In front of Judd, Hawke narrowed his eyes at Indigo. “Right, I know who’s next.”
The lieutenant took off without a backward glance, weaving between delighted children while Drew got in Hawke’s way. “Can’t let you tag my mate,” the tracker said, hands open palms-out on either side of his body.
Having lowered the little girl he’d been holding so she could toddle away to hide, Judd used his telekinetic abilities to move Drew out of the way.
“Hey!” His brother-in-law scowled at him as Hawke took off after Indigo, their alpha pretending to growl and go after several small children along the way, who all ran off squealing. Sienna, meanwhile, was laughingly trying to herd Indigo into a trap, with a returned Riaz’s help.
“What the hell was that for?” Drew snarled, his shoulders moving fluidly under a dark blue tee with a silver design on one side as he threw up his hands.
“Remember that time we played war games and you almost broke my ribs?” It had been before Judd and Brenna’s mating, at a time when Drew was certain Judd was no good for his baby sister. “I decided I’m still holding a grudge.”
“You got your own back!” Drew’s response was half wolf, his claws sliding out of his skin. “You almost dislocated my shoulder that day!”
Judd pretended to think about it. “I did, didn’t I?” Having telekinetically stolen a water balloon from the enterprising group in the corner, he said, “So maybe I just wanted you here so I could do this,” and threw the balloon at Drew.
It caught the wolf in the face.
Growling as water dripped from his face onto his chest, Drew body-slammed Judd, and they went down. At which point, the other man clawed up dirt and grass and stuffed the mass down Judd’s back. Judd attempted to flip his brother-in-law off him, was foiled when pups drawn by their commotion ran over.
“Here, Drew,” one said, holding out a bright pink water balloon.
Drew bared his teeth and smashed the balloon right on Judd’s neck, which meant the water went down his back and chest, turning the dirt to mud. “Oops.”
Fighting dirty now, Judd got him with a couple more balloons. This time they were supplied eagerly by the children. Then he got lucky and managed to rub dirt onto Drew’s face. The pups, young and old, loved this new game. Mud was soon being rubbed onto both Drew and Judd with enthusiastic little hands, while the pups laughed like little demons.
Judd, sitting up now, with Drew behind him, back-to-back, felt something build inside his chest.
“Your fault,” Drew growled. “Remind me to wring your neck.”
“Noted.” That powerful feeling kept building and building.
And then a pup stopped squishing mud into Judd’s hair to peer at him with big blue eyes. “Uncle Judd’s laughing!”
He was, he realized. Quietly, shoulders shaking, but the laughter, it wouldn’t stay inside. Drew elbowed him from the back. “Not funny, man. I had on a new T-shirt.”
Judd just laughed harder, until Drew gave in and began to chuckle, too. Judd’s stomach was aching when he looked up and saw a beautiful blonde SnowDancer step into the carnage of the White Zone. His mate was dressed in sleek gray pants cropped at midcalf, her formal white shirt tucked into the pants. Colorful orange flats rounded out the professional look.
Her hair, which she’d grown out, was twisted into a complicated knot at the back of her head, her sideswept bangs providing a frame for her fine-boned face.
“I see,” she said, coming to stand over him and Drew, fisted hands on her hips. “While I’m off having serious meetings at the university, you all get to play.” Her attempt to sound stern was totally defused by the sparkle in brown eyes shattered by spikes of arctic blue that speared out from midnight pupils.
Those extraordinary eyes were all that remained of her trauma at a monster’s hands, and she’d made them her own. The vicious Psy serial killer who’d taken and tortured Brenna had wanted to mark her, break her, then end her life. But he was the one who was dead. Brenna had survived, grown strong, reclaimed every part of her self. And the monster? She’d banished him from her mind until he couldn’t even stalk her nightmares.
People called Judd tough; he had nothing on Brenna Shane Kincaid.
“Want to join us?” He held up a muddy hand, while Drew said, “Yeah, Bren. Come play.” His voice was suspiciously cheerful.
Raising her hands and clearly realizing both her brother and her mate were up to no good, Brenna backed off. “I love you both, but no. Not when I’m wearing these clothes.”
She was gorgeous and so incredibly smart, Judd’s mate. She was also in the middle of the White Zone with kids who’d figured out the adults were in the mood to play. The first water balloon hit her ten seconds later, catching her on the back. Her yelp of surprise was followed by a second balloon that soaked her front, revealing the lines of the simple white bra Judd had watched her put on this morning.
He loved watching her dress, loved the way she moved about so energetic and chatty in the morning. And he loved that she fed his touch hunger with demands of her own. Judd liked nothing better than to get his hands on her.
“Since you’re wet anyway . . .” Rolling to his feet, he started to stalk toward her.
“You keep your distance,” Brenna ordered. “Judd Lauren, I mean it! I am not getting mud all over—”
Giving up trying to make him behave when it was clear he wasn’t about to listen, she took off into the trees, kicking off her flats along the way.