Moon Crossed (Werewolf Hunter Series): Season 1 (Episodes 1-6) (Crescent Hunter) (3 page)

I take my seat at the
head of the table with the boys. “Tor, can you please pass the
eggs?”

Everyone is dishing out
the breakfast Rabbit slaved over. There aren't any biscuits, but I'm
not going to complain. I'm just happy there's hot food that I don't
have to somehow burn in the microwave.

A dissatisfied frown
pulls at the corners of my mouth as I eye each one of the boys at the
table. None of them are wearing shirts, except for Locke. Most girls
would be in heaven because they are all well-built, but to me they
are all brothers and they're gross.

Locke sees my stare.
“Oh sorry, Claire, we forgot.” He ticks his head at the
boys and tugs at his shirt.

A chorus of “Sorry,
Claire” fills the kitchen, along with the sound of them all
getting up from their chairs to get their shirts.

“Are you sure you
want me to cover up all this manliness?” Tor says, rubbing his
chest proudly.

“You, of all
people, with those giant pepperoni nipples, should always wear a
shirt.” Locke lowers his chin, giving the dig just the right
tone for delivery.

I crinkle my nose since
Locke mentioning said pepperoni nipples made me look, and I shake my
head in revulsion. “God was unkind when he gave you those.”

“Yeah man,
they're like satellite dishes. How many channels do you pick up on
those things?” Rabbit chides while pulling his shirt over his
head.

“You're all just
jealous that you don't have big manly nipples like these. The ladies
love them.” He flexes his chest as he slowly pulls his shirt
down.

“Trevor, you know
how I feel about naked kitchen,” I warn, continuing to give
them all the stink eye.

“It's not really
naked; we're all wearing pants,” Trevor protests as the last to
leave the table.

“You mind your
manners, young man,” Aunt Rain comes through the back door that
leads into the kitchen, carrying a basket of biscuits.

“Thank you, Aunt
Rain.” My tone is mocking as I stick my tongue out at Trevor.
He actually is my brother. Well, sort of. Aunt Rain adopted him, and
since she also raised me we grew up like brother and sister.

He rolls his eyes. “And
you're supposed to be more mature?”

“I am.” I
tilt my head upwards. “Besides, my house, my rules.”

“We're sorry,
Claire.” Rabbit takes a seat at the table with the rest of the
boys, now in proper dinner table attire.

“Yeah, sorry.”
Locke chimes in.

“
You
were
wearing a shirt,” I remind him.

“Yeah, but I
should have told these nucks to put their clothes on after our run.”
He arches his brow.

“It's fine.”
I grab a biscuit. “Oh my God, they're warm.”

“For those of you
that have finals today, I wanted to be sure you got a good
breakfast.” She smiles and sits at the opposite end of the
table after filling her coffee cup.

Trevor reaches for a
biscuit; Aunt Rain slaps his hand. He grouses, “Hey, what's
that for?”

“For not being in
college. You may have some after everyone gets their fill.” Her
word is final, even in my house.

“What is it? I
hate Trevor day?” he says with an offended expression.

“We do hate you,”
Locke says without looking up from his plate.

Trevor gives Locke the
finger. Aunt Rain slaps him in the shoulder. “Manners!”

“Okay, that's
it.” Trevor picks up his plate and moves to the breakfast bar
with a harrumph.

We all get a chuckle at
Trevor's expense and Tor moves into his chair so he's now next to me.
“Wow, you really showed us.”

Trevor shakes his head.
Locke can't help but pick at him more; it's his job. “Maybe if
we're just a little meaner he'll actually go home and we won't be
able to smell him.”

I look up from my
plate. “That's not far enough.”

Trevor inhales one of
his long thoughtful breaths. I turn to Locke, giving him a bored
look.
Here we go, one of Trevor's half BS explanations of how
science works.

Locke nods and takes a
bite of his eggs.

Trevor, watching our
exchange, shakes his head, “First, I hate when you two do that.
Second, of course you all could smell me at my house, considering a
wolf can smell something as far as a mile and half away.” He
turns his entire body, addressing only me. “Since you are
not
wolf-borne, it's likely you can only smell something that is a half
mile away, possibly rendering you incapable of smelling me when I'm
at home. Sorry, you are inferior.”

“Shots fired,”
Tor says through a full mouth.

“Trevor?”
My words are dripping with condescension and everyone braces
themselves. “I can smell you ten miles away, simply because you
don't shower.” I pop a piece of bacon in my mouth and continue,
“Something you might remedy should you ever want to feel the
touch of a woman.”

“And shots
returned.” Rabbit sits to the right of Aunt Rain with a full
plate.

“It's not like
guys are beating your door down,” Trevor taunts.

“Um, actually–”
Locke starts, but Aunt Rain cuts him off.

“Okay, let's pull
it back a bit, shall we?” she warns and we all know to listen.

“I'm just saying,
I'm not the virgin here.” Trevor just can't stop himself.

We all exchange an
amused look. “Yeah, that's true. But does screwing a crusty
skank that's like the town bike really count?”

“Claire!”
Aunt Rain scolds.

“Just sayin.'”
I shrug and look to Locke for backup.

“Yeah, that was
about the same as losing your virginity to a hooker,” Locke
adds, watching Aunt Rain closely for her reaction.

Aunt Rain gives us a
look that says we need to ease up. Trevor shakes his head and
continues eating.

“Sorry Trevor,
you know we love you.” I try to not let the sarcasm shine
through.

“Yeah, whatever.”
He comes and grabs more bacon and I blow him a kiss.

“Hey, at least
we're paying attention to you.” Tor shrugs. “Usually we
just point and laugh for thirty seconds and forget you exist.”

