Even the Psy left BlackSea alone, most probably because the water changelings did everything they could to stay out of the spotlight. Which brought up another question, but Hawke shelved it for now, because Kenji was speaking.

“So, what,” he said, gulping down his soda, “they function like the Psy?”

“In a sense,” Riaz said, furrows between his eyebrows. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking they’re not ferociously loyal to one another just like in any changeling pack, but everything’s recorded and verified so it can be shared with members across the world.”

Kenji tapped a laser pen against his cheek. “Honestly, I love the idea of being allied with BlackSea. Their information network alone is invaluable. The question is, can SnowDancer adapt enough to work with a group that functions so differently?”

It was an astute question.

Shoving the pen behind his ear, Kenji continued. “We can’t treat them as we do our Psy business contacts, because as Riaz says, they are changelings and it would piss them off. But, it doesn’t look like we can have the kind of relationship with BlackSea that we do with DarkRiver and are building with WindHaven.”

Hawke nodded. He trusted the alphas of the leopard and falcon packs on a gut level. Neither Lucas nor Adam would ever knife him in the back, of that both parts of him were dead certain. “According to the official line,” he said, “they don’t have an alpha, but a ‘Conclave’ that represents all the major and minor species groups in BlackSea.”

Riaz shook his head. “That’s a load of PR bull. Her name is Miane Levèque and she knows everything that happens in BlackSea.”

“That’s what I thought.” Miane was someone Hawke had kept a quiet eye on, as he did the alphas of most major packs. “Whatever else happens, a face-to-face meeting is nonnegotiable.” His wolf would accept nothing less.

Riaz tapped the rolled-up papers against his knee. “My advice: we treat this request seriously, go over the contract, and ask for changes as needed. I think they’re feeling us out, seeing if we are able—or at least willing to try—to adapt to their unique way of doing things.”

“Could be a power play,” Kenji pointed out. “The minnow trying to get the whale to do as it wishes.”

Hawke grinned. “Excellent marine analogy, rock star.”

Kenji played some excellent air guitar. “I’ve been saving it up.”

“It’s definitely a little of that, too,” Riaz said, clearly in no doubt about BlackSea’s predatory instincts. “So we make sure they realize that while we’ll work with them, we won’t budge on the critical meet between Miane and Hawke.”

“And,” Hawke added, “guaranteed transport in and out of their cities.” Movement had to go both ways for an alliance to work. “If they plan to stonewall us there, the deal is off the table. And warn them if it happens after we agree to an alliance, we’ll consider it a fatal violation and a declaration of aggression.” SnowDancer had plenty of teeth, and he didn’t want BlackSea in any doubt that they would use those teeth the instant the other group tried to manipulate the situation.

Riaz’s eyes glinted in agreement, his wolf prowling close to the surface. “We also need to stipulate a permanent comm link. No dodging our calls and blaming it on nautical interference—before or after. Make sure they know SnowDancer doesn’t give second chances.”

“That’s a very good point,” Kenji said, swallowing a bite of what looked like cherry pie. “I hear BlackSea’s great at delaying things until it’s too late.”

“I’ll follow your lead—between you, you have more experience with BlackSea than anyone else in the pack.” Hawke was very aware that he either respected the strength and skills of his men and women, or he lost them to boredom and frustration. “The two of you have full authority to negotiate. Just keep me in the loop.”

“There’s one other thing.” Riaz’s expression was thoughtful. “Aren’t you guys wondering why they’re sticking their necks out now?”

It was the question Hawke had earlier shelved. “Yeah, when they’ve seen the consequences of allying with us in stark detail.” As an ally, BlackSea would be expected to provide support in any future conflicts.

“Last few times I met a changeling from BlackSea,” Riaz said, “I had the feeling something was up. Like this subtle tension under the surface.”

“I’m getting the same feeling.” Kenji took another bite of pie, chasing it down with more soda. “They’re in some kind of trouble, and whatever it is, it’s making us look attractive.”

Both his lieutenants glanced at Hawke, an unasked question in their eyes.

“We continue the process.” The advantages of having BlackSea as an ally were vast. “No point bringing it up now.” The aquatic changelings didn’t trust SnowDancer enough to tell them the truth. “Once the other pieces are in place, that’s when we pin them down—if they refuse to cooperate, it ends there.” He wouldn’t ally his people with a group that might lead them into unknown harm.

