He was expecting a smart comeback, but she stayed silent. Her profile was a clean line, her lips soft, her skin pale, and her eyes heavy. The vulnerability of her—the trust it exhibited that she’d chosen to come home with him when she could’ve asked for a teleport anywhere—it caught his bear’s heart in a grip both soft and steely.

That grip was formed of pure starlight.

He got them to Denhome as fast as safely possible. Chaos hadn’t let him down, despite the early morning hour, and had hot bowls of soup waiting. Silver barely got half a bowl into herself before she fell asleep, her head pillowed on her arms. Resisting the temptation to sneak a petting stroke of her hair was hard.

Better nature finally winning out over his bear’s grumbling protests, he scooped her up into his arms to carry her to her room. First, however, he had to scowl at Yakov, who’d tried to beat him to the punch.

The other man shrugged. “I just wanted to touch her hair.”

“Go pet Pasha’s hair.” Valentin snuggled Silver’s sleeping body closer. “She’s mine.”

“She know that?”

“I’m working on it.” Glaring away any other bears who might be tempted to come close, he got her into her room without further interruptions.

She was dusty from the site, no doubt sweaty, too, but he wasn’t about to strip her. He told Nova not to, either, after his sister responded to his request to check on Silver and make certain that rest was indeed all she needed.

“I’m taking off her boots at least.” Nova put those boots by the side of the bed, while Valentin pulled a blanket over Silver’s body.

“Rest well, Starlight.” His own body ached, but he was an alpha bear, could’ve gone on for another day if necessary. If he had his way, he’d spend that time watching over Silver. Ah, who was he kidding? Give him free rein, and he’d curl himself around her like a living blanket. He’d listen to the beat of her heart, feel the soft heat of her breath, the delicate strength of her bones.

“Come on, little brother.” Nova wrapped an arm around his waist. “You need to finish your own meal, then you can grab some sleep and dream of your Starlichka.”

Throwing an arm around her shoulders, he tugged her close, this sister of his who’d become the one he went to with his childhood hurts once his mother, Galina, stopped seeing him, stopped seeing all of them. At only a year older than Valentin, Nika had been as young and bewildered, while Stasya had been their fire, so angry for their shattered family that she’d picked a hundred furious battles with clanmates who couldn’t see through her rage to her pain.

It was Nova who’d held them together with her healer’s warmth, Nova who’d refused to embrace anything but love, Nova who’d made him his favorite snacks and told him she was proud of him when he did well at school. Their maternal grandparents had taken the adult role when it became clear Galina was barely hanging on, but it was Nova all three of them had turned to in their darkest moments.

Valentin often thought healers had the strongest hearts of any changeling. “I love you, Novochka.”

A startled smile. “I know, Mishka.” She patted his chest, her hand that of a healer, nails clipped short and devoid of the ornamentation she so loved on every other part of herself. “Your love is like a force of nature—even as a cub, once you decided a person was yours, you didn’t let go.” Smile fading, she said, “Tell me how it was at the site.”

“Horrible,” he said honestly. “So much death, so much loss. The only good thing about it was Silver.” He forced himself not to look back at her room, more than a little afraid his bear would waltz right in and make itself at home. “You should’ve seen her at work. She’s like a contained storm.” Handling a hundred things at once with no sign of strain or stress. “People trust her to be competent because there’s no way a woman that powerful and that in control would ever be otherwise.”

“Your crush is getting worse.” Nova patted his back, but when she looked up, her eyes were solemn. “I like Silver, but she’s incredibly Psy, Mishka. No cracks that I can see.”

Valentin knew what she was trying to say. “She’s in Denhome now.” In bear territory. “Anything’s possible.”

“Just take care of yourself, okay?” Nova leaned her head against him, her glossy dark curls tumbling around her head. “You’re carrying too much on that heart of yours already.” She pressed her free hand over his heart. “The weight shouldn’t all be yours.”

Closing his hand over hers, he shook his head. “I’m alpha, Nova.” Meant to carry that weight. Meant to bleed to fix what was broken.

And meant to love a woman as strong as a fiery star.

• • •

SILVER woke to the feel of data at the edge of her senses, messages and information having built up against her mind while she slept. She held back the flood as she took stock of her body and mind. After she determined that though her body ached, she was otherwise healthy, she checked the time and realized she’d been asleep for almost twenty-two hours.

No wonder she was thirsty and hungry.

Pushing up into a seated position, she saw two notes on the bedside table. Both were propped up against a jug of water in which swam slices of fresh orange. Silver poured herself a glass, drank it down, then read the neatly folded notecard: Someone in Denhome is always up, so there’s always food available. Don’t worry about asking for it, no matter when you wake. Just ask to be directed to the kitchen.—Nova

The other note was a piece of paper torn from a notebook: Hope you had a good sleep, Starlight. Now go eat so much you want to burst.—Mr. I. M. A. Medvezhonok.

What kind of an alpha signed his message Mr. I Am a Teddy Bear? Only Valentin. Carefully placing the note under her phone, she pushed back her hair. Her hands came away coated with dust.

No one, she knew, had touched her after Valentin put her to bed. He wouldn’t have allowed anyone else to handle her. He was incredibly possessive, and she was well aware he was trying to brand her as his in ways he probably thought were subtle; he wouldn’t succeed, but she appreciated that he always protected her.

It was slightly disconcerting to realize she hadn’t awakened, even when he’d picked her up and brought her here. Then again, her trust in him was hardly inexplicable, she thought as she rose to her feet. Valentin Nikolaev had saved her life. More than that, she’d come to know that the rough-edged alpha of StoneWater was a man of blunt honor and unimpeachable integrity.

She was safe with him.

The thought sank deep inside her, an echo that reverberated through her bones. Telling herself the unexpected sensation was nothing but a sensory blip, she began to strip off her filthy clothing. She also needed to strip the sheets on the bed, but that could wait.

Getting out of the hot shower after a long twenty minutes that helped ease the lingering aches in her body, she prepared to leave her room. This time, she decided to leave her hair down.

Fresh underwear, a pair of dark brown corduroy pants, and a thin gray sweater was her choice of outfit. On her feet went socks and the half boots that were no longer covered in dust but shined to a mirrored gloss.

She paused with the left boot in her hand, staring at the gleaming leather.

She understood enough of the changelings’ communal nature to guess that whoever had done it had done so for no reason but to be helpful. They wouldn’t expect anything from her except a spasibo if she happened upon their name. Cooperation and a sharing of resources was the foundation of the changeling way of life.