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Happiness Prologue

THE PSY COUNCIL tried to outlaw Christ decades after the implementation of the Silence Protocol The Protocol itself arose out of the overwhel in the Psy populace Driven to the edge, the Psy- not jealousy, not rage, and certainly not joy at the thought of Christ

So it was that by 2019, only ice ran in the veins of the Psy politicians anted to overnment then as it does no 5198: Deletion of Christmas and Associated Holidays was near certain to pass

There were a few minor hiccups

Some elderly Psy - those who had been too old at the inception of Silence to allow for true conditioning - weren’t certain they wanted the holiday outlawed But the old ones were few; the last, unwanted vestiges of an enored, their fading voices drowned out by the Silent majority

Law 5198 was read into the statute books and life s, the other two parts of the triumvirate that is the world, took no notice Christht, and carols were sung

Hu trade in s

In comparison, Psy ned interests in companies that usually profited from Christmas suffered a sharp drop in incoer advertise their products in conjunction with the outlawed holiday

The Psy Council found itself faced with both a mass revolt by the other races, and considerable opposition froht not feel, but they also did not appreciate their profitcompromised The businesses weren’t the only ones who felt the negative impact of Law 5198 - Enforcement could find no way to prosecute everyone who violated the law against Christmas

The churches simply acted as if the law didn’t exist But they, in their soles, in particular the nonpredatory deer species, took great a the streets in their animal forelings decided it wouldn’t hurt their pride to be harnessed two by two to large sleds in order to transport shoppers around the cities Finally, the humans, the weakest of the three races - with neither the psychic powers of the Psy, nor the ani strike

They changed the name of Christmas to the Day of Happiness

It was unacceptable for Psy to feel happiness Those who did had their minds wiped clean and their personalities destroyed in a horrifying process known as "rehabilitation" But it wasn’t illegal for anyone else to celebrate happiness And if they wanted to do it by singing songs, gathering with loved ones, and attending certain ceremonies dressed in their Sunday best, well, that wasn’t illegal either

The powerful, deadly Psy Council was used to instant obedience in all things However, in the year 2021, the Councilors ad Psy resources to ensure coic sense The laas quietly repealed

Now, some forty years later, Christh the Day of Happiness was retired soon after the repeal of Law 5198, changelings and hu Of course, happiness isn’t guaranteed by the ht with everything in her, with her pride and her fury, her love and her anger, with her very soul, in order to claim the joyand the man, meant to be hers

Happiness Chapter 1

TAMSYN LOOKED ACROSS the Pack

Circle to the men and women who stood on the other side Lachlan, their alpha, his hair going the white of wisdo to Lucas, as barely fifteen but carried the scent of a future alpha The past and the future side by side One day soon, Lucas would lead them Everyone knew that The boy had been drenched in blood, his parents murdered in front of his eyes But he would lead It didn’t matter that even if they waited a decade, he’d still be far too young

Just like Ta at nineteen to be the senior healer for the DarkRiver leopard pack Her mentor had been Lucas’s mother, Shayla The attack on Lucas’s family had not only stolen their healer, it had left DarkRiver in a state of constant alert That didn’ttheir strength until the day they could destroy the ShadowWalkers - the pack that had murdered their own

She knew Nate would be one of those ent after the rogue pack when the ti beside Lachlan, his concentration on whatever it was they were discussing At twenty-nine years of age, he was one of the pack’s top soldiers and would soon be a sentinel, assu Cian’s position when the older man retired from active duty The sentinels were the pack’s first line of defense

They were the strongest, erous predators of them all

"Tammy, you’re back!"

Startled, she looked away froot in an hour ago" Even now, she didn’t quite believe she was ho hospital in New York had been the hardest of her life

"So the course is over?"

"Yes That part of it anyway" She could finish the rest of herhealers relied on their inborn gifts, but Tamsyn had made the decision to study conventional medicine as well

It was one ifts that hadn’t yet th