Page 68 of Storm Echo

At one point, Tamsyn waved the spatula in her hand. “Since you saw Rome and Jules mastermind the great escape last night, I’m sure you don’t need the warning, but just in case—theywillattempt to use their wiles to make you an accomplice to their crimes. Be on guard.”

Thinking of the two adorable boys who’d taken Razi and Natal under their wing, Soleil twisted her lips to one side in a thoughtful pose. “I’m only a junior healer,” she said at last, her cat glorying in being part of a bigger whole once again. “I’m allowed to be a criminal.”

Nathan groaned. “Great. All they need. Another adult enabler.” But he had laughter in his eyes as he said it. “All these gray hairs?” He pointed at his full head of black hair threaded with strands of silver. “Each and every one due to our two demons. And now they have two more accomplices in training.”

Soleil heard in his tone the affection and love of a father who enjoyed his children and their friends. “Natal and Razi, they seem happy.”

Recognizing it for a question, Tamsyn told her about the ocelot cubs, about how sad and withdrawn they’d been at the start, how much healing and therapy it had taken for them to step out of their shells. She also spoke about sweet and kind Salvador, with Nathan picking up the thread to update her on Duke and Lula.

“Two were green as grass,” he said, the steel in him suddenly obvious. “Should’ve never had the responsibilities they did in SkyElm. They’re now junior soldiers in training and having a far better time of it—they get to be young, to party with their friends in their off time, figure out who they are in the knowledge that there are stronger and more mature people holding the reins of the pack.”

No matter how many questions Soleil asked, the couple didn’t tire of answering them. “Have you met our boys?” Tamsyn said with a laugh when Soleil mentioned her insatiable need to fill in the gaps. “At one point, I swear Jules was asking a question every ten seconds.”

The breakfast passed quickly.

When Nathan rose to grab his jacket, she said, “Are you going into the city? Can I catch a ride?” Her need to see Ivan hadn’t abated at all in the time she’d spent in this kitchen, her soul torn in two. She hated that he was so far from her, and from the rest of her pack.

He should behere, should be part of all this, not cold and alone.

“Sure, you can ride with me.” The sentinel kissed his mate good-bye. “Tell the boys to behave,” he said to Tamsyn, “and I’ll take them mud sliding later.”

Tamsyn murmured something that made Nathan grin and kiss her deeper, before stepping back. But when Soleil would’ve followed him to the garage, Tamsyn stopped her. “Just a moment, honey. I have something for you.”

Opening a drawer, she pulled out a card. When Soleil saw that it held an embedded credit chip, she blushed. “I was planning to pick up a job as a waitress—I saw somehelp wantedsigns yesterday.” It was how she’d supported herself after leaving the hospital.

“There’s no need for that.” Tamsyn touched her shoulder. “You’re part of DarkRiver now, officially a junior healer under my command. You’ll be paid according to your experience. Consider this an advance against your income.”

Soleil didn’t know how to process that. “In SkyElm … It didn’t work like that.” Monroe had controlled all the money, with everyone having to apply to him when they needed something.

Soleil had set up a small business as a teen after figuring out that there was a market for rare dried culinary herbs; she’d feltsoguilty for fudging the books so she could tuck away a small percentage of the profits, but she’d hated begging Monroe for money even more. She’d bought her clothes at thrift stores to make her funds stretch out, crafted her jewelry out of pieces others had discarded—and discovered she had a skill there, too. People had loved her colorful jewelry, paid her to make them bespoke pieces.

Together, those things had given her the bare basics of an income.

Of course, she’d still had to bow and scrape to Monroe now and then so he wouldn’t get suspicious. “There was food,” she clarified, feeling awful and disloyal to her old pack for her thoughts. “Anyone could grab a meal in the pack kitchen, and Monroe paid all the utilities.” He hadn’t kept up with repairs to the aeries, or maintained the private road to their settlement, but they’d all had places to live. “It wasn’t that bad.”

Tamsyn’s mouth tightened. “This might be a hard thing to hear, sweetheart, but your old pack was based on a seriously unhealthy foundation. Each member of a pack is meant to contribute toandgain from the strength of the pack—and as a DarkRiver healer, you’ll be working damn hard, trust me. I have no doubts that you worked exactly as hard for SkyElm.”

Shaking her head when Soleil would’ve interrupted, she said, “Food and utilities are the bare basics; those things alone are definitely not equal to a professional salary. Especially when SkyElm was an extremely financially healthy pack. Your alpha had the means to properly pay you and so does DarkRiver.”

The senior healer pressed the card into Soleil’s hand. “Use it or you’ll be answering to me.” A smile to take the sting out of the order. “I can sense your strong healing abilities, but do you also have medical training?”

“A little.” Still feeling awkward, but not wanting to insult her new pack, Soleil put the card into her pocket. “Yariela talked Monroe into allowing me to attend a paramedic course.”

“Think about whether you’d like to study further,” Tamsyn said. “We have non-changeling packmates who bank on us—I’ve actually begun to have some success using my healing ability on them, but it’s nowhere near as smooth as with other changelings. I’m guessing you worked mostly on ocelots?”

When Soleil nodded, Tamsyn said, “Even within changelings, healing can be unpredictable with those outside the healer’s own species—but I haven’t had any issues with our non-leopard feline packmates, so I’m guessing you’ll be fine healing up injured cats who aren’t ocelots.” She rubbed Soleil’s shoulder in gentle encouragement. “It’s the blood bond with Lucas, I think. Gives us the ‘in’ we need. Still, having medical training as backup means we don’t always have to rely only on our healing energy.

“But”—a smile—“that’s a discussion for later. Today is for you—and for that cool-eyed Psy you’ve claimed.” An intent look. “Go find out why your mating bond is incomplete … unless … do you want it? The bond?”

“Yes. He’s mine.” No hesitation, the truth a song inside her.

“Then go, find the answer so you can both settle into the pack.” A pause. “Though I have a feeling your Psy would do anything for you even without a bond. Be careful with him, little sister. He might look tough, but when strong men fall, they fall all the way. You’re his weakness.”

Throat thick and the need to go to Ivan a pulse inside her, Soleil nodded before she joined Nathan. She’d expected the ride to be a touch awkward, since even in a high-speed vehicle, it was a long drive. But Nathan had a warm and easy presence, and he didn’t feel the need to fill the air with chatter, so she could just look out the window and think about the man she’d never expected but who she refused to give back.

Soon enough, Nathan was pulling up at DarkRiver HQ. “When you’re ready to go home, just come back here,” he said. “You’ll be able to catch a ride with whoever is heading toward the territory next.” Familiar dark blue eyes on her, this pair tempered by age and experience. “Do you drive? We can assign you a vehicle.”

She shook her head, made herself say it. “My parents died in a crash. I was trapped with them.”

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