Moonlight (22 page)

Are you okay?

It was his question, asked without words.

Yes.

He touched his nose to mine, nuzzled my neck, then my shoulder. Even though he was a wolf, I could smell Lucas, could smell the essence that was him in human form.

You’re beautiful
, he thought.

Only when I’m a wolf?
I was a little vain.

Always. It’s easier to think than to say.

I don’t feel different.

It’s just a shape.

I wanted to laugh. I’d been so afraid. And it had been so easy. With him beside me, it had been like stepping into silk.

Will I be sore tomorrow?

A little.

What do we do now?

We play.

What about your wound?

It’s almost healed.

He pounced on me, teasingly, lightly. We rolled. We jostled.

Catch me
, I thought just before I started racing across the clearing.

He gave me a head start. I loved the feel of the wind in my fur. I loved the speed with which I traveled. I ran faster than I’d ever run.

But I couldn’t outdistance him. He easily caught up with me. Then we ran together while the moonlight washed over us.

SEVENTEEN

That night I slept within the cocoon of Lucas’s arms, with the white cloak around me. I’d shifted back to human form with no problem at all.

“You’re a natural,” Lucas had said with a hint of pride in his voice.

We’d spent a lot of time kissing and talking before we’d finally drifted to sleep.

I woke up first. The light inside the cavern was dim, but it was enough so I could watch Lucas sleep. Being here with him, sleeping beside him—I knew it was where I belonged.

Last night when I’d transformed into a wolf, all that I’d been, all that I thought I’d ever be, had changed as well. I wasn’t who I had thought I was, but strangely, I now knew myself better than I ever had before.

The fears that had resided inside me—I knew now that they were my inner beast awakening. Deep within me, I’d known a change was waiting, but I hadn’t realized what it was, I hadn’t known what to do.

This morning there was no fear. Not of my past and not of my future. I’d discovered my true self last night, and in the discovery my fears had dissipated.

And now I had Lucas. I was everything he’d expected, all that he wanted. And he was what I wanted.

Very quietly, I got up and walked to the waterfall.

I wondered if my mother had experienced her first shift here. Had my dad helped her through it? I tried to remember if I’d ever seen a mark on his shoulder. I was just a kid when they died. There was so much I hadn’t paid attention to.

But I had reconciled my memories of the day they’d died. The transformation had unlocked my past. I could clearly see them now on that last day we were together. They’d been trying to explain what I was, what we were. I could see them looking at me and each other with love. They held no fear. For them the transformation was a celebration of what they—we—were. They’d been so focused on making certain I wasn’t afraid that they hadn’t heard the hunters.

It had been a long time since I’d missed them. But I missed them now. I missed them terribly.

Although I didn’t hear him, I knew Lucas was there before he put his arms around me and drew me back against him. Where he was concerned, my senses were more in tune since the shift.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I was thinking about my parents. Last summer I wasn’t ready to face the place where they died.” I turned within his arms and gazed into his eyes. “I think I need to do that, but I don’t know where they died.”

He tucked my loose hair behind my ear. “Someone in Wolford will know. Your parents were part of us.”

Wolford. The place he fought to protect, where the people he guarded sought sanctuary once a year.

I nodded. I’d doubted it before, but I believed it now. Strangely, the tightening in my stomach and the nerves that always accompanied thoughts of my parents’ death were absent. At long last, I was ready to deal with my past.

“Should we travel as wolves?” I asked.

“We will, but I can carry the backpack so we arrive with clothes.”

“Oh, good idea.” I furrowed my brow. “How do you handle that anyway—always finding clothes?”

“We have stashes hidden around. We’ll set some up for you. And whenever possible, you leave your clothes where you can find them again. You’ll learn it all.”

It took us a day and a half to get to Wolford. It wasn’t a place I could have found without a guide. It was near dusk when we arrived. I wasn’t certain
village
was the right word for it.

It was a fortress, surrounded by a tall wrought-iron fence, topped with evil-looking spikes. Wolves prowled the inside perimeter. Yet for all of its unique appearance, it did manage to somehow blend in with the landscape, so I didn’t really notice it until we were right upon it.

At the gate, Lucas punched numbers into a keypad and the heavy barrier slowly swung open. It appeared this place was a combination of ancient and modern.

Taking my hand, Lucas led me up the dirt path toward the large foreboding stone and brick structure. Two tiny Westies came yapping around the corner. Lucas dropped into a crouch and petted them.

“Are those really dogs?” I asked.

He laughed. “Of course.”

“Can we communicate with dogs?”

“Sure. You just say, ‘Sit, fetch, come.’ I can teach you the commands.”

Laughing, I slapped playfully at his arm. “Very funny.”

“You can’t read their thoughts,” he said, standing back up. The little dogs raced away. “I don’t even know if they have thoughts.”

“I guess I have to learn to accept our limitations and think in terms of what we are, not what we aren’t.”

“Something like that.”

I glanced around. “So, where exactly is the village?”

“There are a few buildings around, but most of it is gone except for this one.”

“It looks like a huge mansion or a fancy hotel or something.”

“It’s large enough to accommodate people who stay when they come for the solstice,” Lucas explained. “Only the elders live here on a permanent basis. The others gather for the summer solstice. That’s still a couple weeks away, so there won’t be many people here yet.”

“No problem. I’m fine easing my way into this.”

We walked up the massive steps leading to the front door. Lucas shoved it open. I was awed as we walked inside.

It was monstrously large. A grand, sweeping staircase rose from one side of the foyer. Portraits lined the walls and lights glittered through a huge crystal chandelier. It was like something out of
Homes of the Rich and Famous
.

“It’s not exactly a wilderness cabin, is it?” I asked.

Lucas chuckled. “No.”

