Moon Crossed (Werewolf Hunter Series): Season 1 (Episodes 1-6) (Crescent Hunter) (16 page)

Brogan looks back, and
I mouth, “Thank you.”

Cole leans forward in
his chair with an air of seriousness. “Does she know?”

Locke and I exchange a
look. I shake my head. “No, but I think that we really need to
be more careful, or she's going to catch on.”

“Are you sure she
doesn't know?” Locke asks, widening his eyes.

“I haven't told
her, if that's what you're asking.” I'm feeling put on the
spot. Cole and Locke both give me a disbelieving glare. “I
haven't told her,” I say with certainty in my tone. We're all
silent for a moment, just looking at one another. The question is
burning in the pit of my belly and I can't hold back. “I think
the real question is: why is Lili so salty with you about this Sheila
person?”

“She's been
chasing me for a while and I just really am not interested,”
Cole says, taking a sip of his drink.

“Hmmm.” I'm
dubious. I want to ask him if that's why he was late last night,
because he was out handling his animal needs with her.

“Cole,”
Locke warns. “Did you sleep with her?”

He shifts
uncomfortably. “A gentleman never kisses and tells.”

“Yeah, but you
are not a gentleman,” I accuse in a pinched tone.

“Truth.”
Locke tilts his head.

“Why is this even
a thing right now?” Cole huffs.

“Lili is my
friend, and if she's upset it bothers me. Honestly, I don't care
about whatever happened, as long as you didn't do anything to Lili.”
I hope I'm not as transparent as it sounded. I can't care. There's a
part of me that doesn't; it's more that I don't want what everyone
has been telling me about him to be true. I like thinking that he's a
gentleman and doesn't have any kind of ulterior motives.

“Hey, Locke, Lili
says that she can whoop your ass at a game of nine ball.” Kyle
pokes his head out the door.

“Oh really?”
Locke's competitive nature raises its ugly head. He starts to stand
up, but stops looking at both of us.

“Go ahead, whoop
her.” I smile. “We'll be fine.”

He eyes us with an air
of hopelessness. “You two be good.”

Cole and I are alone.
We sit in silence for a good long minute.

“Do you want to
know about Sheila?” he asks quietly.

“No, not really.”
I don't look him in the eye. “It's none of my business. You can
do what you want.”

Cole leans forward.
“Nothing happened between us.” He
tilts his head downward, trying to capture my gaze.

“I really don't
care,” I insist.

“But I don't want
you to think that what everyone says is true about me.”

“And what is
that? What is true about you, Cole?” I ask, defeated.

“That I'm your
friend and I value what we have.” His certain tone is
comforting.

“Okay, then,
that's all I need to know.” I finally look him in the eyes.
“Just as long as you never lie to me.”

“I would never
disrespect you with a lie.” His voice is soft and sweet. I want
nothing more than to fade into him. “I care too much about you
to lie to you.”

Those words warm my
heart in a profound way. “Thank you.”

Cole and I spend the
next hour just chatting about a little bit of everything, like how
his day went. Everyone comes back out to the porch and the lively
chatter fills the air.

“Oh my God, it's
two a.m.” Lili looks at her phone.

“What's up? Do
you have a date?” I ask her.

“I have work in
the morning and I really need to get going.” She gathers her
purse.

“Thanks for
coming,” I say, getting up to hug her.

“It was a blast.
I love porch nights.” She smiles, then whispers in my ear.
“Watch out for him. I see how he looks at you.”

“I'm fine, love
you babe!” I pull back from her.

“Love you too,”
she says and trots down the steps. I'm pretty sure that she's on
cloud nine since Brogan pretty much spent the entire night glued to
her.

One by one the boys all
go back into the house to play video games, pool, or ping pong until
it's just Cole and me again. The porch is quiet; I spear Cole with a
devilish look in my eyes. “Want to go for a run?”

He pulls his lips
slightly to the side. “No, but I'd love to go for a walk.”

