Shadow of the Moon (3 page)

“I wouldn’t mind him keeping me warm all through the night,” Milk Chocolate said with a giggle.

“Then this is your lucky day,” I lied smoothly. “He’s looking for someone to hook up with. And he has two friends who are just as hot.”

“Really?”

“Where are they?” Dark Chocolate asked suspiciously.

“Parking their Hummer.”

“They have a Hummer?”

“Oh yeah.” I leaned in conspiratorially. “Their parents are mega rich. The guys just got in today and don’t know anyone. They were flirting with me earlier, but, well, I have a boyfriend.” I was becoming exceptionally skilled at lying. Before I’d run away from Wolford, I’d never lied, but I was astounded by how easily the false words rolled off my tongue lately.

The girls didn’t even bother to wait for their change before traipsing around the corner to flirt with Daniel, so I dropped it into the tip jar. The money collected would be divided between all the employees at the end of our shift. It was never much, but my needs were simple: a good book, a warm fire, my own mug of hot chocolate, and hushed silence within myself. It was one of the reasons that I loved winter and had felt so at home at the resort. The snow absorbs so much sound and it creates a quiet that is more stillness than anything.

But with Daniel’s arrival, my little haven was no longer comforting. I was going to have to leave. The sooner the better. With those three girls distracting him, now was my chance.

“Do you want to take him his order?” Lisa asked me.

“No, I’m going to the storeroom to get some more to-go cups.” Before she could comment, I slipped through the swinging door that led into a hallway where the boss had his office. I felt a little guilty running out on Spike after he’d given me a chance—and he was so protective.

“You need any help, little girl, you let me know,” he’d said. At six feet eight inches, everyone was little next to him, but at five foot four, I was especially so. And while I appreciated his offer for help, I knew I’d never take him up on it. He wouldn’t stand a chance against a guy who could transform into a wolf at will.

I was grateful that his office door was closed as I slipped by. I didn’t want to have to explain myself or possibly make the mistake of deciding he could help. As I snuck down the hall, I resented that I was being forced to flee before I was ready. I’d hoped to save up a little more money so I could travel farther away more easily. I didn’t really have a final destination in mind. I’d thought I’d have more time to prepare. I’d allowed my happiness and contentment to lure me into a false sense of security.
Stupid, Hayden
.

I hurried down the hallway, past the storage room. I grabbed my white parka from a hook near the back door. Slipping off my sneakers, I stuffed them into my backpack and pulled on my snow boots. I jammed on a red-and-white knitted cap and tucked my ponytail up beneath it. I tugged on my gloves.

I glanced back over my shoulder. I didn’t want to leave the warmth and safety offered here. I desperately didn’t want to leave the peace and quiet. But I knew I had no choice. I had to run. Fast. Now. No way was I going back to Wolford.

I shoved open the door and stepped out into the snow and cold. Before the door had even closed behind me, I was turning toward the woods where the shadows were lengthening and could hide—

“Going somewhere, Hayden?” a deep voice echoed around me.

My heart in my throat, I whipped around.

Daniel stood there, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his broad chest. He hadn’t bothered with a cap. His black jeans outlined his long legs. His thick black jacket, still unzipped, added to his dangerous allure—as though the weather was no threat to him. His dark features and clothes made his green eyes all the more vibrant. Hot really wasn’t the right word to describe him. Scalding, maybe?

Confidently he strode over to me, leaving a wake of footprints in the pristine snow. His eyes captured and held mine. I wanted to sprint toward the trees but knew he’d just follow at an easy lope.

He reached out to touch me, and I stiffened, preparing for the force of pride—I was certain he was swelling with it for locating me—to slam into me. Though I couldn’t tap into his emotions with space between us, I knew nothing would prevent his feelings from reaching me when he touched me. Experiencing others’ emotions was always more intense, more overwhelming when physical contact was involved. It was one of the reasons that I avoided it whenever possible.

I would have stepped back now, only I was curious. I wasn’t accustomed to being around a Shifter and not knowing what he or she was feeling. But when Daniel’s bare hand touched my cheek, all I felt was…warmth. Skin on skin. Roughened fingers gliding softly over my smooth cheek.

Even with this intimate contact, I couldn’t feel what he was feeling. I didn’t know what emotions were dancing through him. It made no sense. He was a Shifter. I should have experienced his passions long before he ever got this close to me. And when he touched me, I should have been rocked so hard that my own emotions would retreat.

