Judd Lauren is a uniquely skilled Tk-cell, telepathic Psy, and a former Arrow. He defected from the PsyNet with his brother and niblings to seek protection from the SnowDancer pack where he met and mated the wolf changeling Brenna Kincaid, together they are the main protagonists of the third book of the main series, Caressed by Ice.
Biography[]
Childhood[]
When he was ten years old, Judd killed an eight year old M-Psy called Paul in an uncontrolled flash of anger, an incident that horrified him and continues to haunt him still. After that, he was immediately placed into the hands of the Arrow squad and erased from his family records. His Arrow training started with trainers attaching electrodes to his body and using them to cause him extreme pain. He learned not to scream after a week; it took another five before he stopped losing consciousness. By his eleventh birthday, he could watch his arm being broken without reacting.[1]
Life in Silence[]
Judd firmly believed he needed Silence to control his powers. He willingly became one of the Arrows that safekeep the PsyNet and the Silence Protocol. Emotion was conditioned out of him with pain and several dissonance triggers were planted in his mind, along with a self-destruction kill switch. As a youth in training, he looked up to squad leader Ming LeBon and was trained by him personally.[2] He was a model student and spent a year in Old Sapporo - an inhospitable, abandoned city - studying with a katana master.[3]
When he was old enough to escape his trainers, Judd teleported to Walker, his eldest sibling by 14 years.[4] Even though they hadn't seen each other since Judd was taken, Walker welcomed him with open arms and told him that he'd always be family.[5] He continued to visit whenever he could get away.
Arrow[]
When Judd finished his training and began active duties as an Arrow, the squad commander was Senior Arrow and Councilor Ming LeBon. His cohort included Aden Kai, Vasic Zen, and numerous others.
As an Arrow, he was dosed with Jax to make him more willing to kill and to better control him, effectively turning his worldview into extremes of black and white without the nuance of the grey. After seven months, Judd realized what the drug was doing to him started to make deliberate psychic mistakes while on the drug and told the medics he was having dreams, which Psy weren't supposed to have. Since there wasn't enough information on his particular subdesignation, he and several others with related abilities were taken off the drug.[1]
Rebel[]
When he was 19, Ming gave Judd a target to eliminate. Afterwards, Judd did some digging and discovered the man's only crime was to be a business competitor to Ming. His beliefs that he was protecting his race from evil were shattered, that he was merely an assassin for the Council. While he’d once looked up to his squad leader, he saw how the Psy Council - including Ming LeBon - used Silence to gorge themselves on power and wealth, inflicting egregious horrors upon all three races.
He became a secret rebel, working from within the Arrow Squad. In 2071, when he was still an Arrow, he started to secretly work with the Ghost. He used his training and skills to end the Silence Protocol and disrupt work towards an Implant, called Protocol I, which would create a Psy hive-mind controlled by a few queen bees and eliminating free will. They met in secret in San Francisco at a small parish shepherded by Father Xavier Perez, who Judd met in 2074 and introduced to the Ghost in 2077.
Defection[]
By the time he turned 26, when he defected, he had been an Arrow for eight years. When his sister Kristine Lauren committed suicide in a publicly extravagant fashion, his family was ordered to be rehabilitated, a mind-wipe resulting in virtual death. The reason given was to prevent more "defectives," those who broke conditioning, but in truth the Council feared the strength of the Lauren family, which included three Cardinals and three more considerably strong members.[6]
Despite his certainty that Silence was necessary to control his dangerous abilities, Judd decided to defect with the rest of his family even though he was not included in the sentence since as an Arrow, he wasn't considered a member of the Lauren family tree. Judd knew his brother Walker would not be able to sustain the bio feedback for three juvenile Psy and keep them from instinctively trying to rejoin the PsyNet. So he faked his death and sought refuge for the children in the SnowDancer wolf pack, expecting the wolves to kill him, Walker, and possibly even Sienna, but hoped they’d be merciful to the children.[7]
SnowDancer[]
As a new member of the SnowDancer wolf pack, he was at first treated with wary suspicion and quartered in the soldiers' section of the den rather than in the family section with the rest of the Laurens; the only personal addition to his room was an exercise bar.[8] After he helped free Brenna Kincaid from the sociopathic Psy Councilor Santano Enrique, he gained some trust, yet was challenged to multiple dominance fights because his status in the pack was uncertain despite being the equivalent of a dominant changeling.
