Kiss of Snow
Berkley Books
November 2011
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Unedited Advance Excerpt
Chapter 1
Hawke folded his arms and leaned back against the solid bulk of his desk, eyes on the two young females in front of him. Hands clasped behind themselves and legs slightly spread in the “resting” stance, Sienna and Maria looked like the SnowDancer soldiers they were—except for the fact that their hair straggled in a wild mess around their faces, matted with mud, crushed leaves and other forest debris. Then there was the torn clothing and the sharp, acrid scent of blood.
His wolf bared its teeth.
“Let me get this straight,” he said in a calm tone that had Maria turning pale under skin that was a warm, smooth brown where it wasn’t bruised and bloody. “Instead of staying on watch and protecting the pack’s defensive border, you two decided to have your own personal dominance battle.”
Sienna, of course, met his gaze—something no wolf would’ve done in the circumstances. “It w—”
“Be quiet,” he snapped. “If you open your mouth again without permission, I’m putting both of you in the pen with the two-year-olds.”
Those amazing cardinal eyes—white stars on a background of vivid black—went a pure ebony that he knew full well indicated fury, but she clenched her jaw. Maria, on the other hand, had gone even paler. Good.
“Maria,” he said, focusing on the petite changeling whose size belied her skill and strength in both human and wolf form. “How old are you?”
Maria swallowed. “Twenty.”
“Not a juvenile.”
Maria’s thick black curls, heavy with mud, bounced dully as she shook her head.
“Then explain this to me.”
“I can’t, sir.”
“Right answer.” No reason they could offer up would be a good enough excuse for the bullshit fight. “Who threw the first punch?”
Silence.
His wolf approved. It mattered little who’d incited the exchange when neither had walked away from it, and the fact of the matter was, they’d been meant to be working as a team, so they’d take their punishment as a team—with one caveat.
“Seven days,” he said to Maria. “Confined to quarters except for an hour each day. No contact with anyone while you’re inside.” It was a harsh punishment—wolves were creatures of pack, of family and Maria was one of the most bubbly, social wolves in the den. To force her to spend all that time alone was an indication of just how badly she’d blundered. “The next time you decide to step off watch, I won’t be so lenient.”
Maria chanced meeting his gaze for a fleeting second before those rich brown eyes skated away, her dominance no match for his. “May I attend Lake’s twenty-first?”
“If that’s the use you want to make of your hour on the day.” Yeah, it made him a bastard to force her to miss most of her boyfriend’s big party, especially when the two were taking the first, careful steps into a relationship, but she’d known exactly what she was doing when she decided to engage in a pissing contest with a fellow soldier.
SnowDancer was strong as a pack because they watched each other’s backs. Hawke would not allow stupidity or arrogance to eat away at a foundation he’d rebuilt from the ground up after the bloody events that had stolen both his parents, and savaged the pack so badly it had taken over a decade of tight isolation for them to recover.
He turned his attention to Sienna—holding onto his temper by a very thin thread. “You were,” he said, with the wolf very much in his voice, “specifically ordered not to get into any physical altercations.”
Sienna said nothing in response. It didn’t matter—her rage was a hot pulse against his skin, as raw and stormy as Sienna herself. When she was like this, the wildness of her barely contained, it was hard to believe she’d come into his pack Silent, her emotions blockaded behind so much ice, it had infuriated his wolf.
Maria shifted on her feet when he didn’t immediately continue.
“You have something to say?” he asked the woman who was one of the best novice soldiers in the pack when she didn’t let her temper get in the way.
“I started it.” Color high on her cheekbones, shoulders tight. “She was just defending—”
“No.” Sienna’s tone was steady, resolute, the anger buried under a wall of frigid control. “I’ll take my share of the blame. I could’ve walked away.”
Hawke narrowed his eyes. “Maria, go.”
The novice soldier hesitated for a second, but she was a subordinate wolf, her natural instinct to obey her alpha too powerful to resist—even though it was clear she wanted to remain behind to support Sienna. Hawke noted and approved of the display of loyalty enough that he didn’t rebuke her for that hesitation.