“Hmm, okay.”
I get up from my seat, and Cole slings his backpack over his
shoulder.

We walk through the
woods to the clearing, talking about anything and everything mundane,
from Kyle's Fibonacci spiral in the latte to how to properly rattle
the controller when playing a video game. Some of it's a little lost
on me since I don't have time to game.

Cole is quiet for a
beat, then takes a breath. “You know that perfect heart Kyle
made?”

“Yeah.”

“That was my
latte,” he admits.

“Shut up.”
I swat his shoulder.

“No, it really
was.” He nods vehemently.

“I'm more shocked
that you drink lattes.” I pump my eyebrows.

“Ha ha, I can
enjoy a good cup of coffee.” He straightens his shoulders and
I'm reminded of how tall he is. “I enjoy some of the finer
things in life.”

“Good to know.
Like a good bottle of bourbon,” I tease.

“Or an even
better martini, but it has to be made right.” He glances
upward, and I'm sure he's imagining the perfect martini.

“I've never had a
martini.” I shrug. “I'm not a big drinker and I kind of
like the sweet girly drinks you make for me.”

“One day I'll
teach you how to make me the perfect martini, and you can have it
waiting for me.” He glances down at me, waiting for my
reaction.

Disappointment shrinks
him a little when I don't react. We reach the clearing and Cole pulls
a small blanket out of his pack, two glasses, and a bottle of
bourbon. I eye him curiously. “Have you got some cheese and
crackers in there, too?”

He raises a brow
impishly and says, “No, but if you like I saw a squirrel back
there that I'd be happy to kill, skin, and cook for you.”

“Um, yeah I'm
good.” I grimace at the thought of eating squirrel.

“The trick is
that you have to take the scent glands out right after you kill ‘em.”
He nods, “Dogs love to eat ‘em.”

I can't help but laugh
at the thought of him running after a squirrel, but then I realize
he's serious. “So you'd kill for me?” I ask, sitting down
on the blanket and arching one brow playfully.

He joins me and pours
two drinks, handing one to me. “Yes, I would.”

“Really?” I
pull my knees to my chest and gaze at the almost-full moon.

“Yes,” he
says, not looking at me, and the way he inhales tells me that he has
more to say, so I remain quiet. “There isn't much I wouldn't do
for you.”

“Would you kill
me?”

“If I had to,
yes.” He doesn't hesitate.

“Wow, really.”
It wasn't a question.

“If my aunt asked
me to kill you, I'd do it in a heartbeat.” He finishes,
“Because there isn't anything I wouldn't do for her.”

“Strong family
ties, then?” He's talked about her before, and I know he feels
very strongly.

“No, just strong
ties to her.” He lights a cigarette.

“Hmm.” I
watch as he inhales a puff; he's so much more captivating than the
moon. We sit in silence for several minutes, just enjoying being
here, close to one another but always so careful
not to touch. There's something in both of us that knows if we
do, something beautiful and dreadful awaits us. Just being this near
to him is enough; I can smell him and practically taste him on my
lips when I moisten them.

I break the silence.
“So what do you choose: a man who will
kill for you, or a man who would die for
you?”

He seemingly stops
breathing, and looks me square in the eye with a deadly seriousness.
“Both.”

I nod at the truth in
that. “But does that exist in our life?” I ask with an
edge of sadness.

He looks back to the
moon. “It does.”

His eyes sparkle in the
pale light. We say nothing for a long time; we don't need to.

A few times I catch him
stealing glances at me and we exchange silly grins. He looks down at
me and smiles sweetly. “For you.”

I'm confused, not
knowing what he's talking about. Cole moves his hand in a wide spiral
motion in front of him. The subtle sound of fluttering fills the air,
and what seems like millions of butterflies come up from nowhere,
making a Fibonacci spiral around the moon. They are iridescent,
shimmering purple that lights the darker parts of the sky with their
color and trail of lilac sparkling dust falling from them as they
fly. I suck in an amazed breath. “Oh,” is all I can
muster.

