Moon Crossed (Werewolf Hunter Series): Season 1 (Episodes 1-6) (Crescent Hunter) (36 page)

“Why not?”
I challenge, and know that I sound like a belligerent child.

“You are giving
yourself up to stop bloodshed. If you go with them now, you are
setting a dangerous precedent.” Hayden shakes his head. “It
won't stop with you and will only end with the last hunter.”

He's right; a knowing
look comes over the crowd.

I nod at Hayden with
understanding and hang my head. “Then we fight.”

Ben takes my hand.
“Stay close to me.”

I shake my head. “Just
shift.”

The hoard of sixty or
more wolves leap from the woods, attacking hunters at the outermost
tables. They have only their magic and their hands to fight with.
Several hunters and wolves have rallied around me and created a wall
of protection. My first instinct is to get away from them so that I
can fight uninhibited, but I realize the importance of my survival
right now.

“Weapons.”
I move toward the porch where the bags of weapons are being emptied
out by other hunters.

“Claire!”
Rain throws a kukri in my direction. I study it quickly to determine
whether or not it's silver; it is.

The smell of the first
blood being spilled reaches my nostrils. It's hunter blood. I look
toward the smell. “Healers!” With my poor healing track
record of late, I know that I'm better off fighting than healing. I
run toward the three injured hunters and yell even louder to be heard
over the cacophony of battle. “Healers, we have three hunters
down.”

Ben hasn't left my
side, and I still have a detail of four other wolves. He shifts to
human form. “Claire, we need to get you out of here.”

“No, I'll agree
with Hayden about surrendering, but I won't run from this fight.”
I pierce him with a hard stare.

He shakes his head.
“You are incredibly stubborn.”

“Yes, I am. Now
let's fight.” I hold my kukri at the ready and launch into the
broil.

I'm caught off guard
from behind as a wolf jumps onto my back. I feel his teeth sink into
my shoulder and scream out in pain, falling backward, landing on him.
I reach around, stabbing him hard in the head with the kukri. His jaw
releases and I get up, taking only a moment to look at the wound.

Aunt Rain is fighting
off two wolves alone. “Ben, get over there.”

He shakes his head, but
barks at Christian and Harrison. They get to her before me. I slash
my way to her, trying to only disable the wolves. Only a direct stab
to the heart will kill them permanently. That's not what I want;
there has to be as few casualties as we can manage.

The thunder of the
clashing weapons meeting flesh disturbs me beyond words. I want to
weep, looking around and seeing wolf fighting wolf and hunters
fighting wolves who are not moon-touched. It affects my soul in a
profound and hurtful way. I feel like a part of me is dying inside.
I'm covered in sweat and blood; I've just smeared more blood across
my forehead, wiping the sweat from my brow. The agonizing screams
will haunt me for years to come, along with the battle cries of man
and the snarling of wolves. There has to be some way that I can stop
this. Something has to give, something has to change. Pike has to be
stopped. He has to die.

It hits me. If I kill
Pike, then this all ends.

Cole's presence
permeates through my entire body, stopping me with a jolt. A sharp
pain radiates across my back. Spinning around, I slice at the closest
wolf, feeling the burning agony radiating through me. The wolf goes
down, and my anger needs to be checked, since I want to bury my knife
in his chest and end him. My father's words waft through my mind, as
though he's speaking directly to me in this moment; it feels and
sounds like a haunted dream. “No mercy, Claire.”

With both hands on the
handle of my knife, I raise it above my head to finish the wolf. I
look into his eyes that are glowing golden and speaking to me,
pleading for his life without use of a single word. My demeanor
softens; I just can't. Lowering my knife to my side, I continue
toward where I saw Aunt Rain last.

“Ben, where's my
aunt?” I yell over the chaos of sound.

He throws his head to
the right, and I see her with two wolves on her as she's trying to
protect a healing group. My eyes are still scanning for Cole; I can
feel him, but haven't seen him.

I get to Aunt Rain and
put a deep gash in the wolf on the left, disabling her. The other
wolf turns to me, full of malice for hurting his mate. He jumps, but
Ben intercepts his attack. I put the wolf in a headlock and break his
neck, knowing that he'll heal.

