Moon Crossed (Werewolf Hunter Series): Season 1 (Episodes 1-6) (Crescent Hunter) (73 page)

Every sensation I've
ever felt in my life pales in comparison to what we feel now,
everything and nothing all at once. The world has stopped spinning;
it's just us. Alone, becoming one.

We are the same.

The clearing has a
peace to it that I've never felt before. Cole's warm body presses
against my back; we're covered by my cloak and watching the sun put
on its show as it lights the horizon. His breath on my ear gives me
comfort. I realize that I know the sound of his breathing, what his
heart sounds like, and it's like no other.

A satisfied smile rises
to my lips, knowing that he accepts that we're the same. His
breathing changes slightly and I know he's waking up. He slides his
hand along the curve of my hip underneath the cloak. “I love
you.” He whispers it, his voice a caress against my ear.

“I love you too.”
I nuzzle deeper into him.

He pulls back slightly,
turning me over to look him in the eye. “Promise me that no
matter what happens, you'll hold on to this feeling.”

The warmth leaves me,
replaced with a foreboding chill. The anguish in his gaze says
everything, but I need to hear him say it. “Cole, what did you
do?”

He squeezes his eyes
shut, pressing out a single tear. “I'm sorry.”

I throw my head back in
defeat. “No, please no.”

“I didn't know.”
He pleads with me. “Your territory is completely surrounded.”

Jumping up, I get
dressed and put my gear on quickly. The presence of other wolves
enters my being; I'm backing out of the clearing, unable to see him
clearly through my damp eyes. “I want to tell you that I hate
you.”

“But you can't.”
He's feeling the same pain and defeat as I am.

“Cole, you walked
away from one of the only people who has ever believed in you.”
I hang my head in shame. “Which one of us does that make the
fool?”

“I'm sorry,”
he pleads.

“You just
couldn't let this conflict die.” I shake my head, trying not to
tremble.

“It will.”
He looks down at the ground.

“Yes, when one of
us dies.” I spin around to run.

“Kill me, Claire.
Please.” He means it.

I shake my head and
without looking back, say, “You're already dead.”

Breaking into a run, I
use all of his strength as he follows at a distance. The problem is
that there's nowhere for me to run if he's telling the truth and the
entire property is surrounded. There's no getting out of here unless
I can fly through the ravine on the north side.

Changing direction, I
lament not being able to take to the trees; it'll slow me down and I
need to lose Cole, fast.

The new sensation of
the wolves I life-pierced runs through me. Shit. They can track me
the same way that I can track them. The urgency to get to the bunker
grows. My legs are getting tired and I'm feeling the blood loss. Even
though it's cold enough for the ground to be frozen, I'm sweating.
This is not good.

Relief fills me when I
finally reach the bunker and slide inside and down the stairs after
closing the hatch. Using my power, I move leaves on top of the
camouflaged hatch and seal myself in. Cole is still nearby.
You
stay safe. I'm going to try to lead them away.

I made the mistake
once of expecting you to care, and it won't happen again.
He's
betrayed me for the last time, set me up to hand me over to them on a
silver platter. Of course, only after he used me for sex one last
time. How could I ever forgive him?

The provisions that I
put down here a few weeks ago are all secure; this location is
secret. Only Aunt Rain, Da, Ki, and I know about it. It's a good
place for me to spend the necessary time regaining my strength. It'll
take at least two days for me to be at full capacity, and even if the
wolves find me they can't get in.

Cole may not know
exactly where the bunker is and after the revelation bomb he just got
dropped on him, would he give me up? It's not worth taking the
chance. The cloaking protections are up; they should hold. The wolves
are lingering above and they can still feel me, or at least smell me.

I curl up on the cot
and put the pillow over my head, hoping that sleep will take me away
from this nightmare.

It’s
been four days of hiding out in the bunker and two since I've felt
the presence of a wolf. Cabin fever has set in and the sound of my
own voice in my head is getting tiresome. Day one was for sleeping,
eating, and restoration. Day two was spent in deep meditation to
prepare myself for the journey. Day three was weapon preparation,
setting up the special contingency of weapons to use on moon-touched
wolves. Each dagger has been infused with the antidote. My theory is
that a direct hit to the heart with the cure will heal them and bring
them back to normal. Whether or not it's going to work is still up in
the air, but all I can do now is hope.

It's important to me
that everyone knows this is not me running away. It's the furthest
thing from it. This is just going to be on my terms: going to the
council with the cure in hand, along with all of the evidence against
Pike.

My bags have been repacked to include cash, my research, what's left
of the antidote, protein-rich provisions, and my canteen. The target
leave time is four a.m.. I'm going to risk it and watch the sunrise
one last time in my clearing, knowing that I may never see this place
again. What my future holds is anyone's guess, but it won't be the
normal life I once had here.

For the first time in
four days, I turn on my cell phone. A ton of messages come up for me
to thumb through. Hayden left numerous text messages begging me to
come back, that this isn't the way.

Lili left me a voice
mail, and I check it.

“Claire!”
Her voice is frantic, but honestly I doubt that she's sincere. She
made her position clear: she's with Lenny, and Lenny is with Pike.
She can't be trusted, even though she brought me that information
about Pike experimenting on hybrids. “It's the boys; they're
all moon-touched. Pike infected them, all of them. Even Lenny. I've
lost him, Claire. You have to help me.”