The door closed behind her with a quiet snick that seemed shotgun-loud in the heavy silence inside the office. Hawke waited to see what Sienna would do now that they were alone. To his surprise, she maintained her position.
Reaching forward, he gripped her chin, turning her face to the side so that the light fell on the smooth lines of it. “You’re lucky you don’t have a broken cheekbone.” The flesh around her eye was going to turn all shades of purple as it was. “Where else are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
His fingers tightened on her jaw. “Where else are you hurt?”
“You didn’t ask Maria.” Stubborn will in every word.
“Maria is a wolf, able to take five times the damage of a Psy female, and keep going.”
Which was the reason Sienna had been ordered not to get into physical confrontations with the wolves. That and the fact that she didn’t have her lethal abilities under total control. “Either you answer the question, or I swear to God I really will put you in the pen.” It would be the most humiliating of experiences and she knew it, every muscle in her body taut with viciously withheld anger.
“Bruised ribs,” she gritted out at last, “bruised abdomen, wrenched shoulder. Nothing’s broken. It should all heal within the next week.”
Dropping his grip on her chin, he said, “Hold out your arms.”
A hesitation.
The wolf growled, loud enough that she flinched. “Sienna, I’ve given you a long leash since you came into the pack, but that ends today.” Insubordination from a juvenile could be punished and forgiven. In an adult, in a soldier, it was a far more serious matter. Sienna was nineteen-going-on-twenty, a ranked novice—letting her actions slide wasn’t even an option. “Hold out your fucking arms.”
Something in his tone must’ve gotten through to her because she did as ordered. A few small cuts on that creamy skin kissed gold by the sun, but no gouges that would’ve spoken of claws. “So Maria managed to rein in the wolf.” If she hadn’t, he’d have kicked her right back into training. Losing control of your temper was one thing, losing control of your wolf far more dangerous.
Sienna’s hands fisted as she dropped them to her sides.
Looking up, he met those eyes of absolute, unbroken black. It was clear she was fighting the elemental impulse to go at him, but she continued to hold her position. “How far did you go?” Her control was impressive—and it irritated him in a way it shouldn’t have. But then, nothing about Sienna Lauren had ever been easy.
“I didn’t use my abilities.” The tendons in her neck stood out against the dirt-encrusted hue of her skin. “If I had, she’d be dead.”
“Which is why you’re in far more trouble than Maria.” When he’d given the Lauren family sanctuary after their defection from the cold sterility of the PsyNet, it had been under a number of strict conditions. One of those conditions had been a prohibition against using Psy abilities on packmates.
A significant number of things had changed since that time, and the Laurens were now an integral and accepted part of the pack. Sienna’s uncle, Judd, was one of Hawke’s lieutenants, and often used his telepathic and telekinetic abilities in defense of SnowDancer. Hawke had also never tied the hands of the two youngest Laurens, knowing Marlee and Toby would need their mental claws to defend themselves against their rambunctious wolf playmates.
But that freedom didn’t extend to Sienna, because Hawke knew exactly what she could do. The instant Judd accepted the lieutenant blood bond, keeping secrets from his alpha had become a question of loyalty and trust.
“Why?” Sienna lifted her chin. “I didn’t disobey the rule about using my abilities.”
Naturally, she’d challenge him. “But,” he said, reining in the wolf’s snarling response to her defiance, “you did disobey a direct order in engaging in the fight—you said it yourself, you could’ve walked away.”
White lines bracketed her mouth. “Would you have?”
“This isn’t about me.” He’d been a young hothead once upon a time, and he’d had his ass kicked for it…until everything had changed, his childhood wiped out in a surge of blood and pain and piercing sorrow. “We both know your lack of control could’ve led to a far more serious outcome.” The hell of it was, she knew that, too—and still she’d let herself cross the line. That angered Hawke more than anything else.
“I could be confined to DarkRiver land,” Sienna said while he was considering how to deal with her, “if you don’t want me in the den.”
