Moon Crossed (Werewolf Hunter Series): Season 1 (Episodes 1-6) (Crescent Hunter) (62 page)

Forty-two days

“Are
you ready?” Hayden's tone is heavy with grief. He looks so put
together in his black suit. I wonder if Aunt Rain ever saw him
dressed up.

The tears pooling in my
eyes spill over. “No.” It comes out a whisper as I press
my lips in a thin line “But let's go.”

Ben puts his arm around
my shoulder. “We're here for you.”

I nod, squeezing my
eyes shut and pushing more tears down my cheeks. “I know.”

“We all are.”
Zane offers me a kind smile.

They don't want me feel
this misery, but it's all I can feel. Their warm thoughts of healing
can't penetrate my sorrow.

Ben's thoughts run
rampant in his own head, but I can hear him.
Even in sadness
you're so strong. I want to wipe those tears, take the sadness
from your heart, and swallow it so you don't have to feel it.

I tilt my head, forcing
a smile at Ben. “Thank you.”

“For what?”
His expression curious.

“For being my
friend.” It's hard to look anyone in the eye; unconsciously, I
look down.

Ben steps in closer and
dries the tears from my cheek. “Always.”

Hayden takes my hand.
“It's time.”

Ben takes my other hand
and they lead me out the kitchen door and onto the porch. Trevor's
sobs fill the air with a somber song. This is going to be a very
difficult day.

Hayden insisted we have
a memorial service for Aunt Rain. I'm glad the boys are here; they
all loved her, and she loved them and would want them here.

Standing outside the
fence of the graveyard is a group of thirty or so hunters; some I
recognize, some I don't. Dugan and Mariah are here with members of
their pack. Most of them are familiar to me.

The boys are already in
the graveyard, gathered around Aunt Rain's grave marker where I
buried her ashes. They are all so handsome, wearing black suits with
their hands folded in front of them and their heads hung.

The sound of my
footsteps on the stairs echoes inside my head like the beating of a
thousand drums. Locke turns toward us. Hayden and Ben are on either
side of me and Zane is following behind. We enter the graveyard; I
take the position opposite the boys and look at each of them one by
one.

Kyle’s cheeks
always turn a splotchy red when he cries, and today is no exception.
His tears are quietly falling. He forces a longing smile. “I'm
so sorry, Claire.”

With my lips tight, I
nod.

Rabbit's expression is
soft and loving, as always. He has a different view of death than the
rest of us. Not that I don't think he'll miss Aunt Rain, but he's
better at handling things like this. He nods, offering a consoling
smile.

Tor stands at
attention, very stiff, his head held high. He's using every bit of
strength to not break down completely. Emily has her hands on his
shoulders, being supportive. Tor and I exchange a look and his
expression softens momentarily. It's how he expresses his pain for
our loss.

Trevor is a mess,
convulsing with grief to the rhythm of his wailing. He's rocking with
his hand laid flat over the freshly turned earth. I can't help him; I
can barely stand to look at him.

Locke.

His strength is
enduring, though I feel the anguish churning in his heart. Briefly,
we exchange a pained glance. Even though he's not standing with me,
having him here will get me through this. I could never do it without
him.

The spot next to Locke
is noticeably vacant. Part of me knows that Cole should be standing
there. But he's not.

Hayden gently puts his
hand on my back. “Claire? Did you want to get started?”

Sucking in a gulp of
air, praying I can quiet my tears long enough to get through this, I
clear my throat. “Everyone, thank you so much for coming today
to honor Rain O'Conlon. She was a formidable woman with a kind
heart.” I pause because I can't for the life of me remember
what I rehearsed. It's gone from my mind. Hoping to find something to
say, I try to draw something from all of the people I see here who
are paying their respects.

“As I look around
I see so many faces, hunters and wolf-borne alike. She touched all of
our lives in some profound way.” I look at the wolf-borne that
are here. “She took in more orphaned or lost wolves than I can
even count. You filled her life with incredible joy; you were a part
of who she was. She listened to your hopes, dreams, and sadness.
Counseled you and always tried to point you in the right direction.
She loved all of you as though you were her children. Her soul. Her
life.”

“If you came to
her house and left hungry, it was your own fault.” A whisper of
laughter falls over the crowd. “She would've given the shirt
off her back for any of you, regardless of who you were.”

Heads are nodding in
agreement.

“She was also a
tough old bitch.” A big smile crosses my lips as I remember how
frightening she was when angered. “She scared the crap out of
me sometimes.”

Locke smiles,
remembering. “She was also funny. She dealt with a lot of crap
from all of us and loved us all just the same.”

Shifting my gaze to
Tor, I say, “Remember when you first started shifting and you
marked the furniture in the house?”

Tor's stern look
softens to a smile as his face floods with color. “I steam
cleaned all of that,” he says defensively.

“And you, Locke,
when you first got your license and she caught you speeding down the
road like a madman?”

His eyes widen. “I've
never been so terrified in my life.”

“Rabbit.” I
think better of revealing his indiscretion. “Well, you
remember.”

“Yes, I do,”
he says with a smile. “I'm with Locke; I nearly pissed myself.”

“Kyle, I don't
think she's ever been angry with you, just always very concerned.
After you moved out of her house, I think she called me four or five
times a day asking if I'd checked up on you.”

Kyle's tears intensify
and he has something to say, but can't through his tears.

“The point is,
she loved you all. She would have sacrificed herself for any of you.
She raised Trevor and me as though we were her own children. I never
felt a lack of love growing up with her.”

I'm not sure if I can
continue. Trevor's weeping reaches a crescendo; I want nothing more
than to go to him, wrap my arms around him to comfort both of us.
Throw away my anger and try to soothe his pain, but my hatred is too
raw.

