Hunter Moon (Lupine Moon Series) (29 page)

He, too, was asleep and was just as near to me as James, but I could feel so much more through his connection. The bullet wounds on his chest were closed but still sore and healing. There was an old pain in his shoulder from when he’d gotten into a fight with another wolf, one of his younger brothers
.
I drifted, unbothered by the intimate knowledge I shouldn’t have had.

As with James, I discerned Cash was aware that I brushed this strange bond and I felt him wake. He immediately dampened the sensations of pain. It was like he pulled a heavy blanket over it until it was only a dull throb compared with the fear and love shooting through the connection. The fear was paralyzing, and I couldn’t understand how he was able to function while feeling that much cloying terror. It was too strong and I couldn’t sift past it to find its cause.
Why is he so afraid?

The love I felt streaming through the bond was magnificent. I took it and wrapped myself with it like a warm fuzzy blanket. It felt silky soft; it smelled of the woods and tasted like smooth caramel. It was like a beam of golden sunshine I could hold in my hands, and when I did, Cash must have sensed it. The orb shone brighter until I could hardly stand to look at it anymore. All of Cash’s other emotions faded into nothingness until his love was all I could feel. The brilliance of it fought off the dark more effectively than all of the other lights combined so I closed my eyes and sank down into its blazing warmth, safe against the blackness.

A few miles outside of Pendleton, Oregon a man stood at his front window watching as a stream of vehicles pulled down the driveway of his ranch house. His dirty blonde hair was graying at his temples and his golden brown eyes were shadowed by confusion. As a man accustomed to confidence and authority, confusion wasn’t a feeling he enjoyed.

A dozen people parked, strolled into the house and gathered in the room with him, sitting in silence until their leader turned and regarded them. He could feel their bewilderment mirroring his own.

“So you felt it too.” He said quietly. They exchanged wary glances before a young woman spoke up.

“Yes, sir. She just appeared out of nowhere, and to the South.” Her straight black hair swirled as she shook her head in wonder. “None of us have left the territory in years, so how could we have a new pack member?” The gathering murmured in agreement.

The man stood in silence, lost in his own thoughts. There was only one possibility that could explain the new female sharing the pack bond and it was remote at best. It had been a quarter century since he’d been in that part of California, but he couldn’t help the tiny glint of hope in his heart.

He cleared his throat, immediately regaining the attention of the group. “It’s been a while since I was down there, but I’m still friendly with a few of the alphas in that area. I’ll take a few days and investigate. This isn’t a good time to invite weakness into our pack.”

The pack nodded, trusting implicitly his judgment as their leader. He pushed down a swell of guilt. Whoever she was, there must be a reason why she seemed so familiar to him, and he could only think of one.

Beau tried to ignore the insistent ringing of his house phone and was rewarded eventually with silence, but only for a moment before a jazzy little tune squealed out of his cell phone. He snatched the phone and growled, “What!”

“You know what, you ass. All of us have felt her so there’s no denying it.”

Beau sighed heavily into the phone to let his younger brother know how much he taxed his patience. “Yes, I can feel her, but what good does it do waking me up at three in the morning when I’ve got to get up for first shift? It doesn’t change the fact that our idiot brother has got himself a mate, and nearly killed himself in the process, by the feel of it.”

“Was it James?” Guy asked in a small voice.

Both of them knew of James’ insane plan to free himself from his mate by finding himself another. The fact that Cash had beat him to the punch killed him, he could feel it.

“No, he wouldn’t do that, no matter how angry he was. Cash almost died, and knowing our big bro, he had to prove how manly and good he is for some skirt. He always was a showoff.” Beau paused, thinking quickly. “You talked to Ma?”

Guy snorted. “I’ll dodge that bullet like my life depended on it. You think one of us should go out there?”

He sounded like Beau felt; tired and resigned. Neither of them could really afford to leave their jobs, but it’d be easier for Beau, so he took one for the team. “Look, I’ll try to clear some time off from the Captain. I know you’ve gotta stay in the station for the next two weeks.”

Now that it was colder, people were lighting their heaters and fireplaces and it was always a busy time for the local fire department. Someone always forget to clean out their chimney and accidentally caught their house on fire.

“Thanks bro. You’re a champ.” Beau rolled his eyes at his brother, even though Guy couldn’t see the gesture.

