Hunter Moon (Lupine Moon Series) (28 page)

“You know what, big bro? You can keep her. She’s way too mean.” I felt Cash’s chuckle as I stayed snug against his chest. I flashed my teeth at James in a not very nice smile. Even though he tried to hide it, I didn’t miss the pain and regret I saw floating behind his silver eyes.

“James, you just like women who buy your bullshit hook, line and sinker,” Cash chuckled. “She’s just too smart for you.”

 I kissed the column of Cash’s neck again in appreciation of his chivalrous comment. I stayed curled up in his lap, relishing the sensation of his warm hands massaging the knots out of my back and shoulders as we drove through my property.

The land closed into a gully that ran the rest of the way through my land and the truck could go no further. The stream twisted and turned through there until it emerged on the edge of my property where it continued on through the Green belt, a strip of land the local government set aside as a preserve. The men piled out of the truck and started gearing up for what might be a dangerous confrontation.

They pulled out Springfield
M 14 and M1-A1
rifles and loaded themselves down with magazines, checking their side arms, and all-around bustling about. Cash double checked the vest I wore before he put on his own. I noticed his wasn’t as heavy as the one I was wearing.
Sure, give the girl the lead weight…

James leaned against the side of the truck, watching the commotion with a look of profound boredom. I looked away and rolled my eyes.
He really is a douche, but a good looking one.

 
I glanced back and watched Cash ready himself, admiring his subtle grace as he loaded his weapons and double checked them with smooth movements that spoke of years of practice. There was a glint of excitement in his eyes I hadn’t seen before and attributed it to the impending confrontation.

Once the equipment was sorted,
very nice equipment I might add
, Cash glanced down at his two HK forty caliber pistols that were so
not
Government Issue.

He stopped for a kiss. “This is where you’re going to stay with James. If you move more than ten feet from this truck...” He let the menace in is voice speak the rest.

 I raised my hands in surrender and he nodded. He gave me another quick kiss. Too soon he broke away and grabbed his rifle, leading the other wardens through the gully and out of sight.

“So,” I said, trying to make friendly conversation, “shouldn’t your brother’s girl be off limits? Isn’t there a bro-code about that somewhere?” I snuck a glance at James out of the corner of my eye and caught his dark expression.

“There aren’t many women who can put up with the type of men my brothers and I are, so when I see one not being taken care of like she should, I have to throw in.” He shrugged casually. “It’s instinct more than anything. Cash knows that.” He glanced at me and gave a sad smile. It was the first expression he’d given me that wasn’t predatory since I’d met him. “He’s just a little sensitive because I’ve gotten more chances with women than he has, but I couldn’t allow him to let you get away.”

“So, what do you do for a living?” I changed the subject.

 He shot me a knowing half-smile before answering. “I’m a prosecuting attorney back home. All of my brothers and I have a career in civil service, one way or another.” He shrugged and flashed me a self-depreciating grin. “I have two other brothers. One’s a homicide detective, the other a firefighter.” I mentally pictured the two remaining Newcomb brothers in a police and firefighter uniforms.
If they’re half as good looking as the two brothers I’ve seen…woof!

A knowing smile played out on his face. A hot flush ran up my neck and settled in my cheeks. I opened my mouth to speak when I heard the crack of gunshots and the return fire of automatic rifles. My head snapped around to face the direction where the men had left. I scanned the area, hoping to see any sign of what was going on.

My heart dropped to my stomach as I heard James let out the most primal sound of rage I’d ever heard in my life. With another roar of fury he took off sprinting several steps before he exploded. I screamed as a black wolf emerged from the shreds of denim and black cotton. It took off down the gully with unnatural speed.

My mind scrambled to explain what I had just seen. I felt a pain in my rear before realizing that I had sat down heavily on the ground, my legs no longer able to hold me.
What the hell was that?
The wolf that had appeared at my house the other morning had just been James.
James was the wolf that was at my house…

I’m going insane, but I can deal with that later
, I told myself as I struggled to stand. I had to use the side of the truck to pull myself to my feet. Shots were still being fired and I needed to get my shit together.

I pulled out my .45 and started walking with wobbly legs toward the gunfire. I didn’t get more than a few feet before a completely naked James jogged out of the gully with Cash in his arms. I took a brief moment to gawk and holler
Aooooogah!
in my head before taking in the situation.

