Moon Crossed (Werewolf Hunter Series): Season 1 (Episodes 1-6) (Crescent Hunter) (37 page)

He moves under me
slightly and lifts his head to look at me. I inhale what feels like
the first breath I've ever taken. “Cole?”

“Claire,”
he sputters out; there's wonder in his eyes as he looks upon my face.
My sorrow changes to elation that he's alive. Without thinking, I
crash my mouth over his, hungry to feel the treasured breath that
passes through his lips. A golden light surrounds us; all of our
wounds heal. The spot on his chest where the blade went in closes
under my hand. We gaze into each other's eyes, lost forever in our
forbidden love. The warmth from the golden light warms me from head
to toe and energizes both of us. It's as though there was no battle,
no exhaustion. I lean down and kiss him again, our passion like a
wildfire in the wind. He responds as our tongues dance and tease. I
nip at his full bottom lip, pulling it into my mouth, gently sucking,
kissing. My fingers dance lightly on his skin, running up and down
his strong chest. I want to drink in every last bit of him, taste
him, swallow him whole.

My fingers tangle in
his hair, and he wraps his arms around me, holding me, caressing the
small of my back. His rough hands rake across my back tenderly,
leaving a hot trail. Waves of euphoria roll over my body as he holds
me, freely enjoying the tenderness and intimacy of our skin touching.

“Promise me.”
I run my lips gently down his neck to his shoulders.

“Promise you
what?” He breathes out in a deep grumble.

“That if we do
this, you will still be my friend.” The tremble of fear in my
voice makes me sound small. I don't want this to change things
between us.

“I will always be
your friend, now and forever.” He inhales a deep contemplative
breath. “I Promise.”

Cole pulls back and
pushes a stray strand of hair out of my face. “Claire?”
He whispers it. It has every intent in the world: from apprehension,
to lust, to wonder, to need. My whole being stills, waiting for him
to speak again. Our gazes locked, like our souls, in this moment of
reprieve. This is our chance to be together. It may be our only
chance; but I need it, he needs it. There's no question that I want
to be with him, that I want to feel him inside me, to be close enough
to him that I can envelope him with my spirit and being.

“I love you.”
He gently pulls me to his lips before I can answer. Our bodies tangle
in a beautiful dance and our souls touch as we become one being, one
creature.

This fire will burn angrily
on the remorse of denial. Let it burn away the hurt, make room for
something divine in our souls.

So when this flame becomes
nothing more than a drifting ember there will be something profound
left.

A
cool breeze whisks across my skin. I stir and cuddle closer into
Cole. His body shifts, wrapping his arms tighter around me
protectively. Pinks, purples, and reds streak the sky, ushering in
the sunrise. I run my fingers lightly across his chest, eliciting a
satisfied smile.

“Morning.”
His voice is hoarse from just waking up.

“Morning.”
I tilt my head upward, admiring his features. He blesses me with a
smile and slowly opens his eyes; they are more brilliant than the
sunrise. I never want to look away.

“You know the
worst part of this whole werewolf thing has to be that I can't carry
my cigarettes with me.” He laughs a little, but I know that
he's serious.

“Sorry, sucks for
you.” I giggle and pull myself up, playfully licking his nose.

He shakes his head,
smiling. “Nah, I'll be okay.” He looks down, studying me
with a lascivious grin. “Nice bra. I like the lace.”

My face blossoms with
the deepest shade of red in existence at the realization that we are
both mostly naked. I pull my arms to my chest, trying to cover
myself. Gently, he takes my wrists, pulling them down. “Why
would you do that? You're beautiful. I like seeing you like this.”

“Like what? A
complete wreck?” I can't look him in the eye.

“No, in my arms,
comfortable, happy.” With his finger under my chin, he tilts my
head upward. “Don't ever hide from me.” There's hurt
lurking in his tone.

I nod; it's all I can
do. Our spirits are completely entwined. This is supposed to be.

He brands me with a
probing look. “You hear me?”

I didn't realize that
he wanted an answer. “Yes, sir.”

“Good, I could
never hide from those eyes.” He shakes his head, as though
revealing that weakness pains him. “Ever.”

We lay in silence,
holding each other. he tickles my arm and hip, running his fingers
lightly along my curves until the sun has completely risen. I blow
out a regretful breath. “You know–”

“I know. We
should get back,” he finishes for me.

“I'm still trying
to process what the hell happened last night.” I shake my head.

A lewd smile crosses
his lips. “Well...”

“I know
that
,”
I say, turning around and pressing my lips lightly on his. “I
mean with the...” I stop and remember last night. “Cole?”

“Yeah?” he
says, kissing my neck.

“What
did
happen last night...with us.” I'm searching the memory because
something profound transpired.

He opens his eyes all
the way. “I'm not really sure.”

“I think you
died.” I hardly believe my own words.

“I don't –”
He stops to think. “I really don't
remember. I remember being at the gathering and fighting with...”
He trails off.

“Your heart was
pierced with a silver sword.” I squint my eyes and run my
fingers along the pink scar in the center of his chest.

“It must not have
been silver.” He shakes his head in disbelief.

“It was, and I
felt your spirit leaving your body.” Grief falls heavy in my
eyes.

“How could you
have felt that?” His tone is laced with doubt.

“Because my
spirit was being tugged with it.” My voice is small and quiet.