“Are you okay?”
I breathe out through pants of exhaustion.

Aunt Rain is covered in
scratches, blood, and dirt. She shakes her head, “I'm okay.”
Her expression is pained and she looks down at one of the hunters no
one is trying to heal.

“We have to heal
her.” I drop down to my knees. “Ben, help me. Get
Christian and Serena to cover us.”

I try to channel my
healing energy into her, but feel no life force in her. I look up at
Aunt Rain with questioning eyes.

She shakes her head.
“She's gone. It's too late; she bled out.”

Tears blur my vision;
this can't be. “No.” It rides out on a pained whisper.
She couldn't be more than fifteen years old. “No more. One
casualty is too many.”

Aunt Rain lowers her
head. “She's not the only one.” She lifts her gaze,
scanning the yard.

There are at least four
other hunters lying unattended, dead.

“No more.”
Fire fills my being. “This son of a bitch is done.”

“Claire, no!”
Aunt Rain calls after me.

“This has to be
done.” I pick up a silver sword and hold it in my right hand,
switching the kukri to my left.

Pike is much larger
than most of the other wolves; finding him is easy. Several wolves
come at me from both sides. Ben, Christian, and Serena are keeping
most of them off me, but I'm swatting the others away with ease,
using my magic.

I get within ten feet
of Pike, and stop to muster my resolve and let the hatred brew to
stave off any hesitation that I may have. I intend to land a killing
blow straight to his twisted heart. Taking several short breaths
until I feel the strength flowing through me like boiling acid, all
sound falls away as I look him directly in the eye. He squares off
with me and snarls his lip in delight at the chance to kill me. I'll
be walking away from this, but he won't. Inhaling a final breath, I
start toward him. Cole, in wolf form, jumps in front of me. His
ghostly blue eyes are riddled with pain and conflict.

“Cole, I've got
this. Get out of the way.” I never take my eyes off of Pike.

He shakes his head from
side to side, looking back at Pike, then me, standing his ground
between us. It dawns on me that he's protecting Pike, not me. “Cole?”

Pike snorts loudly in
delight at my shock. Cole hangs his head as Pike starts toward me. I
fortify my stance and raise my weapons. Cole challenges Pike,
stopping him in his tracks. Pike gives Cole a warning nip, but Cole
stands his ground, growling.

Pike jumps on him, and
I'm conflicted as to whether I should help. He was stopping me, but
he must have had his reasons.

Pike pins him down, and
as if in slow motion, I see him open is mouth to go for Cole's
throat. I push him off and Cole submits to Pike, lowering his head.

The fighting has calmed
to one or two other dwindling skirmishes; wolves are retreating into
the trees. Hunters are trying to heal the wounded.

I try to process what
I'm seeing, what's happening with Cole, and realize that Pike is his
alpha. How could this be? Why has he never mentioned it? Is this what
Lex was talking about?

I find Aunt Rain in the
crowd. She's healing other hunters. The smell of death and betrayal
overwhelms my senses.

Cole's eyes meet mine,
full of pain, as though he's just been stabbed in the heart, a mirror
image of what he must see in my own. At a loss for what to do, I do
what I know. I run, dropping the short sword, but keeping the kukri.

As I get further away
from Hayden's and away from wolves, I feel my speed and strength
dwindle slightly, but I'm still fast and strong. I run until I come
to the creek on my land, and drop down to my knees, tears streaming
down my face in a deluge.

Cupping my hands to
draw water to clean myself, I try to rub the blood stains from my
skin. I know that they will never come out of my clothes.

Red droplets of blood
fall into the water, spreading and undulating in a harrowing ballet,
a reminder of death. I splash water on my face; when I open my eyes,
the water in the brook is running red.

Where is it coming
from? I look upstream and see the shape of a wolf in the darkness.
The feeling of Cole's presence never left me; he was close the whole
time. When I get to him, he is unmoving. His fur is mottled and
matted with dirt and blood. His skin is torn and ravaged by another
wolf.

