Moon Crossed (Werewolf Hunter Series): Season 1 (Episodes 1-6) (Crescent Hunter) (15 page)

I reach out to him,
silently pinning him with a stern look.
You're not off the hook;
we'll talk later.

He sinks in his seat.

“Hey, guys.”
Rabbit takes a big bite and talks through a full mouth. “Is it
just the usual suspects tonight or are we expecting anyone else?”

“Lili might be
coming,” Locke says.

“Really? She
didn't mention that to me.” I give Locke a sour grimace.

“She said, and I
quote, 'Claire's been too busy to answer her texts.' So she texted me
to ask if she could come by.” He returns the sour look; it's
what he didn't say that shrinks me in my seat.

“Well, if she
stays that means that we can't go on a run,” I warn.

“I know, but she
said that she really misses you and she's
worried.” Locke goes over to Rabbit, thankfully changing the
subject. “What kind of sandwich is that?”

“Not sure,
whatever that meat is in the fridge,” he says, taking another
giant bite.

“Oh.” Locke
flashes me a mischievous glance.

“You mean on the
top shelf?” I ask with alarm in my voice.

Rabbit stops chewing
and is frozen for a moment. Tor, Kyle, and Brogan join us on the
porch. They take in the scene.

“So, you guys
were either talking about one of us or Rabbit ate the meat in the
baggie on the top shelf,” Tor says in a serious tone, looking
at all of us one by one.

Awesome. It's on, and
the name of the game is “Scar the Rabbit.”

“What was wrong
with it?” he says, still with a mouth full of sandwich.

“Was it marked?”
Locke asks, studying the remainder of the sandwich.

“Well, no.”
The concern on his face is growing. “I don't think so.”

“Oh no, Rabbit.”
My brows knits together in deep concern.

He opens his mouth,
letting the ball of meat and bread fall out. Locke can't contain his
laughter.

“So how long does
he have left?” Brogan asks through a sarcastic smile, giving me
a hug before sitting down.

“Not sure, it's
hard to say.” I give him the “I'm so sorry” head
tilt.

“Jesus, Claire,
what was that?” He hops down off the railing. “I thought
it was turkey.”

“Oh, it was
turkey all right,” Locke says with heavy warning in his tone.
“You should really know better with all of Claire's weird
experiments.” He turns to me. “So should we give him
ipecac or charcoal?”

Kyle picks
up the torment ball and runs with it. “Will it even
help?”

“I'm not sure.”
Heavy remorse is in my tone as I shake my head. “The good news
is that he's not going to perm. I think.”

“Wait, could it
kill him permanently?” Tor asks, pointing at Rabbit.

Rabbit runs out into
the yard, gagging. We all break out into laughter; I just can't hold
it in anymore.

“You guys are all
assholes.” Rabbit rejoins us on the porch, wiping his mouth.

Locke's face is
completely red. “I can't breathe.” He forces it out
through his laughter.

We can't help but revel
in the joke at Rabbit's expense for a little while longer. The ebb
and flow of the conversation normalizes.

“So who else is
coming?” Tor asks.

It's strange to me that
he's asking, and this is the second time someone has. Usually, it's
just us, the boys and me, so I'm not sure why they would think anyone
else was coming. “Locke invited Lili, but other than her I
think Trevor is the only one not here yet.”

The boys all nod and
look at each other and then me accusingly.

“Okay, what the
hell?” I ask.

“Nothing,”
Tor says innocently. “I just wasn't sure if Cole was coming.”

“Why would he be
coming?” Crap. I really was hoping that he wouldn't come up in
conversation. I have to work really hard to not let my eyes light up
when Tor says his name.

“He's been
spending a lot of time here.” He pauses. “On the porch.”
Another pause, and then a piercing look right at me. “With
you.”

I roll my eyes. “
I
didn't invite him, but I suppose it's possible he'll stop by.”

“Uh huh.”
Kyle chimes in, winking at me.

“What?” I
look at each of them, feeling like I'm being interrogated.

“I don't know,
why don't you tell us?” Tor pulls his lips to the side.

“First, we are
just friends.” Crap, now I have to come up with a second point
that doesn't sound too defensive. “Second...” I trail off
and look to Locke.
Please save me.

