Psyche Shield (2 page)

The injured Wolf felt very vulnerable in another pack’s
territory and shrank into the seat as they approached. The Medic opened the
door and smiled brightly. Sierra, unable to pull her attention away from the
Beta, barely noticed the shorter woman until she spoke. “Hi. I’m Amy. Pack
Medic.”

“I’m Sierra.”

“I’m Billie, Beta of the Boise Pack. Hi, Leroy.” The
redheaded Wolf introduced herself politely and appraised her curiously from
several steps behind Amy. Sierra shrank even more after meeting Billie’s
dominant gaze. “Relax, Sierra. We’re not going to hurt you. We’re here to
help.”

“Yep. I’m going to patch you up. Don’t worry about a thing.”
Amy’s quick hands and acute senses checked the woman over. “I need to set your
leg. It’s already starting to heal wrong and I don’t want to wait. Ever had a
broken leg before?”

Sierra shook her head. “Not like this.”

“I have to re-break it a little, so it’s going to hurt a
lot. I need you to trust us. Leroy, would you let Billie take your spot?”
Billie waited for Leroy to move out of the injured Wolf’s reach before taking
his place. Sierra cowered, wishing her Human friend still sat beside her
instead of this daunting Wolf.

Billie spoke firmly from beside her. “Sierra, look at me.
You don’t know me, and you don’t know Amy. But you can trust us. You
need
to trust us. I’m going to hold you down so you don’t accidentally hurt yourself
or anyone else. Understand?” Sierra met her green eyes, still afraid. Leroy
circled his truck to stand beside Amy. Billie broke contact with Sierra’s eyes
briefly to look at the Human. “Leroy, step back at least ten feet and stay back
until Amy’s done.”

Leroy looked at the woman he’d pulled out of the woods with
blatant concern and obeyed. “Is she going to be okay?”

The Beta nodded and held Sierra’s gaze, replying firmly to
both of them. “Your friend is going to be fine.” Billie guided the woman onto
her back so that Amy held the injured leg at the open door. Amy nodded and
Billie held the trembling Sierra by her shoulders. Without warning, Amy popped
the leg expertly, the bone re-breaking and lining up properly once again.
Sierra howled in pain, her eyes wild. She fought Billie, panicking, but the
Beta held her easily. The Medic supported the vulnerable leg as her patient
tried to fight her way out.

“Sierra, calm down.” Amy tried to reassure her patient, with
no success. The Wolf could cause permanent damage to her leg if she worsened
the already serious injury. “Billie!” Amy warned.

“Stop!” Billie growled loudly, causing Leroy to jump. The
injured Wolf froze under her commanding tone, allowing Amy to slip a splint
over the broken leg. Tears began to roll silently down Sierra’s cheek, and she
shut her eyes against the terrifying Beta.

“Done!” Amy announced and stepped backwards to join Leroy.

“I’m going to let you go now,” Billie told the traumatized
woman, her tone firm but without the former aggression. Sierra nodded and
opened her eyes slowly. The Beta released her with slow movements and scooted
back several inches. Her arms freed, Sierra lay still for a few moments before
sitting up gently. She couldn’t look at Billie yet and eyed Leroy and the Medic
warily. They waited for her reaction, ready for anything. Sierra took a deep
breath, filling her lungs with mountain air. The sturdy splint covered her leg,
and it throbbed but it would begin to heal properly. She took another deep
breath and leaned her head on the back of the seat.

“That hurt,” she said, her voice hitching. Leroy took a step
forward hesitantly and looked pleadingly at Billie. She nodded, telling him he
could safely approach. Hurrying forward, he took the Wolf’s hand in his, and
she squeezed it gratefully. “I wouldn’t have hurt you,” she promised him.

“I know,” he replied, smiling. After seeing her reaction, he
knew better and appreciated Billie’s caution. Her certainty touched him. “I’m
glad it’s over, though.”

Billie silently stepped out of the truck and circled around
the hood. Standing beside Amy, she looked relieved and more relaxed. She
explained herself to the man and his charge. “An injured Wolf without her
packmates in a stranger’s territory is dangerous. I didn’t know if she’d obey
me or completely panic. I wasn’t taking any chances. Kathryn would skin me
alive if I let anything happen to you.”

Amy looked quizzically at Billie. “Why would Kathryn care? I
mean, of course she’d care if someone got hurt. You know what I mean.”