Hawke snorted at her reference to the leopard pack that was SnowDancer’s most trusted ally. “So you can hang out with your boyfriend? Nice try.”
Sienna’s skin flushed a dull red. “Kit isn’t my boyfriend.”
Hawke wasn’t going to get into that conversation. Not now. Not ever. “You don’t get to have a say in your punishment.” He’d spoiled her. It was his own damn fault it was coming back to bite him in the ass. “One week confined to quarters in the soldiers area, one hour out per day.” Psy were much better at handling isolation than changelings, but he knew Sienna had changed since defecting from the PsyNet, become far more intertwined in the bonds of family, of pack. “Second week spent working with the babies in the nursery since that’s the age you’ve been acting recently. No duty rotations until you can be trusted to stick to your task.”
“I—” She snapped her mouth shut when he raised an eyebrow.
“Three weeks,” he said softly. “Third week you’ll spend in the kitchens as a dish hand.”
Her cheeks burned a hotter shade but she didn’t interrupt again.
“Dismissed.”
It was only after she’d gone—the autumn and spice of her scent lingering in the air in a silent rebellion she would’ve undoubtedly enjoyed had she known about it—that he loosened his hold on the wolf who was his more feral half.
It lunged for her scent.
Sucking in a harsh breath, Hawke fought the primal urge to go after her. He’d been battling the instinct for months, ever since the wolf decided that she was now an adult and therefore, fair prey. The human half of him wasn’t having much success in changing its mind, not when he had to fight the hunger to claim the most intimate of skin privileges every time she was in his presence.
“Christ.” Picking up the sleek new sat phone the techs had issued him four weeks ago, he put through a call to DarkRiver’s alpha.
Lucas answered on the second ring. “What is it?”
“Sienna won’t be heading down to spend time with you cats for a while.” Aside from the distance Sienna apparently needed from the den, from him, she’d been working with Lucas’s Psy mate, Sascha, to understand and gain control of her abilities. But—“I can’t let it go. Not this time.”
“Understood.” The answer of a fellow alpha.
Hawke sat on the edge of his desk, shoving a hand through his hair. “Can she handle it?” He knew she wouldn’t break—Sienna was too strong for that, a strength that acted like a drug on his wolf—but the power that lived within her was so vast, it had to be treated as the wildest of beasts.
“Last time she was down,” Lucas responded, “Sascha said she displayed an exceptional level of stability, nothing like when they first began to work together. They’re not having regular meetings anymore, so that’s not an issue.”
Mind at rest on that score at least, Hawke said, “I’ll make sure Judd keeps a psychic eye on her just in case.” Sienna wouldn’t appreciate the oversight, but fact was fact—she was dangerous, and he had to consider the safety of the pack as a whole. As for the ferocity of his protective instincts when it came to her, he wasn’t about to lie and pretend they didn’t exist.
“Can I ask what happened?” Lucas’s tone was curious.
Hawke gave the cat a quick rundown. “She’s been worse this past month.” Prior to that, her newfound stability had been noticed—and approved of—by all the senior members of the pack. “I’ve got to start coming down hard on her or it’ll cause discontent in the den.” Hierarchy was the glue that held a wolf pack together. As alpha, Hawke was at the top of that hierarchy. He could not, would not, accept rebellion from a subordinate.
“Yeah, I get it,” Lucas replied. “Surprises me though. She’s the perfect soldier down here, doesn’t ever give me lip. Got a mind as sharp as a razor.”
Hawke flexed and unflexed his claws. “Yeah, well, she’s not yours.”
A long, quiet pause. “I heard you were seeing someone.”
“You want to gossip?” He made no attempt to hide his irritation.
“Kit and the other novices saw you with some drop dead gorgeous blonde a few weeks ago. At a restaurant down by Pier 39.”
He thought back. “She’s a media consultant with CTX.” SnowDancer and DarkRiver held majority shares in the communications company, an investment that was paying off big-time as even Psy began to search for news reports free of the crushing influence of their dictatorial ruling Council. “Wanted to talk to me about doing an interview.”
