Psyche Shield by Chrissie Buhr Read Free Book Online Page B

thought.
“It could be, especially knowing how Sadie feels about being a Mage.”
    “Can you reach her mind?” Kathryn asked, ignoring Amy’s
analysis while she worked on her own.
    “I’ve been trying, but she’s not hearing me. She’s
completely shut down. What do we do?” Billie moved to the couch and pulled
Sadie into her lap, holding her close as she continued to convulse.
    The Elder came to a decision. “We comfort her like Pack.
Amy, would you please call Nathan? Sadie would benefit from his presence,
reminding her of the good she has done with her power.” Kathryn began to strip
off her clothes as Amy hit speed dial. In wolf form, Kathryn jumped onto the
couch and lay beside her friend, finding room enough for her small body. She
rested her black head on Sadie’s chest, eyes half closed. Her talent for
breathing calm into any distressed creature began to ease Sadie’s convulsions.
Still Sadie trembled and didn’t wake.
    Amy spoke to Nathan and set the phone aside. With a grim
face, she reassured Sierra. “It looks like a busy day for me. But I’m not going
anywhere, so if you need me say so.” Then shedding her own clothes, she shifted
into a large arctic wolf. Too big to fit on the couch without suffocating her
packmate, she sat on the floor instead. She tucked her nose into the crook of
Sadie’s neck, breathing in her scent and wishing she could do more. With a
whine, she draped a paw across Sadie’s lightly trembling arm.
    Amy listened to Billie’s soft voice and sensed the
mindspeech between them as she tried to reach her mate’s mind. “ Love, I’m
right here. Come back to me. Everyone you love is just fine. Come back to me. ”
Sierra watched the strange scene, eyes wide and alarmed. Amy cocked her ear in
the strange Wolf’s direction and softened her eyes reassuringly. Billie finally
noticed her houseguest and offered an explanation. “She doesn’t like using
magepower. She doesn’t like being a Mage. I think Kathryn’s right.”
    Sierra spoke hesitantly, her voice betraying her conflicted
thoughts. “Why does she use it then?”
    “To protect us.” Billie’s admiration for her mate flowed
from those simple words. Amy shared her Beta’s respect for Sadie and her
devotion to Pack. “We had a situation with some Mages recently. Sadie stopped
them. We’re still cleaning up the mess they left behind. She’s as protective
and loyal as any Wolf.”
    Sierra didn’t respond, and silence filled the room. From the
corner of her eye, Amy could see the Wolf’s thoughtful expression as she
watched the strange Mage surrounded by Wolves. Before long, Amy heard a truck
pull into the drive. The front door opened and a stocky young man walked in.
The sound of the truck leaving reminded her that Nathan went nowhere
unaccompanied by another Wolf. His roommate Phil even waited until Nathan
entered Billie’s home before driving away.
    She gazed lovingly at the new arrival as he quickly took in
the scene. Once Sadie had freed him of the Mage’s coercion, she’d quickly
fallen for the Pup. Easygoing and grounded, he had a way of looking at life
that she admired. He’d found that outlook as a Human, and it suited his Wolf
nature well. Not particularly dominant but highly protective and loyal, he was
tough when it counted. He would do anything for those he loved. The boyish
smile he reserved for her made her melt every time.
    Nathan spared only a glance at the injured Wolf in bed as he
crossed quickly to the couch. With one hand, he caressed Amy’s neck, placing
the other protectively over Sadie’s leg. Amy leaned into him as much as she
could without breaking contact with Sadie. Nathan looked hard at the
unconscious Mage and spoke to Billie in a rough back-hills accent that Sierra
found familiar. “This is like before, after she fought those Mages tha’ had me.
What’s wrong wi’ her?”
    Billie didn’t take her troubled eyes off her mate. “We think
it’s an emotional reaction.