The corner of her mouth quirked in amusement at her friend’s
phrasing. “Leroy’s her descendent.”

The Medic nearly burst with excitement. “Oh! Nice to meet
ya, Leroy. No wonder you weren’t freaked out by all of this.”

“You too,” he replied politely, his attention still on
Sierra.

“But you’re not Richard’s grandson, so you must be from her
first mate.” Leroy nodded. “You are one lucky girl, Sierra!”

Her breathing began to normalize, but her voice still
quaked. “Unbelievably lucky. When I saw his rifle, and he spotted me in the
bushes, I thought I was dead. Instead he saved me.”

“Not many Humans around here know about us,” Amy replied
gravely and repeated. “You’re very lucky. Are you ready for food?”

“Oh, yes.” Amy trotted to the Jeep to retrieve a large meal
and a bundle of clothes. With Amy’s help, Sierra changed into a wraparound
skirt and T-shirt, handing Leroy his coat. She dug into the food as if she
hadn’t already eaten two sandwiches.

Sierra didn’t look like a scared rabbit anymore, so Billie
turned to Leroy. No longer concerned about the strange Wolf attacking Amy and
Leroy, she relaxed her guard. “Thank you so much. You saved her life. I didn’t
know until recently that you’re Kathryn’s descendent.”

“I keep in touch with my family, but I stay out of Wolf
business,” Leroy replied. “Still, I’m glad I found her instead of another
hunter. How did you know to come? Grandma said Kato contacted you.”

“Do you remember the woman I brought into your shop? That’s
Sadie, my mate. She and Kato can communicate mentally. He woke her up, she told
me, and we came. I didn’t think we’d find her this easily.”

“But he only found us an hour before you got here. You had
to have known before,” Leroy protested.

“Kato knows things,” Amy helped. “He probably went looking
for you after he talked to Sadie.”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “Grandpa Isingoma was like that,
according to Grandma’s stories. I’ll keep my simple life.”

“Isingoma was your grandfather?” Sierra said through bites,
listening intently as she ate. “Kato is your uncle, and Kathryn is your
grandmother. That makes Kathryn Isingoma’s former mate? Wow.” He nodded
uncomfortably, not understanding the fuss.

Billie didn’t want to remain exposed on the open road and
interrupted. “Let’s get Sierra back to Boise. Leroy, we owe you one. Is there
anything I can do for you?”

He shook his head and pointed at the Wolf in his front seat.
“Take care of her. That’s enough.”

Billie smiled genuinely and promised. “Of course. And I’ll
bring you something for your freezer next time I go hunting.”

Sierra thanked Leroy graciously, promising to visit him
again if she could. She accepted Billie’s help walking to the Jeep and
stretched out in the back seat. With Billie at the wheel, they headed towards
Boise.

We have her. She’s okay, and we’re headed home.
Billie mentally updated her mate.

Good! I’ll tell Kathryn and Kato.

See you soon, love.

“Your mate is a Sensitive?” Sierra sensed the mental
exchange, and remembered Billie’s earlier explanation. She jumped to the most
logical assumption.

“Not exactly,” Billie replied hesitantly.

Amy turned in her seat and started speaking animatedly, her
hands flying as she explained. “Sadie’s a Mage, but don’t freak out. She’s not
like the Mages we’ve all dealt with before. She’s awesome!”

Sierra freaked out. “What? You’re taking me to a Mage?”

Billie glared red-hot daggers at Amy. “We’re not taking you
to a Mage. We’re taking you to Boise to recuperate. Sadie is my mate, and she
won’t do anything to you.” Sierra looked out the window and started planning
her escape. Billie continued, sensing the injured Wolf’s impulse to flee.
“Look, I know how this sounds. None of us are collared. Sadie’s not like that.”

Sierra couldn’t smell a lie from either Wolf in the front
seat, which calmed her only a little. As soon as possible, she’d contact her
Alpha and get away from this insane pack and their Mage. Until then she’d
discover everything she could and keep as much distance from the Mage as
possible. “How did you end up with a Mage as a mate?”

* * *

I followed Billie’s return to the Treasure Valley
with Amy and the strange Wolf. Deliberately I refrained from contacting her
through mindspeech. Our unique bond allowed me to sense her location and mood
as well as some of her thoughts without reaching out to her mentally.
Mindspeech intensified that connection and allowed us to share thoughts
directly, communicating as readily as if speaking aloud.

