Moon Crossed (Werewolf Hunter Series): Season 1 (Episodes 1-6) (Crescent Hunter) (64 page)

He pulls a small box
wrapped in black wrapping paper with a red bow from his jacket
pocket. “Happy Birthday.”

“How did you know
it was my birthday?” I take the box from him.

“A little birdie
told me.” He smiles, hoping I return it.

“Which little
birdie?” I ask, looking at the box, almost afraid to open it.

“Doesn't matter.
Just open it,” he urges me.

Carefully, I tear off
the paper. It's a fancy lighter. In this light, it's hard to see the
design, and I tilt it so it shines just right. Crescent moons are
engraved on it. “Oh, Ben, it's so beautiful.”

“I thought you
would like it.” He stands up. “Now, go up to your room,
get the rest of Cole's crap, and let's throw it away, just like he
did to you.”

Ouch again.

What he's saying makes
sense and sounds like it would be a strong thing for me to do.
“You're right!” I go up to my room and return with Cole's
jeans and his hat and grab his bourbon glass out of the cabinet. Ben
watches as I cram it all into the trash and top it off with the
lighter.

“Good girl.”
He leans over, taking the bag out of the trash can. “Allow me
to finish taking the trash out.”

I laugh; this feels
childish, yet strong. Ben's right: Cole never cared. I'm sure he
thinks more about the lighter than he's ever thought of me.

After putting a new bag
in the trash can, I meet Ben back out on the porch and try out my new
lighter. We put on music and talk. Light subject matter only, like
me registering for classes and when the deadline is. My phone
dings with a message.

I just wanted to
wish you a happy birthday. ~Locke

Thanks. ~Claire

His message really
killed the halfway decent mood I had going, knowing that he's not
coming to see me.

“Who was that?”
Ben asks.

“Locke.”
I'm staring at my phone. I want nothing more than to beg him to come
and see me.

“Oh.” A
tick of silence go by before he stands up and pulls me out of my
chair and into a hug. “I'm sorry.”

“It's okay.”

He sways us back and
forth in time to the music. “It's going to be okay, you know?
Never perfect, but okay.”

“I know.” I
push out a smile I don't mean.

He leans back, gazing
into my eyes, and inhales to speak. He remains silent, stroking his
finger along my cheek and soaking up the tear I'd hoped he wouldn't
notice. He tilts my head to meet his lips softly. He pulls back with
a sad smile that affects me on a deep level.

It was sweet, but
there's something that doesn't feel right about it. The draw to the
wolf in him is there, but there's something missing. He's not Cole.

“Hey, guys.”
Zane announces his presence, stopping in the doorway and eyeing us
suspiciously. “Oh, um.” He's backing into the house.

“No, don't go.”
Please save me from this. “I was wondering if you were coming
back tonight.”

Zane shifts his gaze
back and forth from me to Ben. “Of course I was coming back.”
He gives me a hug. “I brought you something.”

“You didn't–”

“Shh, I wanted to
get you something for your birthday,” he says, handing me an
envelope.

It’s a gift card
to the Singing Dragon. “Wow, thank you.”

“I was in there
to get you some new tattoo stuff, but realized that kind of thing
is...personal. I didn't know what would be good to get you, but they
have stick and poke kits,” he says with pride.

“That's awesome.
I will totally go in there and get some new stuff. Thank you.”
I reach up on my tiptoes and give him a big hug around the neck.

We spend the rest of
the evening on the porch talking, and I'm actually able to laugh a
little. I still miss my boys and wish they were here with me, but
this is nice.

Seventy-eight days

Hayden
is finally letting me back out on patrol. There are several reports
of moon-touched wolves roaming Red Top. I'll definitely have a chance
to get some of the organ samples I've been needing.

Zane is geared up and
Ben is waiting for us on the porch. I pick up my pack by the door and
motion for Zane to follow.

Ben turns around when
we come out and hugs me. I'm having issues with being touched,
especially by a wolf. There's something different in their touch.
It's not like being held by Cole; there's nothing like that. God, I
hate myself for feeling that way.

Cold. I just want to be
cold and never let anyone in ever again.

Ben feels the stiffness in my demeanor; I hope he doesn't take it
personally. He smiles sweetly. “How are you?”

I'm so sick of that
question. No one really wants to know. With a hard won smile, I say,
“I'm fine.”

“I'm going to
load the truck.” Zane pushes past us. I'm not sure what's with
the weird tension between them for the past few days.

Ben puts his hand on my
shoulders and bends down slightly, peering into my eyes. “I
really
do
care, you know.”

“I know.” I
look away quickly. Eye contact is hard, too.

“No, Claire,
really. I want to know how you are and I know you're not fine.”
He tilts his head slightly.

The corners of my mouth
turn down. “Busted.”

He wraps his arms
around me again and I want to die from the contact. “I'm here
for you.”

