Ties to the Blood Moon 2nd Edition (6 page)

There was this awkward exchange where neither one of us really knew what to say next, so we both started watching the aurora borealis, again.

I felt completely intimidated by him. He was perfect in every way, something I could never be. I kept giving him sidelong glances, and every time he was still eyeing me. He must have noticed because he suddenly flashed that sexy smile of his again, revealing a dimple I didn’t recall seeing before. A burning flush flew over me, I promptly lowered my eyes and smiled.

He slowly inched closer until his face was right next to mine. My heart sped up until I thought a heart attack was eminent.

He placed his hand on my chin and softly turned my face toward him. His hand was like ice at first, but quickly started to warm up until it felt burning hot. His gaze danced back and forth between my lips and my eyes, and mine did the same. I wanted him closer to me, which made my heart ache. Somehow, I knew that nothing he did would get him close enough to satisfy me, and he would always leave me wanting more. It was as if a part of me physically needed William, and I had never felt that way about anyone before.

He inched his way closer, but just before our lips met, his expression turned hard and he quickly sat up.

“What … what is it?” I quickly sat up.

He creased his brow and pursed his lips. “Shh,” he said, not unkindly, cocking his head to the side. He paused briefly. “We should go.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. “Come on,” he said with an urgency in his voice.

“What’s wrong, William?” I searched his face and my heart fell, not knowing what I had done wrong. I think he realized it too.

“It’s not safe up here,” he said, his eyes narrowed and turned dark, and then I heard what I thought he might be referring to. An eerie howl echoed somewhere behind us. “Hurry,” he said, tightening his grip on my hand, and dragging me behind him.

As we neared the bottom I was compelled to look behind us and I saw why William had been so upset. Peering over the edge were three giant wolves revealing their fangs. There was something strange about their eyes. They looked almost human.

William didn’t waste any time getting us back over to the bonfire, around people, and of course a really big fire. I guess he figured that the wolves wouldn’t venture in too close.

I noticed Miss Baylor standing off by herself, leaned up against a car. She appeared to be nervously biting at her thumbnail. I told William I’d be right back and walked over to join her.

“Hey Miss Baylor,” I smiled. Apparently she was in deep thought, because she didn’t answer at first. “Miss Baylor … is everything all right?” I asked after lightly touching her on the arm.

“Hmm? Oh—yes, Genevieve. I’m sorry. I was a million miles away,” she forced a laugh, but I could tell something was definitely bothering her.

“Can I ask you a question?” I stood with my hands in my jacket pockets, eyes lowered, pushing around pebbles with the toe of my boot.

“Of course you can.” I detected a slight tremble in her voice.

“What was all that about in the cave earlier? I mean … at first I thought you were just telling spooky stories to try and scare us. But after the fire roared back up and I saw your face …” I trailed off.

“Gen, my great-great-grandfather was an Inuit shaman, highly respected by the tribes in Alaska. All the great leaders came to him for guidance, or prayer, even healing. He was very powerful. He talked of the great war between the Blood Drinkers and the Shape-shifters.”

“Shape-shifters? Blood Drinkers?” I sort of shook my head, and smiled.

“Lycan are Werewolf slaves, and Adlet are giant Werewolves. Any creature that ‘transforms’ is known as a Shape-shifter. And Blood Drinkers are vampires. They have all been fighting for many years. Before my grandfather died he told about a vision he had with his spirit guide. A princess would walk among us, and on the night of the blood moon, she would claim her throne and end the war.

“Do you really believe all this? Because you sound a little … stressed.” Subconsciously, I had taken a few steps backward.

“I know it sounds crazy, but I’ve seen them!” she snapped, but I don’t think she meant to. I also didn’t think she noticed how I kept glancing past her, looking over the top of the cave.

“You saw them tonight, didn’t you?” she asked.

“Saw who?” I furrowed my brow. I was beginning to get a little freaked out.