“Cole?” I
call quietly at first, hoping he'll move. “Cole!” This
time I scream it frantically when he doesn't respond. Okay, Claire,
focus, focus. I channel my healing energy directly into his wounds.
The bleeding is so heavy, not even his healing power is slowing it.
If he bleeds out, he dies. He's not healing fast enough. I peel my
shirt off for a makeshift compress. “Cole, please.” Tears
free-fall down my cheeks, each one leaving a permanent footprint on
my soul. I press my hands to the largest wound on his side and
visualize peaceful images, but I'm having a hard time.

I start screaming, “God
Damnit, Cole, heal! Heal!” I look at my hands, covered in
blood, and really lose it. I'm becoming hysterical, crying and
yelling; the only focus is the pain of losing him, and he lays still,
unmoving.

The presence of another
wolf is apparent. I don't care who it is; I immediately start using
his energy, trying to heal Cole. The other wolf sits beside me,
nuzzling his head into my armpit. I turn to see that it's Ben. A cool
wind blows through me; it smells like rain.

I put my arm around his
neck and plead in the most pathetic voice I've heard, “Help
me.” My entire body is shaking with grief as I feel the life
force leaving Cole. I want to swallow it, put it all inside me so
that I will never lose the feeling of him being near me. I have to
stop it; he can't die.

Cole should be healing
on his own, but he isn't. This shouldn't kill him, but it is. Thunder
rumbles in the distance; the deep blue sky is lit with streaks of
lightening. Is this it? Is the last moment we have together? If it
is, I don't want to live another moment, only this one, and then die.

Ben shifts into human
form, combining his hands with mine on Cole's wound in his chest.
“Pike shifted,” he says, almost too quietly to be heard
over the wind.

“What does that
mean?” I don't want to believe what I think he's implying.

“He stabbed him.”
Ben's words are barely audible.

My entire being sinks,
as though my soul is about to leave my body to join Cole's at the
thought of his heart being pierced by silver. I shake my head and
start screaming again, in concert with a loud crack of thunder. I
push Ben away. “No, get away. I'll heal him, make him better,
I'll bring him back.”

I have to do something,
even if it's just hold him. “Get out of here!” I screech
at Ben, startling him.

“I don't want to
leave you, Claire.” His tone is sympathetic.

“I said go.”
I grit my teeth and pull Cole's body onto my lap protectively.

“Claire, please.”

“I'll kill you
myself if you don't leave.” Lightning reveals the seriousness
in my eyes.

Ben turns, walking
away. I'm sure he won't go far, but far enough that I can beg and
plead for Cole's life in private. Make whatever deal with the devil
that I have to for him to live. Whatever it takes, even if I have to
hand my own life over.

Fat rain drops begin to
fall, stinging my wounds. The rain is cold and cruel, like this world
where I was never meant to love him. But I do. The water pounds on
us, wetting Cole's coat. I focus every last bit of energy I have into
him, praying to be struck by lightning just to have more power to
give to him. I would sacrifice my life to save his. “Please!”
I cry out to anyone who will listen.

“Cole, I'm
begging you,” I cry, even though he can't hear me.
Unintelligible utterances of emotion are spilling from my lips as
sobs crash against my chest, making it nearly impossible for me to
breathe. “God, please God, don't let him die.”

A series of painful
images plays on a reel in my mind. My father wailing over the body of
a wolf, watching pieces of his being breaking away as her soul leaves
her dying body. Holding her to him, pleading with the gods for
forgiveness.

Then me, trying to hold
my father's spirit inside his body, much like I'm doing now with
Cole. My father's pained expression as he took his last breaths. “I
love you, mo chrois.” His voice wafts through my mind.

“No. This will
not
happen.” The anguish in my voice wilts the flowers
around us, as though my grief is too heavy for them to bear.

Cole lays motionless; I
press my face into his dirty coat, letting my tears mix with the
rain. “Please Cole, I love you. I need you. Don't you dare make
me live without you.” My begging is pathetic, and I don't care
who hears it or knows it. “Cole,” I whisper. “I can
feel myself dying without you already.” My body begins to feel
weak as I make one last pathetic plea. “Please.” I
squeeze him tighter and feel him twitch. I muster all of the magic
left in me and direct it into his wounded heart.

Slowly he shifts from
wolf to human form: what a normal wolf does when he dies. Despair
cuts through me like a jagged blade. “No, please no.”