“But the one
thing she gave us all,” I say, motioning my arms around to
everyone in attendance, “is her wisdom. She never claimed to
know everything or be able to solve every problem, but she was
willing to try.”

I have to take a moment
of composure. “She and I certainly had our differences.”
I think of all the things she kept hidden from me. “When things
were particularly difficult and she did the wrong thing, she couldn't
fix it. But she had this to say: 'You all put me on a pedestal of
being perfect. Well I'm not. You call me The Wizard.' She looked at
me with pained eyes, feeling stripped of her wisdom. 'You have to
realize that sometimes, like The Wizard, I'm just as lost and just as
far from home as Dorothy was.'”

I have to take another
moment, recognizing how strained things were between us and how I
wish I'd done things differently.

“Her dying words
were of love and kindness. That we must all know mercy.” The
deluge opens up and I can't control it anymore. My body begins to
shake with despair.

Trevor looks up at me
with red-ringed eyes. “I'm so sorry, Claire. I'm so sorry.”

He tries to get up but
can't. Locke looks at me, pleading, then helps Trevor up. They start
toward me and I shoot Locke a look of warning and tighten my grip on
Ben's hand.

Claire, he needs
you.
Locke's voice sounds in my head. I stare daggers at him. I
want to be selfish, to yell and scream at him for what he did, how he
ripped her heart out of her chest. He killed her, he took her life
from her, he took her from me. She will never feel anything ever
again, or know the bliss she and Hayden could have had together. He
stole all of that from her, and I hate him for it.

My head moves back and
forth when Trevor reaches for me. Locke whispers to me, “What
would Rain have wanted?”

I hate Locke for saying
it. I know she would want me to forgive him, console him. But I feel
like the hole he tore in me when he killed her will never heal. I may
be able to forgive him for what he did to her, but I'll never be able
to forgive him for what he did to me.

My hand falls from
Ben's, and I circle my arms around Trevor, holding him.

Hayden whispers in my
ear with a hint of approval, “Know mercy.”

All of the boys gather
around Trevor and me, forming a wall of love. Here is my pack,
mourning the loss of our matriarch, the last of our innocence, and
the life we once had together.

Sixty-seven days

At
the funeral, I had a spark of hope that the boys would come back. But
like all of my hopes, it's been dashed. Locke texted me once to check
on me and Tor stopped by, but didn't stay for very long. I'm thankful
for that. I miss them, and with Aunt Rain being gone, things are
just...hard.

A knock on the back
door pulls me away from staring into my empty coffee cup. “Hayden,
come in.”

He sits at the kitchen
table, looking like he hasn't slept in days. “How are you?”

“I'm fine.”
Lies. “How are you holding up?”

“Fine.”
More lies.

“What's up?”
It's cool if he just needed some company.

“Things are
getting worse.” He rests his head in his hands. “Not just
in Chattahoochee.”

“I've heard.”
I blow out a breath. “You know I'm good to go back out on
patrol.”

He looks up at me with
warning. “Claire, I don't think you're ready.”

“I am. Being in
here is driving me nuts.” I get up from the table and pour more
coffee. “Short drive, I know, but still...coffee?”

“Please.”
He sits back in his chair. “I'm just worried about sending you
out so soon after Rain.”

“Seriously. I'm
good.” I put both cups on the table.

Zane walks in with a
look of surprise. “Hey, Hayden.” He turns to me. “You
still up? Or up early?”

“Still up.”
My head hangs at the admission.

They both give me a
judgmental stare. “What? I was in the lab.”

“Are you getting
anywhere?” Hayden needs some hope.

“Yes, actually.”
I lean forward, excited with my news. “I'm pretty sure that
hybrids can't be infected.”

“What?”
Hayden widens his eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Well, no.”
I lace my tone with warning. “Not one hundred percent.”

“How sure are
you?” Zane sits at the table, interested.

“I'd say ninety
five percent.” I nod.

“What brought you
to this conclusion?” Hayden questions.

“I already knew
that Trevor reacted differently than Brogan did after taking the
potion. Which got me to thinking that maybe there was something to
that.”

“Okay, go on.”
Hayden rolls his hands.

I take a deep breath.
“I started playing around with different scenarios and how
hybrid blood reacts as opposed to pure breed blood. In every single
case it reacts differently.” I feel the need to reiterate that
piece of information.

“Okay.”
Hayden waits for me to continue.

“Because I lack
the proper equipment to really do some of this right, I'm having to
hypothesize and get creative.” A little pat on my own back. “I
decided that since I can't actually test whether I can infect a
hybrid with the moon-touch, I would do the next best thing and figure
out how many hybrids I've killed that had it.”

He stares at me, his
gears turning. “So?”

Zane tilts his head.
“There weren't any.”

I put my finger on my
nose, excited about this finding. “You got it!”

“This makes
sense.” Hayden looks more troubled than pleased.

“What's with the
look?” Immediately, my spirits are dampened.

“This would
explain why Pike has been 'collecting' hybrids.” He pulls his
lips into a thin line.

“And why he's
rented lab space up in Ellijay,” I say in a whisper. It's all
coming together.

“Do you think
it's possible he's working on a cure?” Zane suggests. Hayden
and I exchange a disappointed look.

“I seriously
doubt that.” Hayden taps his cup on the table.

“I'm going to
keep testing, but I need more samples.” I look directly at
Hayden. “Do you think you can get some hunters to start
collecting blood samples from their kills?”

“I'm sure I can.”
He nods.

“Good, now when
can I get back out there?” I finish my coffee, getting up from
the table.