Moon Crossed (Werewolf Hunter Series): Season 1 (Episodes 1-6) (Crescent Hunter) (35 page)

My phone chirps on the
nightstand when I get out of the shower. It's a message from Cole. My
whole being warms when I see his name on the display.

Hope you're up
sleepy head XD. ~Cole

Yup ~Claire

I just wanted to let
you know I can't come by tonight, I have to work. ~Cole

:( ~Claire

I know, it sucks
~Cole

I think I'll
survive, have fun! ~Claire

Yeah sure :\ I'll
still try to make the sunrise. ~Cole

This is the first night
in a while when he hasn't been here. I hardly remember what I did
with my time before him.

I run a brush through
my hair and put it up in a ponytail, get dressed, and head for the
kitchen. Aunt Rain is sitting at the kitchen table with a worried
look.

“Hey, I didn't
know you were here. You should've come up,” I say on my way to
the fridge.

“I just got
here.”

“What's up?”
I ask, knowing that there's something wrong.

“It's about the
meeting.” She inhales.

“And?”
Finally, we're going to talk about this, since now I have Pike coming
after me.

“They are aware
of Amicalola's activities and don't sanction their action against
you.” Clearly, there's more to this.

“Okay, so why the
face?” I sit at the table with her.

“Because they
said due to limited resources, they aren't going to get involved.”
She gives me a hard look.

“I'm not
concerned. I can take care of myself. I'll keep my nose clean and
attend the parley when Pike calls it.” I sip my coffee. “It's
going to be fine.”

“I'm just
worried. There's a lot at stake here.” She's really
over-thinking all of this.

“We've dealt with
wolves that were not happy about what we've had to do, but it doesn't
make it any less right.” I put my hand on hers. “It's
going to be fine. I can handle this.”

“Hayden wants to
call a hunter meeting, make everyone aware of what's happening.”
It's as though she's asking permission.

“Sounds like a
good idea.” It does.

“How about
tonight?” She smiles.

“Sure, let's do
it.” I grab a banana out of the fruit basket.

“Good, Hayden
already set it up.” She smiles. “So, you and Cole?”
She doesn't beat around the bush.

“Just friends.”
Shut down! I get up from the table. “I've got to get
downstairs. Two days until the full moon. I want to work on setting
up some cultures.”

“Nice dodge,”
she remarks with an air of pride in her tone.

“I learned from
the best,” I say without looking back.

Aunt Rain and I pull up
to Hayden's house. Getting out of the Jeep, I immediately feel sick
to my stomach at how this meeting is going to go. Alarm comes over me
when I feel the presence of wolves. I look at Aunt Rain
questioningly.

“It's okay.”
She doesn't look at me as she leads me around to the back of the
house where there's a large group of people. The backyard is lit with
hanging lanterns, and if I didn't know what this really was, it
would feel like a party. There's someone running the grill, piling
hot dogs and hamburgers on a plate, and plastic wrap covering various
picnic delights such as potato, macaroni, and fruit salads.

“Claire.”
Hayden's voice booms through the crowd. I smile when I find him
pushing his way toward me. “Hey there, sweetheart, how are
you?”

“I'm good, and
glad to see that you're doing better.” I'm relieved that he's
completely healed from attack.

“Oh yeah, good as
new!” He pats his midsection like he's taking inventory. “Rain,
how are you?”

They exchange a look
that says, “We've been doing it,” written all over them.

“I'm okay, just
hoping we can get to some sort of resolution and make sure that
Claire is no longer a walking target for Amicalola.”

“That'd be nice.”
I roll my eyes.

“We're going to
do our best.” His kind eyes convey the truth in his words. “I'm
also glad to have the opportunity to really introduce you to some of
my friends.” He looks back at me while I follow him. “You'll
have a lot in common.”

I can see right through
this. Maybe if I had more hunter friends, I wouldn't have so many
wolf friends. “That'll be nice.” I stay polite, because I
know that he means well.

“Hey, Claire!”
Ben appears in front of me.

“Ben.” I
wonder why he's here, although I feel the presence of more than one
wolf.

“How have you
been?” he asks, and I'm feeling a little awkward.

“Some things are
great, some...not so much.” I roll my eyes, since we are here
to discuss the fact that the Amicalola pack wants to kill me.

“Yeah.” He
pulls his lips to the side. “Well, we're going to work on
getting everything to great.”

“I hope so.”
Aunt Rain has already gone and taken a seat, but there's not one next
to her.

“Why don't you
come sit with us?” Ben ticks his head toward a table with four
other people at it.

“Sure.” I
follow behind him, looking around for other faces that I recognize.
Sitting down, I realize that this entire table is full of wolves
around my age.

“Everybody, this
is Claire.” Ben introduces me.

“Serena.” A
beautiful blond smiles; there's something familiar about her scent.

“Christian.”
He has a shaved head and striking golden eyes.

“I'm Harrison.”
He stands, and we shake hands.

“Bethany.”
Her brown curly hair resembles mine, and I can't help but wonder if
she tries as hard as I do to keep it in check.

I put my best smile
forward and try to exude confidence, but honestly I don't socialize
much outside of the boys. “It's really nice to meet you all.”

“Claire's working
on an antidote for the moon-touched.” Ben says it with pride.

“I heard about
that. How is it going?” Bethany asks, leaning forward on her
elbows.

“Slowly, but I'm
getting closer to something that will keep you from shifting
involuntarily on the full moon. We'll see, though.”

“That would be
awesome. It could really solve a lot of problems.” Christian
nods in approval.

“Here, have a
seat.” Harrison slides over and offers the spot next to him.

Ben gives him a
disapproving look and sits on the other side of me.

Serena smiles and asks,
“Don't you know Locke?”