“You know, everything else aside, they’re bloody fascinating.” Riaz’s tone held intense interest. “A changeling group even other changelings don’t get.”

“Creepy as hell at times, too,” Kenji muttered. “Those black eyes some of them have—it’s like looking into the face of a mako shark.”

“You might be,” Riaz replied with a grin. “And damn, Kenji, do you live on a diet of junk food?”

“My sushi’s in my other bento box.” Unrepentant, he bit into a piece of cake.

Hawke listened to the two men discuss a couple of preliminary matters before Kenji signed off and Riaz stood. He remained concerned about the lieutenant, but as he’d told Riaz, he knew lone wolves. He’d give the other man a little more time. The one positive in the situation was that Riaz had come home, and he’d stayed.

“I’ll have a look at the contract tonight,” the other male now said, glancing at his watch. “I’m due to call Pierce in a few minutes—he said he’d be up late.”

Pierce was the lone wolf who had taken over Riaz’s duties in Europe. “Tell him to keep his nose clean or I’m putting him on rotation to Siberia.” Unlike Riaz, Pierce was a flirt—his face had been introduced to more than one jealous male fist.

“Then we’d have WhiteSteppe to deal with,” Riaz said with a grin, naming the sole wolf pack in Siberia. “They’d probably declare war on us after he seduced away some lieutenant’s girlfriend.”

Laughing as the other man left, Hawke nodded at the teenager who’d just come to the doorway. “Here to grab the dishes, Silvia?”

A shy smile. “Yes.” She quickly gathered them up, no sign remaining of the injuries she’d suffered in a severe fall.

“How are your sessions with Ava going?” he asked, knowing the maternal female had taken Silvia under her wing.

“Everything she teaches me,” the teenager said, “it fits. Like I already kind of knew it. I wanted to ask if I could maybe have more time with her?”

Shyness or not, there was strength there, Hawke thought, warm and strong. “Mention it to Nell,” he said. “She’ll work something out.”

As Silvia left with another small smile, Hawke recalled the note Nell had sent him this morning. Picking it up from his desk, he considered how to deal with that particular situation. He should make Riley handle it—it was his damn fault for putting ideas in the juveniles’ hormone-drenched heads. The thought cheered him up for a second, but he knew this was a task for an alpha, so he sucked it up and made the call. “You at the cabin?”

“Yes,” Lucas answered. “Bring some of Aisha’s chocolate pie for Sascha if you’re heading this way. As far as my chocoholic is concerned, it’s ambrosia.”

“Anything for Sascha darling.”

“That doesn’t work now that you’re mated.”

“Damn.” Hawke hung up, then called Aisha to arrange the pie—the cook adored how Sascha craved her baking, so it was a mutual love affair. Poking his head into Riley’s office after picking it up, he told the lieutenant where he’d be if needed. “Do you know where Sienna is?” He could sense her through the mating bond, track her if need be, but he’d made a promise to himself that he would only ever do that in an emergency. Never did he want his mate to resent the bond between them, to see it as a leash or a cage.

Riley brought up the roster. “She’s got study time, so I’m guessing the library.”

“Thanks.” Even with a couple of interruptions by packmates wanting to talk, it didn’t take long for Hawke to walk over to the den library, where he found his mate with her head downbent over a piece of paper on which she was writing formulas that made his brain ache. Physics and math texts lay open on several large datapads around her, and the small computer she’d signed out was running what appeared to be a complex equation.

Putting his hands on either side of her desk from behind her, he nuzzled a kiss to the sensitive spot below her ear, the autumn and spice of her calming and invigorating his wolf at the same time. “Ms. Sienna Lauren Snow,” he teased, “what’re you doing working on something as archaic as paper?”

Chapter 25

A HINT OF color on her cheekbones. “It helps me think.”

Chuckling, he made a mental note to buy her a ream he’d seen at the little stationery store next to the shop that made the mechanical toys he collected—if he recalled right, the paper was specially formatted for the type of calculations she was doing. “How much do you have left to do today?” He knew she was working on an extra-credit project to gain early entry into an advanced course on thermodynamics—the behavior of energy.