“When’s it going to be on?”
“Next time you see a pig flying past the window.” Hawke didn’t play for the cameras, and he’d made damn sure Ms. Consultant understood that SnowDancer wasn’t planning to change its mean and carnivorous image to pretty and fluffy anytime soon. She could work with that or find another posi— A sudden thought sliced clean through his remembered annoyance, had his hand tightening on the phone. “Was Sienna with the juveniles?”
“Yep.”
It was Hawke who paused this time, his wolf taking a watchful stance, caught between two competing needs. “There’s nothing I can do about that, Luc,” he said at last, every muscle in his body taut to the point of pain.
“That was what Nate said.”
The leopard sentinel was now happily mated with two cubs.
“Not the same.” It wasn’t simply a question of age—the brutal fact was that Hawke’s mate was dead. Had died as a child. Sienna didn’t understand what that meant, how little he had to give her, give any woman. If he was selfish enough to succumb to the unnamed but powerful pull between them, he knew full well he’d destroy her.
“Doesn’t mean you can’t be happy. Think about it.” Luc hung up.
She hasn’t slept with him, you know… Don’t leave it too late, Hawke, or you might just lose her.
Indigo’s words two months ago, speaking about Sienna and that cub who was stuck to her like glue whenever Hawke turned around. Aside from the fact the boy was a leopard, there was nothing wrong with Kit. He’d make the perfect ma—
A crunching sound.
His new sat phone bore a jagged crack through the screen.
“…an unforgettable tale that is rich with complex, vivid emotions and edge-of-your-seat danger.”
“…great pacing, emotional scenes that made me cry, happy moments that brought a goofy smile to my face, and scorching hot love scenes…”
“…fans who have been longing for this story will not be disappointed.”
“Singh proves she’s the alpha author of paranormal romance with the tenth novel in her Psy/Changeling series…Even readers who have not previously followed the series will be thrilled with Singh’s tale.”
“This book was everything that I could have hoped for and more. I was left completely satisfied with every aspect of it. If you are a fan of this series then you won’t be disappointed, I know I wasn’t. In fact since I received my copy I have read it twice.”
“…I loved it. This is another great Singh example of wonderful, fulfilling and sensual paranormal romance, in a long-arcing series that never gets old. I can’t wait for the next one…”
“This is my favorite book so far of 2011. I really loved it, and stayed up way too late too finish it. I can honestly say the book is well worth the wait…”
“Wow. Breathtaking…Filled with smoldering heat, epic romance and awesome action, it’s everything I wanted and then some.”
“Listen up, Psy-Changeling fans: the book you’ve all been dying for is more than worth the wait! Kiss of Snow is a fast-moving, heart-pounding, sexy-as-hell thrill ride that will have you on the edge of your seat and begging for more.”
“Nalini Singh is a master of her craft and I absolutely loved this book! I was not disappointed at all. My favorite characters story is brilliantly crafted from beginning to end. I stayed up all night reading this book…”
“It has everything you could want in a paranormal romance – action, suspense, passion, adventure and paranormal elements. Hawke and Sienna are sizzling together. Hawke is one of those heroes you won’t forget – he’s thrilling, intense, deep, demanding, protective, he’s the Alpha wolf of SnowDancer but he’s also tender, sweet, witty and funny.”
“Unique plot points, great characterization; this book is something special.”
“Nalini Singh absolutely outdoes herself in this latest installment of the Psy/Changeling series…I love how Nalini grew Hawke’s relationship with Sienna over the years and finally brought them together beautifully…This book just made my top 5 favorite novels of all time, and I can’t wait to see who she writes about next!”
“I think Kiss of Snow is one of the best books in the series…[Hawke and Sienna’s] courtship is wonderful and very wild but the characters show a depth of emotion that really held me captive.”
“The battle of love and lust that Hawke and Sienna have been dancing around is finally ready to explode and boy, oh boy, the results are a conflagration of emotions you will want to embrace. KISS OF SNOW is a true treasure in this already amazing series.”