In an attempt to leave SnowDancer out of fear he was close to breaking Silence and thus losing control of his powers, Judd told Hawke that he wanted to leave the pack because he wasn't fully using his skills and training, some of which needed to be exercised otherwise he'll lose control of them. As Hawke was reluctant to release an assassin into the general population, he offered Judd a soldier position instead.[9]
Demonstrating his loyalty to the pack through his dedication to Brenna and unraveling the Psy conspiracy to pit SnowDancer and DarkRiver against each other, he earned a position as lieutenant.[10]
Mating[]
Before Silence, Tk-Cells usually lost control of their abilities, killing their loved ones first. Judd thought this meant he couldn't break Silence, even though he wanted to for Brenna, who refused to let him ignore what was between them. For his part, he was experiencing attraction for the first time and didn't understand his own compulsion towards her, something he eventually stopped fighting even though the dissonance was slowly killing him.
Despite his best attempts to ignore what was happening between them, stealth attacks against Brenna set off every one of Judd's protective instincts; he remained close to her side to guard against a threat that turned out to be a fellow SnowDancer who'd betrayed her and delivered her to Santano Enrique. When Dieter made his final, desperate attack against Brenna, fearing she was remembering the day he betrayed her, she fought back and subdued the other wolf.
Afterwards, Judd dismantled his conditioning, thus opening the mating bond that had been strangled by Silence.
They have been happily mated ever since. She makes explosives for his covert activities.
Physical Appearance[]
Judd has dark, chocolate brown eyes with gold flecks in them and dark brown hair, which he occasionally dyes blond when he needs to change his appearance for a mission. According to Brenna, he has pretty lips.[11] Although he's on the lean side, he's heavier than he looks, indicating dense bone mass.[12] Despite his soldier status, he lacks any scars as he was taught how to remove them with his Tk-C as a training exercise; his body seems to have learned the trick and does it automatically. He always wears black.[12]
Personality and Traits[]
Judd's intimidating, extremely slow to trust, and quick to defend those in need of protection, but doesn't act nor escalate a situation unnecessarily. He's always cool and composed with a sly sense of humour. When he does get angry, he goes cold and arrogant, or at least more so than usual.
With children, he tends to get down to their level and gives them his full attention.[13]
As a result of the military discipline instilled in him, he tends to be neat and tidy.[14]
Abilities and Skills[]
Judd has the rare ability of a Tk-Cell: he can stimulate, control and move cells of living things, whether it is knitting up wounds or cutting someone to pieces without touching them. This ability works on humans, Psy, and changelings and is considered extremely dangerous, as it doesn't cost him much energy since even weak Tk-Cs can kill with a stray thought. Using this ability, he can keep himself and others warm, move faster,[9] and even shift them ever so slightly out of alignment with the world that he appears to be nothing more than a blur; he can even disperse scent trails.[11] There's a theory that the blur ability somehow pulls from the same source as foresight and he's actually bending time.[3] He's also teleport-capable.
To ensure that he doesn't accidentally use his power, he has a mental trip wire set so that if it goes active without disabling the wire, it temporarily closes off his Tk-C. When he intends to use it, disabling it takes no time at all.[15]
Judd spent his initial months with SnowDancer concealing his 9.9 telekinetic abilities, claiming only his 9.4 telepathy.[16] Being so high on the gradient in both skills means that he's nearly a Cardinal, yet lacks the tell-tale eyes of one.[16] He has the uncommon ability to feed power to another Psy.[17] Walker taught him to create shields that will deflect teleport-capable telekinetics who can lock onto faces.[18]
He has undergone the usual Arrow training and is proficient with all kinds of weaponry, including those of the more physical variety - he was able to defeat several SnowDancer changelings. He's also trained in stealth, disguise, explosives,[2] and espionage; he can even disguise his own mind to seem like a drunk human to illegal mind scans from telepaths.[16] His training's also provided him with a huge pain tolerance; he can watch his arm break without reacting.
