Branded by Fire

Riley glanced at her, eyes contemplative. "How about Nikita?"

"A charge hidden in the elevator shaft – the working theory is that someone hacked into the surveillance system, intending to detonate the charge once Nikita was inside. Since she lives on the penthouse floor, it was a smart plan."

Riley shook his head. "How is she still alive?"

"Blind luck. She made an unplanned trip to New York last night, and went straight from the airport into negotiations on the mezzanine floor when she got back today. The other party kept her longer than estimated. Almost certainly saved her life."

"Judd hasn’t been able to get in touch with his contact, but we should get more information when he does."

"Never thought we’d be helping Councilors stay alive." Mercy reached over to brush away a lock of hair that had fallen across his face in a gesture that seemed exquisitely familiar, exquisitely theirs. Heat arced through her fingertips, and it took her a second to realize she’d closed the distance between them until their bodies met.

"You’re connected to Nikita and Anthony through Sascha and Faith," Riley said, his hands closing over her hips. "You couldn’t let a packmate lose a parent."

"No," she agreed, wondering what he’d say if he knew Anthony’s true loyalties, wishing she could tell him. "But I think I’d have done the same even if we didn’t have Faith and Sascha in the pack – after Marshall Hyde’s recent assassination, I don’t think the world could survive the shock of losing a second Councilor."

He stood there and let her run her fingers through his hair, over his jaw, along his lips. "You’re right," he said, eyes going wolf on her. "Much as I hate the Council’s guts, the Psy are still the most influential race on the planet – if they crash and burn, we’ll all pay the price."

"And the Net’s not ready," Mercy said. "That’s what Sascha, Faith, and Ashaya all say. Too much too soon and millions of innocents could die."

"It’s like the Alliance wants to destabilize the world."

Putting both arms around him, she drew in the scent of him until it was in her very veins, twined with her own. "My theory – someone smart but morally corrupt has a thirst for power."

"Much easier to become king if the world’s in chaos," Riley said, his lips brushing her own as his hands pressed her flush against his muscular frame.

"Hmm." She was rapidly losing interest in the conversation, far more –

"Get a room!"

Chapter 46

Mercy released Riley to turn and face her middle brother as he lounged in the doorway. "You have something to say, Herb?"

"I can’t believe you’re smooshing faces with a wolf," came the acerbic comment. "You really that hard up?"

Growling low in her throat, she ran toward him, aware of Riley’s bitten-off curse as he followed. Sage, the idiot, had taken off through the house to come to a standstill behind their mother’s petite figure. Mercy skidded to a stop on the kitchen tiles and pointed a finger. "Wuss."

Sage stuck out his tongue from behind their mother, wrapping his arms around her waist as she stood shredding lettuce into a salad bowl. "That was so easy, Mercy. You must be seriously hormonal – ouch!" He raised a hand to rub at his left temple – where their mother had reached up to pull his hair. "What was that for?"

"For being a brat," Lia Smith said without stopping in her task. "Sometimes, I think you’re all still in short pants."

"Only when we come here," Bas drawled from the back doorway. "It’s like I enter this house, and boom, I lose twenty years."

Mercy, adrenaline lowering now that Sage had gotten his comeuppance, found that she’d somehow ended up leaning against Riley as he stood with his back to a wall, his hand a rough warmth along her arm. He was petting her, calming her. Doing what a mate did.

Awash in bittersweet joy, she looked at Bas. "Where’s Grey?"

"Right here." Her youngest brother came in through the kitchen doorway with her father. "Hi, Riley."

"Hi."

Her eyes narrowed when no one bothered to introduce themselves. Even her father just gave a curt nod and kissed Mercy on the cheek before going to his mate. She looked at Bas. "Did you four gang up on Riley?"

Absolute silence in the kitchen except for her mother’s exasperated breath. "Michael T. Smith, I told you to leave the boy alone."

The "boy" held her tighter against him, obviously not the least bit worried. "I’m fine, Mrs. Smith. And I have a sister, too."

Lia turned her gaze on Riley. "Good God, Mercy. You brought another one into the family?"

And Mercy knew it would be a good night, no matter the worry that continued to pierce her heart.

Sascha stared at Tamsyn in the rosy evening glow. "You’re sure?"

"Sascha, darling," Tamsyn said with teasing patience, "it’s a pregnancy test, not rocket science. Even if it wasn’t positive, the fact that Lucas says you are is gold – you’re probably around two weeks along. That’s when males tend to pick it up."

"He told me my scent’s changed, that my body’s already shaping itself to accommodate the new life in my womb." His eyes had glittered with protective emotion, his soul there for her to see.

"A mate always knows," Tammy said with a gentle smile. "The rest of the pack will begin to pick it up now that he has."

"How?"

"Something happens when the male member of a pair knows – it’s like his protectiveness coats you, and your own scent changes with it, to something unique, something that speaks of life newly begun."