But only my feelings were roiling through me. That stupid fear again, ratcheted up to panic now. But there was more. So much more. Anger, astonishment, disappointment, irritation, sadness. And fascination. Attraction. It was as though I’d just spun a wheel of fortune that was loaded with emotions instead of dollar amounts and they were rioting through me. Where would it stop? What would I feel when it was all done?

“Why bother running, Hayden?” Daniel asked quietly.

He leaned in close, so close, until I could no longer see his eyes, his cheek almost grazing over mine. I was too stunned by the sudden intimacy to move. I heard him inhale deeply, knew he was scenting me—a final, silent declaration to a job well done. I wondered why the knowledge made my knees grow weak. After our first transformation, all our senses heightened, but scent was always our most powerful.

“I’ll just find you again,” he said in a voice that was close to a purr.

He was making me feel crazy things. I didn’t know what some of these stirring emotions were, what they signaled. The wheel of emotions finally stopped spinning, selecting one with which I was familiar.

Full-blown terror.

TWO

“I—I wasn’t r-running,” I stammered, then swore beneath my breath because I never stammered. He’d unsettled me and it made me angry that he had. The terror receded and fury took hold, and I lashed out with a determined tone. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I was taking a break.”

“Uh-huh.” With his green eyes twinkling, he reached out and tapped the little red-and-white pom-pom on my knit cap. I made an ineffectual slap at his hand that served only to make him grin wider and made me feel powerless. I was too familiar with that emotion. I’d never liked it and disliked it even more now because it seemed to amuse him so much. “You sure bundled up just to take a break.”

I took a step back to get beyond his reach. “In case you haven’t noticed, it’s winter! Snow, sleet, ice, freezing temperatures. Never mind. I don’t have time to give you a science lesson. I have to get back to work.”

I started to trudge past him.

“You have to get back to Wolford.”

His words stopped me dead in my tracks, and I spun around. I didn’t want to plead or beg, and I fought to keep my voice even, but a bit of despair flowed into my words. “It’s not safe for me there.”

“And you think you’re safe here? Alone?” He shook his head. “What were you thinking when you left Wolford?”

That my survival depended on it.
“Are you not aware of the harvester’s visit?” I asked.

“I was out on patrol that night. I didn’t see it, but I saw the results.”

It hadn’t registered until now that he hadn’t been one of the Dark Guardians in the clearing that night when Justin died.

“I heard it told you that you were next. We can protect you at Wolford.”

I shook my head emphatically. “No, you can’t. Safety there is an illusion. That’s where the harvester will search for me. It won’t know to look for me here.”

I knew I was being reckless. Going through my first transformation alone brought with it the possibility of death. But I’d been studying the ancient texts, and I thought I might have found a loophole. I’d experienced what another Shifter had felt while transforming. All I had to do was mimic the emotion, follow the path he’d taken.

Daniel hesitated for a moment, and I felt a spark of hope that he might relent, but then he shattered it with his next words. “I’m sorry, Hayden, but the elders sent me to bring you back. It’s my duty.”

Not willing to give up easily, striving to buy myself some time, I folded my arms across my chest and jutted out my chin. “I know all about duty and responsibility. When I took this job, I gave my word that I would work here through winter break. This is the last weekend. You see how crowded it is in there. It’s only going to get worse by tomorrow. I can’t just leave. It’s not fair to my employer; it’s not fair to the other workers.”

I knew that they probably could get by without me, but it was an excuse to buy me more time until I figured out my next move. I wasn’t ready to go back to Wolford. And I certainly had no desire to be escorted back as though I’d done something wrong.

As though he understood exactly what I was thinking, he shrugged carelessly. “Through Saturday night, right? Most classes start back on Monday, so people will be heading away on Sunday. Why don’t we talk about it when your shift ends?”

He sounded so irritatingly reasonable. I wanted him to leave and to leave me. I’d never flirted with a guy, had never tried to twist him around my little finger. But even if I had, Daniel didn’t strike me as the easily manipulated type. “Okay, where do you want to meet?”

“I’ll just wait for you inside.”

“The shop doesn’t close until nine. That’s a long time to wait.”

“It’s all warm and cozy inside,” he said. “I’ll be okay for a few hours.”

“Fine,” I ground out.

I spun on my heel and stormed back into the building, annoyed that, with the snow, I couldn’t actually tromp in order to make a statement. As I angrily removed my jacket and boots, I began mentally considering Plan B. And of course, thoughts of how best to evade Daniel made me think about him. My actions came to an abrupt halt.