“Not who … what. The Lycan were here tonight. They know of the princess too, except they don’t want the war to end. They want to kill her before she rises to take the throne.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This was stuff that was only supposed to exist in fiction books, and sci-fi movies. It wasn’t supposed to happen in real life, and certainly not around me.

I stared at Miss Baylor, waiting on her to laugh and say it was all just a big joke. But she never did. She believed every word of what she was telling me. I just wasn’t sure that I believed it.

“So … this princess … is she here?” I asked jokingly, but got totally freaked out when she stared at me, but never said another word.

Chapter 9

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I flipped it open to find a text message from William.

Are you going to hang out with Miss Baylor the rest of the night?
I looked up and William was leaned back against the front of his car, resting on his elbow with his feet crossed. Even from across the fire his eyes were mesmerizing. My heart fluttered again, and I wondered how long I would keep reacting to him like that.

Be there in a sec.
I text messaged back.

“Um, William is waiting for me,” I said, breaking the silence.

“We need to talk about this, Gen,” she called out as I walked away.

I briefly turned to face her, and kept walking backwards. “We will,” I told her, but had no intentions of further entertaining the craziness she was trying to feed me. I’d definitely be talking to Aunt Bev later.

I knew it was late, but I didn’t want this night to end. When I reached William’s car he smiled, but kept his distance, which bothered me. Luna came be-bopping over with her perky attitude and totally silly grin. She looped her arm through mine, pulling me slightly further away from William.

“Gen, it’s getting late. I have to be home by twelve,” she said, smiling dryly at William as if to say, “ha-ha she’s mine.”

I peered longingly at William and sighed. “I guess I need to get going.”

He pushed himself off of his car. “I’ll walk you.” He placed his hand on the small of my back and we started walking. Luna was a few steps ahead. His hand on my back felt like ice, but his touch set me on fire.

We reached my Jeep faster than I would have liked. I was disappointed after turning to face him, he didn’t even attempt to kiss me. He just opened my door and waited for me to climb in. I was crushed when he said a simple bye and closed my door.

I stared through the windshield and watched him until he disappeared somewhere on the other side of the bonfire. I sighed heavily and dropped my shoulders.

During the drive home, Luna was extremely quiet. She stared out the window while listening to Slick Puppies. Whenever she noticed me glancing in her direction, she would smile. But, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, when she thought I wasn’t looking, her smile was promptly replaced with a frown.

I finally couldn’t take it anymore. I reached, turning the music down. “What happened inside the cave tonight?” I asked earnestly. Of course, she attempted to play dumb, but the look on her face said she knew exactly what I was talking about. I slammed on the brakes, and skidded onto the side of a very desolate road.

“Gen!” she screamed when the seatbelt caught and jerked her neck. “Why are you stopping?” she asked apprehensively.

I narrowed my eyes and turned to her. “I want the truth, Luna! Especially if it involves me,” I shouted ominously. I glowered at her while waiting for an answer. I wouldn’t really do anything, like make her get out and walk, but I wanted to intimidate her so she would tell me everything she knew.

“Miss Baylor has these bonfires from time to time. She’s convinced her great-great-grandfather had a vision quest, and as the shaman of her family, it’s her responsibility to keep searching for the Adlet princess. That’s the only way there will ever be peace between the tribes and the Blood Drinkers.”

“Okay … so … what does that have to do with me? I’m clearly no princess!” I snapped sardonically.

“I don’t know that it has anything to do with you, but I will tell you that the fire turning black tonight has never happened before. That’s why Miss Baylor was so freaked. I swear that’s all I know.”

I pulled back onto the road and drove the rest of the way to Luna’s house in silence. Before she climbed out the door, I touched her arm. “I’m sorry.” I dropped my shoulders. “I didn’t mean to go off on you like that. It’s not your fault.”

She reached back and hugged my neck with one arm, then smiled sadly. “We’ll talk tomorrow.” I sat in front of her house, even after she was safely inside, rubbing the back of my neck. When Luna hugged me, I guess it got irritated again.

