Psy & Changelings 01 - Slave to Sensation

He pressed his lips against hers once again. The darkness was no longer so heavy but it wasn’t disappearing. Why not? She was linked to him. She wasn’t alone. Not anymore. Never again.
    The next time the kiss broke, she took a deep breath and said, “It’s Councilor Santano Enrique. He feels nothing. Doesn’t know about you. Thinks I’m just flawed.” It came out in a staccato rush—as if she were spitting things out before they were forever lost.
    Lucas looked at Hawke, who’d been first into the room. “Go. Dorian. Vaughn.” His eyes locked with the jaguar’s. Vaughn gave a slight nod. He understood his job—to protect Dorian from his own rage. Lucas couldn’t go with them, not with his mate growing alarmingly weak in his arms.
    Hawke’s eyes slid to Sascha, who was starting to draw shallow breaths that sounded like fatal whispers. “What’s wrong with her?” He held his arm out to stop Brenna’s two brothers from leaving the room in pursuit of their quarry. It was an indication of his power that they paused though their eyes had gone wolf.
    â€œShe’s dying.” Tamsyn pushed between the males to touch Sascha’s cheek.
    Sascha jerked. “Enrique lives in . . . uh . . .” Her teeth began to chatter.
    â€œWe have the address.” Hawke’s face was a study in the most chilling fury. “I’ll take care of him.” The words were directed at Lucas.
    It was time to trust the wolf.
    â€œComplete the plan.” They’d hatched it between them early this morning. It was designed to keep Sascha safe . . . forever. “Go.” He was entrusting Hawke with his mate’s life. The plan had called for Lucas to ensure this part of their strategy was implemented, but not for anything would he leave Sascha.
    â€œYour Psy belongs to us, too. We won’t fail her.” Hawke moved and the four wolves in the room, along with Dorian and Vaughn, streamed out with him.
    Tamsyn dropped a throw around Sascha’s shaking body. “I don’t understand. Your mind should be feeding hers.”
    Lucas suddenly understood. “You haven’t tried to initiate a link, have you?” Terror and fury combined to chill his heart.
    Sascha smiled and shook her head. “You have to live.”
    â€œYou promised!” he yelled, driven beyond patience, beyond anything but demand and need. His mate couldn’t die.
    Those beautiful eyes were fading. “I’m sorry.”
    â€œNo! No!” He cradled her in his arms, his voice shaking. “Link, damn you! Link!”
    Her hand rose to lie against his heartbeat. “Love you.” A single tear fell from eyes gone charcoal gray.
    â€œTammy! Do something!”
    The healer was trembling, her eyes wet. “I can’t, Lucas. She has to . . .”
    â€œDo it, Sascha!” he ordered, crushing her to him. “Don’t you leave me.”
    She gasped and the fingers on his chest curled. But she didn’t reach out to his mind, didn’t take the step that would complete the mating dance.
    â€œIf you don’t, I’ll start taking out the Councilors,” he threatened. “They’ll hunt me down and kill me anyway.”
    But his mate was beyond hearing. Her eyes drifted shut and her face smoothed out as her shivers faded.
    â€œNo!” His scream was of purest rage. “I won’t let you die! You’re mine and damn if I’m ever going to let you go. You’re mine. Mine .” The panther clawed to the surface and let out a roar that was nothing human.
    That was when he felt it. The bond between them snapping taut. The panther recognized the bond, though it had never before felt it. It calmed him enough to let Lucas think, holding fast even as Sascha’s heartbeat stuttered. Lucas closed his eyes and fed her. He didn’t know what he was doing, just knew that as long as the bond stayed strong, Sascha would live.
    A minute later, her eyes fluttered open again. The deathly gray was being replaced by dark ebony. “Lucas? What’s happening?”
    â€œYou’re going to live.” It was nonnegotiable.
    He felt her search for and find the link. Felt her try to cut it—his heart stopped—but it wasn’t something she could influence. This link wasn’t Psy. It was changeling and it was unbreakable. The cat began to smile—her safety was no longer out of his