Why didn’t his emotions reach me? Was it because he had none? Was he a psychopath? Sociopath? Devoid of feelings?

I’d never met a Shifter whose emotions didn’t come flying at me. I was a magnet for whatever they were feeling. So why not with Daniel?

The inability to access his emotions should have been comforting, but instead it was scary. It wasn’t natural. So what was wrong with him?

Or had a change happened within me? As my full moon approached, was I losing my empathic abilities? They’d seemed stronger than ever a couple of weeks ago. So why did they seem absent now?

It was all so weird. But I didn’t really have time to ponder all the ramifications or possibilities. I had to get back to work. I stopped by the storage room and grabbed a plastic bag filled with paper cups and lids.

When I got back to the counter, Lisa gave me a confused stare. “Took you long enough. What’d you do? Get lost?”

I almost responded,
No, got found
. But I just said, “Took a quick break.”

After arranging the cups on the shelf for easy access, I returned to my place at the counter. In the middle of the shop was a huge stone fireplace that was open on all four sides. Sitting areas had been arranged around it. I spotted Daniel lounging in a big stuffed chair, conveniently turned so I was once again in his line of sight.

“Hot guy was gone while you were,” Lisa whispered. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“Turns out I do know him.”

“How could you forget a hottie like that? What’s his name?”

“Daniel.”

“Deets. I need deets.”

I must have had a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look because she rolled her eyes. “Details. I need details. I swear that sometimes I think you were raised in a cave.”

Almost.

“I’ll explain everything later,” I told her, knowing that I wouldn’t.

I started taking orders, but the entire time, I felt Daniel’s gaze on me. How could he sit so still, so patiently? And yet there was an undercurrent about him, as though he was amazingly alert, completely aware of everything going on around him, could strike within a heartbeat.

Shifters had an animal quality about them. When you can transform into a wolf, the attributes of a wolf are never far from you. You have that whole pack mentality. The alpha, the dominant, the submissive. It’s a natural order for us. We mate for life. We hang around in groups. But sitting there, Daniel gave the impression of being a loner.

It made me want to connect with him, because I’d always felt like a loner among my own kind. Shifters weren’t comfortable around someone who knew what they were feeling. It was only with humans that I felt as if I belonged—but even then I knew that I really didn’t. They’d never accept a being who could shift. I had no place where I truly belonged. I straddled two worlds: the one that brought me peace and the one marked with danger that was my destiny.

But Daniel belonged in the world of the Shifters. Did he just give the appearance of being a loner when he was around Statics? He didn’t appear uncomfortable. He looked totally relaxed. Yet he was also alone.

I knew so little about him, and I couldn’t deny that I was fascinated by him. But I recognized that my fascination was a dangerous thing.

“When he went after you, he left his hot chocolate at the counter and it got tossed,” Lisa said, holding up a mug. “I made him a new one. Do you want to take it to him?”

Okay, her matchmaking attempts were starting to get a bit annoying. I knew she meant well, but how many ways could I say that I wasn’t interested in Daniel? “No. If he wants it, he can come get it.”

“You really don’t like him. What’d he do?”

“He came here.”

“Okay, that makes no sense. He’s hot and he’s nice. His coming here is an awesome thing.”

“Take him the chocolate,” I snapped—something I’d never done here in Athena. I’d experienced others’ anger, had never been comfortable with it, so had worked really hard to keep myself as even-keeled around people as I could.

Lisa’s eyes widened, but then she shrugged and went around the counter and over to Daniel. He smiled at her. She sat on the coffee table near him, and I wondered if he’d made her knees go weak. It irritated me that she could be swayed by his charm. The thought brought me up short. Was I feeling jealous because she was taking such an interest in him?

Actually, her interest in him could be a good thing. Maybe she could distract him. But as his gaze shifted back over to me, I realized he was not going to be easily sidetracked.

“Hey, can I get some service over here?”

I snapped my attention to a guy who was terribly sunburned. People were always underestimating what the sun could do in winter. They thought they could burn only if it was hot outside. “Sorry,” I told him. “What’ll you have?”

Darkness had fallen long before we started to close up. Spike came out of his office and flicked the lights to signal it was time for people to leave. He was a contradiction. With his shaved head and tattoos on his neck and arms, he just didn’t look like the type of person who would make a living from hot beverages.

When everyone was gone except Daniel, Spike went over to him. “Sorry, bud, we’re closing up.”

“I’m waiting for Hayden,” Daniel said.

