Bright Moon (34 page)

“My smell?” he asked in shock and laughed.
She didn’t reply as sleep fell over her.

Her slumber had
never been so wonderful. When she opened her eyes, she found her
cheek rested on Tyson’s chest while his arms held her firmly. There
was really only space for one person in the enclosed cave he’d
found to hide in, but she was glad of the excuse to be so close to
him. The smell was damp, and she detected what reminded her of
Christmas evergreens. Tyson held perfectly still and she thought he
slept. She wanted to see his face, but refrained from moving so as
not to disturb him. His heart was thumping under her ear, wild and
free.

“How are you feeling?” he asked in a low
whisper, proving he wasn’t sleeping at all. His breath came on her
cheek.

“Better.” It was true, the pain from the
bullet was a distant ache as if she’d dreamt the injury. “Are we
hiding, or resting?”

“Mostly resting, although I expected a
challenge from Mark by now. He has yet to show his cowardly face
and I suspect we haven’t heard the last of him.”

“He was very frightened of you,” she said as
she took in their surroundings. Their cave was a near perfect cone,
coming to a point at the top. A small opening allowed him to glance
out periodically.

“He should have been. He swore up and down
he didn’t know where you were and said he’d contact me with the
information. He said Parker had moved and wouldn’t let him know
until after he’d released Beth and your mother. It was the only
thing he
could
say that would convince me to let him go. His
final lies sealed his fate as far as I’m concerned and I think he
knew it.” Tyson’s face was gravely serious and a tremor ran up her
spine. He pulled her closer without warning. “I’m sorry, I won’t
talk like that anymore.” His hand rested in her hair, cradling her
head against his chest. She wanted to stay in his embrace forever,
but leaned back. “You don’t have to ask,” he said before she could
voice the question. “You want to know about me.”

“Yes,” she answered and laid her head
against his shoulder.

“Words failed me time and again when I tried
to tell you before,” he murmured, his lips in her hair. “I find
they fail me again…or perhaps my courage fails. I am ashamed and
sickened by how you discovered who I am.”

“Jothram,” she whispered. His body tensed as
if he thought she might strike him.

“Yes, Jothram, son of Ty. Knight to Queen
Mahina, the fairest of the Silverfair.”

“Silverfair?”

“They were a hidden people, a sacred people
devoted to the white dragon who guarded the Sacred Valley.”

“A dragon?” she gasped and pushed back
again. “You…
knew
a dragon?”

“I never met her, but I saw her from
afar.”

“I remember you said it was their magic the
dark forces tainted.”

“Yes, and you remember how those forces
sought their treasure?”

She nodded.

“I was given the curse, but knew nothing of
it. The original spell would have given me the ability to change
into a wolf. A dark warlock named Kolrut altered it, made it so the
wolf was wild and evil. I told you before how the good Queen used
her magic to appease the spell, but it had already taken effect and
there was only so much she could do. Before I realized what was
wrong, I infected Mark. He had come with me to the lands of the
Silverfair and desired to become a knight as well. I was helping
him to train and we spent countless days sparing with the sword and
any number of weapons. I became injured during one of these
matches…and so did he. Our blood was crossed and he became
infected.

“The Queen used her magic on him as well. In
the beginning we were united, determined to make the most of our
situation. The Queen’s warriors helped us to train our wild ways,
taking us far from innocents until we could contain ourselves. When
we had gained as much control as possible, Mark wanted to return to
Queen Mahina’s halls. I thought it better if we lived out our years
in isolation while awaiting—” His sentence stopped abruptly and he
tensed again.

“Me,” Clara said for him.

“Yes,” he said and his chest fell. “Yes,
you. I was young then, but the gravity of the situation fell on me
more with each year. I started out hoping for you and ended up
hoping you would never know my curse. Anyway, Mark insisted we
return and what could I say? He had more to give up. I thought we
could make it work…for his sake I had to try.”