The corners of his
mouth pull up in a satisfied smile. “You like?”

I nod, unsure of how to
react. I've never seen anything like this. “Cole, it's
beautiful.”

His smile intensifies,
and now I feel like all those butterflies are spiraling out of
control in my stomach. “How did you do that?”

“Magic.” He
empties his glass of bourbon and sets it onto the blanket. He takes
to his feet, facing away from the moon. I look up at him expectantly,
trying to figure out what he's doing.

He leans down, picking
up his backpack. “I have killed for you, and I die for you
every day that I don't touch you.” He walks away.

“Cole?” He
doesn't answer.

“Watch the
sunrise with me?” I ask with desperation in my voice.

“Not today.”
He disappears into the tree line.

Full
moon tonight. We're on edge; we always are. The boys are setting up
their computers in their respective rooms. I'm preparing the potion
Brogan will take tonight to see if it helps with the urge to shift.
It's not perfect; it isn't the cure. But if I can find the formula to
keep them from shifting on the full moon, I can stop anyone else from
getting moon-touched.

“Hey there, boss.
I'm ready.” Brogan bounces on the balls of his feet, obviously
a bundle of nerves. “Is this going to taste like shit?”

“I don't think
it's going to taste great, but I don't think it will be
shit-flavored.” I offer a tight smile.

“Don't be a
pussy, just drink it.” Trevor bumps his shoulder as he walks
by.

“Don't call me a
pussy, asshole,” Brogan snaps.

“Guys, cut it
out. This is hard enough on all of us. Claire doesn't need us
fighting.” Locke walks up to me and puts his hands on my
shoulders. “Are you ready?”

I push out a hard-won
smile. “Yeah, as ready as I'll ever be.”

He wraps his arms
around me. “Thank you, Claire.”

“You’re welcome.” I squeeze him tightly.

It's part of our ritual
to essentially say goodbye without actually saying it. We never know
if this will be the cycle that one of them breaks out and becomes
moon-touched. We also never know if I'll get the call and have to
leave them while I go on a hunt. That has happened more than once.

An electric spark jolts
me, and I feel Cole before I smell or hear him. His heavy boots on
the wooden stairs make so much noise. A sigh of relief escapes me. He
came. I'm going to be able to keep him safe tonight. For now, I have
the potential of having one more month with him in my life.

The urge to run to him
and throw my arms around him is nearly irresistible. “So glad
you decided to join us.” I smile up at him as he comes down the
stairs, skipping the broken one.

“Well, someone
said there would be video games and booze. I'm in.” He reaches
the bottom step and stands in front of me awkwardly, then leans down,
saying quietly, “I haven't forgotten that I need to fix that
step.”

“Hey man, I'm
really glad you're here.” Locke greets him, patting his
shoulder. “Come with me, you can put your stuff down.”

“Oh, about the
booze...” There's warning in my tone. “You guys don't get
to drink.”

Cole looks to Rabbit.
“You said there would be booze.”

“I said there
would be booze. I didn't say we could drink it.” Rabbit puts
his hand to his mouth. “Did I forget to mention that part?”

“Yeah, you did.”
He looks at me as though I'll give in.

“Don't look at
me, I'm not going to let you have any. I'm the one that has to keep
you in, and I'd rather not be fighting a drunk wolf.” I shrug,
sizing him up. Even with my heightened strength, Cole would still be
a hard wolf to take down.

“Okay, okay,
don't put the dogs in the kennel just yet.” Aunt Rain makes her
way down. “I haven't kissed you all
goodnight.”

“Dogs?”
Cole is offended by her words.

Aunt Rain gives him a
look of warning, hugging him. “Don't you sass me, boy.”

“Yes ma'am.”
He shrinks back.

“Good answer, and
from one of our more troubled pups.” She puts her hand on his
face. “You're getting better.”

“I'm trying.”
He smiles.

“Are we all set?”
Locke asks, looking at his watch.