There's no comfort in
his hold on me. I wriggle loose. “I know.” I nod and push
past him. “I'm as okay as I can be. Looking forward to getting
out tonight.” I continue down the stairs, ticking my head in
the direction of the truck.

“Really?”
He's taken aback by my answer.

“I need to get
more samples. We're killin' wolves anyway, so I might as well make
the best of it.” My bag makes a thud in the bed of the truck.
“Let's ride.”

We pull up in my usual
parking lot and there are four other cars here. I recognize one of
them as Locke's truck. “What the hell is he doing here?”

“Who?” Ben
asks.

“Locke. That's
his truck.” I point to the pick-up.

“Maybe another
wolf party.” Zane's tone has a hint of sarcasm to it.

I look at Ben. “You
two have some sort of lovers’ spat?”

“Funny.”
His expression twists. “I don't know what his problem is.”

My lips cut a sarcastic
half-smile into my cheek. “He needs to calm down.” I yank
on the door handle and hop out. Standing by the bed, I secure my
gear, put the leather pouches across my body, and check my weapons.

Zane and Ben are doing
some ridiculous testosterone-driven mambo, posturing against one
another.

“Hey!” The
sharpness in my tone snaps their attention. “You two need to
cut the crap and get your heads in the game.”

I sling my scabbard
over my back and start for the trail. “I'm not sure who got
sand in whose vagina, but leave it in the parking lot.” Pushing
through the two of them, I knock them both with my shoulders.

There's an extra burst
of aggression in the air tonight. The moon is waning so it shouldn't
be an issue, but there's just something that has all of us on edge.

Ben catches up. “Sorry,
Claire, I don't know what's wrong. I just feel –” I cut
him off.

“Wound up?”

“Yeah.” He
pulls his lips into a thin line.

“I'm sorry, too.”
Zane hangs his head.

“There's just
something in the air, something...” He can't find the right
words.

“Yeah, I don't
know what it is.” I continue walking on the trail. “I
feel it, too. I thought it was just because it's my first time out in
a while.”

“Maybe we should
go home?” Zane suggests.

With a cutting smile, I
say, “Not a chance.” I pick the pace up to a run. “Ben,
you stay safe and don't engage any moon-touched wolves, got it?”

“I'll be
careful,” he says before shifting into wolf form.

The aggressive energy
moves through my spirit and makes me feel free. It seems like the
boys are on edge. I feel more alive. There's no room for thoughts of
Cole tonight. Just no.

Ben runs past me before
shifting into human form. “Hey, what's the plan? Are we going
to be lying in wait or actively patrolling?”

“Actively
patrolling,” Zane says, coming to a stop in front of us.

“We know there
are at least eight moon-touched wolves in Red Top, right?” My
head hangs in sadness.

“Are they from
the Red Top pack?” Ben asks.

“So far as we
know, they aren't. Dugan assured me that most of his pack has been
staying out of the woods.” A smile blooms as I remember my
quick exchange with Rayel the other day when I talked with Dugan.

“That’s
good.” Zane secures his scabbard. “So let's go.”

Ben shifts back into
wolf form and we start running, spreading out at twenty-five foot
intervals. The presence of another wolf-borne comes over me. I try to
see Zane through the trees, but the sun has set and it's too dark to
see. He doesn't hear my bird call.

Veering off in the
direction of the wolf, I catch him by surprise. There will be no
grand battles for me tonight; all kills will be swift. Then I can
collect the samples.

Jumping and coming to a
rest in front of him, I can smell the feral on him. Still, I
carefully check his eyes for the touch. They are bleeding red:
confirmed moon-touched. He's stalks me with no fear. He wants to kill
me.

“Not tonight,
doggy.” I tilt my head, drawing my sais. With deadly accuracy,
my sais find his heart. He drops as his breathing quickens for a
brief moment.

“I'm sorry.”
It's a habit since there's no emotion that lives inside of me
anymore.

With my dagger, I open
his chest to cut his heart away from the muscle and carefully pull it
out from beneath his rib cage. Sliding it securely into one of my
bags, I then take his liver and kidneys. He doesn't need them.

I stand, perform the
internment, and move on.

One more hour of
patrol. I've made three kills and collected two hearts. The last wolf
I put down had some strange neoplasia that had occurred. It made me
want to collect the heart even more, but when I pulled it out from
under the rib cage it disintegrated in my hands. There was nothing
left but slime.

The feeling of two
wolves puts me on alert. They can sense me beyond just my scent.

At least one of them
must be from the group of wolves I life-pierced. This is going to
prove to be quite the challenge. If they aren't moon-touched, they
will live.

The female doesn't have
any signs of the touch. I'm relieved that I don't have to put her
down, but it's not going to be easy getting out of here.

The bigger male turns
and looks directly at me. Seeing his eyes in the shadows is almost
impossible. I can't tell if he's moon-touched or not.

Using the powers I've
been working on, I focus my energy to create an orb of light in front
of him rather than just in my hand. The globe illuminates, revealing
blood red eyes.