That training also included mind control and programming, but he's always refused to cross that line.[19]
Relationships[]
Alexei Vasiliev Harte[]
They're good friends.
Arrows[]
Aden Kai, Vasic Zen and various other Arrows are still Judd’s ally, and they look to him for hope of a better way of life for those cursed with highly dangerous psychic abilities.[20]
Brenna Kincaid[]
Early in their relationship, Judd assumed that her attraction was because of the role he played on her healing team, holding her during the worst sessions when she needed touch but didn't want the rest of the pack seeing her like that.[9] In spite of this, he was attracted to her, too, and did his best to fight it. He and others believed she was looking to him to fix her, but what she wanted was someone to help her understand what Enrique had done to her and why she was having vision dreams. She appreciated that he didn't patronize her or question her sanity like most other people in her life, he was blunt, honest, and helped protect her in her weakest moments. Sometimes he was even brutal with his words in his attempt to keep her at a distance for what he believed was her safety, which had the opposite effect since Brenna's not one to back down from a challenge.
Due to what Enrique did to her, Brenna's now a strong telepathic receiver, which means they can speak telepathically.[21]
The mating bond with Brenna looks like a kaleidoscopic rope with martial threads and bright, animal sparks.[21]
The Ghost and Father Xavier Perez[]
They first met in 2073, seemingly by chance on the PsyNet, but Judd suspects the encounter was engineered by the Ghost. He didn't mind as he'd wanted to be found.[22] The following year, Judd met Xavier as a drunken wreck in a small watering hole in the mountains of South America.
Judd introduced the Ghost to Father Xavier, the trio bound by the common goal of protecting the Psy, especially the children, from the implant.[22] The three rebels became good friends, but Judd never looked at the Ghost's face in order to protect him.
Hawke Snow[]
From the beginning, he respected Hawke as one of the most intelligent hunters he's ever met.[23] He’s been loyal to Hawke, eventually revealing to him in confidence his secret rebel work with the Ghost.
Kristine Lauren, Deceased[]
Sister, Cardinal ability, mother to Sienna and Toby
Marlee Lauren[]
To help his niece hone her secondary Tk ability, he gave her a sparkly blue ball and a seesaw game.[24] While his affection for her was never overtly expressed, Marlee knows that her uncle loves her. Marlee, for her part, loves her uncle and sees him as a protective figure in her life. Sometimes, he'll fix broken things for her with his Tk-C.[13]
Riley and Drew Kincaid[]
Brothers-in-law through his mate, Brenna. Originally there was mistrust and dislike on both sides. Things changed drastically after Judd stopped hiding his claws, proving he could keep Brenna safe,[25] as well as saving Drew's life with his Tk-Cell ability.[14] The brothers have learned to not only tolerate, but appreciate Judd after seeing how much he loves their sister. Although Riley did tell him that if he ever makes Brenna cry, he'll break every bone in Judd's body, tear him into pieces, and hold a barbecue for the wild wolves.[21]
Sienna Lauren[]
Prior to their defection, Judd did his best to covertly help her and pass along skills that would help her keep her soul and sanity. Having promised his sister Kristine that he'd keep her daughter safe,[5] Judd assisted his eldest niece in her Psy training and control after the family defected from the PsyNet. While his affection for her was never overtly expressed, Sienna knows that her uncle loves her.
When Sienna confessed to him that her fractured conditioning hurt, Judd decided to learn how to disable it so they both could be free of the pain of dissonance.
Tai[]
Although he first thought to challenge Judd for dominance,[26] this young SnowDancer soldier takes sparring lessons from Judd[27] and looks up to him as a mentor.
Toby Lauren[]
While his affection for him was never overtly expressed, Toby knows via his Empath senses that his uncle loves him.
Walker Lauren[]
Judd's older brother and patriarch of the Lauren family taught classes at the Arrow training center and tried to look out for Judd, ensuring that he knew he was never alone, determined to keep the family together.
William[]
Judd Lauren is teaching seven-year-old William, a Forgotten member, to control his Tk-Cell abilities and to use them to heal.
Trivia[]
- Judd is heavier than he looks, and seems to have a higher bone mass than most other Psy.
