Hyena Moon (8 page)

"How's Finn doing?" His father's voice sounded more curious than tense.

"He's good too. He's been a big help." This was as true as it was surprising. Finn had never been what anyone would call a go-getter when they were at home, but Miami was bringing out a side to him Cormac had never seen. His cousin was steadier, more reliable these days.

"Anything else to report?"

"Ah, I talked to Lenore. She wants to come down." Cormac wasn't sure what was going on with his parents and Lenore, but thought his father should know that Lenore was petitioning to come down to Miami. He was pretty certain his father would be in agreement with him that it wasn't the best of plans.

"She's been at your mother nonstop almost since you left." There was a note of exhaustion in his voice. "She's persistent, I'll give her that."

"She kind of got mad when I told her it wasn't a good time."

"I'd imagine kind of and mad aren't the appropriate terms for what she got." There was a faint chuckle in his father’s voice.

"Well, yeah." Cormac waited for his father to say something. When the man remained silent, he continued. "She's not happy with anyone, it sounds like."

"No, she's not." Alaric paused. "But that's not your problem, it's ours. You've got enough on your plate." Cormac heard the rustle of papers. "How's that houseguest of yours working out?

Cormac frowned at the mention of Rafe. "So far the hyena's been behaving himself." The night in the Everglades and Rafe's convenient disappearance before the werehyena group showed up still bothered him. He debated about telling his dad about the run-in during their hunt, but wavered. "Finn's keeping an eye on him when Kess' people can't."

Alaric didn't dig for more details. That struck Cormac as odd. It was almost like his father was according him a certain amount of leeway and respect; like he was accepting that Cormac could make the decisions on his own. It was exciting. And terrifying. "Sounds like everything is settling nicely." Cormac waited while his father composed his next thought. "Any idea what Kess is planning to do about the hyenas?"

Again Cormac was torn. He wanted to tell his father, especially because the man had a wealth of experience running a pack, but he also knew this was Kess' show and she might not take kindly to him spilling her secrets. "She's got a few ideas, but is waiting to see which way Samara jumps. But she knows it has to be taken care of soon. Before we all head back for school."

"Okay." His father paused, almost as if he were weighing what to say next. "Keep me in the loop, son."

Cormac didn't think that had been what his father really wanted to say, but didn't press the issue. "Will do, Dad. Talk to you soon."

"Take care, Cormac."

"You too, Dad."

He closed his phone and sat back on the couch for a moment. He was thrown by his father not pushing for more information. Yes, he was the one who was here, who was best able to evaluate the situation. But this was his dad. He never unclenched enough to let someone else take the lead. The only person who ever came close was Griff, the pack Beta. Maybe he was getting soft in his encroaching old age?

Cormac heard the soft slide of footsteps behind him and he turned to see Kess drape herself along the back of the couch behind his head. She curved her body around his shoulders. He inhaled the contrasting summer-winter scent of her, all sunshine and cinnamon. He turned his body so that he could look at her. He never got tired of looking at her.

She had bronzed since they'd been down here, and her skin positively glowed. Her black hair had gotten sleeker, if possible looking more like the pelt of the cat she became when there was no moon in the sky. And her eyes, as always, were still a wonder to him; an amazing greenish gold that collected the light and reflected it back.

He wrapped his arm around her waist, putting his head close to hers. She smiled one of her secret smiles reserved just for him. "Hi," she mouthed.

"Hello there." His mouth was very close to hers.

"I've missed you."

It was an invitation he didn't turn down. He kissed her, reveling in the feel of his mouth slanting down on hers, the soft sound of her breath escaping in a satisfied sigh. For a few minutes he lost himself in the taste of her, content to just exist in this space outside of anything but the two of them.

When he let her back up for air, Kess whispered, "Much better." She slid down the back of the couch to rest in his arms.

Cormac nodded. They hadn't had a lot of time with just each other since they'd come down here. First there were the mysterious circumstances surrounding her brother's death to solve, then the problem of Samara and her werehyenas, and finally the Keepers of Divine Order. Kess had been under enormous pressure since they'd hit Miami; it was only right that she was preoccupied. Still, Cormac was painfully aware of the lack of her, even though they shared a room.