Nope. This is a bed
that you made.
His expression is full of judgment.

“Wait, what?”
Rabbit rejoins the conversation.

“Nothing,”
I say sharply.

“Is there
something going on with you and Cole?” Rabbit asks in earnest.

“No, we're just
friends.” I want to escape from this conversation, but I see no
real way out unless I can come up with a
good subject change. All I can think about is the full moon and Cole;
we don't talk about the full moon the night before.

“Tor's right, you
two have been spending a lot of time together,” Brogan points
out.

“No more time
than I spend with you,” I counter.

“True, but...”
He trails off in thought. Great, I can see all the wheels turning in
their heads.

“But nothing.
We're just friends.” I say it again, getting up to walk to the
other end of the porch.

As if on cue, I feel
Cole's presence before I hear his truck pulling up in front of the
house. I'm filled with both excitement and dread. There's nothing to
hide, because we really are just friends.

Tor times his teasing
just right as Cole comes around to the back of the house. “Cole
and Claire sitting in a tree...”

“Tor, shut the
hell up,” I snap and run into the house. Great, now I'm
behaving like a two year old. I pretend to be busy wiping down the
counters where Rabbit made his sandwich.

“Hey.” His
voice freezes me in place. I really wish he would have stayed
outside. It looks bad. But I'm caught in the thought of how nice it
is that he didn’t. His scent fills the air; the faint aroma of
wood chips and his musk drives me crazy. I swear he bathes in
pheromones, and I curse my heightened sense of smell.

“Hey,” I
answer without turning around, and it sounds thin.

“You okay?”
he asks, leaning on the breakfast bar.

“I'm fine.”
My voice goes to a higher register.

“You don't seem
okay.” He says.

I turn around to
answer, but all I can do is take him in visually. Cole's in full
Johnny Cash black cowboy garb: button up shirt, jeans, cowboy boots –
freshly shinned – and
a cowboy hat. My insides catch fire, which I don't understand.
The redneck cowboy thing has never really never been something
I found sexy. He's the opposite of everything I've ever found
appealing in a man. I much prefer the skinny, brooding type. Not a
big loud redneck that quells his nerves with bourbon and cigarettes.
I need to get back outside where everyone else is, but I can't move.

“Claire?”
Cole has a touch of concern in his voice.

I've been standing,
staring at him in silence, for a beat too long. Shit, what was the
question? “I'm fine, really.” Think of something,
anything.
Locke
. I call out in my mind for a rescue, because
right now I need one.

Locke comes through the
door with urgency, surveying the room. “Did you need help with
anything?” he asks cautiously.

“No, I'm good.”
It takes everything in me to will my feet to move out the door and
past both of them.

What the hell
happened?
Locke calls to me silently.

Nothing, I just...
I trail off, not able to complete the thought.

Did he do something?
he asks with an edge of anger.

He came in the room.
I'm not sure if my sadness and apprehension translates.

They both come out onto
the porch. Cole eyes me with sadness. I return a nervous smile, but
I'm relieved that Tor seems to be backing down from the subject of
Cole and me engaging in hanky-panky in a tree.

I can't believe my
words as I say them, because right now the last thing I need is
Trevor's judgmental BS. “Where the hell is Trevor?”

“Not sure. Did he
say that he wasn't coming?” Locke looks around at everyone.

“Oh, I kicked him
some side work.” Cole sits in the chair across from me and puts
his boots on the table, flashing me a sly smile.

“Trevor? Work?”
I pull my lips to the side in disbelief.

He nods, tilting his
cowboy hat down to hide his grin from everyone else. “Yup, not
even Trevor can turn down a quick five hundred bucks.”

“What the hell
kind of side work did you kick him?” Brogan asks with jealousy
in his voice.

“They're doing a
build for the Summer Fest in downtown and I just wasn't up for it.
He's saving up for a motorcycle so I thought he'd be interested.”
Cole smirks only at me.

“Oh, are you
feeling tired tonight? Perhaps you'll be making it an early night?”
I spear him with an irritated look.

“Probably,”
he says with certainty. I hear his voice in my head.
Not a chance.
At first I'm sure that I imagined it, but the look on his face
says otherwise.

