Moon Crossed (Werewolf Hunter Series): Season 1 (Episodes 1-6) (Crescent Hunter) (49 page)

I'm so freakin' happy
to see a person. “Hey, Ben.”

“What are you...”
He trails off when he sees that I'm standing in the family graveyard.

I lower my head. “Yeah,
just taking care of some things.”

“I'm sorry,”
he offers, and comes inside the low iron gate.

“Thanks.”
What else can I possibly say? I'm dying on the inside, and I wish it
were my ashes in the pot.

“Want a hug?”
he asks cautiously.

I want to say no, keep
him and everyone else at arm's length emotionally, but he's reaching
out, so I nod yes. He throws his arms around me. “I know this
is hard on you.”

“Yeah, it is.”
I struggle to hold back the tears.

“I would ask how
you're doing, but I think that would be a stupid question.” He
steps back from me.

An ironic laughs heaves
from my chest. “I'm alive. That's what matters, right?” I
don't believe it for a second.

“Yes, being alive
is good.” He nods.

“What brings you
out here?”

“Hayden asked me
to stop by and check on you.” He leans in, as though telling me
a secret. “Apparently, the hunters who are patrolling think you
might open up to someone closer to your own age.”

I can't help but laugh.
“I'm not sure what that means.”

“I guess you
haven't been talking to them.” He shrugs.

“I didn't know I
was supposed to.” I think about it. “I don't really see
them unless I'm trying to leave, and they just spin me around.”

“He wants me to
make sure you don't need someone to talk to.”

“Oh, so you're
making a mercy call on poor, lonely Claire?” I purse my lips at
being pitied.

“That.” He
scrunches his face. “And.” He draws out the word. “I've
been told we have a lot in common.”

“I can't imagine
what we could possibly have in common other than the whole wolf-borne
life.” I put my gloves back on and pull the few weeds in the
cemetery while talking.

“We do, and we
can talk about it. But also...” He hesitates, like he's about
to bring up something really uncomfortable.

“What?”
It’s more demanding than I mean it to come out.

“I thought you
may need someone to talk to about all of this and the thing with
Cole.” He looks toward the tree line as he speaks.

“Why would I need
to talk about Cole?” His question puts me on the defensive.

“I was there, I
saw what happened.” He steps in closer. “I've been
wanting to talk to you about it.”

My mind is racing; I
hope he's referring to the healing and not the sex.
Not knowing what he's about to lay on me,
I decide it will be better to continue this on the porch. I walk in
that direction and motion for him to follow. “What do you
mean?”

“I'm not sure
exactly what happened that night. But Cole...he was...” Ben
sputters, trying to find the words, and I'm still mortified that he
might be talking about the sex.

“Was what?”

“He died.”
He lowers his head more as we walk up the stairs. “And you
brought him back.”

Slowly, I fill my lungs
with air as I sit in my chair. I wince when Ben sits in Cole's. “I
don't know what happened. I wish I did, but I really don't.” I
shake my head. “I'm still not one hundred percent sure that the
sword was silver.”

His expression takes a
serious turn. “It was. I confirmed it. Pike was outraged when
he found out Cole was alive.”

I'm at a loss for
words. I look him in the eye with a deep sense of foreboding. “Tell
me what you saw that night.”

“I saw the blue
essence of him starting to escape his body.” He swirls his
hands upward. “Then I saw golden light emit from you, pouring
into him. The light grew and his spirit was pushed back into his
body.”

Even though I'm looking
at him like he's crazy, he isn't; and, more importantly, I know I'm
not. At least not about that. “That seems like a pretty
accurate description.”

He nods. “I've
never seen anything like it.” He shakes his head, remembering.
“Then there was a beautiful calm that came over both of you. A
new kind of light. I felt like I was intruding and inherently knew
that you were safe, that everything was going to be okay, so I left.”
He doesn't look me the eye.

My cheeks redden
because I know that he's referring to when we made love. “Have
you talked to anyone about it?”

“No. I'm still
not sure what I saw, and since my dad told me that you are like me,
you know, a...” The words sit uncomfortably in his mouth.

“What do you mean
like you?” It brings me back to earlier when he said we have a
lot in common.

“I'm a hybrid.”
He says it like it will shock me.

“So you know...”
Because of Hayden's warning, I'm still afraid to say it out loud.

“That you're a
hybrid, too.” He finishes for me.

I nod. “So what
exactly does it mean?”

Ben smiles playfully.
“When a mommy wolf loves a daddy hunter –”

I swat my hand at him.
“Shut up, you know what I mean.”

He laughs. “I
couldn't resist. It was getting too heavy.”

“Yeah, well, it
is heavy.” I roll my eyes. “But still, what does it mean
for us that we're hybrids?” I shrug my shoulders, and it dawns
on me that his father told him about me, which means that someone
else knows. “Wait, who's your father?”

He grins proudly at
having kept his secret. “Hayden.”

“No shit. I never
knew.” I look up, as if searching for clues I hadn't noticed
before. “So your mom was wolf-borne, like mine.”

“Yup, but I got
wolf.” He quirks his brow.

“Lucky.” I
pull my lips to the side with remorse.

“I don't know
about that. You have no idea what the first few shifts are like. They
are incredibly painful.” He inhales deeply.

“Yeah, I guess
that does suck. But my life would be very different had I been born a
wolf.” My thoughts wander to Cole, and the planters flicker.