"You looked like you had something on your mind. Care to share?" She snuggled against him. Cormac smiled. Kess knew how much he liked physical contact. She was trying to make up for lost time.

"Talked to my family." He nipped at her neck. "My sister wants to come down."

"Mmm?" Kess had the half-lidded eye thing going on that made Cormac think of a housecat stoned on catnip. Then she seemed to realize what he had said and her eyes opened wide. "That's so not a good idea."

"I thought the same." He knew Kess liked her space and he and Finn, not to mention Rafe, all crammed in the house had to be wearing. Not that the house was small--it was a mansion modeled on a Mediterranean palazzo and had numerous bedrooms. You didn't have to see anyone else if you didn't want to, but for someone used to quite a bit of room, it had to be difficult.

Kess sat up, looking at him. "Too dangerous right now."

Cormac nodded. "That's kind of what I told her."

"How'd she take it?"

Cormac ran a hand through his hair, and then rubbed the back of his neck. "About as well as you'd expect."

"Ouch." She snuggled into him.

"Yeah." He kissed the top of her head absently, his mind on his sister.

Kess gave him one of her looks, specifically the one that said he was being ridiculous. "But you still feel bad about disappointing her, right?" She paused, searching his face. "You're such a good brother."

"She's having a tough time. I just wish there was something I could do. She's driving my folks nuts." He paused and looked down at her. "I'm worrying too much about this, aren't I?"

She smiled. "Maybe a little." She kissed him to take what little sting there may have been out of her words. "It's one of your more endearing qualities really."

He placed a kiss in her palm, her hand warm in his. "Thank you."

"Sometimes you have to make the hard choice—I think you told me that once." Kess threaded her fingers in his hair. "And she will get over this. Lenore thinks you hung the moon. She's just fifteening all over the place. It happens." She pressed her mouth to his.

When she let him breathe again, he whispered, "You make a very compelling argument." He pulled her close to him, eradicating any space between them. "Allow me to retort."

Chapter Eleven

Lenore looked out the window of her bedroom. The trees were a deep green, covering the mountainside like a spiky curtain. She thought that the mountains must resemble the backs of hedgehogs, if hedgehogs were ever green--all prickly and needley. It was the same view she'd looked at for the past fifteen--almost sixteen--years. It left a lot to be desired now.

She flopped on her bed, landing on her back amidst a flotilla of pillows. She was bored. So very, very bored. Lenore flipped onto her stomach to check her alarm clock. It was early afternoon; surely Wyatt would be up by now. She needed someone to do something with. Even Cormac and Finn had gotten to go on vacation with Kess. She wished that she got to go with them. It wasn't fair that she was stuck here in the same place, with the same people, and absolutely nothing to do.

Lenore snagged her phone from the bedside table and texted
On my way over
to Wy. She was done with waiting around. Even if they only hung out at his house, it was still better than staying here. She ran a brush through her honey colored hair, grabbed her bag and headed down the stairs to find her mother.

Emmeline was in the kitchen, as she always seemed to be. Lenore's mother loved to cook--she even had a successful dessert business supported mostly by word of mouth--and she'd tried to interest her daughter in the finer points of cooking, but Lenore wanted none of it. She burned pans of water. She set potholders on fire. She wished she could be more like her mother, but cooking just wasn't in her skill set.

She watched as her mom slid a couple of pies out of the oven. Lenore sniffed the air; the thick scent of sugared peaches and buttery crust perfumed the kitchen. She always marveled how her mother didn't weigh 300 pounds with all the baking she did. If it had been her, she would have been huge, but then again Lenore didn't inherit her mother's werewolf metabolism. All weres burned off calories at a ridiculous rate and Emmeline was no exception. She still cooked enough food for dinner to feed three families, especially when Cormac showed up, and they blew through it as if it were a light snack.

Lenore leaned against the side of the counter and waited until her mom had her hands free. "Hey, mom. Can you give me a ride over to Wy's house?"