Her endless presence in my mind infused me with her
unwavering strength and determination. She approached every conflict head on,
searching for solutions to the difficulties my presence caused in the pack. No
matter how bad it got, she stayed on her feet and held me close to her side.
She kept me steady through all of the upheaval and chaos of the recent weeks.

For longer than anyone could remember, Mages and Wolves had
distrusted and hated each other. The night I discovered I was a Mage, they
explained the history between the races. Mages collared Wolves, twisting their
minds with our mental powers and enslaving them to fulfill our own agenda. To
defend themselves, Wolves killed any Mage in their territory rather than lose
another loved one to a fate worse than death.

I’d saved Billie’s life that night, so the Alpha spared
mine. Jason promised to let me live in Pack territory unmolested by Wolves so
long as I followed his rules and didn’t threaten the pack. Wolves instinctively
perceived all of my abilities as a threat, and many of my packmates still
distrusted me because of my Mage ancestry. However, a growing number of them
accepted my place in their lives and as Billie’s mate. I’d given them reason to
trust me, and a few did.

A couple weeks earlier, a group of ambitious Mages arrived
with a plan to collar every Wolf around me. Using my powers, I stopped them and
protected the pack. In order to succeed, the Mages needed to believe I had the
same agenda, so I joined them. Unfortunately I played the game a little too
well with the Mages and convinced my packmates as well. Jason ordered my death,
so Billie and I ran. We stopped the Mages in time to face a hunting party
determined to kill us. Miraculously we convinced Jason I posed no threat to the
pack, and he allowed us to come home. We’d only returned the night before,
exhausted from the ordeal but thrilled to be back.

We didn’t even get a good night’s sleep before the next
crisis began. I’d woken before dawn to Kato’s urgent voice in my mind. Among
all the Wolves, I could only speak mind to mind with Billie and Kato. Though
Kato and I communicated easily, we didn’t share the same deep connection that I
shared with Billie. The Elder Wolf had sounded anxious and hurried while
explaining the foreign Wolf’s peril. He ran as fast as he could through the
forest, surprisingly close by. Somehow he’d traveled all the way home from the
Sawtooths in only a couple days. He asked me to send a rescue party
immediately.

When Billie approached the foreign Wolf, I’d sensed her
concern for Amy and Leroy’s safety. If the threat had come from an aggressive
intruder, she’d simply have knocked the trespasser into the next county without
batting an eye. Instead she’d faced a scared and injured Wolf, someone in need
of help. Her initial defensive attitude ebbed quickly, as did her concern for
the injured Wolf’s welfare. Her unease shifted to my safety. Since Wolves could
sense our mindspeech, I decided to postpone asking for details.

Billie entered the city, driving towards our home with the
Medic and the strange Wolf. Agitated and tense, she finally contacted me. I
could hear the angst in her mental voice as she confirmed my suspicions.
We’re
almost home. She knows you’re a Mage.

Amy.
I moaned, sensing her annoyance at the talkative
Medic. Something else about her mood eluded me, but if an outsider knew about
me we had bigger concerns. My hopes of avoiding an issue with other Wolves disappeared.
You’re bringing her here? Is that a good idea?

We can’t hide from this or pretend you’re not here.
Bringing her home is our best option. Amy will stay with us until she’s sure
Sierra’s leg is healing properly. It’s badly broken.
Her attention strayed
to her physical surroundings.
Our mindspeech is making her nervous. I’ll see
you in a few minutes.

“They’re bringing her here. Amy told her I’m a Mage. I don’t
know if I’m up for this.” I told Kathryn with wide eyes. Spending a
companionable morning with the Elder Wolf in my home after the brief exile had
lifted my spirits. We’d waited for the rescue party’s return while Kathryn
filled me in on some of her recent volunteer activities. The old civil rights
activist loved dance in all forms. She’d recently begun to organize a
performance to raise money for one of her favorite causes. Kathryn had
supported me from the beginning, one of the only Wolves who didn’t judge me
based on my race. I treasured the old Wolf’s friendship and wisdom.

Billie’s update crushed my hopes of having a peaceful day
and short vacation between crises. Kathryn patted my knee comfortingly. I
admired her ability to make the best of any situation and remain composed
during the most difficult circumstances. She had a way of breathing calm into
those around her with her very presence, and with a strange Wolf on the way, I
needed it. “I have no doubt she will have questions about you and her own
safety in your presence. Nevertheless, she is injured and in need of our care.
We should prepare food and a place for her to sleep.”