“Isn't that about
how long your first relationship lasted?” Rabbit adds.

“Okay, we're
going to make him cry if we don't stop. Besides, I think it's someone
else's turn to get picked on.” Rabbit scans the table for the
next victim.

I shrink down in my
seat. “I volunteer as tribute.”

Laughter and banter
fills the room with the love I feed on in this house. Looking around
the table at the boys with a contented look, I meet Aunt Rain's
stare. She smiles knowingly and we both give an approving nod.

These boys are my
family; they are everything to me. Locke is the strong, responsible
one that helps me get onto everyone. Tor is the quiet, calculating
one, but always there to back you up in a fight. Rabbit is the helper
and the sensitive one that handles all matters of the heart. Trevor,
of course, is my brother, and we do like to pick on him; he's an easy
target, but we all have to have a role here.

Kyle and Brogan aren't
here yet. I'm not sure what escapades they were up to last night, but
it had better included studying for finals. Kyle is sweet and the one
who comes up with those short bursts of wit that make us all laugh,
then think. Brogan is my hardworking people-pleaser. Usually he has
his nose in a book, but comes out on occasion to join in the fun.

They all make me happy;
they all fill my days with life and, yes, they are all wolves. We are
drawn together, we are part of one another. Maybe I'm crazy, and this
will all come crashing down one day, but they are my heart and soul.
They are my pack.

Wrapping on the screen
door pulls me out of my thoughts. “Is it safe?”

“Brogan! Yeah,
come on in.” No one wants to take a chance that I've put up
entry protections and get hurt trying to come in. It might not be
deadly, but it will be painful.

Kyle follows behind
him. “Who's the asshole that ate all the bacon?” Kyle's
eyes shoot straight to Trevor sitting at the bar.

“What? Why are
you looking at me?” He feigns offense, but truth be told he is
the biggest bacon glutton.

“Because you're a
pig,” I shrug.

“Anyway, who's
ready for finals?” Aunt Rain asks to pull some of the heat off
Trevor; she knows he's reaching his limit.

“I am...I think,”
I answer, not wanting to elaborate. Organic chemistry is kicking my
ass.

“I'm with Claire.
I think I'm going to do well,” Locke says with confidence.

“I'm done with
finals; I had my last one yesterday,” Rabbit adds through a
full mouth.

“How do you feel
about it? Think you did good?” Aunt Rain asks almost
accusingly.

“I'm sure I
passed.” He smiles and goes to the stove. “Do I need to
put on more bacon?”

A resounding “yes”
echoes in the kitchen. “Thanks for breakfast, Rabbit, you rock.
I'm gonna git, on the off chance that any of you losers decide to
shower today.” I pop the last piece of bacon from my plate into
my mouth and push back from the table.

“Anytime.”
Rabbit gives me a sweet smile.

“Are you going to
be long? I don't want to be late,” Brogan asks with concern.

“No, give me like
twenty? Is that cool?” I ask from the doorway.

“Yeah, no
problem.” He sits in my chair at the table.

“Claire has to
get all gussied up,” Trevor chides with his mouth full.

“Oh yeah,
whatever you say.” I don't even turn around to respond but I'm
sure to give him the one-finger salute on the way out the door.

Organic
Chemistry. This may be the single most important class I ever take
and so far it's been the toughest. Needless to say I'm super nervous
about how I did.

“Claire!” I
hear Lili's sweet voice calling from the back of the room as we all
start to file out. I stop and wait for her to catch up.

“Hey babe, how
did you do?” She's so bubbly.

“I think okay,
but that was rough.” I roll my eyes.

“I'll bet you did
great.” We get into the hallway. “Was that your last
final?”

“Yeah, I need to
find Brogan. I rode in with him.” I take out my phone to text
him.

“Oh my God, he is
so hot.” Lili's eyes widen.

“Lili, stop.
Seriously.” I give her a stern look.

“I'm sorry, but I
just don't understand how you can be around these guys all the time.
Walking around without their shirts on, with those muscles and ugh.”
She bends her knees a little as we're walking.

“You're going to
hurt yourself.” I shake my head. “First, I have no
interest in dating
anyone
, least of all any of them. They're
rude, crass, juvenile, and smell bad.”

“Whoa, hold on.
Locke smells like candy.” She says it as though I've spoken ill
of a deity.

“Yes, that's
true, but nonetheless they are all like brothers to me. Therefore, I
have no interest.” I check my phone to see if Brogan has
answered.

“So are you
excited about the party tonight?” She pulls one shoulder to her
ear.

“Sort of. It'll
be nice to let go for a night and relax.” I check my phone
again; he hasn't gotten back to me. “But then clean up...”

“You know I'll
help with all that. And of course the mandatory clearing the house of
drunks by three p.m. on Saturday.” There's a pop in her step.

“Yeah, there's
that.” My phone dings.

Hey, sorry. I'm not
going to be heading out for a couple of hours. Can you catch a ride?
~Brogan

Yup, NP. ~ C

I breathe out a sigh
“Well, Brogan just said he'll kiss you on the lips if you take
me home.”

“What? Really?”
She lights with a higher level of excitement than normal.

“No,” I
deadpan, “but he did say you should take me home.” I
smile sweetly.

“Don't tease me
like that.” She swats my shoulder.

“Sorry, but
seriously. You have to take me home.” I nod into her.

“Can I go home
first so I don't have to drive all the way out there to drop you off
then back into town to get my stuff?” She whines a little.

I check the time on my
phone. “That's fine, but let’s hurry. I have to go to the
grocery store and get ready for the party.”

“We'll get it
done.” She whips her keys out of her way-too-big purse.

“Thanks, babe,”
I say with the girly head-tilt.