd never really thought about the implications. "He could end up more dominant than me." Her wolf sat stunned.

"Yep." Mercy played with a pebble. "That bother you?"

Indigo opened her mouth to respond, closed it, thought about what she felt. "I'm no stranger to dealing with dominant men-and Drew's plenty dominant now." She'd learn and grow, as he would. "We'll work out our own balance."

"So you trust him, trust your relationship"-Mercy's hair lifted in the breeze as she turned to look at Indigo-"but something's still holding you back."

"It's nothing concrete, just . . ." Indigo squeezed her arms around her knees. "It feels like standing on the edge of a cliff, knowing all it'd take is one step to change everything forever." Terror and excitement and a wild, wild hunger churned within her.

"The thing is," Mercy said, "it's so amazing when you give in and fall. If you can fight the panic, if you can fight your animal's instinctive need to protect you against that kind of vulnerability, the prize is something-" She shook her head, a catch in her voice. "He's my forever."

Indigo felt her own eyes burn at the simple truth in that statement. It was as well that she heard male voices that instant. Riley, Drew, and Hawke all appeared out of the forest a moment later and began to make their way down the incline.

Drew was laughing at something Riley had said, his face tilted toward his brother. It was an ordinary moment, on an ordinary day. He was simply being Drew, with his easy smile and his way of teasing that had his brother scowling and Hawke grinning. And she felt the most insane urge to rise up, press her lips to that jaw, and mark him.

Mine, her wolf murmured for the first time, he's mine.

Having left Indigo soon after his brother and Mercy's arrival, to go up and spend several hours in the search area-while Indy briefed the honeymooners-Andrew returned home just as daylight was fading to find Brenna haunting the entrance. "What's up, baby sis?" Hugging her, he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

She squeezed him tight. "I got a message from Judd to say he was back in the city and heading up."

Moving aside, he stood with her by the entrance. "He too wiped out to do his 'thing'? "

Brenna nodded, leaning close enough to rest her cheek against his arm. "He found out some really disturbing stuff."

Having seen Judd's earlier reports, Andrew could well believe that. "I'll wait with you."

Brenna threw him a teasing look. "Go on, you're all but salivating to get your paws on Indigo."

"Hey, I resent that remark." Leaning over to tug at her hair, he felt the wind shift to bring him a familiar scent. "Isn't that-"

But Brenna was already gone, running out toward the scent that announced her mate was nearby. His wolf was happy for its sibling, but it wanted its own mate.

Brenna felt the rumble of the vehicle getting closer and guessed that Judd had picked up one of the cars the pack kept in the city. But she didn't stop running toward him, knowing he'd sense her approach. And he did. The vehicle pulled off to the side of the track as she came around the corner, and her mate stepped out.

"Judd!" She flew into his arms, locking her own around his neck, her face buried in the warmth of his skin. Her wolf batted at his scent, delighted and drunk on the pleasure of his presence. Woman and wolf, they'd both missed him until they couldn't breathe, though the mating bond had made things easier.

When he kissed the curve of her neck, his arms steel bands around her, she smiled and echoed the caress before pulling back enough that she could look at his face. "Baby, you look exhausted," she said, noting the deep shadows under his eyes, the gaunt lines of his face. "Are you close to flaming out?" The last time he'd looked this bad, he'd been kicked into unconsciousness soon afterward, his power reserves wiped out.

"Yes," Judd said, ducking his head as if he expected a severe talking-to.

"You need rest." She'd yell at him later for not taking better care of himself. "Get back in the car and let me drive us home."

"Bossy."