“Yeah, thank me after you talk to Ma.”

I surfaced from my cocoon of light and love to realize that there were three males lying on my bed, on my legs and curled up by my head. Fortunately,
or unfortunately
, they all had furry tails and they were snoring.
My romance novels never prepared me for this,
I thought as I shifted the drooling James-wolf off of my feet.

Reggie was curled up next to him, glaring at me as if I intruded on something. I sat up slowly, noting that I still felt exhausted even though I must have been asleep for hours. I gave Reggie a giant hug and a good scratch behind the ears.

“I sure have missed you, buddy,” I said, my voice muffled by his fur as I rubbed my cheek against it. “I guess one of your new best friends picked you up from the vet.”

 I ran my hands down his whole body, checking it over, making sure he felt better. I had come so close to losing him and I was still shaken up by it. He lifted his head just far enough so he could gently lick my fingers and I had to fight back the tears that prickled in the corners of my eyes.

When I looked up from petting him, I scanned the rest of the room and it dawned on me that this wasn’t my bedroom. It wasn’t my guest bedroom either. It was definitely a man’s room, if the furniture was anything to go by.

 There was a black chest of drawers with a gun cleaning kit, a watch and a handful of change sitting on top. Two stainless steel nightstands of the Ikea species with two black lamps stood on either side of the bed which was covered in white cotton sheets and, you guessed it, a black comforter.
A total bachelor pad.

I let the weariness that permeated through my entire body push me back down into the pillows as I took stock of myself. Yes, I felt like I hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in a year and had just finished two back-to-back marathons, but I didn’t know
why.
The last thing I could remember was Cash being shot and James yelling at me to bite him.

My heart beat accelerated as I remembered the discovery of James going all canine on me and the realization that Cash was in the same furry boat.
This can’t be happening!
My mind raced as I tried to rationalize my way out of actually accepting that the man I loved wasn’t human. That’s when I felt James stirring,
in my head.
Whoa, that’s weird.

 
I could feel him experiencing the same confusion I had when I woke up before he faded away in my consciousness. I could still feel his presence in the back of my mind but could no longer feel his emotions as strongly as before. I frowned and looked over at where he lay, but he was gone.
That was strange,
I thought.
I didn’t even feel the bed move.

I went back to mentally exploring. Cash was still an adoring presence dwarfing all of the others in my mind. The light from his love burnt like a supernova. I could still feel the pain emanating from the five gunshot wounds in his chest, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it was earlier. The fear and rage that had been present before were muted now as he slept.

My bladder finally caught my attention and I realized I had to use the little girl’s room, stat. I slipped from under the covers, tiptoed softly out of what I assumed was Cash’s bedroom and down the hall, urgently searching for the bathroom. After finding another bedroom and a linen closet, I discovered the door to the bathroom just in the nick of time. When I finished I paused before walking back to Cash.

James slouched at the kitchen table, his head in his hands. I touched James’ bond in my mind and he flinched, visibly. I walked quickly to the kitchen and sat down across from him. He remained still, face covered with his palms.

“James, what happened? Why do I feel—in my head—and why were you and Cash all wolfy on the bed?” He finally lifted his head, and his expression of hopelessness made me suck in a harsh breath.

“You know, I thought when I finally felt a woman in my head I’d be bonded.” He laughed darkly before continuing. “We heal faster when in wolf form and the presence of others in our pack is soothing, hence ‘being all wolfy together on the bed’.”

He stood up and gave me a searching look before walking to the other bedroom. James paused before walking in and looked at me over his shoulder. “Go to bed, Shells, you need to sleep. By the way...
now
I don’t have a shot.”

With that enigmatic statement he walked in the room and shut the door. I walked back to Cash’s room and slithered into the covers. I cuddled up next to my wolf, my warden,
my love.

He still smelled like a forest fire, and I breathed in his scent as I rubbed my face in his fur. Now I knew why I wasn’t afraid of him, why I always felt better when he was around. Cash was my guardian, even as a wolf, and he’d kept me safe. I knew I should be more weirded out by what he was, or wondering how it was even possible, but I wasn’t.

My fingers ran through his silvery fur, and I mentally pushed my own love at the glowing ball that was Cash. The tension melted away as he lay next to me, and he sighed deeply in his sleep. Love and contentment radiated in my mind as the fatigue claimed me and I fell back asleep.