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

“We aren't
heading back?” he questions.

“Did you want
to?” I ask.

“No, I just
thought you did.”

“Nah, let's keep
walking for a little bit.” I move ahead of him and try to
maintain a safe distance of at least five feet, but it doesn't help
the glowing, humming, burn.

“Sounds good to
me.” He seems to be respecting the distance and it rolls
through my head that he could be feeling the same thing.

We reach the clearing
at the ridge I like to meditate in. “Watch the sunrise with
me?”

“I'd love to.”
He smiles. His eyes flash and sparkle when it's genuine and I could
watch him smile all day. He looks at the worn earth in the clearing.
“Come here often?”

“Yeah, a lot.”
I widen my eyes. “This is where my dad used to take me to
meditate. We've watched many sunrises here.”

“Where is your
dad?” he asks cautiously, but there's something else in his
voice.

“He's gone,”
I answer plainly, pushing the melancholy back.

“Like left–”
I cut him off.

“Wolf attack.”
It rides out fast, so it won't hurt as much, like a band-aid.

“Oh,” he
offers with regret.

The sky has gone from
dark hues of blue and purple to brilliant reds and pinks. We sit in
silence as God puts on a magnificent show. The sun crests the horizon
and a smile rises to my lips. I look over at Cole; his eyes are
closed, letting the sunlight bathe his face. His satisfied expression
is calming all on its own. He's feeling the sun, the light, the
peace.

I take the time to
study his features. His blond hair meets his jawline, which is strong
yet rounded, cheeks that were made for smiling and full lips made
for...well you know. I huff a little laugh when I notice the tiny bit
of blond scruff on his chin.

“What are you
laughing at?” he asks without opening his eyes but his cheeks
remain pinched up in a smile.

“I just saw
something funny.”

“Care to share?”

“Nope,” I
say and turn to salute the sun.

This is so nice sitting
with him. We aren't holding hands, touching, kissing, talking or
anything more than just enjoying this incredible moment together.
Being near him sends a certain feeling of comfort through me; it
makes me feel safe, happy.

We both stiffen when we
feel the presence of other wolves. As I turn around I see Trevor in
wolf form lunging at Cole. “Trevor, stop!”

He shifts into human
form. “I told you to stay the fuck away from my sister!”
Trevor has his arm across Cole's throat. This is a very dangerous
thing for Trevor, considering how much larger Cole is.

“I wasn't doing
anything. We were just watching the sunrise.” Cole chokes it
out through labored breath.

“Trevor, get off
him.” I feel the presence of the other boys approaching. I go
to Trevor and put him in a headlock, dragging him off of Cole. I
throw him to the ground and put him in an armbar. “Are you
gonna stop?” I say through gritted teeth.

“Get off me,
Claire,” he sputters.

Locke, Tor, Brogan, and
Rabbit appear in the clearing and shift into human form. This always
makes me feel so uncomfortable.

“Trevor, are you
going to behave yourself?” Locke comes over to where I have
Trevor on the ground.

“I don't want him
fucking with my sister,” Trevor protests.

“That's not up to
you, dude. And judging from your current position, I'd say she can
take care of herself.” Locke can't help the smile.

All the boys are
smiling except for Cole. He has a look of deep consternation. “I'm
really sorry, Trevor. I wasn't doing anything. We really were just
watching the sunrise.”

“Get off me,”
Trevor growls.

“Are you going to
behave?” My tone could cut glass.

“Yes, I'll
behave,” he reluctantly agrees.

“Fine.” I
release him, roll off, and stand up, brushing the grass and debris
from my jeans and hair. “Now apologize.”

“No I will not–”
I stop him right there.

“He was being a
perfect gentleman,” I tell Trevor, trying to look him only in
the eye because of the naked.

“Not possible.”
Trevor shoots Cole a hateful look.

“Trevor, I can
take care of myself. I'll let you know if I need you.” I turn
to everyone else. “Would you please all shift back into wolf
form? I'm sick of your twig and berries just hanging out.”

They all enjoy making
me squirm like this. The smiles on their faces tell me that I'm
right.

They all shift except
for Cole and Trevor. Trevor goes to Cole, “Dude, she's my
sister.”

“I know, I wasn't
doing anything. I promise.” He puts his hands up in surrender.

Trevor shifts, and the
pack runs into the trees.

Cole watches them go
longingly. I get closer to him. “Been a while since you've been
on a run?”

He nods and presses his
lips together. A smile blooms on mine. “Why don't you join
them, and I'll show how a hunter can run.”

“You run with
them?” Curiosity twists his features.

“Oh yeah, I'm
also faster than them.” Yeah, buddy that's a challenge. “I'll
get your clothes.”

His eyes dance with
excitement and he unbuckles his belt. I spin around so as not to see
him naked. “Oh, sorry.” Cole's confidence has waned due
to his scolding from Trevor. I've never seen a man this arrogant
shrivel so fast at the hand of someone like Trevor.

“No problem, you
just stay behind me until you've shifted. Then I'm betting you'll be
behind me when we run,” I tease, but I already know by his size
that I'm faster than him. There's no way he can move all that wolf
very fast.

He shifts, then nudges
my side with his nose. I look at him and notice that he's even huge
in wolf form. “Ready?”

He prances on his two
front paws and throws his head playfully. I gather his clothes up.
“Ready, set, go!”

We run through the
woods toward the boys. I love feeling the wind in my hair and I would
swear that I'm even faster drawing from Cole's power.

This is so free, and
it's as close as I can get to the boys. This makes me feel like I'm
part of the pack. I know I'll never be a wolf, so this will have to
do.

Trevor
sits brooding at the kitchen table. I roll my eyes at him. “Stop
pouting.”

“I'm not
pouting.” He downs a huge glass of milk.