Her house was a small wooden structure among several others, each sitting close to the next. Narrow but deep, they reminded me of row houses, kind of like the one my mom and I had when we lived in Maryland for a whole three months. I didn’t know who all lived with her and her three brothers, but the tiny place hardly looked big enough.

I felt really bad for coming down so hard on Luna. My temper seemed to be growing worse lately. Actually, I had been noticing other things about myself changing.

I was hoping Aunt Bev would still be awake when I got home. When I came in through the kitchen door she was getting off the phone and I overheard her telling whoever it was that she had to hang up because I had just gotten home. It was well after midnight, which made me wonder who she would be talking to at such a late hour and wondered what it could be that she hadn’t wanted me to hear.

Her normally open face closed up a bit. “Nothing you’d be interested in.” She changed the subject abruptly. “How was your night? Did you have a good time?” She sat down at the table across from me, watching as I made myself a sandwich. I noticed her brow furrow when I popped open a can of soda.

“What?” I asked, wondering why she all of a sudden looked so weirded out.

“Oh … nothing. She forced a smile. “Your nails grow so fast. If you’re out of nail polish remover, I have some in my bathroom.”

“I just trimmed and painted …” My voice trailed off when I held up my hand and saw how long my nails were, again. The nail polish I’d just put on two days before was already gone from a large portion of my nails. “Wow!” I smiled nervously, tucking my hands under the table. “I, um … I guess they do grow fast.”

I lay in bed unable to sleep. The brightness of the full moon shone through the window above my bed, hitting me in the face. It made me think about everything that had happened at the bonfire. But mostly, it made me think about William. Even when he wasn’t around I couldn’t get him off my mind. When I thought about the way he had almost kissed me my heart fluttered again.

I got on my knees to draw the curtain closed, and I saw movement outside, down by the lake. I looked on curiously, thinking it was probably a moose or maybe even a bear. Although I couldn’t quite see it, I knew it lurked just beyond the yard, in the shadows of the trees that lined our property.

I was more curious than frightened and sat back on my knees, staring into the night, which at this time of year lasted barely a few hours. I quietly slid open my window a tiny bit so that I might be able to hear movement close by.

I cocked my head to the side and listened intently. It was completely quiet outside. I found it ominous that no animals moved, not even the call of an owl I had gotten used to hearing every night. Suddenly, my heart about jumped out of my chest when the eerie silence was broken by my phone vibrating across the night stand. I had placed it on vibrate earlier just in case someone called while I was driving Luna home. With the music blasting through my speakers, I wouldn’t have heard it ring.

I took my eyes off the back yard and eyed the time displayed on my alarm clock before scooping up my phone. It was two thirty-seven. I flipped open my phone.

Are you awake?
It was a text message from William.

My face lit up and my heart beat wildly.
What are you doing awake so late?
I wrote back, chewing at the inside of my cheek and was glad he couldn’t see how nervous and excited I was to hear from him.

Couldn’t sleep.
he messaged back in like, five seconds.
You wanna hang out tomorrow?

Sure. But first I’ll have to ask my aunt.
I was already going through in my mind what I was going to wear.

I’ll call you tomorrow. Sweet dreams.

A grin lingered on my face as I flopped over onto my back, staring up at the ceiling daydreaming about being with William until my concentration was broken by the familiar echo of a wolf’s howl wafting in through my window. It sounded the same as at the bonfire only this time it was closer … much closer.

Chapter 10

After fighting the bright sunlight that managed to find its way through every little crack in my curtains, I decided sleeping in was not going to be a viable option for me, so I sat up and angrily threw my pillow across the room. It hit the shelf above my dresser, knocking several books and my collection of seashells onto both my dresser and the floor. “Argh!” I slammed backward against the mattress, and then I remembered the howling that happened outside my window. I thought about telling Aunt Bev everything that went on, but decided to wait until I went back to school. There was no reason to freak her out
and
ruin the rest of my weekend, because as soon as she found out, she’d probably lock me in my room until I turned like thirty.