She felt his jaw working as he chewed his
cheek. “It turned out I was right to think we should not live near
any kind of people. Angela was one of the Silverfair. She and Mark
had fallen in love and wanted to be married. She had no idea what
happened to us and thought we’d gone away for special training.
Mark’s eyes glowed when he lost control once and she discovered
what he truly was. She was horrified to say the least. When she
screamed and ran from him, he became distraught and transformed
into a wild wolf. Our weakness was not known then and he killed
many before I was able to drive him out. He blames me for it all
and, in a sense, he’s right. If I hadn’t infected him, he wouldn’t
have killed Angela.”

“He said you murdered her in cold blood,”
Clara breathed. “I couldn’t believe it, but when I heard your
confession I thought…”

“You thought I behaved as a monster would,”
he muttered.

“No! I just…worried there was a part of you
I didn’t know. I was weakened. Parker kept saying things and Mark
would say things. I didn’t know what to think because…” she
hesitated again.

“Because I never told you the truth?”

She nodded. “I’m sorry, Tyson. In my heart I
knew it couldn’t be.”

“You’re apologizing to me?” he asked with a
laugh. “I could apologize for the rest of my life and it wouldn’t
be enough. I was a coward not to face you and
I’m
sorry. I
feared losing you and what we had…I thought it was impossible for
you to love me.”

“Well, it isn’t impossible,” she said
quietly.

His heart beat faster, sounding so quick she
thought his chest might explode. She tilted her head back to ensure
he was well. His blue eyes caught hers. They didn’t seem as icy as
she remembered and she saw in them what she’d hoped all along.
Words lingered in her throat as she bit her lip. He took her hand
and pressed it to his chest where his heart raced.

“Do you feel the effect you have on me?”

Her own heart filled with electric joy and
hammered as if it might burst. His eyes were bright, but not with
the flame of the wild wolf. His words failed as well and he
released her hand to brush her cheek with the back of his fingers.
Leaning his forehead against hers, his mouth was so close that she
tilted her head and touched his lips with hers. He hesitated and
shivered then put a hand on her neck, aligning his thumb with her
jaw. A single wistful kiss was exchanged. Clara’s heart turned into
a million fiery butterflies that took off in her chest and tried to
find escape by running up and down her arms. Tyson leaned back and
cupped his other hand to her chin, searching her eyes.

“Of all the self centered things I’ve done,
I think that was the worst,” he whispered.

“That’s not what I was thinking,” she said,
exhaling after holding her breath.

“What were you thinking?” he asked and
grimaced ever so slightly.

She put her arms around his neck and kissed
him again, pulling him as close as she could. His arms circled
around her and they were lost in time. When Tyson broke their
embrace she was breathless. He took a deep gulp of air and she
could see his eyes held faint traces of yellow in them. He pulled
her into a tight hug, resting his chin on the top of her head.

“I am a selfish dog,” he murmured. Clara
couldn’t bring herself to argue, no matter how she disagreed.
Instead, she enjoyed the comfort of being enveloped in his arms.
“And you are a crazy, silly woman.”

Smiling contentedly, she didn’t take his
bait, refusing to budge. She wasn’t willing to sacrifice the cuddle
to quarrel. Outside their small cave insects hummed and birds
chirped. By the intensity of the light breaking through the small
crack, she guessed it was hot. They were sheltered in the shade and
quite comfortable. Sleep was almost upon her a second time when he
stiffened.

“What?” she asked in a whisper. He relaxed
just as quickly as he’d tensed.

“We have company,” he said, obviously
relieved.

“Who is it?”

“Mesha and Callan.” He shifted her out of
his lap and crawled through the mouth of the cave. She followed and
he helped her to her feet, keeping one of her hands clutched
tightly in his.

Clara gasped when she realized the exterior
of their shelter wasn’t stone, but a hollow tree. The trunk was
enormous, larger than any she’d ever seen and the bark was grey and
orange. Her line of sight followed the height of the tree, but she
couldn’t see the top. They were surrounded by many similar trees,
most were even larger around and their tops endless. There were
giant pinecones scattered over the forest floor, nestled in a thick
layer of needles.