Spike glanced back at me, and I knew that if I shook my head, Spike would escort Daniel out. Or he’d try. I had a feeling that despite Spike’s massive size, Daniel could whip his butt. So I nodded.

“Way to go, girlfriend,” Lisa said, knocking her hip against mine.

I felt my cheeks grow warm with embarrassment, so I turned my attention to wiping down the counter. I was acutely aware of Daniel striding over.

“So tell me what I can do to get you out of here quicker,” he said.

I had no desire to leave with him, but I also wasn’t a huge fan of cleaning up. The lesser of two evils. I tossed him a damp rag. “Wipe down all the tables and put the chairs on top of them.”

With Daniel’s help, we finished with our closing procedures in record time. Sooner than I would have liked, I was bundled up and stepping out the back door with everyone else.

“Don’t forget it’s Thrilling Thursday. Catch you later at Out of Bounds,” Lisa said with a wink and a grin before she led the others away.

“Thrilling Thursday?” Daniel asked with a dark eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, Lisa has a name for every night of the week. Manic Monday, Terrific Tuesday, Wicked Wednesday. You get the idea.”

“Sorry I missed Wicked Wednesday.”

It was difficult to stay annoyed with a guy who could flash a grin like Daniel could, but I resisted returning the smile, and even managed to narrow my eyes. “So how long have you been here?”

“Arrived this morning. Tell me about Out of Bounds.”

“Not much to tell. It’s a club. ‘Out of bounds’ is a ski term that refers to areas where it’s illegal to ski…. Well, it’s supposed to be a place for rebels.”

“And you’re a rebel?”

“I have my moments,” I said, slightly insulted that he’d question me. After all, I’d run away, hadn’t I?

“I noticed a burger place—conveniently named the Burger Place, by the way—at the end of the street,” Daniel said as we walked around the building, back toward the main part of the village. “I could use some meat.”

“I’m a vegetarian.”

He jerked his head around, and his green gaze homed in on me as if he thought I was joking. Or suspected me of lying.

“I’ve eaten there before, though,” I told him. “They have a grilled cheese sandwich, so we’re good.”

As we stepped onto the boardwalk that lined the street, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket and said, “I’ve never heard of a Shifter being a vegetarian.”

“Well, I’m not your ordinary Shifter.”

“So I’ve been told.”

I rolled my eyes, wondering exactly what the other Dark Guardians had said about me and my abilities. “I’d rather be normal.”

I couldn’t keep the wistfulness out of my voice. Maybe that was the reason that he didn’t talk as we walked along the street. Or maybe he was trying to figure me out as much as I was trying to discern why a wall existed between his emotions and mine.

The elders were able to block their emotions from me, but they were the elders. They could do all sorts of stuff. They’d tried to teach me to block the emotions coming at me, but I’d had absolutely no success at it. I wondered if they’d given Daniel a crash course in holding back his emotions that he’d actually managed to master. Sometimes at school a teacher could explain a concept multiple times and I couldn’t grasp what she was trying to teach, but the student sitting next to me could lean over and explain it—and it suddenly made perfect sense. I wondered if this might be the case here as well. Maybe he could explain blocking feelings in terms that I could more easily embrace. If Daniel could block his emotions, could I do it—but in reverse? He was keeping his emotions in. Could I do whatever he was doing to keep emotions out?

“So what do you know about me?” I asked.

We were sitting across from each other in a corner booth. I’d decided to go with a garden salad instead of a grilled cheese. He’d ordered a double-meat cheeseburger and onion rings. Hardening of the arteries wasn’t a concern for us. When we shifted, our bodies naturally healed all ailments, including all the pitfalls of eating unhealthy foods.

“I know you have a gift,” he said.

I stabbed a crouton. “It’s not a gift.”

Taking a bite from his burger, he studied me for a moment. He swallowed, then said, “Yeah, I can see how it wouldn’t be.”

I didn’t want to like him, but his empathy was another new experience for me. He sounded as though he truly understood what burden I carried. Naturally no one at the boarding school knew that I was an empath because I couldn’t tap into their emotions so it had seemed pointless to explain what I couldn’t demonstrate for them. They were all Statics. I certainly wasn’t explaining Shifters to them. That would have brought other complications. So at school I was blessedly normal.

“It’s the reason I sought out a place where there were only Statics. Their emotions don’t reach me. All I have to deal with is how I feel.” He didn’t say anything so I leaned forward. “Your emotions aren’t reaching me either. How do you do it? How do you close them off? Did the elders teach you how to keep everything boxed in?”