Cash was unconscious, his head lolling over his brother’s arm. As James came closer I realized blood was running off of his forearms. Five bullet holes were evident on Cash’s chest and were oozing through the remains of his vest. I had to shove my fist in my mouth to keep myself from screaming.
No one could survive that…

“Shelby!” James barked. I wrenched my eyes from Cash’s wounds and looked at him. “Put the tailgate down.” His voice was low and commanding, and I found myself mechanically doing what he asked. He lifted Cash like he was a small child and not the 6’4”, 225 pound man that he was and laid him gently down in the truck bed.

“Why didn’t the vest work?!” I shreiked over and over again until James slapped me. Blinking the stars from my eyes and appreciating the sting on my cheek.
Okay, I deserved that.
“We have to get him to my house and call 911! Go now, dammit! James, drive!”

Tears streamed down my face while my hands fluttered over Cash’s chest. His face was pale, and his breathing became increasingly shallow as each heartbeat passed.

“You can’t die!” I sobbed, wondering why James wasn’t doing anything. “I love you, Cash. You can’t die now!” James wrenched my shoulders around until I looked into his stormy grey eyes.

“Listen to me, Shelby.” My mind was splintering. I couldn’t match up the pieces that saw him turn into a wolf, or Cash dying in front of me, or the second time in my life I felt like I actually belonged with someone and they were going to leave me. “You have to bite him.”
Hold on a sec...

“What the hell, James? That’s not funny, he’s going to die!” I screamed. He just shook his head and gripped my arms until they hurt.

“Shelby, I’m completely serious. If you want to save his life, bite his neck hard enough to draw blood.” I knew I gaped at him like he’d gone crazy, judging by his growing irritation.

“He’s already bleeding!” I screeched. “He’s bleeding out right now.” James shook me, hard.

“If you don’t do this
he will die
. Bite him, Shelby. Do it now, dammit!” I finally saw the panic flash in his eyes and slowly started to believe him.
Since you’re already nuttier than squirrel poo...
I had just seen this man turn into a wolf. Maybe he knew something I didn’t about Cash. “Now, Shelby. If you do love him, bite him!”

He pushed my head down by the back of my neck until I my nose brushed Cash’s jugular vein.
Well,
I rationalized with what turned out to be my crazy brain,
it couldn’t make him much worse.
I sank down, breathing in his scent of forest campfire. Finally, that niggling memory floating in the back of my head slammed home. He smelled like my wolf and, seeing what his brother had done, I finally understood that maybe he
was
my wolf. Flashes of the past month flitted through my consciousness, the wolf going on rides with me, sleeping in my bed, saving my life,
watching me change clothes.

“If you make it out of this, I am
so
going to kill you,” I muttered before pressing my teeth to his neck and biting down hard. I tasted salt and copper a moment before the lights went out.

The blackness was complete. I felt surrounded in dark, warm velvet that muffled every sound, scent and sensation and left me floating in a void. Time lost all meaning as I drifted unaware of anything going on around me for what could have been minutes or centuries. It was odd, this place. The things that had seemed so important before now were pale and trivial.

I wasn’t worried that the man I loved was also a wolf. It wasn’t at all frightening or strange. More than that, I was happy. I’d grown so attached to the creature, it now made so much sense why I had felt comfortable around him. The one thing that did remain important was Cash,
if he’s still alive.

I noticed that something was new in my darkness. Lights flickered dimly, two dozen or so, seemingly battling the blackness in efforts to keep it at bay. Two glowing lights appeared larger than the others. I reached out mentally to touch the smaller of the pair and instantly became aware of another person:
James
. I didn’t know how I knew, but I was certain it was him.

He slept but he was very close to me, and even through his unconsciousness I could discern that he was barely holding his anger and panic in check. When I felt him stir awake I backed away from his light not wanting to advertise the connection I’d made with him. It felt intimate, like I was intruding, and I couldn’t even believe what I felt was real. I put more of the inky blackness between myself and James’ light and the void overtook me again.

I became aware of a golden glow. It emanated from the larger orb of light next to James’ and I could tell it was Cash before I reached for it. It seemed that everything Cash was, his very essence, was encapsulated in that sphere of light. My heart soared.
He’s alive!
When I did touch his light I was assaulted with a landslide of emotions.
Pain, fear, rage, love…