“Dude, seriously?
Trevor doesn't do manual labor,” Tor whines. “Not to
mention, I could use an extra five hundred bucks.” He's full-on
pouting.

“Trevor's idea of
manual labor is hoisting his fat ass out of bed every afternoon and
getting a bowl of cereal,” Locke chides.

Kyle jumps back in as
though he has been contemplating the best way to interject. “Yeah,
I'm with Tor. I could use the extra cash. I'm working at the coffee
shop, slingin' lattes for minimum wage and wanting to blow my brains
out. But someone will just come, tap me on the shoulder, and I'll
come back to life and keep making coffee.”

“Wow, tell us how
you really feel about your job.” Locke gives him a cautious
look.

“Although today I
accidentally made a perfect heart in someone's latte.” He
shifts his gaze between Cole and me. “Then I was thinking that
it would be cool if I could make a Fibonacci spiral in the foam. It
would go on and on and on and there would be infinite coffee.”
Kyle looks up as though he's imagining it.

We all stare at Kyle
while he gets lost in his strange musings. The rest of the boys pick
up the cerebral ball and run with it, going on about what other types
of ridiculous things Kyle could draw in the foam. None of it normal,
most of it obscene.

Lili comes around back.
“Y'all started the party without me!”

“Nah, we were
just warming up.” Cole gives her a sweet smile.

“You can keep
that warming to yourself.” She shoots him a sharp look and sits
next to me in a huff.

“Wow, that was a
little caustic.” I'm offended for Cole.

She cuts him a look
that would kill, then puts her hand on mine, leaning over and saying
in a low tone, “I'll tell you later, but I'm none too happy
with Mr. Jackson right now.”

Cole rolls his eyes and
lights a cigarette, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

“What the hell
did you do?” I look at him, smiling.

“I'm innocent.”
He gives a look to match his words.

“I wouldn't go
that far.” Tor rolls his eyes.

“Sheila certainly
wouldn't classify you as 'innocent.'” Lili makes air quotes.

“Oh Lord.”
He gets up from his chair. “I need a drink. Claire, did you
need anything?”

“No thank you.”
I don't look at him, because honestly, I'm more interested in what
Lili has to say about this Sheila person.

“Sheila Fleming?”
Locke asks.

“Yes, and it's
all lies.” Cole protests from inside the kitchen.

“How the hell did
he hear that?” Lili asks in amazement.

“He has very good
hearing.” My words are rushed because I want her to spill what
she knows.

“That seems odd,
considering that he works in a lumber yard and I hear how loud his
music is when he's driving in that big stupid truck of his.”
Lili narrows her eyes on me accusingly.

“Why are you
giving me that look?” My tone is defensive.

“We'll talk
later,” she says and sits back in her chair.

“Here you go. You
need to relax a bit.” Cole hands me my favorite blue
concoction.

“Be careful
taking a gift from a wolf in sheep's clothing,” Lili says,
looking at Cole like he just killed a baby rabbit by biting its head
off.

Whoa, what the hell?
Locke's eyes widen as his voice goes off in my head.

I have no idea, but
I think we need to figure out how to diffuse this.
My eyes are
just as wide.

Yeah, I'd say. But
how?
Locke shifts in his seat again.

Not sure, I'll think
of something,
I answer.

We need to get her
drunk, and fast
, Locke suggests.

You need to distract
her. See if she wants to play pool,
I counter.

You ask her.
He
pulls his lips to the side.

“And what the
hell is
that
?” She motions to Locke and me. “You
guys giving each other all those weird looks all the time, like
you're having a conversation that no one else can hear.”

“Lili, did you
want to play pool?” Brogan smiles, ticking his head toward the
house.

I feel really bad about
doing this, but I use my limited powers of suggestion onto
on her. It's using my magic for good, though; she's going down
a road none of us want to be on with her. “You totally want to
play pool.”

She looks to me for
permission and I shrug. “Have fun.”

“Do you want to
play?” she asks.

“Nah, I'm just
going to hang. I might play in a bit, but I just want to chill for
now.” I try not to look at Cole.

Lili hops up from her
chair and follows Brogan into the house. “Do you guys want to
play?” She looks at Tor and Kyle. They nod and head for the
door.