“This is a thoroughly satisfying book, one that met every high expectation I had for Hawke’s book.”
“I love that Sienna never fears Hawke. While they have a volatile relationship, he never forces his will upon her (for her own good) as in some alpha shifter stories.”
“Without giving any spoilers, I will say that I am completely satisfied with they way Ms. Singh addressed the mating concerns and how the whole mating storyline played out in Kiss of Snow.”
“In my opinion, Nalini Singh writes awesome shifters – and she brings it with Hawke. The sexual tension in this book is off the wall.”
“Kiss of Snow is a gift to fans of the Psy-Changeling series, the development of Hawke and Sienna’s relationship written in magnificent detail and their progression from adversaries to lovers so euphorically satisfying we can’t imagine how we’ve made it this long without their story in all its glorious completeness.”
“The frustrated dance between Sienna and the much older Hawke, who has guarded his heart since losing his mate, will have readers fanning themselves…Fans will enjoy this return to the affectionate wolf world and its tender mating bonds, as well as Singh’s talent for turning up the heat and keeping it there.”
“I couldn’t stop re-reading this book for a week…These two are a fabulous match.”
“Nalini Singh is a master of her craft and I absolutely loved this book! I was not disappointed at all. My favorite characters story is brilliantly crafted from beginning to end.”
“Kiss of Snow was a pure and utter joy to read. I inhaled this book and reread it again!”
“It is a book that delivers an incredible love story between two beloved characters; a book that is destined to forever remain one of my favorites; a book that I will be reading again and again for years to come.”
1. Slave to Sensation
1.5a “The Cannibal Princess” – free short story
1.5b “The Shower” – deleted scene
2. Visions of Heat
3. Caressed By Ice
3.5 “Miss Leozandra’s” – deleted scene
4. Mine to Possess
4.5 “A Conversation” – free short story
5. Hostage to Pleasure
5.5a “A Gift for Kit” ~ free short story
5.5b “Movie Night” – free short story
6. Branded By Fire
7. Blaze of Memory
7.5. “Christmas in the Kitchen” – free short story
8. Bonds of Justice
9. Play of Passion
9.5a “Wolf School” – deleted scene
9.5b “Clean and Dirty” – free short story
10. Kiss of Snow
10.5 “Stalking Hawke” – free short story
11. Tangle of Need
12. Heart of Obsidian
13. Shield of Winter
14. Shards of Hope
15. Allegiance of Honor
16. The Psy/Changeling Trinity series (2017)
Novellas
1. “Beat of Temptation” in An Enchanted Season
2. “Stroke of Enticement” in The Magical Christmas Cat
3. “Whisper of Sin” in Burning Up
4. Wild Invitation (featuring Beat of Temptation, Stroke of Enticement, Declaration of Courtship, and Texture of Intimacy)
5. “Secrets At Midnight” in Night Shift
6. Wild Embrace (2016)
New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh’s exhilarating world of shapeshifters and psychics is “paranormal romance at its best” (Publishers Weekly). Now comes the story of an alpha wolf named Hawke used to getting exactly what he wants–and of the only woman who dares tangle with him.
Since the moment of her defection from the PsyNet and into the SnowDancer wolf pack, Sienna Lauren has had one weakness. Hawke. Alpha and dangerous, he compels her to madness.
Hawke is used to walking alone, having lost the woman who would’ve been his mate long ago. But Sienna fascinates the primal heart of him, even as he tells himself she is far too young to handle the wild fury of the wolf.
Then Sienna changes the rules and suddenly, there is no more distance, only the most intimate of battles between two people who were never meant to meet. Yet as they strip away each other’s secrets in a storm of raw emotion, they must also ready themselves for a far more vicious fight…
A deadly enemy is out to destroy SnowDancer, striking at everything they hold dear, but it is Sienna’s darkest secret that may yet savage the pack that is her home…and the alpha who is its heartbeat…
If you’d like to discuss Kiss of Snow, follow this link to the spoiler zone.