“This place is amazing,” she breathed. Tyson
nodded while keeping his eyes roaming through the trees. He was
nervous to be in the open. Callan found them first, followed
closely by Mesha. Clara’s heart threatened to rip open once more
when they rushed to embrace her and she couldn’t find appropriate
words. It seemed they couldn’t either and no one said anything for
a few minutes. When she looked into Callan’s face, his eyes filled
with tears.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered remorsefully and
hugged her again.

“We both are,” Mesha added, choking on her
emotion. They blamed themselves for her capture.

“Don’t be sorry,” she said and put an arm
about their middles, squeezing them closer. “I left the house while
you were sleeping.”

“What made you do it?” Callan asked.

“I thought I heard Tyson,” she glanced at
him. “But it was Mark. He said he had Tyson.”

“He lied,” Tyson growled.

“You hadn’t returned and I assumed the
worst.” She lowered her eyes. “I was worried.”

“I was stalling,” he confessed and took her
hand again. “I didn’t know how to face you with the truth. The
words were easy to say when you weren’t around, but every time I
tried to broach the subject, I couldn’t make my mouth say it.”

“I suppose we were all at fault,” Callan
said while eyeing their clasped hands. Mesha huffed in annoyance,
but nodded. Callan sighed and rolled his eyes heavenward.

Tyson’s free fist curled in a tight ball
when he prepared to voice the question on his mind. He stared into
nothing and he closed his eyes a moment, obviously bracing for bad
news. “What happened after we left?”

Both Callan and Mesha looked away, sadness
entering their eyes and features. “More members from Rodger’s pack
were lost,” Callan whispered.

“Felina’s pack remains intact,” Mesha said.
“Even her pups.”

“Rodger shouldn’t have come. I did not mean
to involve them,” Tyson said. “I knew Felina would help and I had
every confidence she’d strengthened her pack enough that they would
survive if any of us did. Rodger learned what happened and insisted
on coming. His boys didn’t know how to draw strength from one
another. He taught them to survive by isolating themselves, not
only from the world, but from one another.”

“I shouldn’t have—” Clara started to say.
Tyson put his hand behind her neck and pulled her into an embrace
before she could finish.

“Yes, you should have,” he said.

“Any one of you could have been killed,” she
whispered to the folds of his shirt, shuddering at the memory of
Felix firing his rifle and killing wolves. “Rodger and his pack
shouldn’t have died.”

“Sis,” Callan said and she felt his hand on
her shoulder. “They wanted to kill Parker more than anything.
Nothing we said stopped them once Felina revealed Parker’s
location.”

“That’s right,” Mesha said. “They almost
messed things up because they were so eager to destroy him. He’s
hunted members of their pack before. Their deaths are tragic, but
you need to know that to them, this was about revenge.”

Clara nodded while trying to fully
understand. Tyson kept her locked in his arms as he asked his next
question with baited breath. “Where are Dawn and Jack?”

“They were on their way,” Mesha answered.
“Jack was setting the place on fire to destroy the deposits of
blood.”

“Deposits?” Clara squeaked.

Mesha made a face. “That was probably more
than I should have said.”

“Parker said he wanted to heal people,”
Clara remembered.

“What?” Callan and Tyson spoke in unison,
both their voices full of disbelief.

“He told me about his daughter, and how she
died.”

“It sounds like Mark wasn’t the only one
spreading lies,” Tyson said. His eyes began to glow.

“He said my blood could heal people if they
drank it any night but the night of the new or full moon.”

“That is not true. He sold it years ago to
investors. He owed many powerful people a taste, otherwise he would
have to pay them all back. He never had a daughter,” Tyson
said.

“There are more men like Parker who know
about this?” Callan asked. Clara thought she detected a faint bit
of gold in his eyes as well.

“Yes, and they will be searching for Clara
when they discover what happened. These individuals won’t be as
skilled as Parker was at trapping us. He had centuries of
experience handed down from his father. However, most will have
money and that can go a long way.”

“The danger hasn’t passed,” Mesha said with
a sigh. “I thought this would end when you killed Parker.”

“No, and Mark will always find a way to stir
up trouble while he’s alive.”