“Why are you
here? Drinking my milk?” I snap. He's killing my high and he
needs to stop.

“Mom put the
protections up last night.” He wipes the milk from his face
with his sleeve.

“Fine, I'm going
to take a shower and get some sleep.” I continue to the kitchen
door and start assessing how many people are still passed out from
the party.

“Claire, I want
you to stay away from him.” He tries to say it without a growl.

“Excuse me?”
I turn around and walk to the end of the table. “I am a grown
ass woman and can make my own decisions.”

“Yes, but this is
a bad decision.” He blows out a breath, shaking his head.

“If he's so bad,
why is he your friend?” I challenge.

“Because he's a
good friend, but he's not...” He's looking for the words. “He's
bad with girls and I don't know that he's safe.”

“None of you are
safe.” The first thing that runs through my mind is that this
is some sort of alpha thing. All the boys are coming to the age where
they are instinctively priming themselves for alpha. They can't help
it.

“But he's just
not a good guy for you,” he pleads. “He's not a good guy
for anyone.”

“Look, I'm not
dating him. Nothing happened. We just talked.” I try to calm
him with the truth.

“That's how it
starts, though. We all saw how you were looking at him in the
clearing.” He isn't wrong. Cole does fascinate me. But there is
nothing there for him; there can't be. It's forbidden.

“So, I was
watching someone enjoy the sunrise as much as I used to, like my dad
used to.” My tone sounds rightfully defensive with an edge of
melancholy.

“Claire, he's
dangerous. Stay away from him.” His insistence boils my blood
for a moment, but staying angry with him isn't going to help. I need
to reason with him.

“He's so lost and
sad. I think we can help him.” I say it quietly, afraid of his
reaction.

“You can't. No
one can.” He gets up from the table.

“I don't believe
that. No one is beyond help.” I watch him go to the sink and
put the glass in and I'm impressed.

“Just please
listen to me on this.” His tone is sincere; he really believes
what he's saying.

“Claire, Trevor's
not wrong.” Locke comes into the kitchen with wet tousled hair.

“Not you, too.”
I look toward the heavens for help.

“Have you not
stopped to ask yourself why he's never been around before?”
Locke raises a brow.

“No, I never knew
he existed.” I shrug.

“Yeah, because we
were afraid you would become just another one of his conquests.”
He comes to where I'm standing and puts his hands on my shoulders.
“Trevor's right, he's not good.”

“You know what?”
I shift Cole's clothes to my left hand and put my other on my hip.
“We are just friends. I am a grown woman; I'm not some boy
crazy girl, and I'm not going to have any of you telling me what to
do out of some stupid insecurity.” They look at each other,
puzzled. “You know he's more alpha material than any of you.”
I drop that bomb and scurry up the two flights of stairs to my room.
There's little comfort in knowing they can't follow me because of the
protections on my room. I feel bad saying that. I feel small.

That's not fair, and
it has nothing to do with how we feel about this.
Locke reaches
out to me telepathically.

I don't answer. I close
my mind and my door. Inhaling a deep breath, smelling Cole's shirt
that I'm still wearing, trying to regain the feeling I had during the
run is cleansing. My eyes close and I press my back against the door.
I will admit that I'm feeling a kind of way I've never felt before.

“Um, are those
Cole's pants?” Lili pops up from under the comforter on my bed.

I look down at Cole's
clothes in my hands and panic runs through me. Shit, think fast
Claire. An evil grin spreads across my lips. “Um, yeah?”

“Why do you have
his pants?” She says it slowly, trying to work out the
possibilities.

I inhale to buy myself
some time. “Well, it's quite simple, you see.” I cross
the room and put his boots, jeans, and tank top on my closet floor.
“The boys and I played a little trick on him.”

“Oh?” She
pulls her lips to the side. “What kind of trick did you and the
boys play that involved you having his jeans?”

“We said we were
all going skinny dipping, so when he stripped down and jumped in, I
grabbed his clothes.” Simple, easy, lie. Way better than the
truth: that he shifted into a werewolf, we ran through the woods
together like wild animals, and he ran straight to the front yard.
I'd like to think it was because he knows how uncomfortable it would
have made me if he shifted into human form. But him being that
considerate might be a stretch.

Lili spins around in
the bed, looking out the window, “So he's out there running
around naked?”

“No, I'm pretty
sure he went home.” Wow, I hate to disappoint her. “A few
minutes ago I heard a loud truck start up and I'd bet that was him.”
He seems like the big obnoxious “sorry about your penis”
truck type.

“Bummer.”
She looks down at her hands. “But you felt compelled to wear
the flannel?”

“That was before
the skinny dipping thing. I was cold.” I feel my cheeks redden.

“Uh huh. So did
you kiss him?” She leans forward on the bed.

“Oh. My. God. I'm
not having this conversation. I'm taking a shower.” I head for
the bathroom.

“You kissed him!”
She hops up from the bed and follows me into the bathroom.

“No. I did not.”
That's the truth.

“But you
like
him,” she teases.

“As a friend.
That's it.” I say it firmly. “Besides, Trevor had a shit
fit that we went for a walk. He says he's not a good guy.”

“Oh, Trevor's
right.” She nods vehemently.

“What do you
mean?” Why is everyone hating on Cole, but everyone's his
friend?

“He's a serial
man-whore. He sets his sights on something, conquers it, and moves
on.” She recalls this like she may have some personal
knowledge.

“Did you...”
I trail off, not wanting to finish the question.

“No, I didn't,
but only because he did it to a couple of my friends.” She
shakes her head. “He comes off as super sweet and attentive.
Then as soon as he gets in your pants and fucks you a couple of
times, he disappears.”

“Who does that?”
I ask, astounded that sort of behavior actually exists.