- He hates eating in restaurants because he can't relax, always alert for threats.[28]
- About a year after becoming a SnowDancer lieutenant, Judd is able to more easily teleport other SnowDancers without having access to their minds.
- He likes terrible action flicks.[28]
- When it comes to Faith NightStar's foresight, Judd's the most opaque person she's ever met.[29]
- He had a total of 6 Black Keys hidden in his conditioning.[15]
- In the past generation, he's the only Tk-Cell to have survived to adulthood.[30]
Quotes[]
He was cold and merciless, had all the charm of a feral wolf.[11] -Brenna
"I would rather die than harm you, but anyone else? I could kill them without blinking. It's what I was born to do."[12] -Judd to Brenna
"I think Judd's the same as any wolf in the den - he simply hides his animal better." -Andrew[14]
"I'm a bad son of a bitch, but I have emotions despite all indications to the contrary." -Judd to Sascha Duncan[31]
Appearances[]
Slave to Sensation[]
Judd explains to Sascha Duncan how he and his family left the PsyNet, giving her hope that she can live outside it, but she can't join his familial net because they had to lock it to prevent the children from instinctively trying to reconnect to the PsyNet.
Visions of Heat[]
He helps DarkRiver strategize against the serial killer Faith NightStar foresees. Ultimately, he binds the killer in psychic chains that prevent him from acting upon his sick desires.
Caressed by Ice[]
Covertly, Judd participates in rebel activities against the Council, specifically targeting the implant designed to enslave the Psy race by removing free will. His relationship with Brenna develops into a mating bond.
Mine to Possess[]
Judd shares what he knows about the implant with Talin McKade and Clay Bennett and that he suspects the scientist in charge of the project might be open to helping them rescue Jon Duchslaya and Noor Hassan from the lab.[32]
When discussing the need to cut Keenan Aleine's tie to the PsyNet during the proposed rescue, Talin objects, worrying that it will hurt the boy. Judd confirms, saying it feels like dying, but if they don't, the Council will track him down and take him back within minutes.[33]
Judd's part of the team that stakes out Talin's apartment.
Hostage to Pleasure[]
Sascha asks for his help with the sociopathic Amara Aleine, but he says he can either kill her or crack open her mind and he thinks it should be the former. Although he may not seem like it, he does, in fact, have emotions and therefore can't relate to Amara.[31]
Branded by Fire[]
When Drew gets nosy about a hook-up of Riley's, he tries to distract his brother by claiming that Brenna and Judd had fought so Drew should go check on her.[34] The ploy fails and Brenna and Judd are now interested in Riley's relationship with Mercy Smith.[35]
Judd tells Riley some of the juveniles were planning to toilet paper Jon Duchslaya, probably in retaliation for something he did, but Jon was found duct taped to a tree. Lots of itching powder was found on Jon and the SnowDancers had obviously been dosed with it.[36]
He provides information to Hawke on the movements of the Human Alliance and the alpha consults him on Sienna's control over her lethal abilities.
The Ghost discusses with Judd what merits of the Silence Protocol should be kept, such as techniques for discipline.[37]
Blaze of Memory[]
To his complete befuddlement, Noor Hassan gives him a pretty rock she found because they're "the same" and gives him a hug.[38]
During a meeting with the Ghost and Xavier, they discuss changes in the Arrow squad.[39]
Judd begins to teach William Benoit, the son of Devraj Santos' cousin, how to control his Tk-Cell abilities.
Play of Passion[]
Judd listens to Drew and gives him some advice when it comes to his attraction to Indigo Riviere and how to court her.[40] Later, he helps her track Drew since, as Judd puts it, he was once just like her.[41] When Drew is shot, Judd helps heal some of the damage.[42]
Xavier asks Judd to look into the disappearance of one of his congregation, a Psy, who has disappeared[40] and he finds that she's been murdered, but it's been made to look like a natural death. It has all the Council's fingerprints all over it.
Judd spies on Pure Psy and relays information to Hawke on their movements as well as the Council's disintegration.
Kiss of Snow: appears (POV)[]
"Movie Night"[]
Early in their relationship, Brenna encourages Judd to pick out a movie to discover what he likes. Turns out, he likes terrible action flicks.
