Moon Crossed (Werewolf Hunter Series): Season 1 (Episodes 1-6) (Crescent Hunter) (11 page)

No such luck. With hand
signals we communicate what positions we need to take. We all have
our weapons drawn and at the ready. Before we lose visual contact, I
mouth to them, “No silver. No kills.”

The wolves have
completely surrounded the camp. I don't recognize any of them and
wonder if they are actually part of the Red Top Pack. There are ten
Boy Scouts and three troop leaders huddled in the middle of their
camp, trapped.

In an attempt to
disperse the wolves and not just walk through them like a badass
having to explain myself to the Boy Scouts, I fire my gun in the air.
Some of the wolves disperse. I really don't want to have to engage
the rest of them, and I have to refrain from using my magic if I can.
Our secrecy is imperative to the wolf-borne survival, and having this
troop running off and telling stories of werewolves is not good for
anyone's survival.

There's still twenty or
so wolves congregating and I have no choice but to start picking them
off. I aim as carefully as possible, trying to only wound and avoid
the heart. Even though they would not die permanently, a bullet or
blade to the heart would bind them to me for life, and not in a good
way. They would be able to feel my proximity the same way I feel
theirs. I've managed to never be bound to a wolf and I'd like to keep
it that way.

I take my first three
shots and hit two of my targets in the hind quarters, causing them to
run off. That's what I wanted; a few more scatter with the wounded.
Taking another count reveals there are seventeen left. That's still a
lot of wolves for three hunters to handle without being able to use
magic.

The kids huddled in the
center are all terrified still having a large pack of wolves closing
in on them. We have to do something and fast. I hesitate too long and
Corey swings into action, jumping down in the center of the circle
and starts wielding his sword wildly. The Boy Scouts seem just as
afraid of Corey as they are of the wolves.

“Corey, stop.”
I've fought with him before and I recognize his sword as being his
kill weapon. I run through the wolves at full speed and knock Corey
to the ground. “I told you no silver.”

“Get off me.”
He pushes on me, but I can hold him down.

“No silver. No
kills.” I lean in as close to his face as I can stand while he
struggles under me. “There are no moon-touched among them.
Let's just get these kids to safety and get rid of the wolves.”
There's fire in my eyes as I speak. I'd like to run him through
myself right now.

Corey spits in my eye,
catching me by surprise. “That's what I would expect from a
wolf lover.”

“Seriously?”
I spring to my feet, trying to remain aware of all the dangers facing
me right now.

“They are
threatening humans. We have to take care of them.” His tone is
smug as though there's a righteousness in him. Scumbag.

“This is my area,
Corey. You follow the rules in my playground.” I turn away from
him, a big mistake as I find myself sandwiched between Corey
attacking me from behind and a wolf pouncing on me. The three of us
roll toward the fire, and to get Corey off of me I roll him close
enough to the heat that he retreats and refocuses on disabling
wolves.

Casey has taken out
three wolves on her own and has created an invisible barrier around
the campers to keep them safe. The trick is to keep them inside the
protection.

I'm still grappling
with the wolf that pounced on me, I maneuver my dagger from its
sheath and jab the wolf in the throat. It collapses on me and I push
it off fast, ready for the next wolf. They keep coming at us and
we've got them down to about seven wolves. The only magic we've
employed is the protection, and the campers can't see it.

Corey, Casey, and I are
all wearing down, even though we have good stamina. This has been one
hell of a fight with each of us fighting a few wolves at a time. We
are all scrapped, slashed, battered, and bruised, but so far nothing
life-threatening.

I make quick work of a
smaller wolf that jumps me by twisting and breaking its neck. I drop
the carcass to the ground, knowing that in an hour or so he'll be
fine. I blow out a breath and check on Casey and Corey. Out of the
corner of my eye, I see one of the Boy Scouts wiggle away from a
troop leader. He makes a beeline for the trees. One of the bigger
wolves also sees him and breaks from the melee to chase after the
kid.

Crap! I head after them
both and surpass the wolf with ease, getting to the child first. I
scoop him up in my arms and keep running to get further away from the
wolf chasing us. “Hey there.” I try to use a calming
voice.

He's shaking and smells
of urine. I would have pissed myself in this same situation at the
age of ten, too. I'm not judging him. “W-w-w-w-wolf,” he
stutters out.

“I know, honey,
but it's going to be okay. We are putting them to sleep so you can go
home.” I realize that I'm covered in dirt and blood, and I'm
sure just as scary-looking as the wolves at this point. “I'm
Claire. What's your name?”

“B-b-brennan.”
He's pale and feels cold to the touch. I'm sure he's going into
shock.

I stop to rest,
crouching down with Brennan. “You're going to be safe now,
okay?”

He shakes his head
vehemently. “N-n-no.” His eyes are wide with fear.

“It's okay.”
I wrap my arms around him and curse myself for not having a blanket
in my backpack.

“W-w-wolf,”
Brennan sputters out, and points a trembling finger behind me.

I straighten up and
turn around to see a wolf stalking toward us. I would evade his
attack but I don't want to leave Brennan exposed. I stand my ground
and draw my dagger. “You have no business here.”

The huge wolf continues
to come toward us, growling and gnashing his teeth. I look closer
into his eyes looking for the telltale signs of moon-touch. I'm not
seeing the blood-red eyes or any indication other than his
aggression. “I don't want to have to hurt you.”