The tone of her voice
tugs at my heart. There's nothing to be done; I can't help her at
this point.

I move on to Zane's
voice mail. “Claire, it's Zane. I hope you listen to this, and
I hope you are hundreds of miles away from here. Either way, I
thought you should know that they are all moon-touched. Locke, Tor,
Trevor, Kyle. All of them. The battle came to the house and it's
gone. We had to –” the message
cuts off.

That's not possible.
Hybrids are immune to the touch. This has to be some sort of trap. My
God, please let Zane be okay. Even though it's a trap, there's a part
of me that has to know.

You okay? ~Claire

The message doesn't
show as delivered; his phone is turned off. Or it’s dead, like
him.

Darkness nearly
obscures the top of the ladder and the hatch, but it's time for me to
emerge. Carefully focusing my energy to detect the presence of wolves
yields nothing. There are no wolves nearby.

Slowly the hatch opens,
and with all of my gear and provisions I leave the safety of the
bunker. Going to the clearing is the worst idea ever, but there's
something pulling me there. It's my way of saying goodbye to
everything I've known for my whole life.

Sticking to the trees
and moving quietly through the forest, a scent on the wind puts me on
alert. Then I feel them.

Kyle and Tor. The
tell-tale blood dripping from their eyes reveals that they're
moon-touched. There's another wolf nearby. My money's on Pike.
Sliding my pack off quietly, I hang it on a branch to ready my
daggers. Kyle is taken completely by surprise when I drop from the
tree behind him. He spins around, snarling and gnashing his teeth at
me and drawing Tor's attention.

This is going to be a
hard kill to make. But it has to be done; it's the only way to know.
They come at me full force, but they're no match for my magic and
fighting skill. Tor is pushed away with my magic, and he lays
unmoving on the forest floor. Kyle is frozen in place, but I release
him to finish this fight. He's ripping and tearing at my flesh,
becoming more rabid by the moment. There's no saving him; he's gone,
forever.

His neck makes a
snapping sound as my arms wrap around him and twist. He's rendered
motionless and lays on his side, panting with wild eyes and watching
me draw my dagger. I look into his eyes. “I'm so sorry.”
Then I plunge the blade into his chest, directly into his heart.

His body stills
completely, as does my spirit. This pain, this grief, is too much to
bear. Trevor comes for me out of nowhere, leaving no time to stop and
mourn.

He pounces on me and
tears at my throat, cutting my neck open. There's blood and dirt
already covering me, and moisture from the blood flowing down my arm
distracts me. I've never been able to fight Trevor at full strength,
never wanting to hurt him, but now it's him or me, life or death.
With him still on top of me biting at my chest, I wriggle another
dagger out of the sheathe and push it up into his chest. He falls
limp on top of me. I cry out in absolute anguish, bleeding grief from
every part of me. I'm drowning in the agony of having just killed my
brother.

His limp body makes a
thud on the ground when I push him off of me. There's still Tor to
deal with; he's lifeless on the ground.

Dropping down to my
knees and running my fingers through his coat, I say, “I'm so
sorry, my dear friend. I love you.” Raising the dagger above my
head and bringing it down hard into his chest, I sit back on my feet
and begin to howl in despair.

Sobs crash inside my
soul at what I've done. What I had to do. There was no choice; this
is my purpose: to keep them safe. The bloodstained forest screams of
my failure. The ones I wanted to save most are not safe. They're
dead.

Clapping hands snap my
attention back to fighting stance. “Well done, hunter.”
Pike comes through the trees with a satisfied grin.

“Pike.” His
name drips off my tongue like venom, and stabbing him in the heart is
the only thought on my mind.

He holds his hands out
to his sides. “I'm unarmed and in human form. Will you kill
me?”

“Yes.” My
eyes meet his in deadly challenge, and all of the memories of the day
my father died come flooding back to me.

“That's what I
thought.” He continues to walk toward me. “Because you
are a killer.”

“I am.” I
tilt my head up in pride. “That's what I'm meant to do: remove
the threat to the wolf-borne as well as the human population.”

“Is that how you
justify yourself?” The judgment in his tone tugs at the trail
mix in my stomach.

“I don't need
justification. I am above judgment in these actions based on the
decree of the elder shamans.” My body is on alert, and I’m
ready to draw my sais at any moment. If there's a chance to kill him,
you can bet I'll be using silver.

“But not me. I'm
not moon-touched.” He folds his hands in front of him.

“No, but you are
a threat.” My knowing glare is full of fire.

He raises his eyebrows
in surprise. “I can see what my son sees in you. You're
strong.” He continues walking toward me until he's an arm’s
length from me.

“That's close
enough.” I draw my sais in defense.

“Yes, I can see
how you worked your wiles on him, convincing him to go against his
pack and his nature. But he'll be back, after I take you to the
council and all of your crimes are paid for. There will be nothing
left for him to love. You'll be dead.” He towers over me; Cole
got his size from his father, who is easily six foot four inches
tall.

“Do you think I'm
afraid of you or the council?” He blanches at my mocking tone.