Tangle of Need[]
After the battle with Pure Psy, a fan club sprouted up in Judd’s honour with “I heart Judd” and “Judd is my boyfriend” merchandise. So, naturally, Drew got everyone “I heart Judd” t-shirts and buttons for everyone to wear at the next lieutenant meeting. Hawke threatened to give him a PR role. Women posted their phone numbers, videos, and photos on the website until Brenna hacked it. She vandalized the main page by informing them all that Judd’s very happily mated to a wolf with sharp teeth, sharp claws, and is quite jealous. She also included several gruesome photos of feral wolf kills.[43]
"Christmas in the Kitchen"[]
Dorian's sparring sessions with Judd are mentioned.
"Stalking Hawke": mentioned[]
Texture of Intimacy (in Wild Invitation): appears[]
"Clean and Dirty": mentioned[]
Heart of Obsidian: appears[]
"Dancing with Cooper"[]
All the lieutenants manage to attend Hawke and Sienna's mating ceremony.
Shield of Winter: appears[]
"New Year's Kisses": mentioned (not by name)[]
Shards of Hope: appears (POV)[]
Allegiance of Honor: appears (POV)[]
Partners in Persuasion (in Wild Embrace): mentioned (not by name)[]
Silver Silence: mentioned (not by name)[]
"Rowan": mentioned (not by name)[]
"Baubles and Ben"[]
Ben's upset because he accidentally broke the ornament, "bobble," he'd made for his mom. Marlee takes him to Judd and asks her uncle to help fix it. Once it's repaired, he teleports the kids to Ben's mom so he can give it to her.
Wolf Rain: appears (POV via letter/message/email/quote/etc. only)[]
"Wolf Heart": mentioned[]
"Movie Night Supplies"[]
Brenna leaves commentary on Judd's shopping list.
Alpha Night: mentioned (not by name)[]
Last Guard: mentioned (not by name)[]
"A Perfect Moment"[]
Riley and Mercy are grateful for the help of family and packmates with their newborn triplets.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Caressed by Ice, Ch. 12
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Caressed by Ice, Ch. 8
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Caressed by Ice, Ch. 15
- ↑ Kiss of Snow, Ch. 47
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kiss of Snow, Ch. 49
- ↑ Caressed by Ice, Ch. 42
- ↑ Caressed by Ice, Ch. 2
- ↑ Caressed by Ice, Ch. 4
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Caressed by Ice, Ch. 10
- ↑ Caressed by Ice, Ch. 35
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Caressed by Ice, Ch. 6
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Caressed by Ice, Ch. 23
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Baubles and Ben"
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Caressed by Ice, Ch. 32
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Caressed by Ice, Ch. 45
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Caressed by Ice, Ch. 9
- ↑ Caressed by Ice, Ch. 21
- ↑ Kiss of Snow, Ch. 27
- ↑ Caressed by Ice, Ch. 30
- ↑ Tangle of Need, Ch. 42
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Caressed by Ice, Ch. 47
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Caressed by Ice, Ch. 37
- ↑ Caressed by Ice, Ch. 22
- ↑ Caressed by Ice, Ch. 17
- ↑ Caressed by Ice, Ch. 24
- ↑ Caressed by Ice, Ch. 1
- ↑ Caressed by Ice, Ch. 44
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 "Movie Night"
- ↑ Caressed by Ice, Ch. 7
- ↑ Blaze of Memory, Ch. 38
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 Hostage to Pleasure, Ch. 45
- ↑ Mine to Possess, Ch. 34
- ↑ Mine to Possess, Ch. 39
- ↑ Branded by Fire, Ch. 3
- ↑ Branded by Fire, Ch. 22
- ↑ Branded by Fire, Ch. 15
- ↑ Branded by Fire, Ch. 49
- ↑ Blaze of Memory, Ch. 23
- ↑ Blaze of Memory, Ch. 44
- ↑ 40.0 40.1 Play of Passion, Ch. 6
- ↑ Play of Passion, Ch. 21
- ↑ Play of Passion, Ch. 46
- ↑ Tangle of Need, Ch. 15