Brennan's sobs are grow
louder; my anger swells that this wolf seems to be deriving great joy
from terrorizing this little boy. The wolf comes within three feet of
where I'm standing. I dig my feet in, ready for him to pounce.

He surprises me by
shifting into human form and taking the four steps to me and
back-handing me hard across the face. I fall to the ground, but
recover quickly as the wolf picks up the child by his collar and
starts walking away with him.

“Oh, hell no,”
I yell out, and run after him, jumping on his back and plunging my
dagger into his shoulder from the top. That move would drop anyone
and it works.

Brennan turns his
frightened eyes to the naked man on the ground. I'm going to have no
choice but to use magic to make him forget this part of his camping
trip. “You're bleeding.”

I roll my eyes. “Yeah,
I know. I'll be fine. I do this a lot.”

“Bleed?”

“Yes.” I
pick him up, holding him tight for his comfort, and head back toward
the camp.

A sharp pain goes
through my head as I feel my ponytail being yanked backward. I drop
Brennan and yell, “Run, don't look back.”

I spin around, but
can't dodge the wolf jabbing the knife into my shoulder. It doesn't
go in enough to disable me, only hurt like hell. My eyes pinch shut
momentarily in pain and he takes the advantage. He pushes me down,
punching me in the jaw. My head falls backward painfully on the
ground. He straddles me and grabs my ponytail again. What is it with
this guy?

“What the hell is
wrong with you?” Blood is filling my mouth from having lost a
tooth that I spit out so I don't swallow it.

“You are meddling
in affairs you have no business in, hunter.” He spits the words
like poison.

“Everything that
happens in this forest is my business, wolf.” I gather my
strength and push him off me with my legs. We immediately take
defensive stances.

“Walk away now or
die,” he says with certainty.

I'm so over this
ridiculous banter. I'm waiting for him to pin me and tell me his evil
plan to kill me right before I thwart him. I don't watch that many
movies, but I know how this goes and right now I'm tired, hurt, and
all I can think of is getting back to Cole.

Did I really just think
that? Getting back to Cole? I don't even know if I'm going to see
him. We didn't agree to meet at the clearing; I just assumed he
would. Sharp burning pain cuts through my side. I lost focus. Damn
it! I cry out in pain.

“I gave you the
chance to walk away. Now you will die.” He pulls the knife out
of my left side and it's dripping with my blood. Bright red. All I
can see is bright red until darkness takes over my vision.

In this moment, dread
seeps into my veins like a poison. I know I will never see the boys
or Cole again.

Your mind so full of twisted wonder,

Your eyes a glorious amalgamation of hope and despair, will delight and
haunt me until the light goes out in my own.

One
by one I picture each of the boy's smiles: Locke, Tor, Trevor,
Brogan, Kyle, and Rabbit. Sadness fills me at the thought of them
coming and finding me like this, having bled out. Dying at the hands
of a wolf-borne, the way I'm meant to.

An involuntary smile
presses hard into my cheek as I recall Cole's light blue eyes.
“Cole,” I sputter out, feeling
euphoric at the thought of him. The memory of his scent is strong -
like it's here, near me. Not the cut wood, bourbon, and cigarettes,
but his musk - the way he smells when he's in wolf form.

Floating in a dream, my
thoughts drift to what it would feel like to have his calloused hands
on my skin and remember the only time we've ever touched as humans
was when we shook hands. They are so big and rough from hard work.
The memory of that day runs through my mind, wondering how old he
really is. I've never asked him. I don’t
care; I feel like I know him, like on some strange level he's
part of me. We're connected. I want to know everything about him,
from start to finish. What would it feel
like to be hugged by him? My body warms at the notion of his large
frame wrapping around me; I would just disappear into his arms.
Contentment spirals through my body at the thought of it.

A spike of pain
radiates in my right side, yanking me out of my Cole reverie. My eyes
spring open and it all comes rolling back fast. There's a very pissed
off wolf-borne stabbing me again. Inhaling deeply to draw on my
magic, I throw him off me, pinning him to the forest floor.

Holding my midsection,
I haul myself up with my elbow pressed against one stab wound and my
hand draped across to the other. Spearing him with a steely glare I
limp over to him, unblinking. Looking at him with that smug smile on
his face, I know that he's not right in the head. He terrorized
children, is stalking through territory that isn't his –
possibly starting a war with the Red Top Pack - kidnapped a child,
and tried to kill me. It really pisses me off when people try to kill
me.

This is my chance to
ask him a million questions, but he won't answer them. This asshole
wouldn't even be so kind as to give me his name, rank, and serial
number if I asked, so why bother trying.

My hands are shaking
from anger and my father's words waft through my mind. “Never
kill out of anger, only necessity.” But then Aunt Rain's voice
creeps in. “No mercy.”

He'll never let me walk
away if he's alive or conscious. He has to die if I'm going to get
back to the Boy Scouts and get them all to safety. My healing is
going slow, and my strength is returning even slower.

He apparently tires of
my silence. “You'd better kill me, hunter. Otherwise, I'm
coming for you and I won't rest until you're dead.”

“I don't die,”
I say through gritted teeth while raising my dagger and jabbing it
into his forehead. I leave the knife there to give myself time to
gather more strength and get back to the Boy Scouts before he heals.