He tightens his arms
around me. “Please don't ever do that.”

“Do what?”

“Die for me.”
He pinches his eyes shut at the thought.

“I would,”
I say with resolve.

He unfurls himself,
leaving me cold. “I'm not worth it.”

“Maybe you think
you aren't worth it. But I don't want to
imagine what my life would be without you.” There's a pleading
resonance. “I'm better with you. However I can have you.”

“Don't ever base
your self-worth on me.” He sits up, turning away.

With my hand on his
shoulder, I say, “Cole, for the first time in my life, I feel
like I want a future.”

“There's no
future with me.” He shakes his head.

“I know that.”
I find my shirt and shorts, putting them on to feel less vulnerable.
My shirt is a mess with Cole's blood; I'd almost rather not wear
anything at all. “I don't have any illusions that we do have a
future together. Just a friendship that will last forever.” I
scoot to where he is and put my arm around his large frame as best I
can. “You promised.”

“Nothing lasts
forever.” He stands up, shaking me off. “We should get
back. I'm surprised they haven't sent out a search party looking for
you.”

“I'm sure they
have.” I blow out a breath, knowing that he's right.

“I'll walk you
home.” He takes my hand in his.

The presence of other
wolves comes over me. “Someone's coming.”

“Shit.” He
breathes out when he sees who it is. “Double shit.”

“Claire?”
Ki comes into view.

I go to him, throwing
my arms around him. “I'm so glad you're okay.”

“We've all been
worried about you,” Ki says, looking past me at Cole. “What
happened to you last night? Were you hurt?”

“No, we're fine.”
I look down at my shirt. “We healed.”

“You were able to
heal?” he asks cautiously, eyeing Cole again.

“Actually yeah,
it was crazy.” I inhale a breath to start describing what
happened, and then think better of it.

“Claire!”
Locke comes through the trees and hugs me. “Thank God you're
okay.”

My eyes roll at the
dramatics. “I'm fine.” I squirm away from him.

Locke and Ki exchange a
glance, then stare at Cole. He looks like he's in front of a firing
squad. “I was in wolf form.” He says defensively,
addressing his nudity.

Locke slips the straps
of a backpack off his shoulder and throws it to Cole. “There
are sweats in there.”

“Thanks, man.”
He digs in the bag and gets dressed.

We're about to get a
lecture
. Cole's voice wafts through my mind.

Do you suppose they
are going to divide and conquer?
I ask.

One way to make sure
they don't.
He sneakily raises an eyebrow at me.

How?

Don't let them.
A devilish grin blooms reaching his eyes.

Deal,
I answer.

I start walking toward
the house. “I need a shower.”

Cole catches up to me.
“I'll walk with you.”

“I can take her
home,” Locke says, taking position on the opposite side.

I look back at Ki and
pull my lips to the side, as if to say “really?”

Ki nods. “We all
love you, Claire.”

“Love you too.”
I purse my lips. “But I'm capable of getting myself home.”

“I want to talk
about what happened,” Ki calls after me.

My glow is doused,
remembering that something really terrible happened last night.

“Yeah, I want a
final count on how many we lost.” I keep walking.

“I'm not sure why
I wasn't there,” Locke says with irritation.

“Aunt Rain just
asked me to come. It was supposed to be a hunter meeting.”

“Yes, but I
should have been there. Besides,
he
was there.” Locke
tips his head toward Cole.

It occurs to me that
Cole
was
there. I'm not exactly sure
why. I look up at him. “Yeah, why
were you there?”

“Later.”
His tone is short.

We all continue walking
in silence for a few minutes before Cole speaks. “I'm going to
head home and get cleaned up. I'll come by later, okay?”

“Sure.” I
want to kiss him goodbye, but I settle for a hug.

Hurry back
, I
tell him silently.

I will.
He
smiles, pulling away from the hug. He slips off the sweats, tosses
them to Locke, and shifts into wolf form. He looks back at me for a
moment, and there's something undiscernible in his eyes.

Locke holds the pants
with a sour look on his face. When Cole is out of site, Locke and Ki
both bore into me with a stare. I start walking again, because I
really don't want to deal with this.

“What happened
with him, Claire?” Locke accuses.

“Nothing. He was
hurt, and I healed him.” I'm such a terrible liar.

“That's all?”
Ki asks with a dubious inflection.

“Yup.” I
think for a moment, really wanting to figure out what happened.
“Actually...”

Both of their eyes
widen; they remain silent so that I can continue. “Something
strange happened.”

Ki pinches his eyes
shut. “What?”

“I have to get
confirmation on this, but Ben told me that Cole's heart was pierced
with silver.” I pause, trying to figure out how best to
describe the scene.

“What?”
Locke gasps.

“Yeah, but I was
able to heal him.” I shake my head, bewildered.

“How?” Ki
asks.

“I don't know.”
I really don't. “I need to talk to Aunt Rain.”

“Explain exactly
what happened,” Ki says slowly.

“I'll tell you at
the house. I only want to tell the story once.” I continue
walking.

“Claire, what
else happened with him?” Locke asks quietly.

“Locke...”
I shake my head.

“I'm just worried
about you.” He puts his arm around me. “I'm worried about
both of you, really.”

“We're fine,”
I insist. “I'm going to run ahead and get a shower.” I
don't wait for their approval.