“Yeah, he's like
one of my best friends in the world.” My heart always warms
when I think of him. Sometimes, it feels like he's closer to me than
Trevor.

“Oh, do you guys
have a...” Serena probes, not quite finishing the sentence.

“No, no. He's
like a brother to me. I've known him forever.” I wave my hands
at how preposterous us being like that would be.

“Don't you live
together?” Ben asks.

“Yeah, him,
Rabbit, Kyle, and Tor. It can get a little smelly with all of the
boys in the house. But they keep things happy in the house.”

“Wow, I don't
know if I could deal with that much testosterone.” Bethany
rolls her eyes.

“It can get
pretty crazy sometimes,” I agree.

“Hey, we're not
that bad.” Christian feigns offense.

“Yeah, you are,”
Bethany, Serena, and I say in unison. We all break out into laughter.

“Boys are icky,”
I add, and the girls nod.

“Are you seeing
anyone?” Harrison gets right to the good stuff, huh?

“No, I really
don't have time.” I pour some soda into a plastic cup.

“All work and no
play makes Claire–” I cut Harrison off.

“A busy girl
between school, training, research, and hunting.” A pang of
guilt runs through me, thinking of how I've let my research slide
lately by spending so much time with Cole. Now the door is open and
I'm thinking of him. His eyes, how he smells...

“Claire?”
Ben puts his hand on my arm.

“Oh, sorry, I got
lost in a thought.” My cheeks redden. “It happens a lot.”

“Where did you
go?” Christian asks, laughing.

“I couldn't tell
you. I think I may have suffered one too many concussions.” I
try to snigger it off.

“May I have your
attention, please.” Hayden is standing on the porch. “Thank
you all for coming tonight. I've called you all here to discuss a
rising problem from the Amicalola Pack.”

Everyone starts
mumbling numerous bits of speculation.

“As some of you
may know, they are going against the directive of the council and our
way of life.” He takes a moment to let it sink in. “Three
representatives from the pack showed up at Claire O'Conlan's house,
demanding her surrender.” Wow, he makes it sound so dramatic.
The crowd all turns to look at me, and more grumbles emit at a higher
volume. “They want her to answer for the two moon-touched
wolves she put down during the hunt after the last full moon. If we
allow this to happen, it threatens hunters everywhere. We can't have
that.” His voice is ramping up and moving the crowd
emotionally.

“If they come
after her, they can come after any one of us for doing what we're
meant to do.”

I watch the reaction of
the wolves I'm sitting with.

“We've also
gotten some more disturbing news about Amicalola. They are trying to
get moon-touched wolves protected, saying it's their natural form,
their way of life, and they should be allowed to roam free.” He
pauses, allowing everyone to consider the gravity of this
information. “They are allowing moon-touched wolves to infect
healthy wolves.” A chorus of gasps fills the air.

All at once, every
hunter stiffens, going on alert. Apparently, I'm not the only one who
just felt a massive presence of wolves come upon us. My eyes widen,
and I look at each one of the wolves at the table with me.

“Claire?”
Ben questions.

“Wolves.” I
look toward the tree line. “Lots of them.” My entire body
is frozen. I don't have any of my weapons. As I look around the
backyard at all of the hunters, it would appear as though none of us
are prepared for a fight. Eyeing the plastic forks on the table, I
think to myself,
We are so screwed.

Everyone looks around
then to Hayden. His worried expression does nothing toward comforting
any of us. He leans down, whispering something to the man standing
next to him, who then disappears into the house.

Hayden puffs his chest
and speaks in a louder, more authoritative voice. “This is a
private gathering on my territory. Show yourselves and state your
purpose.”

Several wolves emerge
from the tree line. Riker shifts into human form. “We are from
the Amicalola pack and we are here to retrieve a murderer from your
ranks.”

Everyone turns and
looks at me. Shit.

“There are no
murderers here,” Hayden states in a strong, authoritative
voice.

“Clarice O'Conlan
is the murderer. Hand her over and this ends peacefully,” he
replies.

The man who went into
the house earlier returns with three duffel bags, and I really hope
that they are full of weapons. The other hunters are eyeing the bags
with as much hope as I am.

“We will not hand
her over. I was a witness to the two moon-touched wolves she put
down. She was kind and swift. All of her actions were performed
within the council and the love of the Elder Shaman's directive,”
Hayden challenges.

“We do not
recognize the council's directive. All wolves should be given
consideration, whether they are afflicted or not,” Riker
answers.

“We will not
suffer a moon-touched wolf to live.” Aunt Rain stands from her
seat.

“Then you will
die.” Riker shifts to wolf form.

Ben looks at me
questioningly. “Claire?”

“I'm going to
give myself up.” I say it low so that only Ben can hear me, but
Christian hears me, too.

“You can't,”
Ben hisses. “They are going to kill you.”

“Better just me
than as many as we could lose in a battle tonight.” My brows
knit together.

Aunt Rain turns to look
at me. I try to convey a look of apology and rise from my seat. She
slowly shakes her head no. I nod. “I surrender.” I yell
it out with as much strength and conviction as I can.

Riker shifts back to
human form; he has a pained look on his face, as though he's
disappointed.

“I requested a
parley with Pike; he refused. I'll not have wolf or hunter blood
spilled here tonight in my name.” The words and strength have
taken over, because at this moment, at the core, I want to crawl
under the table and disappear.

“Thank you,
Claire,” Riker says in almost a whisper.

“No!” Aunt
Rain stands and looks to Hayden. “She did nothing wrong. What
sort of treatment is she going to get? Will she even get a trial?”

Lex shifts into human
form. “She is guilty of murder. There's no need for a trial.”

“This is not
acceptable,” Hayden states. “I'm sorry, Claire, we can't
let you do this.”