They catch Ben's eye,
and he gives me a curious look. “Electrical glitch?”

“Something like
that.” I brush it off. “I don't understand why it's such
a problem.”

“First, because
wolves and hunters aren't supposed to mate, or be able to reproduce.
But we're living proof of that being false.”

I widen my eyes.
“Truth.”

“Other than that,
I don't know why it's such an issue that we have to keep quiet.”
He sits back in his chair, fidgeting with his fingers.

“There are so
many rules and caveats. I would love someday to actually see some of
the ancient texts,” I say, thinking they must contain some sort
of information that could be useful.

“It's forbidden,”
he points out.

“Yeah, well, I
for one would love to spend some time at summer camp, talking to some
of the shamans.” I think about it for a minute. “Maybe I
could get some answers. I mean, how many hybrids are there?”

“There are a lot
more than you'd think. But they are kept secret because of the
danger.” He stands up, stretching. “And let's face it,
our society and way of life survives on secrecy.”

“That's the
truth.” I think he's about to leave, and I really don't want
him to.

“I've got to run.
You have my number; if you need anything, please call me.” He
steps around his chair toward the stairs.

There's a sick
desperation in me that wants to beg him to stay so I'm not alone. It
feels good to have someone here to talk to. “Okay, will do.”

He stops before going
down the steps. “Oh, you and Cole?”

I close my eyes; I was
hoping we were just going to glaze over that part. “Yeah?”

“You can do
better.” He winks at me. “But your secret is safe with
me.”

“Ha, yeah, there
is no me and Cole.” I pull my bottom lip in, so as not to pout.
“We're just friends.”

“Well, if that's
how you treat your friends, you can count on me coming around more
often.” His tone is playful.

“Um.” I
narrow my eyes on him.

He smiles. “Don't
take everything so seriously.” He continues down the stairs and
says without turning around, “You
can
do better,
though.”

His words ring true in
my head, but not my heart. I know that if I were to be in a
relationship,
I deserve someone who’s sweet,
loving, and attentive. Not someone who twists me up with his absence
and mind games that I'm not smart enough to avoid because of my
stupid heart.

Ben's presence fades. I
go back into the quiet house, see the mess, and know I need to get
some cleaning done, but I have no motivation and opt for a nap
instead.

A loud crack of thunder
startles me awake. It's pouring rain outside and my window is open.
Without thinking, I wave my hand to shut the window and lay back
down.
After a solid minute of lying there I
realize I just used my magic. My spirits leap up, propelling me from
the bed.

I run downstairs to see
who's home. Thank God, someone came home. I'll bet it's Locke.
“Locke?”

There's no answer, only
silence. I hone my senses to figure out which of the boys is here and
continue looking in each of the bedrooms to figure out who it is.

“Tor?” I
holler at the top of my lungs. “Trevor?”

Still no answer.
“Kyle?”

Nothing.

No one's here.

I check the porch. It's
dark outside and it's hard to see through the rain, but I don't sense
any wolf-borne nearby. What the hell is going on? Someone had to be
here, but I didn't actually feel it. I could only use my magic. I
study my hands for minute, thinking, “I wonder?”

I focus on the rocker
and use my power to make it rock. It does. It comes to me, clear as a
bell. I've always noticed that sometimes I've been able to use my
magic when I wasn't with the wolf-borne, but I've spent so much time
among them that I hardly noticed.

This is a very
interesting development; is it possible my magic works without a
wolf? This has to have something to do with me being a hybrid. My
wheels start turning about what other ways hybrids might be different
from pure breeds.

“Brogan.”
It escapes on a whisper. That's why the potion worked differently on
him than it did on Trevor.

Chill bumps emerge on
my arm, and I'm not sure if it’s the revelation or the fact
that I feel Cole nearby. The planters glow brightly at the thought of
him being here. I should be angry with him, but wouldn't waste one
moment of our time together. Just sitting and talking to him would be
enough to lift my spirits.

I go to the edge of the
porch, peering into the darkness for him. “Cole?”

There's no answer, and
the sensation quickly disappears.

Just like that, he's
gone again.

Six days

Trying
to rub the exhaustion from my eyes doesn't make the computer screen
come into focus. I've been at this for more than twelve hours, and my
stomach grumbles, reminding me that I haven't eaten. I shut my
computer down and head upstairs. I can't help but smile when I step
onto the stair that Cole fixed. It's quickly replaced by the sadness
of his absence.

My phone has been
quiet, no word from anyone. I've tried to call and text Locke,
Trevor, and Kyle, but no response.

I've been on total lock
down, and there are hunters who are patrolling the woods not only to
keep bad things out, but worse, to keep me in. I'll go stir crazy if
I have to sit in this house alone with my thoughts much longer.
I crave to be outside, to run and frolic.
Since finding out that my mother was wolf-borne, I feel like the wolf
in me is trying harder to surface and manifest. I wonder if this is
what it's like before a full wolf-borne reaches shifting age.

Walking into the
kitchen is always the hardest. This silence is going to kill me.

When I open the fridge,
there's no food. My first thought is that I don't want to go to the
grocery store. It would feel like cornering Lili and Locke, since
they work there. If they don't want to see me, then why should I put
them in an uncomfortable position? But then, I think I can get out of
these walls that are closing in on me. Surely, they'll let me out to
get food. I could go across town to the other store.