Emmeline turned, a slight frown creasing her brow. "Have you spoken to your father about it?"

Lenore shook her head, already feeling her stomach knot up. She didn't understand why they were so adamant about keeping her from seeing her best friend. They hadn't been nearly so picky when Cormac was going through his first change. "No, I didn't think I had to."

From her mother's deepening frown, Lenore knew that her tone had been somewhat less than desirable. "Go talk to your father. He's in his office."

Lenore sighed, resisting the almost overwhelming urge to roll her eyes. Sometimes it felt like she was speaking an entirely different language from the rest of her family, like she was speaking modern English and they were all conversing in Urdu or something. She trudged down the hall, dropping her bag on the console table along the way.

She entered her father's office without knocking; she was the only one in the house who could usually get away with it and she didn't particularly feel like following the rules right now. Her father looked up sharply from his computer, a small scowl on his face.

Lenore didn't give him a chance to get started. "Mom says I have to talk to you about going to Wyatt's."

Alaric raised his eyebrows and again Lenore knew her tone must have been less than ideal. "We've been over this before."

"Oh, come on, Dad! It's been weeks since I've been able to hang out with him. He has to have gotten better with his changes by now, and besides, Wy would NEVER hurt me." She crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her hip to one side in the inimitable posture of teen girls everywhere.

"Lenore," he warned, his voice low. "It's safest if you wait a little while longer. Wyatt is still struggling to control his changes and I won't risk you getting hurt."

"You weren't this worried about me when Cormac changed!"

Her father stood up quickly and Lenore realized she had pushed the bratty teen bit too far. She may not change into a wolf, but her dad was still the Alpha of their family. She'd let her mouth get away from her. "That's enough, Lenore. You were in no danger with Cormac because your mother and I never left you alone with him. You are asking to go--by yourself--to a werebear's house. One who still is unable to fully control himself. The answer is NO."

"This is so completely unfair!" She couldn't help herself. She felt like a prisoner, like everyone thought she couldn't take care of herself.

"Unfair or not, my decision stands." He glared down at her, as if daring her to say something else. "Understood?"

Lenore knew when she'd pushed her father far enough. She held her tongue, even though she still wanted to rail against his rules. It wouldn't get her very far though. Once Alaric made a decision, nothing could move him. She'd have more luck trying to relocate the mountain than changing his mind.

"Fine," she huffed.

"What was that?" he asked sharply.

"Yes, sir." She slunk out of her father's office and back into the kitchen.

Her mother had a piece of pie set out for her with a gargantuan scoop of ice cream atop it. As if food could make her feel better after that conversation. "I don't want pie, Mom." She shoved the plate to the side and slumped onto a barstool.

Emmeline came around the counter and put her arm around Lenore's shoulders. Lenore stiffened, not wanting to be comforted. "Sweetie, I know it's hard to understand, but it has to be this way, at least for now."

"Ugh." Lenore shrugged her mother's arm off of her shoulders. "I'm not a baby anymore."

"Then perhaps you should stop acting like one." Her mother's voice was matter of fact.

Lenore's eyes flashed up to search her mother's face. Her mother didn't speak so bluntly to her. She was used to being the baby, the pampered one. The girl who got everything she wanted. She knew she was spoiled by the attention, but she thought it only fair since she was different from all the rest of them. Only her oldest brother, Severin, could understand what it felt like; he hadn't changed either. But he was gone now, with a wife and kids of his own.

She pulled the plate back in front of her and began to pick at the pie with a fork. She didn't know what to say, but she didn't want to concede her mother the last word. "Dad is being totally unreasonable."

"He has your safety in mind, unreasonable or not." Emmeline walked over to the sink and began to put away dishes that had dried.

Lenore took a bite of pie. It was light and flaky and the crust melted on her tongue. "I can take care of myself." She ate a bite of the ice cream.

"You may think you can, Lenore, but this is not a normal situation. Wyatt turns into a grizzly bear. It would take our entire pack to bring one down, and even then, it wouldn't be a sure thing. You don't even have that protection."