Page 50 (1/2)
"I was delayed by a number of the pack"
Hawke nodded "After what you did for Drew, I think they want to throw a damn parade in your honor"
"I hope you put a stop to that idea"
"I don’t know - oodwas about "What’s Sienna done now?"
His late sister’s seventeen-year-old alking a very thin line She’d been almost fully conditioned when they’d defected, which had left her in a difficult position, even e in relation to her abilities But overshadowing that was the fact that she seemed to have made it her new purpose in life to annoy Hawke in as many and as varied ways as possible
"She’s convinced sohts and that I’, but there was a out e of the two younger kids - his daughter, Marlee, of course, and their nephew, Toby It had been natural for Judd to do the same with Sienna - he could help her in ways Walker couldn’t Of course, his niece didn’t think she needed an adult keeper
Haaved a hand "Don’t worry about it I’ll deal with her"
In the first fewtheir defection, Judd would’ve nixed that idea But after having witnessed the way Hawke handled the wolf juveniles, he knew that while Sienna ue, she wouldn’t come to any real harm "Then why did you ask to rowl "You’re a problem"
"So much for the parade" He paused "Does the pack know the details of what I did?"
Hawke shook his head in an iative "They think you so that ru"
"Good" That e "Then what’s the problem?" If the alpha tried to separate hiht on his hands A bloody one
"You’re causing havoc in the pack What’s your fight count to date?"
"Do you want the exact nuers since the day he walked into the den
Hawke snorted "I know the nuhts" He went down on his haunches to pet the wolves They growled and butted their heads against his touch before loping off into the woods Hawke stood back up "Which leaves me with a powerful male in my pack who stands outside the pack structure"
He recalled Indigo’s recent behavior as well as certain other acts "So ure they’ll just wear you down"
"Wearthe hell out" A blunt choice "I can’t have a strong lone wolf in ive me an official rank" Everyone in the pack had one Status could be changed in one of tays - through a physical fight or by the utilization of a complex system of skill sets and respect he didn’t co enough to guess at soo’s, while the elderly librarian, Dalton, had Hawke’s ear anytime he cared to speak
"Yes"
"I had rank once" As an Arrow One of the elite "What I realized is that blind trust in any hierarchy is idiocy" He’d been nineteen when he’d understood how ruthlessly he’d been betrayed and used
"We’re not Psy" Hawke scowled "Do you see Indigo or Riley bowing and scraping to s held their leaders to tough standards He’d seen a grim example of that in Parrish’s execution Not one of the hyena pack had asked for mercy for their leader The ritual death had, in fact, been ad alpha Bloody justice but justice nonetheless
It was a system of checks and balances that had been denied to the Psy populace for over a century "Even if you make me a soldier, I’m unlikely to obey your every order"
"If I’d wanted mute obedience, I’d have found a pack of sheep" Hawke’s response was almost a snarl "You in or not?"
He would never walk away from Brenna Or from his loyalty to his family "Yes" He was prepared to accept a lower rank than he had held in the PsyNet, though it chafed Pride An emotional weakness, but he’d never claioal of icy perfection that had stolen their hurinned "You should’ve asked what rank you’d be assigned before you accepted Too late now"
"I assumed low-to midlevel soldier" And Psy did notand dance telling you you’re too fucking strong to be left to roaive you a rank that’ll confuse the hell out of the pack?" Walking forward, the alpha slashed out with his claws, the move so fast that Judd didn’t have tiical to blast out with Tk power, but his e and ca up, he felt four thin lines on his neck Surface cuts but enough to color his fingers
Hawke slashed his own pal on instinct, Judd spread his bloody hand and caught a drop of Hawke’s blood It burned hot, as if it carried fire Soht inside of him, but when he looked into the psychic plane of the LaurenNet, he found no new connection
The burning sensation lingered even after he dropped his hand "What was that?"