“Do you live in something like this?”

“I live in a dorm.”

I smiled. “You know what I mean. Did you grow up in something like this?”

“No. Grew up in a normal house.”

I was still having a hard time thinking of Shifters as normal in any way.

“Lucas!” A large, booming voice sounded as a man with a mane of silver hair strode out of one of the nearby rooms—a room I could see into a little and thought was probably a parlor.

Lucas grew incredibly somber. “Dad.”

This was Lucas’s father? He looked like—well, quite honestly, he looked like he could be a politician. He grabbed Lucas in a huge bear hug. I could see a thin layer of tears in his eyes, eyes as silver as Lucas’s.

He moved Lucas back, but kept his hands wrapped around his arms.

“I’m so sorry about Devlin,” Lucas said. “I had no choice.”

“It’s hard, but it has been for some time now. We lost him long ago. The grief is strong, but there is also a measure of peace.”

“Mother—”

“She understands. It’s the way it had to be. Devlin betrayed us and himself.” He patted Lucas’s shoulder with a big, strong hand. “You cannot blame yourself.”

While his father’s words were comforting, I knew Lucas did carry a burden of guilt for what had happened. How could he not? He wouldn’t be the guy I loved if he didn’t feel some remorse.

His father turned his attention to me. “This must be Kayla.”

“Yes, sir.”

Mr. Wilde gave me a small smile. “You remind me of your mother.”

I gasped. “You knew her?”

“Indeed. Your father, too. Good people.”

“Maybe you could tell me about them sometime. I have so few memories.”

“We’ll talk later.”

“Oh, Lucas!” An attractive older woman rushed from the parlor and wrapped her arms around him. She leaned back and cupped his face between her hands. Tears welled in her eyes. “I know you’re a guardian, but you’re still my little boy and I was so worried about you.”

“Mom, I’m sorry.”

“Shh,” she cooed. “You have nothing to apologize for. You took a vow to protect us at all costs. Sometimes the price is high. We know that.” She hugged him again, and I could feel some of the tension easing away from Lucas.

When she released him, he stepped back, took my hand, and drew me near. “Mom, this is Kayla.”

Mrs. Wilde smiled at me. “Of course it is. Welcome back to the fold, my dear.”

“It’s good to be back . . . I think.”

“It’s where you’ve always belonged.” She hugged me. “We’ll talk later. Right now, the elders are waiting for you.”

Lucas and I walked alone through the huge house with our footsteps echoing around us. Finally we reached a room with life-sized statues of wolves on either side of the closed door. Lucas stopped and looked at me. “This is the counsel room,” he said quietly. “Only the elders and the Dark Guardians are allowed inside.”

“Then I should wait out here for you?”

“It’s your choice, Kayla. You don’t have to choose the life of a guardian, but I would speak in your favor if you did. I trust you with my life.”

“Do I have to fight for a place?”

“You have to take an oath to serve, protect, and guard.”

I released a self-conscious laugh.

“What?” he asked.

“My adoptive dad is a cop. I was thinking about majoring in criminal justice. I guess this isn’t that different. But there’s so much I don’t know.”

“I’ll teach you.”

He had no doubts, and because he didn’t, neither did

I. “I want to do this, Lucas.”

He took my hand, opened the door, and we strode into a room with a huge, round table. “Do not tell me that King Arthur—”

“Maybe. After all, he had Merlin.”

I heard a squeal and turned.

“Lindsey!” I cried.

She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly. “I’m so glad you’re back.”

Over her shoulder, I saw Brittany.

“You should have told me, Lindsey,” I said. “All those emails, text messages, IMs, and you couldn’t mention it?”

“You would have freaked out. You might have left and then what?”

“So you and Brittany are both Dark Guardians?”

“Apprentices. We haven’t shifted yet, but next full moon . . .” She sighed. “Can’t wait.”

A banging on the table caught our attention. Lucas led me around to two empty seats at the table. I guessed they’d known I was coming.

It was very easy to tell who were the elders and who were the Dark Guardians. The elders were, well, elderly, and the guardians were all young and had the look of warriors about them.

An elder stood up. He had a wizened face and gray hair that touched his shoulders. “Is she one of us?”

“Yes, Grandfather, she is,” Lucas said. I was slightly stunned that this man was Lucas’s grandfather, but it made sense. The role of leader passed down from grandfather to grandson. “She is also my mate. Where she goes, I go.”

Lucas’s grandfather nodded what I thought was his approval. His pale, silver eyes focused on me. “Are you willing to take the oath?”

“I am.”

He moved around in front of me. “Kneel.”

It seemed an archaic ritual, but still I dropped to one knee. Lucas knelt beside me and took my hand.

“Are you sure we’re not getting married here?” I whispered.

“I’m sure.”

“Do you, Kayla Madison, swear to hold our secrets and to guard us from all evil and harm that may come our way?”

“I so swear.”

I wasn’t sure how I knew those were the words I needed to say, but the old man’s eyes lit up and Lucas squeezed my hand.

“Then you are welcomed into the ranks of the Dark Guardians,” he said somberly.

>

I heard applause as Lucas rose and pulled me to my feet. Then, one by one, the remaining elders introduced themselves. Afterward, each Dark Guardian approached and Lucas handled the introductions. Rafe was there, of course, and Connor. There were six others whom I didn’t know: four guys and two girls. When Lindsey and Brittany finished their apprenticeship, there would be twelve Dark Guardians. I supposed in time that I’d get to know the others better.

When everyone had been introduced, we took our places at the table, as did the elders.

Lucas’s grandfather, Elder Wilde, then spoke to the group. “It is with great sadness that we must report that Devlin did a lot of damage with his mischief. These scientists will not give up easily. We must prepare for what is to come.”